Well, I've officially been in Japan for long enough for it to start feeling like home. Here are a few of the most interesting things I've noticed.
- Cleanliness. As I mentioned in my TRASH post, the city is super clean. When you go out to eat they give you moist towels to wipe your hands before eating. That said, lots of people still wear masks around on a daily basis, which kind of makes me feel like I'm living in the middle of an apocalyptic epidemic of some sort, and kind of freaks me out.
- Bundling. It was very hot for my first weekend here, and has still been pretty warm this last week. I was walking around sweating in a short sleeved dress, and yet most of the people I would see were wearing sweaters and light jackets. Everyone wears so many clothes! How are they not overheating?? Also, no one ever shows their shoulders (out of modesty, I would presume) and yet I have seen some very short skirts. And, of course, everyone always dresses super nicely.
- Sitting to Drink. In America, a coffee cup in hand is pretty much a constant accessory for anyone walking down the street ever. In Japan, however, I have seen a total of zero people walking around with drinks, either coffee cups or bottles of cold drinks. Which is weird, because there are vending machines everywhere that have both hot and cold drinks in them. If people are buying drinks at vending machines, WHERE ARE THEY DRINKING THEM? Also, I really like walking around with my drink (hot or cold) and it's sad that it's not a normal and acceptable thing to do here.
And lastly, my favorite:
- Pink Cars. Light pink is a normal color for cars here! It's adorable! Little old men drive pink cars! It's great! Every time I see a pink car when we're out and about I point it out to Tyler. I might have to get a pink car when I get back to the US, except everyone will think I work for Mary Kay. The cars here are also very adorable. They're pretty much all small and square and super cute. And pink. Did I mention that lots of cars here are pink?!
I think maybe - in regards to your observation of zero people walking around with drinks in japan where vending machines are all over the place, is perhaps down to etiquette. In japan it is not etiquette to walk around drinking or eating. Have you noticed any recycling bins next to the vending machines? I think people are encouaged to have their drink dispose of the bottle and then walk away, it could be worth looking our for this :)
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