Okay, I already did the post about things I love in the UK. But there are nice things and not-so-nice things about every place, so without further ado:
Mountains - I never knew I liked mountains. In Japan you can see mountains pretty much anywhere in any direction that isn't the sea. It's not only majestic, but also gives you an odd sense of protection. Like the hordes aren't going to come and get you. The hordes could totally come and get you in the UK.
Sento - Since coming back in August, I'm not sure I've ever felt...100% clean. Or maybe I've felt 100% clean, but a sento - a Japanese bathhouse - gets you 130% clean, you know? The little pre-bath showers, the steam everywhere, the lovely big massive bottles of shampoo and lotion and the weird novelty baths with the electric current running through them - they all contribute to a kind of super-clean you can't quite get from an everyday shower. Oh, and it might sound strange, but: when there's an open-air bath with a balcony and a view, and you get the chance to be there all by yourself, and after a few minutes of soaking in the tub you get out and don't even notice the cold air around you because your body temperature is so high, and you're naked as the day you were born with no shame whatsoever and looking out onto the city sprawled below you...you honestly feel like the supreme ruler of the universe. Trust me on that one.
Decent opening hours - Are you in the UK right now? Do you want to buy something or do some kind of activity outside your house? Is it later than 5.30? Too bad. I have a theory that this is genuinely a large contributing reason to the UK's binge-drinking culture. Places that actually have things you can do when it's night-time don't seem to become weird pits of alcoholic despair after dark in quite the same way we do. In Barcelona, kids run around the public squares well past an English kid's bedtime, making their own entertainment while their parents laugh and joke with their friends in nearby cafes. In Seoul, people buy jumpers and drink frappuccinos at midnight.. Drinking is one of a range of possible activities, or a stimulant to other, more central activities, rather than the means of whiling away cold hours. I miss that sense of lunar camaraderie. Also, it's really annoying when you need eggs for midnight snacks. I need my night eggs.
Festival spirit without aggro - somewhat related to the last one. I miss being able to go to massive cherry blossom picnics or other traditional festivals, cracking open a few beers, chatting amiably with strangers and feeling like everyone around me is having a harmlessly pleasant time. The UK really doesn't have enough traditional festivals, and most of the ones we do have seem to revolve around Morris dancing. But to be honest, I don't really want lots of festivals here, because I know we'd do them wrong. People would get edgy and ruin everything. There would be litter and a constant low-level aura of menace. As a generalisation, I trust Japanese people much more when it comes to combining massive overcrowding, alcohol and ceremony.
Trains - I live in the kingdom of Southern Rail. This one wasn't difficult.
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