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Evaluation time

November 8, 2006

November 6, 2006 12:49 manila time


so what are the misconceptions about tokyo?

  • Less squat toilets than expected.
  • Less shoe removing than expected.
  • Less bulky school girl socks. I guess that’s passe.
  • Some Filipinos complain that Tokyo is too quiet. For a densely populated metropolis, we expect Tokyo to be as loud as Manila. The silence can be disconcerting.

I understand why this would happen. As a densely populated nation, Japan would value private space & politeness. Noise, bumping elbows, & unsolicited conversation is a violation of that space.

 

Things you didn’t expect in Tokyo:

  • For a country that produces cars, there’s very little traffic.
  • flyovers. Everywhere.
  • no guards with wands in every entrance.
  • Whole buildings devoted to a single brand.
  • Parking right on the side of an avenue.
  • Actual parks in the middle of it all.
  • Smoking inside establishments.
  • No gum or cigarette butts anywhere.
  • 90% of  the men wear suits.
  • 70% of women wear boots.
  • 90% of women wear knee high stockings, mostly black.
  • Tokyo is fashionable.

 

What are dead-on?

  • Schoolgirls in short-skirted uniforms.
  • Everything’s expensive.
  • Manga cafes.
  • Maid cafes.
  • Subways to be proud of.
  • Sticking your chopsticks upright on your rice IS impolite.
  • The japanese will tolerate your poor nihongo.
  • Everyone walks.
  • Girls will pose with hand configurations ala morning musume.
  • Striped socks.



Posted by beerkada at 7:20 pm | permalink

Previous Comments

What a time, man.

I think I read it somewhere in a book (by Alex Kerr, I think…) that chopsticks stuck in rice connotes death. It also appears to be so that the Japanese really appreciate foreigners making an effort to speak their language; they mostly ignore people who speak English to them.

Mmm, schoolgirls. |p

Posted by shink at November 16, 2006, 3:44 pm

glad you enjoyed japan! kaka-adik tong lugar na to. that's why i live hre now. hahahaha…

Posted by herb at November 22, 2006, 9:38 am

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