Topping the list of things that I came to love about Japan — but which I didn't care for at first — is not tofu, hot baths, nor even noodle sandwiches, all very soul-soothing at present. No, my No. 1 "I learned to love it" item is something much closer to home — country music.
I grew up with my grandparents — one from the Ozarks and one from the Smokys — and our shingles would often rattle to the tunes of Hank Williams Jr., Roy Acuff and Patsy Cline. Enough to keep me out of the house as much as possible.
But a funny thing happened in my first year in Japan. The music I had once loathed now reminded me of home and became easier to stomach — especially after a few drinks. And thus many a night I stretched beers in Good Time Charlie's while I listened to Charlie Nagatani and his crew warble out the best country tunes in Japan. I'd do it still, if only Charlie would move — like I did — from Kumamoto to Tokyo.