The end of Japan

On Saturday night, we went up this tower called the "Floating Garden Observatory:"

There was no garden...we were a little confused, until the girl who couldn't speak English haltingly read from a script explaining the name choice. Is there an equivalent for squinting for your ears? Well, we squinted our ears to understand her, and she said something to the effect that they hoped you would feel as though you were "floating" while at the top, and that Osaka was the garden. Hm, well whatever. It was interesting anyway.
Here's my friend riding the futuristic escalator up to the top at night:
And here's sort of what we saw:
I say sort of, because it's really a bad picture. It was really cool, seeing the city lights from way up there.

And of course, here I am, happily eating a giant sundae at the end of a tiring, happy day:
Ok, so as promised, here are some comparisons of Japan and Korea. Take them for what they're worth though, seeing as I was only in a tiny part of Japan, for a very tiny amount of time.

1. In public, Japanese people are MUCH more polite. In Korea, it's every man for himself, and if you don't push and shover and elbow your way onto the subway, bus, elevator, then sorry, the boat's gonna sail without you! In Korea, people also butt in line in stores (assuming there is a line), and don't say sorry if they step on you or shove you. I found it really hard to get used to this. In Japan, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when, as we waited for the subway, people actually que-ed up in 2 lines in front of every subway door and then waited for everyone to exit before filing on. I also noticed though, that the doors stay open a bit longer than in Korea. Once I actually got squashed in the subway doors in Korea. And they don't bounce back open either. My shoulders got smashed, and as I squealed and tried to get out, they bounced together on my foot!!! Hahahaaa! It was traumatic, but really funny too. In Japan, people also apologize for bumping you, and are generally very sweet to strangers. Imagine that.

2. Many people in Japan and Korea speak English. I'd say the public level is about the same, but as I mentioned before, for some reason, the Japanese use much funnier words. Not sure if their dictionaries were made by different people or what.

3. Japan is a lot more liberal than Korea. Korea is largely a mono-culture where conforming is very important, and everyone dresses and looks pretty much the same. Of course, you get some personality and style in big cities like Seoul, but for the most part, same-same is the norm. This is why I get stared at wherever I go, especially when not in Seoul. In Japan, however, WOW! Talk about individual style!! We saw everything! Funky hair and clothes were the norm. Small groups of teenage girls also liked to dress as animation characters or dolls. Very interesting! This is why I did not get stared at in Japan. ;) I loved it. Felt like I was in Montreal or something.

4. Japan is really expensive. Especially food and taxis. Korea is not.

5. Korean food is way better in my opinion, from what I saw there, although of course, as I said before, I didn't really try that much Japanese food. I LOVE Korean food, and it's really cheap to eat out in restaurants. Normally pay about $4-5 for a full meal. In Japan it was at least double that, if not more.

So, I really did love Japan, but I was happy to come back to my comfort zone, where I can read, ask questions if necessary, and find my way around without worrying about being lost and confused.