Things I love about Japan, which I will not be able to ship home with me when I return

1. Excellent sushi
2. Excellent cheap sushi
3. Ramen.
4. Oh my God, ramen.
5. Courtesy
6. Customer service
7. Being the tallest
8. The Daibutsu

9. My house

10. My neighbors

11. Hasedera temple

12. Not speaking the language.

That last one won't last another couple months, if all goes well - I'm really working on Japanese now. And while it's incredibly frustrating to be functionally illiterate in this culture, there is something free and pleasant about not understanding. I don't stress about street signs or menus, or what the people next to me on the bus are saying. I'll miss that a little bit.