Weird Japan

We have traveled around the world and there is no place more bizarre than Japan. While we’re sure not everything in our society makes sense, Japan has some of the oddest, and usually humorous, ways of life.


- ATMs are not 24hours (except at 7-11)

- Almost every restaurant has plastic food outside as a menu display (some even look real)


- Gas pumps hang upside down



- “Osaka Bang”

Special only to Osaka, this activity occurs when someone pretends to shot or stab you, and you, “the victim,” play along and pretend to die. Everyone there knows about it and plays along in Osaka. Skeptical, a couple people from Tokyo filmed their “Osaka Bang” experience and their outcomes will leave you in tears. I only believed it was real when my sister went to Osaka and tried it herself.


- Manners:

It is socially acceptable to pick your nose in public but it is not ok to blow your nose in public.

It is frowned upon to walk while eating and drinking.

In the Japanese language, it is considered rude to say the word "no" directly.

Gas station attendants bow as a car leaves the station and train conductors bow after they enter and before they leave the car.


- Toilets:

Japanese toilets are the true kings of the commodes with their heated seats, pulsing bidets, and rump driers. Some are even operated with a remote control while others have a spiget over the lid so one can wash their hands and conserve water.

Another bathroom oddity is the Sound Princess. Many Japanese women are uncomfortable with bodily noises in public bathrooms and in an attempt to cover up they flush the toilet continually. This water flushing noise machine has since been installed in many female public restrooms and it is estimated that it saves 20 L of water per use.

While the Sound Princess may have caught on the female urinal never did. Some where added in the train stations during the 1964 Olympics to accommodate foreigners.



- Vending machines:

There are vending machines on every corner in Japan and they sell more than just your average soft drinks.

- Engrish/Lost in Translation:




- Funny signs:

Japan Photo Album

Click here to view our Japan Photo Album

Tune in Tokyo!

Tokyo is the world’s largest metropolitan economy and you don’t have to wander very far to understand why. Business suits congest the subways, electronic shops pulse along the street, and glamorous shopping malls are plentiful. But there is so much more to the buzzing city that makes it the heart of this bizarre, larger than life, country.

Starting at about 3 am the chaos that is the Tsukiji Fish Market begins as seafood shipments are sorted and unloaded. It’s the world’s biggest wholesale fish and seafood market and handles over 400 types of seafood, from dried sardines to frozen 600 lb tuna. While the famous tuna auction was off limits to visitors the hustle of the venue was still impressive. After dodging motor carts and navigating the covered stalls we enjoy a fresh sushi breakfast at Daiwa. A pretty inconspicuous place, other than the mass of people queuing for an hour outside the door, has some of the best sushi for the cost.

We discovered that Japan had erected a Godzilla statue in ’95 after the mighty reptile was slain in the movie, Godzilla vs. Destroyer. So after our fishy breakfast we went on a search to find the 3 foot tall monster.

Thoroughly amused we made our way back for our karaoke debut. Beer was drunk and black mail videos were taken, however your delicate ears will not be harmed. We didn’t know what to think of 2 person karaoke, as most joints are set up in personal booths, but we had a blast belting out the hits.

Shopping was inevitable, so we headed to Shibuya where we could witness one of the busiest cross walks in Tokyo. We found some entertaining items while shopping, including Hello Kitty water, a random Darth Vader, and $ 170 chopsticks! But our spree was cut short when it started to pour and at that point we decided short people shouldn’t be allowed to use umbrellas.

Tokyo has taken themed businesses to new levels. My sister first told us about Maid cafes where the waitresses wear, well, maid costumes. Decided this truly Japanese dining experience shouldn’t be missed we checked one out. Exiting the Akihabara station we found the maids along the street handing out fliers to their restaurants. We were greeted by the “welcome home master” in Japanese and cheesy mansion decorations with classical music and anime playing in the background. The maids put a magical spell on the food forcing you to sing along (in Japanese) and if you order the omelet they draw things in ketchup over it.

Another night we ate at Alcatraz E.R., a medical prison themed restaurant. Truly an unique experience. The wait staff are dressed as doctors and nurses that escort you in handcuffs, your table is in a prison cell which you have to bang on when you want service, and the food and drinks are served in very interesting ways.

Along with the restaurants, hotels too have turned to themes. “Love hotels” have since become popular as housing is expensive for the younger crowd and paper doors don’t quite cut it. While some of the stranger themes like Hello Kitty are being replaced with gaudy Venetian decor and neon lights they are still easy to spot along the back alleys.

Takayama

Another scenic journey takes us to the town of Takayama, where we curse the drizzle that’s seems to have been falling since we left Osaka.

Still we walk the old village streets admiring the traditional architecture, sampling things on sticks, and perusing the plentiful shops.

But we grow tired of the rain and dreary scenery (which surely would be lovely in the summer) and found a sake brewery which had been around for 170 years. “Sake” is actually a general term for alcohol in Japanese, the appropriate term for the rice alcohol is Nihonshu. Apparently warn out from cheap western tourist you had to pay for the sampling, however, the helpings were hearty and we were soon in a lighter mood.

After purchasing a bottle for later we scouted out all the bizarre wood cut outs displayed around the city. While I was a menacing dwarf wizard Jason was an enlightened albino Buddha. The Japanese do love their cut outs.

Takayama is known for their Hida beef, while the fancy stuff was a bit out of our budget, we did have an amazing beef curry at the Jakson Restaurant. Red faceless dolls called Sarubobo are also quite present throughout the city. Supposedly shaped like a young monkey they are given to children by their mothers for a happy marriage in the future.

Our last day we decided to check out the Hida Folk Village. The village is actually an open air museum displaying mountainous farm homes from the area. Deciding to skip the hour wait for the bus we started walking in hopes that the signs would lead us the way. Only a 30 minute walked turned into 2 hours as we passed the sign “Hida No Sato” and got wrong directions along the way but we eventually made it to the folk village.

Kanazawa

The train ride from Kyoto to Kanazawa was very scenic taking us through the Japanese Alps. Kanazawa encompasses Japanese history beyond shrines and temples offering the best preserved Edo-period type buildings in the country. Kanazawa has geisha, samurai, as well as other types of districts all centrally located to one another as well as one of Japan’s Top 3 Gardens.

On arrival we discovered the coolest clock ever; the time and messages were displayed using small water fountains.

We finally make it to our charming guest house that was used as a kimono shop 100 years ago. Once settled we headed out to Higashi-Chayamachi (the geisha district), but we knew one rarely sees an actual geisha. The traditional teahouses around the area were beautiful to see with their sliding paper doors and bamboo covered windows.

The Kenroku-en Gardens, while not in full bloom were pleasant to walk around. The garden is known as the Garden of Six Attributes, which comes from the ancient Chinese books on gardens. The attributes are described in pairs as spaciousness & seclusion, artifice & antiquity, water-courses & panoramas.

The Kotoji stone latern has two legs resembling the Kotoji bridge, “the bridge on a koto” (not really sure what a koto is…). However, the scene around the lantern is one of the highlights around the entire garden.

Japanese gardens are interesting as most of the trees are supported by polls to form the tree in an aesthetic away. It seems counterintuitive to think the rods are helping the image of the tree rather than distracting from it.

We had to sprint through the Kanazawa Castle gardens before our train, but it was worth the effort to view the castle surrounds.