You don't have to test with the garbage.

I am a gamer. I followed the call of Cthulhu and ran in the shadows with hackers and shamans. I traversed the ancient lands of Greyhawk, Faerun, and Eberron with companions new and old. I swung from an airship and buckled swash over London for the Kerberos Club. I threw dice and flipped cards and ground men into dust playing table-top wargames.

I don’t do that anymore.

Since July of 2015 fans of the game Malifaux have been attempting to overwhelm me with death and rape threats for no other reason than I am a woman who has opinions on the game. Wyrd Miniatures is silent on this matter and hangs up whenever anyone attempts to discuss the harassment. Given that a large number of threats identify the senders by name as Wyrd staff members, I do not find this surprising.

But that’s not what this article is about.

what I’ll miss:

THE BEST COFFEE IN THE WORLD. I only had one bad coffee, every other coffee I had in Japan was better than any coffee I’ve had in Australia and several other countries. 

vending machines fucking everywhere on every second side-street, even in residential neighbourhoods, with drinks that are like $1 including hot coffee in a can

the best customer service in the world

it being completely safe to just walk around at night, even in dark laneways, in 99% of the city

shops open until 8pm

literally no one is going to steal your shit, you can leave your bag on your table when you go to the toilet at a restaurant

very clean public toilets

amazing and prompt public transport

discovering really bizarre things in every single shop you go to

everything is pretty, neat and compact: from people’s houses and cars, to the items in stores and the food on your plate. So much effort goes into things to make them pretty and efficient. 

people wear masks when they’re sick to avoid infecting others. even staff at shops. 

most public toilets in big cities automatically make noise when you sit on the seat - like they play running water sounds, or train sounds, or birds tweeting etc so that you can pee even if you’re scared of people hearing you. 

fresh seafood!

sakura <3

what I won’t miss:

people. SO MANY PEOPLE. everywhere. there will never not be someone looking directly at you

which is a problem if you have allergies and want to blow your nose, because it’s rude to do it in public

queues for everything. everything you want has a queue you need to stand in for hours to get to it. including public toilets. I have spent at least half of my holiday in japan standing in queues, 

you can’t just chill in a restaurant. unless it’s a really non-busy time or you’ve lucked out and found somewhere deserted, there’s always a line for restaurants and most places have strict time limits because there are people waiting for your table. 

SCARY TOILETS THAT SQUIRT COLD WATER AT YOUR PARTS UNEXPECTEDLY BECAUSE ‘BIDET’ IS RIGHT UNDER THE TEXT FOR ‘FLUSH’ AND YOU JUST TURNED THE TOILET ON

the cash economy. it’s annoying to always need to have cash on you, because the card & pin method isn’t used very often and takes forever, and the ‘tap’ technology for payment isn’t in japan yet. 

clothes not being available in my size :|

what I’ll miss:

THE BEST COFFEE IN THE WORLD. I only had one bad coffee, every other coffee I had in Japan was better than any coffee I’ve had in Australia and several other countries. 

vending machines fucking everywhere on every second side-street, even in residential neighbourhoods, with drinks that are like $1 including hot coffee in a can

the best customer service in the world

it being completely safe to just walk around at night, even in dark laneways, in 99% of the city

shops open until 8pm

literally no one is going to steal your shit, you can leave your bag on your table when you go to the toilet at a restaurant

very clean public toilets

amazing and prompt public transport

discovering really bizarre things in every single shop you go to

everything is pretty, neat and compact: from people’s houses and cars, to the items in stores and the food on your plate. So much effort goes into things to make them pretty and efficient. 

people wear masks when they’re sick to avoid infecting others. even staff at shops. 

most public toilets in big cities automatically make noise when you sit on the seat - like they play running water sounds, or train sounds, or birds tweeting etc so that you can pee even if you’re scared of people hearing you. 

fresh seafood!

sakura <3

what I won’t miss:

people. SO MANY PEOPLE. everywhere. there will never not be someone looking directly at you

which is a problem if you have allergies and want to blow your nose, because it’s rude to do it in public

queues for everything. everything you want has a queue you need to stand in for hours to get to it. including public toilets. I have spent at least half of my holiday in japan standing in queues, 

you can’t just chill in a restaurant. unless it’s a really non-busy time or you’ve lucked out and found somewhere deserted, there’s always a line for restaurants and most places have strict time limits because there are people waiting for your table. 

SCARY TOILETS THAT SQUIRT COLD WATER AT YOUR PARTS UNEXPECTEDLY BECAUSE ‘BIDET’ IS RIGHT UNDER THE TEXT FOR ‘FLUSH’ AND YOU JUST TURNED THE TOILET ON

the cash economy. it’s annoying to always need to have cash on you, because the card & pin method isn’t used very often and takes forever, and the ‘tap’ technology for payment isn’t in japan yet. 

clothes not being available in my size :|

Star Wars Tribute: K-2SO