#79 Japan: It's the small things

This is a list of interesting things that I noticed/happened to me in the four months while I was living in Tokyo. I gradually added to it while I was there, meant to do something with it, and forgot. I've just read through it, and just over a year later, I'd forgotten quite a few of them! So here you are: some of my unedited musings.

• I saw a weasel the other day climbing on a telephone wire

• I saw a granny on a moped

• I saw a man holding his daughters hand and walking her halfway to the school gate, then her walking backwards waving to him until she got to the front door.

• The cars don't stop for the green man they just keep going. . .

• First day as a teacher in Junior High School and I'm asked do I have a boyfriend

• I'm not saying they push you out of the way to get off the train. . but they kinda do

• The supermarket fish section. . .so much fish. . .lots of fish with heads on, lots of octopus and squid (both tentacles and the whole thing) lots of whole shrimp and prawns. . .not for the faint hearted (or the vegan)

• Book off has 100 yen manga books. 98% of these contain porno. One series had 35 books in all. Each book had sexual position diagrams halfway through.

• I've seen children aged 5 at most walking home from school alone

• They shout things at you both outside and inside the shop

• Some elementary schools had unicycles for the students

• Japanese girls love cats. It is a country that applauds crazy cat ladies

• Japanese dogs are awesome. No mongrel or labrador in sight. More like poodles (both toy and regular) chihuahuas, pomeranians, and akitas.

• Japanese insects make a lot of noise. It can be deafening outside at first.

• You will probably not get groped on a train. Or have your underwear stolen

• In summer, you will get really sweaty. You'll think "It's not even that hot today" and you will be sweating from your forehead, back of your neck, back, stomach etc. Basically everywhere

• Some dude came up to me on the street, told me he spoke English, said he was single and went in to kiss me

• I saw a guys head get caught in the doors of a train

• They all have their phones on the trains, a lot read too but they all have covers on their books so you don't know what they're reading

• The trains all play funky little tunes before the doors close, each station has a different tune

• The subway has barriers and gates up around it, presumably so you cant fall down. The trains don't have this

• They all wear masks to prevent spread of infection

• They don't tend to wear raincoats, instead they just use umbrellas

• They love crocs

• They pour water or something where their dogs pee on the street. And they pick up the poo!

• Businessmen eat really fast at lunch

• A high percentage of manga (comics) are just porn

• There is often very little discipline in Japanese junior high schools

• Cat cafes are a real thing

• I ate a fish (including the head) as part of school lunch the other day

• The Japanese aren't so good at simplifying - you either speak fluent Japanese or no Japanese.

• They're too polite - I went in a shop and I thought it closed at 9pm, but at 9.05pm the staff were still walking around greeting people so I assumed it was open longer - it wasn't - they were too polite to mention it was closing. Then at 9.10pm there's an awkward encounter when they try politely explain "it's a little late" or something along those lines

• Japan is great!

A very rare picture of me, in my apartment, in Japan