Fast Facts About Japan

I've been hanging out in Korea for the past day.  Now that my time in Japan is over, I decided it would be fun to make a blog post with some random things I learned about Japan.  As I see more of Korea, I will try to compare the differences between these two countries.

Fast Facts About Japan

1) The people are extremely friendly, humble, hard-working and honest.  I've never met such a great culture of people before in my life.  You can literally walk up to any person on the street and ask for help.  They may not speak much English, but they will do their best.  Sometimes people will even approach you and offer help randomly.  Not one person ever denied my request for a picture.  (Make sure you learn how to say "Shasin wo totte murae musaka?" = "Will you take my picture?")  Theft is also unheard of in Japan, simply due to the honest nature of these people.

2) Almost nobody speaks English, but everyone knows at least a few words.  Do yourself a favor and PURCHASE A PHRASE BOOK.

3) There are no garbage cans in Japan.  Inexplicably, the streets of Japan are spotless...almost like they are hand scrubbed every morning.  You will not see litter anywhere.  Yet...there are no garbage cans.  If you have trash, you will probably end up carrying it back to your hotel room.  (There are lots of recycling bins for bottles, however)

4) They use a lot of coin money.  Everything under 1000 yen ($10) is in coin form.  As you spend money, you will begin to accumulate a LOT of coins.  If you don't make a specific effort to spend the coins, they will continue to pile up.

5) Public transportation is simply amazing in Japan.  It's clean, modern, and always runs on time - down to the minute.  It puts the Chicago CTA to shame.  You can get basically anywhere by using the train or bus system.  Once you use it a few times, you get the hang of it pretty quickly.

6) The food is delicious and varied - you will not go hungry.  In spite of the miles of walking I did each day, I found myself not losing any weight.  Sigh...

7) Japanese TV makes no sense.  That is all.

8) Ichiro Suzuki (just "Ichiro" in Japan) is a national treasure.  If you don't know who he is, he's a Japanese-born NY Yankees baseball player.  His face can be seen on TV and local advertisements everywhere.

9) The Japanese LOVE all things America.  If someone is wearing a baseball cap, there's a good chance it's an American MLB team.  People can be seen wearing shirts with English words on them...and sometimes the words don't make any sense, but it's still "cool" to them.  This is similar to Americans who get Chinese letter tattoos and don't even know what they mean.  The Japanese love American fashion brands, American fast food chains, American baseball...heck, they just seem to love America.

10) There aren't any non-Asian people in Japan.  Well there are...but very few.  Be prepared for people to stare at you in disbelief as you walk down the street.  Even I found myself doing the same thing when I saw a white or black person in public.  Also, be prepared for groups of Japanese school kids to yell "Hello! How are you?" any time they spot you on the street.  They never miss an opportunity to practice their English skills.