14 favorite things in Japan – what I learned from living in Italy

Introduction
Living abroad will help you understand the good and bad points of your home country. I think it is more objective and correct to think that “this is better and this is worse than Italy” rather than the short-circuited idea that “Japan is good because I only know about Japan”. Not all Japanese values ​​are commonplace, nor are they universal. It’s the same in any country. Therefore, I think it is important to value the difference and continuously think about how to make it a more comfortable place to live.

So, in this article, I will write about what I like about Japan and what I like about Japan.

There is no dust on the ground.

The streets of Europe may be beautiful, but there are lots of cigarette butts, fallen leaves, paper, PET bottles and other garbage at your feet. As you can easily tell if you go to a big city such as Rome or Milan, there are many people who throw away trash while walking, and many people do not bring back trash.

There are no graffiti in the city.

Many of the ground floors of Roman buildings are ruined by graffiti. Italy has a lot of history and beautiful buildings, but there are quite a lot of graffiti. Some of the graffiti content can be understood if you understand Italian, but some do not. Such things may be written by non-Italian people, written in dialects, or too messy to read. In any case, graffiti is the opposite of beauty.

Public transportation is functioning.

In Italy, there are many trains and even buses. There is only one train in L’Aquila where I live. To Terni and to Sulmona. And few people use the railroad. The number of trains is small, the security is bad, and if so, it is faster to move by car.

The public transportation schedule is accurate.
It is impossible for Trenitalia (Italian railway) to apologize and issue a delay certificate just one minute late. The electric bulletin board of the Italian railway has a column called “delay” in advance, so you can immediately understand how many minutes the train is late. This is because delays happen every day.

Not only traditional Japanese performing arts, but also Japanese-made miscellaneous goods and souvenirs are carefully made.

Quality is guaranteed as long as you pay the price. It doesn’t break easily. Also, the rate of buying inferior goods is low. So once you buy a good one, you can use it for a long time.

There are many delicate and detailed designs.

Japanese-made miscellaneous goods and souvenirs are made very carefully. Not only are the wallets and bags designed well, but many are easy to use. Producers know what their customers need, so the products they make have the features they need.

The sweets are not too sweet.

Italian sweets are usually sweet and use plenty of sugar and cream. Maritozzo, which is popular in Japan these days, is a traditional Roman confectionery, but it is quite sweet. It seems that Roman food is sweeter than Japanese food. The evaluation standard for Japanese sweets is not only sweetness, but also harmonious taste. And the purpose of Japanese sweets is to enjoy the original taste of sweets (matcha taste if you use matcha, chocolate taste if you use chocolate).

You can enjoy a lot of sake.

In particular, there are almost no non-alcoholic but delicious drinks in Italy. There are non-alcoholic beers in Italy, but there are no non-alcoholic beers such as lemon sour and plum wine, and non-alcoholic beers are not really delicious. I also think that Japan has the largest variety of non-alcoholic beverages in the world.

A wide variety of foods.

Not only Japanese food, but also Western food, Chinese food, and ethnic food can be eaten deliciously in Japan. That’s because foreigners living in Japan bring in the taste of their home country. In addition, Japanese who went abroad to learn cooking arrange the dishes in a seasoning that their compatriots like. Therefore, at least if Japanese people eat it, foreign food can be eaten deliciously.

It’s important to eat.

Japanese food (not limited to Japanese food) is by no means neglected. Not only is a diet necessary to live, but it is also necessary to strengthen family ties. In addition, by taking good care of eating, you will be more excited about your meal time.

Japanese pottery is durable and has a good design.

An Italian friend said he wanted me too. Japanese pottery (Kutani ware, Mashiko ware, Mino ware, etc.) is world-famous. Yakimono has a long history. It is a traditional craft rooted in the area and can only be made by a limited number of craftsmen in the area.

Japanese wallets and bags are very polite and long lasting.

Depending on the brand, there are many fashionable designs. Japanese wallets and bags that combine the delicacy and functionality of design will fascinate you once you use them.

The toilet seat is not cold.

Italian toilets are made of pottery, so the toilet seats are very cold in winter. Japanese toilets are as warm as body temperature even in winter, so you won’t feel uncomfortable.

The toilets in the city are free but kept clean.

Toilets in convenience stores, supermarkets, shopping malls, etc. are very clean as if they were at home. And its cleanliness doesn’t change at any time.