One of our friends here in Japan posted this list and we thought you might enjoy reading about some of the interesting cultural differences. Thanks for sharing, Denise!
■911 in Japan is 119
■using a dryer here makes clothes MORE wrinkled
■gasoline is ~$6 a gallon
■milk only comes by the pint
■loaves of bread come in slices of 4 (thickest),5,6,8, and 10 (thin slices for sandwiches) and only white
■hot dogs are served at McDonald's as breakfast
■you can do everything from grocery shop to paying your utility bills to buying stamps and movie/concert tickets at the local convenience store
■kids only drink sodas on outings or special occasions
■teenagers put their cell phones in ziploc bags so they can text in the bath
■it costs $20 to see a movie
■getting a driver's license costs about $3,000
■girls give boys chocolates on Valentines Day. To recipricate, they created "White Day" in March so the girls would get a gift.
■to buy a car you have to show proof that you have a parking space...the police come to your house to verify and sign a form
■politicians don't campaign on tv, instead, they drive around neighborhoods or stand at train stations and blast a speech through LOUD speakers
■every store will ask if your purchase is a gift...they will carefully peel off the price tag(s) and gift wrap for free (and very meticulously!)
■you never see your-average-joe on tv game shows....it's always celebrities winning the money and prizes
■you can purchase a $1 item from a vending machine with a $100 bill
■you can get anywhere by train and can get by without a car
■it's cheaper to fly to New Zealand to play golf than it is to golf in Japan
■you always back into parking spaces
■there is no such thing as road rage
■no city street cleaners...people sweep up the area from their porch to the street every morning
■no janitors at schools....the students and teachers clean the entire school, even the toilets (thankfully this is not the case at our international school- I am very grateful for our cleaning staff!)
■people never eat or drink while walking
■you don't find trash cans on public streets
■carrying pocket tissue is a must since most public restrooms don't stock toilet paper and since there are no paper towels, everyone carries a small washcloth to dry their hands
■at some sushi places, if you bring in your own chopsticks you get $1 off your bill
■no tips (anywhere!) and no doggie bags at restaurants
■kids' birthday parties are not a big thing (birthdays are usually just family)
■it's not common and quite a hassle to return things (no such thing as gift receipts)
■Christmas dinner here is a whole roasted chicken (KFC takes pre-orders!) and a white cake (because apparently that's the American way)
■when you get a parking ticket, they don't just stick a paper ticket on your windshield that you can toss in your glove compartment....they stick a metal clip with the violation ticket attached to your front grill...tickets get paid quickly!!
Jeph and I enjoyed several amazing trips this past spring break. hopefully we'll get pics posted soon!
