[Sangetsu]

I used to live in Miami, Florida. When I tell people that they think "wow, how cool was that?", not knowing that visiting a place and living there are quite different things. Visitors are looking for the good and fun things, and that's usually all they experience, those of us who live there get to see the bigger picture, and it's usually not as pretty.

A lot of people here have voted for Tokyo, and I love Tokyo myself, I spend every weekend there. But for all the good things there are to see and do, there are lots of things which are difficult and inconvenient. Everything in Tokyo is expensive, buses and trains are crowded, and the noise is incessant. Trains, cars, trucks, airplanes, scooters with no mufflers, barking dogs (there are millions of miniature, ankle-biting dogs in Tokyo), and speaker trucks. Some parts of the city are not especially clean, and some neighborhoods seem to smell perpetually of sewage.

I live in the countryside about an hour from metro Tokyo. I was disappointed when I was assigned to work here, as I had been promised a position in Tokyo, but now I find that I am quite happy where I am. The town where I live is surrounded by farmland, and is near the beach. There is lots of scenery to enjoy, and the smell of the sea is pleasant. The cost of living here is a fraction of what it is in Tokyo, the people are friendly, it's clean, and most of all, it's quiet.

Thanks to Japan's very modern transportation system, every part of the country is accessible. I can spend my weekends in Osaka or Kyoto, or even Sapporo, and it generally doesn't take long to get there.