I was surprised upon arrival to see that the driving side of the road is the same as that in the UK - on the left. I said to Bill that I didn't recall that Japan was ever in the Commonwealth and wondered how driving on the same side came about. In a timely manner, there was an article in yesterday's Japan Times about just that - why Japan was never a part of the Commonwealth. The short of it is that the British recognized that the Japanese were more literate than they - 50% versus 40% - and that attempting to take over the country would probably be a futile effort. Interesting, I thought.
Personal hygiene is incredibly important. It's very common to see people wear a mask over their nose and mouth. It's not for protection from the environment, but to protect other people from their own germs, having a cold or other illness. So, in essence, the outer effluences from the body are taboo - passing on germs, sneezing, coughing, other noises (you know what I mean). But inwardly bodily functions such as sniffling, slurping, are acceptable. At restaurants, we're offered a warm wet cloth to clean our hands with, but no napkins are offered. That's hard for me. I think it's proper to keep the wet cloth to use at the end of the meal again since they don't pick them up from the table. But nothing for my lap!! Paper towels in a restroom are missing too. I understand that most Japanese use a personal hanky they carry to dry their hands. There are immaculate toilets in all subway stations that also include a tush wash in addition to a bidet - just like in our hotel (and Bill's office) bathroom. I'm going to get used to this stuff pretty quickly and want to install it on our toilets when we return home - including the warm toilet seat!
Philip warned us never to stand chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice because that would be related to certain rituals for the dead such as an altar offering of a bowl of uncooked rice with upright positioned chopsticks. There are many graveyards throughout Tokyo; from a highrise it's easy to spot them. Each grave seems to have many tall, flat sticks standing in front, maybe as a way of identification or another ritual. I'll have to look into that a bit to understand why they're there.
When Bill and Philip and I were on the subway the first day, I asked Philip if it was a requirement that everyone sleep! Almost to a person, even standing, people had their eyes shut. Some were obviously sleeping. We just quietly chuckled to ourselves, but I read later that because personal space is smaller than in the West, on crowded trains people create a psychological bubble around themselves by closing their eyes and/or taking a nap. We may not be the same people when we return to the States having to be so polite and reserved for so long!
Everyone, whether a service person, someone on the street, no matter the situation, is incredibly polite. It's almost impossible not to bow slightly in almost every personal interaction. It's just a reflexive reaction to one that is received.
It was disheartening to find that women are treated, for lack of a better term, as second-class citizens. It's not overt, but as an example a waiter directed his ordering preference first to Bill and then to me. I'll have to be careful not to be impolite about things such as this, but I do need to remember that I'm in their country - not mine! I understand that in business within a totally Japanese culture, that even if a woman has a higher ranking position, at meetings she sits in a chair behind the men at a meeting table. Visiting women executives from other countries are treated as "male" guests and offered seats at the table.
I find it really difficult not to tip, but at the same time pretty cool. No one has their hand out for something extra, so it's especially nice to see how polite people are NOT expecting something for their services. I was chastised by a cab driver because I opened my own door. This particular driver, as do many, had a release at his controls to spring the door open, so he didn't want me to touch the door handle. Other drivers, as we also had, wear white gloves and come around and open the door from the outside to let us out. And, NO tip is expected. In fact, I guess it's an affront to attempt to tip. I don't think we'll have a problem not tipping!!
Bill went off to work this morning looking rather dapper in his suit and tie. How I miss the days when he went off every day at home looking so nice. Do I think our society has become slovenly-behaved because we "dress down" now as well? Yes, I think that's part of the problem, for sure.
I hope I don't wake up tonight with things I want to "record" on my blog. It's fun, though, so I'll keep it up.
