10 reasons why Japan is kick ass

1. You never have to buy tissues. If you are out and about you will see people handing out tissue packets with advertisements printed on them. These are not only a great way to save on tissues, but you can find out about good Karaoke places, hair salons, etc.

2. They hang dry their laundry. Without fail, outside on every balcony of every house/apartment complex etc you will see laundry drying. Some Japanese people will even do laundry once a day. This hang drying means no static, less energy used, and you wont end up with a shrunken shirt.

3. Vending machines. You could be in the most remote countryside, walking along a deserted road with no street lights, and you will undoubtedly come upon a vending machine (which will most likely be in front of a convenience store no less). Most vending machines have canned coffee (hot and cold), sports drinks, tea(also hot or cold) and sometimes coke. There are also tales of more wackey ones, for examples sushi vending machines, flower vending machines, even used panty vending machines (although you most likely only encounter the drink kind).

4. Suica cards. A Suica card is like a metro card, except you not only have full access to the JR and metro lines, but the money you put on your card can be used at any store or vending machine inside the station. All you have to do is touch your card to the sensor and it automatically deducts the amount.

5. No tipping. In Japan, there is a saying: 『お客様は神様』 directly meaning "The customer is God." Good service is always a must and is expected. It would seem ridiculous to a Japanese person to think about have to pay extra to be treated with respect when they go to a restaurant to eat.

6. Open container law (or lack of). I am not 100% clear on this, so I wouldn't walk up to a police officer waving a beer around. However, I know at most food vendor stations in parks you can buy beer and drink it anywhere. You can also see business men having beers on the trains home (which they respectively wrap in a bag).

7. Public transportation. Trains go anywhere, everywhere, and pretty late as well (however, if you do miss your last train cause you were drinking late with your coworkers, you can always go to a mangakissa ((manga cafe)) and stay the night. You get a private room with a coach, and I think some even have showers). They trains are always one time, and the conductor will announce at what times you can expect to get to what stations. If an accident causes the trains to be delayed, you can receive a coupon saying it was the trains' fault you were late for work.school.

8. Neko Cafe. A cat cafe is exactly what it sounds like. You go into a small cafe, that is full of soft cute cats. You can get cat treats for about $1 and when you open up the container don't be surprised to find yourself mobed by 6 cats all trying to get some food. You usually pay per half hour, and the price includes a drink and a snack for yourself.

9. Cellphones. Cellphones in Japan are amazing. You can watch T.V., surf the web, take pictures, send and receive email, scan bar codes for information, send your contact info via infrared, scan kanji and have them looked up, and oh yes, you can also make phone calls. While making a call is very expensive, receiving a call is free. (still many Japanese just use email).

10. Izakaya. The Japanese answer to the pub. Cold beer, good food, and good service make going out to drink totally awesome. The best part? They will tell you how much each person needs to put in to pay the check. (Some places even have this number printed on the check itself). This saves the hassle of trying to split a check while drunk. And as per number 5, no need to through in for tip.






Tune in next time for "10 reasons why Japan is insane" (in a non-good way).