Won't Miss #397 - pregnancy badges

One of my students once told me about an experience she had while riding the train. She was sitting with several other people when a family of three, mother, father and child, boarded the train. The woman from this trio started loudly sniping about how no one was forfeiting their seat for her despite the fact that she was displaying a badge that indicated that she was pregnant. Like many

Read More

Won't Miss #396 - up the down and down the up

I've written before that context really matters in digesting experiences in Japan and I find it incredibly irksome when people break rules in Japan compared to back home. Part of the reason for this is the insistence by both Japanese and foreigners that the Japanese are so lawful and obedient. Another reason is that I get called on any tiny infraction of the rules, spoken or otherwise. I

Read More

Will Miss #388 - husband thanking

This is actually a thank you sign at a rikshaw ride, but it's the only picture I have with the words "thank you" on it in English.

There's a custom/habit in Japan which sometimes receives a little flak from more feminist-oriented types, and no small resistance from at least a handful of the foreign wives of Japanese men. This custom is one in which wives thank their husbands for going to the

Read More

Won't Miss #383 - okonomiyaki

In theory, I should love okonomiyaki. Well, I should love it as much as you can love a food that looks like someone hurled the contents of their dinner onto a grill. For a society so obsessed with the appearance of food, it's surprising that this "Japanese savory pancake" is so popular. Okonomiyaki is a food that is prepared "as you like it", so you can customize the composition.

Read More

Won't Miss #381 - reluctance to confront (the bad)

While not being confronted over niggling infractions like taking a photo in a no camera zone is a bonus when living in Japan, the fact that the Japanese are so reluctant to confront people who break rules can be inconvenient and troubling as well. In particular, when someone breaks a rule which affects others strongly and no one with authority calls them on it, it can be very irritating. One

Read More

Will Miss #380 - reluctance to confront (the good)

Click to see a legible version. 


One of the things you learn pretty quickly in Japan is that Japanese people are quite reluctant to confront people who break the rules (either willfully or unwittingly). If you enter a space which says "no photos", there's a pretty good chance that people won't tell you to put away your camera if they see you taking pictures. This applies not only to

Read More

Will Miss #361 - Japanese strikers and protesters

In Japan, the unions are exceptionally weak and tend to cooperate fully with most companies. Most of the time, the union reps get together and quietly talk about what the company is willing to do and just do it. They rarely push hard. When they do strike, it is an almost comically mild event in which a small group of people quietly parade down a street in a complete and orderly manner bearing

Read More

Won't Miss #361 - rudeness (qualified)

Shhh. Listen carefully. Do you hear that rustling that sounds like fabric rubbing over fabric? That's the sound of dozens of Japanophiles', apologists', and assorted foreigners' underpants wadding up at the title of this post. They won't even read it before dashing off indignant e-mail messages about how Japanese people are less rude than most Westerners (and especially most 'merkans). Those

Read More

Won't Miss #360 - bags that need a seat

On all public transport around the world, I'm sure there are people who plant their bags onto an adjoining seat until someone comes along and needs to occupy that space. I don't mind if people do this on a relatively empty train, not that there are many "relatively empty" trains in Tokyo most of the time. However, there are people who flop their bag onto the next seat and as the train fills up

Read More

Will Miss #307 - Tokyo Metro Yellow Manner Posters

There is a particular series of "manner" posters that are regularly issued on the subways. They are always the same color scheme and from the same artist. The style is peculiar, but memorable and the messages in English are sometimes strange and surreal. Most Japan bloggers have pictures of the various posters on their blogs as new ones are released, but an easier way to see them is to check out

Read More

Won't Miss #304 - Japanese doctors

In Japan, doctors are held in a somewhat exalted position. Japanese people tend to listen passively to them, not ask questions, and definitely do not challenge their assertions. Because of this, many doctors in Japan have some pretty bad bedside manners and can be tyrannical. My brother-in-law, who was perhaps 30 lbs. over an ideal weight at the time, walked into a doctors office and the

Read More

Won't Miss #284 - spouse denigrating

The Japanese are generally a modest lot, sometimes, far too modest. When speaking of their spouses, they feel almost obliged to never "boast" about his or her positive attributes and to talk up negative qualities. You're far more likely to hear a woman talk about her lazy, selfish, childish husband and a man talk about his fat, incompetent, messy wife than hear even the slightest complimentary

Read More

Won't Miss #282 - "the stare and swerve"

Somewhere in the cobwebbed areas of my deeper memory, I recall seeing a comedic scene in a movie or T.V. show where a person is riding a bike and is so distracted by an attractive women, that he doesn't look where he is going and crashes into something. Seems rather silly, eh? Well, there is a situation in Japan that happens to me which makes it seem much more plausible. When I'm riding my bike,

Read More

Won't Miss #279 - personal space differences

I didn't have a picture of someone invading a private part or orifice, but that kokeshi doll on the right looks annoyed at the proximity of the kokeshi doll on the left to her posterior, doesn't she?
The Japanese have very different ideas about personal space. They don't like to hug and feel very uncomfortable about it, but they have some habits which are far more invasive and offensive than hugs

Read More

Will Miss #278 - bowing

This covers three strong aspects of Japanese culture - bowing, cleaning up after others and saying "welcome". 
Do you know what's great about the way Japanese greet one another? You don't have to touch anybody. If that sounds squeamish to a paranoid extent, go back and read my post here. I've seen enough public peeing, nasal excavation, and women walking out of toilets without washing their hands

Read More

Won't Miss #272 - no express checkout

Back home, you find people complaining that someone is always trying to get into the "10 items or less" express checkout with more items than the maximum. In Japan, no one complains about this because there aren't any express checkout lanes at any of the places I have ever shopped at. Quite often, I'll be approaching the check-out clerk with one item in hand when someone a half step in front of

Read More

Won't Miss #267 - "clean your plate" manners

One of my students did a home stay in a mid-western state and made a simple Japanese-style meal for her host family. She said that she thought they didn't like it and felt bad because they didn't eat everything that she served them. Another one of my students visited a former boss and he served her a huge quantity of rather oily eel which was far more food than she could comfortably eat, but she

Read More

Won't Miss #257 - public urination

A sign in a paid parking lot asking people not to use it as a toilet
I realize men pee in the streets all around the world, especially when they are drunk and it's night-time, but I personally did not experience it that much growing up in America. I was very shocked to see that perfectly sober men in Tokyo urinate in well-traveled side streets and on other people's private property, even when

Read More

Won't Miss #244 - bike abuse

One of the things you'll find out rapidly in Japan if you ride a bicycle is that other people have no respect whatsoever for your bike. Besides filling your basket with their empty beverage cans, used tissues, and onigiri wrappers (something I dealt with on a daily basis when I parked at the station for work), they will also do whatever it takes to cram into what limited bike parking space is

Read More

Won't Miss #240 - frequently feeling defensive

If you walk up to a dog that has never seen you before and look it straight in the eyes while holding your hand above its head to pat it, there is a decent chance the dog will bite you. All animals find staring to be an act of aggression and challenge. It makes them angry. Humans, being animals, are no different. One of the consequences of being stared at all the time is that you become

Read More