What is Japan to you?

[Tomoe]

When you think about the country Japan, what comes immediately to your mind? Have you ever been there? Do you have Japanese friends? Do you like Japanese foods? What is it that you think about when you think of Japan?

[Emanuele Pannella]

This things come in my mind: To seek beauty in all aspects of life, zen, dignity, katana, empty and strength, science, tecnology, unshakeable, suffering , shodo, sun ...

[Martin Gillis]

Hanami, Yaki imo, Nihonshu, Onsen, Sumiyaki kohi, Anko in all kinds of things (kirai desu!) Mochi (a little goes a long way-- dango yori bi-ru!), kotoba muzukashii jenai? Heian, Anzen, no (or next to no) street crime, Miso shiru, tradition, technology, katakana English, a society that is attracted by things foreign, but remains insular; people who long for a deeper connection with others and with God, but find it difficult to take steps that depart from the norm; practicing saxophone or tai chi in a park in front of lots of people is OK, but a husband kissing his wife goodbye on the doorstep or at the train station is dame; hard, hard working people; a sales clerk will without fail chase you out of the shop with one Yen in change that you left behind (you won't usually try that more than once. It's more trouble than waiting for your one Yen change); speeches before anything, and I mean anything-- even a picnic; detailed communication on anything work related to the point it drives foreigners crazy; very strong advance planning; very good parks, and so much more!

[Martin Gillis]

I forgot bicycles! LOTS of bicycles! and no bicycle parking tow-away zones in front of the stations! Koi nobori (big flags shaped like koi fish) coming up soon; mayonnaise and corn pizza; green tea ice cream; workers with big baggy pants tucked into boots with a split between big and second toes; car enthusiasts with more TV screens in a car than there are seats, and HUGE speaker systems built in; a Harley Davidson 1200 softtail with all the trimmings parked in the front window of a kimono shop; kids with "magic pants" that hang so low down their butts, that it seems magic that they stay up at all; pretty much zero theft, but umbrellas and unlocked bicycles are not included in that for some reason; ... and my goodness, where can you stop? What a wondrous place Japan is! If you want adventure and to rethink some of your ideas of what normal is, there are not many places like it!