Rocketnews has a list of 21 things they think foreigners miss after leaving Japan, presumably after having lived here for awhile.
An interesting list. Many of these are superfluous, like the kotatsu (nice as they are) and the automatic bathtubs (which, again, are pretty nice things to have), and though I would miss them, I also wouldn't waste a lot of time being sad about it. Besides, a kotatsu would be unnecessary with the warm, centrally heated houses of America, and things like automatic bathtubs and heated toilet seats are available in the States, just not as common (or cheap) as in Japan.
A few do jump out, though. The first one:
A set, non-weird, phrase for thanking your colleagues for their hard work
I would really miss. It sounds silly, but there really is a pleasant feeling from hearing everyone shout otsukaresamadeshita at you at the end of the day when you leave and saying it back to others.
The third:
No tipping, but getting first-class service anyway
Everyone knows the tipping culture is screwed up in America, where we are pressured into tipping 15% even for shitty service and told that we have to tip more for good service, and now everyone, even people with good paying jobs, expect a tip. It's bananas. Not so in Japan.
14:
Everyone making a big deal of the seasons
Big deal not only involves talking about the seasons, but celebrating them with festivals, drinking parties, and other events.
16:
Toilets and bathrooms being in separate rooms
Come to think of it, why do we put the toilet inside the bathroom in the States? Not only is it inconvenient for anyone who has to go while you are locked in taking a shower, but the toilet is dirty and the bathroom is clean.
20:
Shoes off in the house
A thousand times yes! Shoes are gross, tracking in and out of all manner of things outside. Do you really want to bring that stuff into the house? Yuck. Even since moving to Japan every time I visit home I have been trying to get my family, my friends, and random people I meet at the supermarket to stop wearing their shoes inside the house.
Anyway, head to the link to read all 21 things in more detail.
Link Blog
Back when I had my own website, I used to post a few random links everyday or every few days, in the style of http://kottke.org or http://daringfireball.net. Readers seemed to enjoy seeing them.
To signify a link post, I'll put an arrow (→) at the beginning of the title to show you guys it is a link post and that you can skip it if such things don't interest you.
| David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. More? |
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