So you’re into
Japan – you love anime, manga, samurai culture, sushi, geisha, robots, cat
girls – what’s not to like? You know all the weird and quirky things about
Japan and love it all the more because of them. Vending machines selling
everything from underwear to cigarettes, $300 dollar melons, toilets that wash
your butt for you, hotels offering compact, “capsule”-sized space to themed
“love” hotels. But how about these everyday, mundane things? You may be surprised
to find how things are done differently here in Japan.
1. When parking, always back into spaces.
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| The RIGHT way to park. |
Luckily I haven’t had to drive in Japan yet. If I did, I
would definitely NOT be backing into my parking space. Too nerve wracking! I
recall being astonished during my first trip to Japan when my host father
expertly backed into their parking space from all the way down a long narrow
road. Yet this is the way it’s done here. Usually cars have a little screen
displaying what’s behind you, which helps. But parking spaces are really
compact here! I would be the lone person who didn’t back into the space,
sticking out from the rest. But that means I can find my car faster.
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| Do not be THAT gaijin. |
2. No debit cards – almost always pay with
cash.
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| Plastic? Please. |
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| Your new go-to payment method. |
Nope, debit cards are not a thing here. My post office bank
account comes equipped with a “cash card”, which is just a card used to
withdraw cash from the ATM. There are credit cards, but cash is the most
standard way to go, although you have to remember the annoying little detail
that:
3. ATMs close at 5pm.
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| This poor sap got stuck having to resort to conbini ATM. Ah, the life of a salaryman... |
If, like most everyone, you don’t get off work until 5, you
can withdraw cash at a conbini but will be charged an extra fee, naturally.
Apparently the reason the ATMs close so early is because banks and the post
office close at this time and it’s too risky not to have a staff member around
a working ATM. Understandable, but more of an inconvenience. How does anyone withdraw cash?!
They must withdraw a huge wad of money they’ll need from the week over the weekend, or else if
they’re married send their wife to do it for them. If not…you’re stuck paying the
withdrawal fee at conbini.
4. It’s extremely difficult to get hired for a
real job after 25 – but before then you can get hired without any experience and
regardless of major. Thus, GPA doesn’t
matter much to students in college. On a related note, high school isn’t free,
as it’s not part of the 9 years of required schooling in Japan.
5. When taking your temperature, stick the
thermometer under the armpit and not under the tongue.
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| You don't want to know where these have been... |
This is a very important difference to know should you
require any medical attention here. The first time I had to do this I was
completely flustered – under the armpit? Ew, gross! I suppose under the tongue
isn’t much more sanitary, but for Americans surely we think armpits are far
more disgusting than tongues. Another difference I learned while at the doctor’s in
Japan:
6. Instead of the standard A-Z, in Japan an eye
check chart is made up of Cs and you’re supposed to say which way it’s facing –
up, down, right, left.
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| Japanese eye chart. What do you C? |
Who knew? I
guess C is the easiest for Japanese to identify of the Roman alphabet, and easier
than using hiragana or kanji. Is this trickier or easier than using A-Z? Hmm...
7. Good luck finding a garbage can!
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| If you live in Japan, you're familiar with this stressful scenario. |
If you accumulate any trash while out and about, you pretty much have to carry it around all day until you get home, the station being the only place you’re guaranteed to find a garbage can. This is apparently due to the fact
that there was a terrorist scare some years ago when someone put a bomb in a
trash can. Thus, eliminating all garbage cans will eliminate terrorism, right?
If only. Next time you find yourself annoyed at not being able to find a
garbage can, thank the terrorists.
8. Shop keepers always put a smaller sticker
to seal the bag.
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| Exhibit A. |
I suppose this is
to prevent things from falling out of the bag, but really I just find it plain
annoying! I hardly ever shop at only one store, and end up with more bags and wanting to
consolidate them into one, when - Drat, that stupid sticker is in the way! Or you just
want to drop one or two small items in, say a water bottle
and sunglasses for easy access. There’s that sticker getting in the way again! This is one
practice I could live without. Similarly, at the supermarket there are always
rolls of tape to seal your bags upon checking out. Now I have to ferry my food
back home on my bike, so I do take advantage of the tape in this situation,
cause it would really suck if I hit a bump and my eggs go flying out, right?
But I just wonder…
Who started this annoying trend?!
9. Close the toilet seat after use, and the bathroom
door as well.
Small details you wouldn’t necessary think about, but it’s
definitely done differently around here! As I live alone, I never close the toilet seat, or the
bathroom door. Yet every time I go into the stall, the previous person put the
seat down. As for the bathroom door, that makes it extremely difficult to know
if it’s closed because someone is in there, or not?! The suspense.
10. People actually bother cleaning outside –
and by outside I mean washing public stairs, or sweeping the dirt.
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| Cinderella would have her work cut out for her in Japan, where they clean the outside as well as the inside. |
Yes, literally sweeping dirt. I see it all the time during
cleaning time at school, people outside sweeping the playground/field – I have yet to see a playground made of grass. I can’t quite
grasp the point of this. And who would ever think of washing outside stairs?! Only
the Japanese.
11. During teeth cleanings the actual dentist does the real work and the assistant just hands him stuff. In America it's the reverse - the only time you interface with the real dentist is at the end when he pops his head in to check the assistant's work. I was pretty surprised the first time I got my teeth cleaned here.
12. Japan has a surprisingly high number of
left handed people compared to America.
This could be related to everything being left oriented
here such as driving on the left side, standing on the left side of the
escalator, etc. In America you find maybe 1 lefty in a class, but here in Japan there are several left-handed kids in a single class.
Did you expect
these? I bet not! Now you know – Japan is even more of a mystery than you
thought!