And Sometimes Why » It’s the Little Things

It’s the Little Things #5

David — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:50:28 +0000

Japan is obsessed with individualized packaging. Case in point: I bought this bag of cookies without reading it too carefully expecting… I don’t know, a bag full of cookies, right?

When I opened it though, I found exactly FIVE cookies, each individually wrapped in its own little clear plastic bag. It’s the same story with most foods here though, so I can’t be too surprised.

I’ve seen party bags of snacks, segmented into handful-size plastic bags of snack mix. I’ve even (coincidentally) bought packages of sembei, those delicious Japanese rice crackers, with each cracker individually wrapped. And don’t get me started on bakeries that put each item on a piece of plastic, then wrap that whole thing in a small plastic bag, then put that bag in a large plastic shopping bag for you.

For a country that prides itself on being ecologically minded, there sure is a lot of excessive packaging.

It’s the Little Things #4

David — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:48:34 +0000

No open container laws.

In the left cup holder is an open Asahi beer, and in the right is an open bottle of tea. In all fairness though, Japanese people do not mess around with alcohol and driving a car. There’s none of that “I’ve only had a couple, I’m okay to drive” thinking that you sometimes find in the states. If you’ve had alcohol, you don’t drive.

It’s the Little Things #3

David — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:02:09 +0000

Pictured on the left is a wall plate of five Japanese light switches. They’re always mounted to switch horizontally (as opposed to vertically in the US). The little oval mark is the “on” position, which always seems to be on the right. The bottom two switches are for vent fans (I took this picture in a commercial kitchen), which when switched on, are backlit by a red light.

Also interesting is that most switches are outside of the room they’re switching, so you have to turn the light on before you enter a room, or you’ll have to go back out if you forget.

It’s the Little Things #2

David — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 05:27:08 +0000

In Japan, patrons get a little plastic basket to hold movie concession items. At the end of the movie, employees stand outside each auditorium to collect the baskets (now containing each patron’s refuse).

Also possibly related- Japanese theater floors are not sticky.

Basket pictured in front of a Terminator 4 (ターミネーター4) poster

It’s the Little Things #1

David — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:53:39 +0000

I’m starting a new series of posts on my blog today. It’s basically just a quick blurb about something unexpectedly different between America and Japan. So, without further ado, here’s “It’s the Little Things,” part the first.

99% of the time (anecdotally, of course) locks in Japan lock with what I’d call “underhand” rotation, meaning that the lower part of the lock matches the movement of the bolt- as opposed to American locks, where the movement of the bolt typically mirrors the movement of the upper part of the lock.

Pictured is my apartment door, currently locked.