In Japan…

In Japan…

…the elevators will close on you even if you have your whole body in the doorway!
Likewise, the bullet train doors may close on you, if the bullet-train-staff doesn’t push you inside the train first.

…it is Halloween everyday. Just kidding, but there are so many professions that take their uniforms very seriously. Think, taxi driver in full bellman-like suit and white gloves. Firemen outfits that must weigh 50 pounds with all their gadgets and pockets. Garbage women in the train station with pink tops, white pants, pink hats, carrying pink garbage bags.

…you will receive a coffee “to-go” with a sticker placed over the mouth hole and the cup put inside of a bag with another sticker to seal it. The Japanese do not eat on the go. Nor do they walk and smoke. Nor are there any garbage cans, because if you’re not eating while you walk, then you won’t be creating trash.

Consequently, the streets are very clean. I am not clear on the laws for littering, but I am sure that it’s not illegal to walk and eat. However, the Japanese seem to feel a responsibility over space. They use the city streets so they keep them clean. Highways, where trash is more hidden from the pedestrian, are filled with litter. If there is responsibility over space, it’s immaculate. If there’s questionable responsibility, it’s not always clean. Beaches are not clean at all. Hotel beaches are very clean.

…macaroni and cheese (which was part of the Japanese section of the breakfast buffet) is delicious.

…there are many Italian and Chinese restaurants but “almost no genuine Italian or Chinese food. Ingredients are altered and watered down, and there is even a brand of olive oil which bears the label ‘specially reconstituted for Japanese taste.’” (from airplane magazine)

…hot dogs, french fries, and even takoyaki come out of vending machines. Still, they don’t eat on the go.

…there are buttons all over the toilet, which when pressed may shoot water up in an unknown direction, and most toilet seats heat up. Also, there is a heating system in most hotel bathroom mirrors that stops them from fogging up when you shower.

…there is even emphasis on Japanese syllables. For instance, Hiroshima should not be said with an emphasis on the –ro, nor on the –shi.

…a Japanese woman said I look Indian. Well, my last trip was to India. Maybe on my next trip I will look Japanese.

…“do as the Japanese do.”