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- You bow when talking on the phone.
- You've figured out kanji for your name.
- You have a personal inkan and a koseki, and you know what those are.
- You've accidentally said 「お疲れ様です」 to a friend from your native country.
- You take your shoes off when visiting your native country.
- You get upset when having to use a toilet without a heated seat and butt spray.
- You forget to tip when visiting your native country.
- You've gotten stuck in the door when rushing for the train on multiple occasions
- You've been scolded by train station staff for rushing into the train on multiple occasions.
- The first thing that
Read more: How You Know You've Been in Japan Too Long
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Japanese Beer is Too Expensive
Japan does make some great-tasting beer, but unfortunately tobacco-loving Japanese politicians decided to tax the crap out of it, building a massive barrier to my regular beer enjoyment (unless you're paying). Beer isn't good for you, but cigarettes make a much more appropriate taxation target. Cigarettes are both bad for you and annoy others around you. Beer at least doesn't give off carcinogenic fumes. I digress.
To skirt the beer tax and improve sales, Japanese brewers release cheap
Read more: USA vs. Japan - Beer
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My learned compatriot asserted that the dollar is not weak. How can it be when a single dollar purchases 78 yen? Meeting the first person not to be
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NRT to LAX
Departing Narita airport I embarked for my hometown of Los Angeles. ANA's internet check-in was a godsend, and Narita's attached shopping paradise made short work of killing the mounds of spare time I inevitably allow myself. The most pertinent perk for me, though, was the immigration line. As you'd expect, it was long; but it moved faster than a Shinkansen high on the finest Colombian coffee. Every single
Read more: USA vs. Japan - Airport Efficiency
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Construction
Ask any 9.0 earthquake and he'll tell you that Japan knows what they're doing when it comes to constructing durable buildings. I used to wonder why their 50-story apartment buildings all look like drab concrete boxes in want of stylish European flair. Now I know. Stylish flair comes at a very expensive price that Japan is not willing to pay--and rightly so. Japan shakes more than a hyper-powered vibrator high on Jolt cola, so it makes perfect sense to
Read more: What Japan Does Well - Construction & Sauce
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My image of Japan before moving here was that of a polite and reserved culture that treasures quiet and subtlety. Boy was I wrong. Japan can be louder than a rock concert held at a jet engine testing facility, and I'm shocked with what people can get away with here. While the US strictly enforces various disturbing-the-peace laws, Japan either lacks such laws or fails to enforce them. Either way, Japan would vastly improve itself if only it could attenuate the volume.
Read more: What Japan Needs - More Anti-Noise Laws