I have visited Japan 5 times and I loved it so much each time. I have not been for more than 15 years so I would like to visit it again one day. I visted Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, Mount Fuji and Hiroshima. I did not love to see the Whaleshark in the Osaka aquarium, hopefully that is no longer there! I loved visiting the old Nintendo company and got to keep one of the first playing cards (replica) as Nintendo started out as a card game. The food is usually good and feels healthy but I'll never eat chicken on a stick from 7-11 as I got food poisioning very badly. I love that Japan is still Japan, and hasn't been changed too much over the years - when I visit a country I want to see THAT country not the same stuff in each country. Resist the Westernisation! I also enjoy the Japanese drama shows which sometimes can be found online, the stories are often simple, quiet and usually no violence or crude speech. And I think we all love Takeshi's Castle - or the spin offs from that show, hilarious fun. I learned Japanese at school but that was a very long time ago and I barely remember anything.

For me Japan means chilhood, I grew up watching many Japanese anime which I considerer special, fool of positive feelings and values. I like that it is a technological but at the same time traditional country, proud of its traditions. I love images of cherry trees in bloom, they con very joy and melancholy at the same time. I hope to visit Japan one day, it's one of my dreams.

Thank you so much for your comments so far! 😊
I really appreciate all of your thoughts and stories about Japan.
Feel free to keep the comments coming—don’t worry, they don’t have to be serious! Just share anything fun or random that comes to mind. 😉

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'Japan'- leads me to wishing I could visit Kyoto one day. Of course it would be wonderful to be in the country during cherry blossom season, as well as for the foliage colours in autumn. I would love to visit Shinto shrines and to spend some time in an ancient hotel that has been in the hands of one family for 500 years. I would love to visit established paper makers, and creators of artisan ink, as well as watch a sari being made from start to finish. I often take something 'Japan' as a starting point in writing micros or short stories, one of which was inspired by the Aokigahara Forest

I meant 'kimono' not 'sari'

Hi Joe: Please help me understand...do participants share their comments with their partner and also send them to you (either here or by sending a message)? So we send the same comments on what comes to mind when we hear "Japan" to both our partner and you? Thanks for clarifying.

Hi janiepin: Thanks for your question! You can share your comment about Japan either here or by sending me a message directly—it’s up to you! You don’t need to send anything to your partner right now. Once partners are assigned after the sign-up period, just send them a rating of 5 and a heart. That’s all you need to do! Hope this helps, and feel free to ask if you have any more questions!