Egao 笑顔 - Smiling Face

Japanese people smile a lot. Even the professional smile looks so natural and charming.

The day starts with the smiling face of the neighbour wishing you "good morning," and the shopkeeper's cheerful face and wide smile. Then, there are even signs around, inviting you to smile.

The first post should be about the first thing one would notice upon landing in Japan - lots of beautiful smiles everywhere. A smile is the universal welcome, they say. And you feel the warm welcome just by looking around. "Egao" is an important concept here. 笑顔 is formed of "emi" (lol) and "kao" (face). "Egao" means "smiling face" or just "smile." It reminds me of the messages "welcome with a smiling face" and the lyrics in one anime, "that smile always gave me strength, you know" (ano egao itsumo sasaete kureta ne).

Thank you for all the smiles received daily, each of them made my stay in Japan so comfortable and pleasant.