the grass is always greener on the other side
Proverb meaning that other people's things or situations often seem better than one's own. The literal image is that the neighbor's salted rice-bran paste smells sweeter.
There is a proverb, 'the neighbor's salted rice-bran paste.'
He always says the grass is greener on the other side; it's exactly 'the neighbor's salted rice-bran paste.'
A more common Japanese proverb with the same meaning, literally 'the neighbor's lawn is green.'
The exact origin is uncertain. The phrase uses 糂粏 (jinda), an old term for salted rice-bran paste used in pickling, to suggest that even a neighbor's humble miso seems more appealing.