Top 10 Things in Japan We Should Still Be Surprised At

10. Higher out from the cave

Instead of a cavemen technology of SMS (short message), smart Japanese people taught me not only to use e-mail message on cell-phones but also a special high-tech (there is no hint on something like this at home): take pic of a tiny black-n-white code on your cell-phone camera and in a second get a link on a map of a restaurant or a shop – clear wonders, don’t u think?! J

9. Warm solitude

Will never forget how my Russian friend literally jumped up and ran out from a little hotel bathroom with admiring exclamations like: “They even there take care of people?!”

8. Fashinister’s Joy

Wanna be “kirei” (beautiful) or “kawaii” (cute)? Add some stars, hearts, sprangles, flowers, smiles, dates, signs – anything you will have your imagination on for 3-5 minutes! With all their estrangement, Japanese people love to take pictures in purikura (from “Print Club”, the first trademark of instant photo booths in Japan) for memory of any eventJ

7. Dating Paradise

Sky building in Osaka, Tokyo tower, Kyoto Love Shrine (near Kiomizudera), Spa World, Sweet Paradise in Kyoto, neko/inu (cat/dog)-café, etc… Don’t forget to pull omikuji (fortune scroll = 200 yen), write ema (your wish to Shinto gods should be very concrete – with names, dates and your home address as wellJ), take a picture on the panoramic background and buy a medal with an inscription of your sweet date – who knows, may be the routine of the marriage won’t give you another romantic opportunity?^^

6. Hilarious Japanenglish

Read and enjoy;)

5. Protecting the likes of us

I don’t know how you, my American and European friends, feel about safety in Japan, but I’m so scared… of coming back to my far from being a perfect society to live in – Russia, for we don’t have either lady-only weekdays morning trains, or against maniac-propaganda. Besides, I’m not sure that I’m going to wear y ultra-short Japanese-like skirts at home…

4. On the guard of silence

On the streets after 22:00, in the train, in temples and shrines, even in toilets – there is a special button with a fake splash so that you won’t embarrass and destroy the silence of people around. The walls of the houses are cardboard-like, so if you need to give yourself up to passions and love – it’s thought of beforehand: lovehotel. No-no, you privacy will be protected for sure: you choose the picture of the room, push the button with the number, put money on the windowshelf and go aheadJ

3. Between Scilla and Haribda

Japanese people are often characterised as being too shy, reserved, indirect and dependent, so we, Westerners, are supposed to change our used way of communication. However, studying in Kansai Gaidai University under American teachers’ tutoring, I have understood that we, Eastern Europeans/ Russians, are quite in between Asian and Western extreme attitudes and styles of communication. For example, it was kind of wild for me how informal the relationships between a student and a teacher occurred to be in the American system of education, and how fastidious to their teacher and free to argue everything American students are.

I would never think that eating, drinking coffee in the classroom, being half-class period late, coming to school in pyjama, calling a teacher with an authoritative tone might be considered okay. Hmm, in this case – I am happy to be in between American and Japanese systems of respect towards seniors.

2. “Panda” syndrome

No, it’s not a cute Asian bear – it’s a special term for both – us, foreign short-term exchange students and them – Japanese gaijin-hunters (excluding really devoted friends), wo behaves as if they are best friends forever, but in a real situation – it’s all cultural assumptions (rules of the game, learnt by both sides of communication, Befu). Personally I’m very bad at reading people, so my understanding of who is “panda” who is not has gone some stages. In fall, I thought that I had never had soooo many good friends, in winter, when everybody happened to be too busy to pay me that much attention; I’ve realized that I could hardly count my real friends on one hand’s fingers. But further, I looked around and found a great amount of nice people, and except that - a just right number of real best friends – from all over the world, by the way.

1. Different flaw of time – how so?

Trains are always on time; Japanese people are always extremely busy, only me – however hardly I tried, I am never on time. And it’s not in my nature, no-no. Before coming to Japan, I used to be before an appointed time all the time. What has happened to time? Well, anyways for now, while I’m late in Japan – I have my personal justification: there are 5 more hours till our meeting according to the Russian FederationJ

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No doubts, there are thousands of things we should never get used to here, in magnificent, charming, moss-covered old and shining newly-built dear Japan. Keep encouraging yourself to find new tiny things to wonder and surprise every day – then our life will become richer of impressions, and our understanding of the world and each other will be smoother and lot of fun. Like I had for those 9 months in Japanese Paradise.