Some curious facts about Japan

Japan, land of the rising sun. In this incredible country, we spent 1 month and sometimes we were really surprised how the world runs over there. We have summarized a few interesting facts. Some things are probably new for you too.

Fact #1

The first thing we noticed at the airport was the Japanese toilets. In Japan, the hygiene aspect is very high, therefore you can always find clean toilets.

The toilets are not only clean, but they also make you “clean”. Most toilet seats have a bidet with various functions and integrated seat heating, which can be controlled via an operating system. Often you will also find a sink above the water cistern.

These systems are Eco-friendly and the water used to wash your hands will be used in the next rinse. These toilets are “Western-style” toilets. There are also the “Japanese style” WCs, which have only a hole in the floor, but they are still clean and always with the instruction to throw the toilet paper in the toilet and not in the bin.

In addition, there is often a “rinse-sound” button, which should provide more privacy. When leaving public toilets, space remains environmental friendly: there is always only cold water for washing your hands, sometimes soap, but never dry towels, from time to time you will find a hand dryer.

Fact #2

Japan, land of technology and progress ?! Not, when it comes to payments. In Japan, mostly everything is paid in cash,  often there is not even the option to pay by credit card. So while in Japan, make sure you always have enough cash and change with you, as in some buses, for example, drivers can not change. But finding an ATM is not difficult. Most convenience stores (Seven Eleven or Lawson) have an ATM. Moreover, Japan is very safe, so with a lot of cash in your purse, it is not very dangerous. But please do not lose the purse.

Fact #3

The third fact remains technical. The train system in Japan is enormous. You can reach everything by train and Japanese trains are hardly late. Japan has the fastest and most modern trains, so-called Bullettrains, but these are not cheap. As a foreign visitor, you can buy a Rail Pass,  which you can use to get cheap train rides. But you should first calculate whether it is worth doing so. In our case it would have been more expensive. We often took buses that took a long time but were a lot cheaper. Bus connections can be found, for example, at japanbuslines.com, hyperdia.com, willerexpress.com, kosokubus.com (under the last page we always found our connections).

Within the cities, we have always been traveling with Metro or JR Line. The train system deserves its own article and we have summarized everything for you. You can find the link here.

Fact #4

Japanese are incredibly polite people. So many times people asked to assist or to help us when we were in need. Many Japanese speak English, but even if they do not, they have done everything they could to help or to guide us. Right on our first evening we were invited by strangers to eat with them (here you can find the article about it) and we only have met nice people. We also learned that hardly any critic is expressed in Japan.

Japanese also know how to line up. Very often you can see long queues in front of restaurants or cafes. This does not necessarily mean there is something special going on, it can be that the restaurant is just full. But the Japanese line up without complaining and they will wait patiently for their call.

Fact #5

“Everything is cute in Japan”. No matter where you look, you will be bombarded by bears, kitties or other “cute” creatures. Advertising, clothing, handbags, mobile phone cases, warnings, food, packaging and much more can be found in bright colors or with some imprints. We even saw a Hello Kitty fire extinguisher.

Fact #6

A special feature in Japanese houses is the tatami. It is a mat made of rice straw, usually used in the sleeping area or in the dining room. These traditional rooms are called Washitsu. I personally like this style very much. It is important to never walk with shoes on a tatami floor because it is very sensitive. Generally, it is very inappropriate to enter a house with shoes and this also applies to some restaurants. When you sleep on these tatami floors, a kind of mattress is rolled out, the so-called futons (the Japanese word for blanket) to provide a comfortable bed. At first we were skeptical, but we slept very well in the hostels with tatami beds and also at our host’s place during our Workaway project where we found the same setup.

Fact #7

This curiosity is about a very serious topic. Japan is hit by more than 400 earthquakes every year. You can find many escape routes leading to a safe zone. Just in the month when we were in Japan, there were 35 earthquakes. We did have the feeling that the earth would shake, but we were never really sure.

Fakt #8

In some areas, especially in the countryside, you can find bottles of water in the corners of many houses, garden entrances or around plants. At first, we thought that maybe the water was being delivered here or is provided for dogs, but after some research we realized we were wrong. These bottles serve as a deterrent to animals. Especially against cats or dogs, the light reflection of the water shall fear them away in order to not urinate on the plants or house walls.

Fact #9

The last fact is probably the oddest thing. Our host Rio told us during our Workaway project that Christmas is usually celebrated with the girlfriend or boyfriend. There is no big party and gifts are rarely being given, not even to kids. The food served for Christmas comes from KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). Yes, you read it right, it’s so typical that you even have to make reservations at the fast-food chain to get your fried chicken on Christmas Eve.

Do you want to see some pictures from our journey in Japan? Click here.