→ 21 Little Things That People Miss After Leaving Japan
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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Tipping in America. Yes, so annoying. I haven't caved under that societal pressure, so maybe some people think I'm a jerk but I only give a decent tip if it was earned. I suppose I still cave to the pressure to give a little bit of a tip even if service was lackluster, but I have done no tip on a few occasions.
The toilet thing totally makes sense! Why isn't this the standard bathroom layout plan in America too?!
But the shoes. People really wear their shoes in their house? What's wrong with them? Why would you do that?! We've always had a no shoe house and it seems the same amongst or friends whom we visit. I either just associate with the right people or don't get around to enough other houses. Well I'm fine with it. Shoes are for outside... they're filthy. You know what happens out on that world we walk on? Yuck!
Haha you and me both, @aksounder. When I was living in the States, I was infamous for only tipping if I actually was given good service. I never thought that was so shocking, and honestly, most restaurant service is usually pretty good, so I usually tipped, but... I occasionally didn't. But anyway, I really hope this changes someday. I have read that some places in NYC are actually paying their servers decent wages and telling customers not to tip, so maybe change is in the air.
Re: the toilet. I know, right?? If I am ever in the position to build a house from scratch in the States, I am totally telling the architect to separate the toilet and bathroom.
The shoes thing def seems to be changing. When I was a kid, everyone wore their shoes inside. It was gross. Nowadays, many people are making the decision to not allow shoes inside, and certain parts of the States seem to have had that no shoe rule for a few generations now. Wish my folks were among them.... I guess I can somewhat accept shoes on tile floors, but no no no no on carpet. Arrrgghh.
We have so many social habits to change in America!
Haha, I'd go out for a meal with you anytime and you're welcome to come to my house after. A place in Talkeetna, Alaska has gone to being a no tip establishment. They've got signs all over declaring it. New York and Alaska... perhaps the paradigm shift has begun?
Kind of cheating to have three variations of "food," but yes, this is a big one. I miss zarusoba, tsukemen, okaka onigiri, mugicha, a big bowl of shoyuu ramen with gyoza and fried rice…
Even more than the food, though, I miss having every-day opportunities to practice the language.
Now you are making me hungry!
Yes, being able to speak and hear the language everyday is nice too, agreed.