Hannah's Commercial

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Uniquely Japanese

I have really wanted to add these things with pictures, but I will just have to blog now and add pictures later. There are some really unique things about living in Japan. First of all, something that I noticed recently is that there is a huge trend for women to wear their shoes way too big. They get sizes so big that their entire foot comes out the front of their open-toed shoes leaving an inch or two in the back.

Another thing I have noticed, there are no old cars here. I inquired as to why that was and was told by my Japanese friend that the inspection process and road tax requirements are so stringent, that once a car is older than four years, because of the increasing price to keep it on the road, it is cheaper for people to just buy new ones. Crazy!

The Japanese are either really high tech or really low tech with their toilets. Sometimes you go in and the seat is heated, there is a bidet and there is either music or running water noises automatically to hide the sounds of your nature calling. Either that or there are what look like mens urinals laying flat on the ground. These are called squatters. These usually have no toilet paper so always carry that with you when you go out. Also very few bathrooms, especially in the city or in rural areas, have paper towels, so always carry a cloth towel with you. I bought several handkerchiefs from the dollar store and carry those with me.

I will be sure to write more as I notice things uniquely Japanese.

Christmas 08