Japan

A Tori

The very first day I started University in the US, almost a decade ago now, I sat next to a very sleepy Japanese guy named Yusuke during orientation. Since we were all new to this country and very excited to be here, and since we were all living in the dorms, we hung out together a lot - travelled together, got groceries together, had meals together etc. I met a lot of other Japanese people during the school year and some of us ended up being really good friends. Then, we all parted ways and even though we stayed in touch, we hadn't seen each other for 7-8 years. I wanted to go visit them. So, I took beginner Japanese classes in the summer at the University, became somewhat comfortable with Hiragana and Katakana. Excited to show off my rather elementary vocabulary to my friends, I went to Japan during the Christmas holidays of 2016. It was fantastic. Not only was it great seeing my old friends, I loved the country, it's temples, tea, people, and their mannerisms.

In a cave temple in Kamakura

Japan is a fantastic blend of rich cultural heritage, ancient temples and swanky modern infrastructure. Even though greater Tokyo metropolitan area has around 30 million people - almost the same as the total population of Canada - the city is cleaner and safer than any north american city I've ever been to.

Yokohama skyline at night.

Vegan Food in Japan:

Vegan food in Hasedera temple cafe, Kamakura

I was really apprehensive about finding vegan food in Japan before heading there. You can easily find vegan and vegetarian food in major big cities in Japan however, traditional establishments don't tend to have much vegan options. Luckily enough, my friends were able to order custom made food for me sometimes even at small traditional establishments that had little to no vegan options in their menu.  In small cities, there are often cafes that have a nice collection of Matcha and red bean mochi etc. Some major buddhist temples have vegetarian food as well. 

Automation in small businesses:

Japan is a fantastic example of successful use of automation in very small-scale businesses. There are many small shops or bakeries manned by just one person making tasty matcha cakes in a completely automated manner. Making such technology accessible and affordable to small business can and help small businesses scale up their production and have consistent quality control with relatively few human resources.