"Life ain't easy for a foreigner in Japan."
That's a line I love to lay on my Japanese wife, especially right before my birthday or Christmas. The self-sacrifice card, subtly played with the right mix of puppy-dog eyes and puffy lower lip, might earn me an extra present. Perhaps something I really want -- like a bag of chikuwa stuffed with cream cheese or a fresh hechima for our ofuro.
Yet, my wife has long since caught on to most of my husbandly tricks and is particularly exasperated by this one. It is her contention that, when everything is added together, there is no place in the world easier to live in than Japan.