Chapter 14 - Japan's Quirks

I can think of no other country on this majestic Earth of ours that I would have been willing to travel around for four weeks to attend the Rugby World Cup.

View from my Asakusa hotel room of the Tokyo Sky Tower - my last night in Japan.

New Zealand could have been in the top spot if I hadn't spent four weeks there almost two years ago.

It makes me think back to 2011, when the Rugby World Cup was held in New Zealand. I remember watching matches early in the morning at home, following a night shift. I hoped I would have the chance then to attend a RWC, but thanks to a plan made with Paul sometime during the 2015 RWC held in England, I had the means, the motive, the opportunity to try to make this trip happen.

Rugby World Cup Richmond Fanzone 2015
When we were younger!

Japan is an awesome country made so great by its people. One of the most heartwarming things I experience here is when I use my very limited Japanese phrases to begin communications, and the person replies back in full on Japanese, and instead of getting frustrated with each other, we still somehow manage to communicate! I have had many conversations with strangers about my time in Japan just by going through my photo album on my phone. I can even explain how I build offshore windfarms, travel to Singapore, and discuss Japan's nuclear power concerns - all without actually speaking Japanese! When I am wearing my England or RWC clothes, it opens up so much interest and chat from the friendly strangers.

They said the Japanese are very helpful and friendly to strangers, and it's true. I found myself catching this phenomenon and would find myself approaching lost looking Westerners to see if I could help them (something I avoid with a vengeance amongst tourists in London, likely because you don't know if they are a genuine tourist or a scammer trying to steal my purse).

I felt really safe in Japan, something I am used to in Singapore but know I shouldn't take for granted whilst there. It was so nice to relax and not feel like everyone and everything was out to get me and do me harm, which is how I feel when I am in London. All the bleeding time. It really wears me down and keeps me indoors at home as often as I can be. Most weekends, I don't even like to go out to put my rubbish in the bin outside my house in case some creep is lurking!

In Japan, I found it clean and calming. What may have been lacking by the high cost of things, was made up by how I felt the high price came with a high value. Accommodation was clean and safe. Food tasted good and fresh. And, even the bleeding highways were mostly smooth and efficient (tunnels thru mountains), making the toll fares worthwhile.

I did notice that there is a lot of smoking and drinking, with alcohol so cheap to buy in convenience stores. I am sure cigarettes work out cheap too. I observed a lot of polite binge drinking and drunks on the street, with some just blatantly spending the night on the street after a heavy session. In the UK, their shoes (let along their valuables) would be nicked!

Monday morning, 8am, Shinjuku, Tokyo. 

He is lying above the steps to the metro, still dressed nicely in his fancy shoes and shirt!

And, speeding on the highway was quite a common occurrence but I can hardly talk about that. And their other vice? Gambling! There are many venues with gambling machines, with a slot game called Pachinko the nose popular. They also encourage the gambling early by these lucky dip toy dispensers, where kids collect toys at random. These dispensers are everywhere.

Kids' gambling machines - lucky dip toy dispensers

So between all that and the easily available prostitution, it is actually quite a marvel that Japan is this super functioning and super healthy affluent country. I believe, much like in Singapore, there could be more than meets the eye behind the scenes. We just don't see the statistics on how many people die of lung and liver disease in Japan. Maybe they bury the truth and when I am not looking, the drunk, smoking, gambling, whoring Japanese descend into impolite behaviour, urinating on the streets, act ludicrous and start fights - you know, like Brits (at home and abroad).

I was constantly surprised by how many international brands and companies there are Japanese. Yakult surprised me and it seems like all the car brands of the world come from Japan.

Would I return to Japan? You bet.
Is it likely I will remember any of the tiny amount of Japanese I have learnt? Doubt it.
Will England win the Rugby World Cup here in Japan? They stand a good chance.

These are some quirky things I saw in Japan:

I liked the women only train carriages and floors in capsule hotels / hostels.

It does beg the question - what do gender-neutral people do?!

I could have dedicated a whole chapter to Japanese toilets!

Heated seats (not to be confused with 'warm' seats), lots of water washing / bidets, pressure adjustments, deodorizers, ability to play sound to drown out toilet noises. One could spend quite some time in the toilet cubicle in Japan - and also may need a phd to understand how they work!

Some fun signs!

Ladies in kimonos out to take the best of the best Instagram photos was a common site!

They weren't dressed up to go to a shrine, they dress up for photos. Made things quite colourful!

Plastic food to display what the restaurant serves or what's in the box (like at the airport) was a common sight. So realistic!

Cute safety barrier!

And hello! How have I not come across Triangular Glue before? Of course it makes sense, it means the edges of paper can be neatly glued down compared to the round glue sticks.

A lot of restaurant and food kiosks have a pre purchase vending machine that is used to first purchase the item you want (like a bowl of ramen), pay for it, then you take the ticket to the counter for the food to be prepared. It means food handlers do not need to handle money too. Very efficient.

I think I used a vending machine more times in four weeks than my entire life before then!