Unexpected Everyday Things That Are Done Surprisingly Different in Japan

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.

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.

Do not be THAT gaijin.

2. No debit cards – almost always pay with cash.

Plastic? Please.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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. 

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.

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!