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This is a continuation of yesterday’s post, which was so massive we decided to break it up into two parts.
26. Paying for company is a pretty common thing.
There must be a serious level of loneliness in Japan. In a cat café you can pay to hang out with dozens of cats, while you sip coffee. In maid cafes, a young woman dressed in a maid outfit dotes on you for the paid time. In a hostess bar, a more sophisticated woman hangs out and talks with you, while you pay for her drinks and time. They even have a boyfriend service, so ladies don’t feel left out of the action.
27. Jazz is the go-to music for every department store and bar.
Pretty much every restaurant, department store, or elevator will be playing jazz music. Not the smooth type either – the good stuff.
28. Pets are allowed on temple grounds – if you carry them.
I guess the bigger dogs get left at home.
29. Space efficiency is remarkable.
Many restaurants have baskets for your clothes or belongings that go under your chair. Toilets with a sink combo are pretty common. After flushing the toilet water pours out of the sink and refills the toilet bowl.
30. Food packaging is meticulously handled.
Grape tomatoes and strawberries are packaged in rows, with an OCD level of insanity.
31. Machines will eventually remove all human interactions.
Many of the fast food restaurants allow customers to order by machine, then hand the ticket to a restaurant attendant. There are even 1000 yen haircut stores where you buy the ticket from a machine and give it to the stylist, saving them the hassle of dealing with the money. One restaurant took pains to remove all human interaction to allow their customers to focus on the food.
32. Dragonball Z and Power Rangers are still a thing in Japan.
Remember Dragonball Z? Power Rangers? Still going strong.
33. Law and Order rule the day.
There is a strong sense of obedience to the law in Japan. You rarely see people jay walking, even if the intersection is empty.
34. …but perverts are everywhere.
Japanese camera phones do not have a silent mode, apparently because of all the upskirt photos. Tokyo has women-only subway cars in the morning to prevent gropers. Whatever the cause, Japan has it’s fair share of perverts.
35. Instructions are usually presented with cartoons.
36. Pretty much no one speaks English.
Other than China, Japan had the lowest level of second language English speakers we’ve encountered. There are tons of children taking English classes, however, so don’t be surprised if a nice group of junior high school students want to interview you.
37. …but English is pretty cool.
Many signs and product names are in English. Restaurants and convenience stores sport English-sounding names. English words are quite cool, it would seem.
38. Bowing is pretty great.
Just don’t bow back too much, or you might get caught in a bowing loop.
39. Sumo wrestlers are still large and in charge.
Sumo wrestling faded from popularity for several years, but came roaring back thanks to a pair of wrestling brothers with some family drama.
40. …even though sake is dwindling in popularity.
Japanese in their 40’s and 50’s prefer to drink wine, while the younger crowd has taken to cocktails. Too bad, since sake in Japan is 10x better than sake overseas.
41. Everything old has burned to the ground at least once.
Possibly because of the war, or more likely because everything was built out of wood. The largest wooden temple in Japan (above), burned down to the ground more than 3 times and was redesigned each time.
42. “Flipping the Table” is crazy.
“Flipping the table” is an old salaryman stereotype whereby the husband comes home to an ungrateful family after a hard day of work and gets so angry he flips the table in a fit of rage. Someone even made an arcade game about it. Good times.
43. Remember to take off your shoes.
Restaurants and residences often require visitors to take off their shoes. We noticed a similar practice in Thailand, but interiors in Japan are *actually* clean. Don’t worry about the bathrooms either, they usually have separate slippers for that.
44. Showing off your legs is totally acceptable.
There are a lot of stockings, short skirts, and short shorts in Japan. In the winter, it’s not uncommon to see girls wearing shorts over stockings. Just a case of flaunt it if you got it, I suppose.
45. There are no trashcans anywhere.
City streets seem to be empty of trashcans, though you will find recycling cans near vending machines. Considering the lack of trashcans (or perhaps because of it), there’s very little trash anywhere.
46. Plastic food models make ordering easy-peasy.
47. Everyone carries around a hand towel.
Possibly because many bathrooms don’t have paper towels, or maybe to wipe the sweat off their brows. We mistook these for bibs for the longest time.
48. Japanese food is more than just sushi…
Curry, udon, soba, yakitori, unagi, izakaya, tempura, sushi, kaseki, terriyaki, teppenaki – Japan has a ton of different food options. It’s a shame only sushi and teppenaki have really made it overseas.
49. …but conveyor belt sushi is pretty amazing.
It ain’t the best sushi, but it’s ruthlessly efficient, and mighty tasty.
50. Japanese signs are hilarious.
You can view part 1 of my Japanese observations.
Now, on to the Land Down Under!
Hi! Where did you find the upskirting warning sign?
They had signs plastered all over the subway. Those pictures were mostly taken in Kyoto, but we saw a few in Tokyo as well.
@SH – indeed, that is basashi! We were able to sample that at our ryokan in Kurakawa Onsen Town. Mrs. Selfish actually really got into kiwi chuhai, shochu’s impure cousin, while I tried as many beers as I could.
@Jonathan – thanks!
The 50 observations of Japan is an epic post. Kudos to both of you.
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Totally agree with #48! There is so much good Japanese food and so little of it has made it outside of Japan. By the way, do I see “basashi” (horse meat sushi) in one of photos (lower right)??
Interestingly, though sake is becoming less popular, there has been a boom in the popularity of shochu, which is a less-refined liquor usually made from wheat or sweet potatoes. There is a very popular pub chain called “Imo-zou” that specializes in shochu and carries over 100 varieties of it. I love the sweet potato stuff, but it is a bit of an acquired taste.
The lack of trashcans in Japan is a real mystery to me. Reminds me of the great soap mystery in your last post. How can a city with no trashcans be so darn clean?? 31.5 million people (Greater Tokyo metro area) must generate huge amounts of trash, but where does it go? I always picture the salarymen walking around with their suitcases full of empty coffee cans, wrappers, and used chewing gum. 😛
The jaywalking thing is pretty funny because everyone really will just stand there and wait for the light to change, even if there is not a car on the road. But, if one person breaks the seal and crosses against the light, all of a sudden everyone will also cross: no one wants to be first, but everyone is willing to follow.
Thanks for the great posts!
Because of the cat maid pic, when you said there were dozens of cats in a cat cafe, for a while I thought you meant girls dress up as cats. LOL Pretty crazy and fun stuff.
Ha ha, I see what you mean. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are cat-girl cafes! We almost went to a cat cafe, but as dog people we found the 1000 yen an hour a little too steep. If they had had a corgi cafe Mrs. Selfish would have definitely paid to go!
Great article, well written and gave insight at least for me.
The food! I would love to try Unagi and have you tried eating in an okonomiyaki restaurant? I’m rather curious how okonomiyaki tastes like? :p
Unagi is good, though you can get a decent version at many sushi restaurants abroad. We ended up eating at an Okonomiyaki restaurant in Osaka. It was a little sweet for my taste, but was definitely worth a go! https://theselfishyears.com/2013/06/04/the-magnificent-osaka-unlimited-pass/
Love these:)