Stereotyping foreigners in Japan

Currently on spring break, which means I spend a lot of time surfing the 'net, and today a found an interesting article entitled "46 things visitors to Japan find surprising." This probably includes reactions by people from all over the world, not just from North America / Ohio, so I shouldn't feel angry that some things on the list don't apply to me.  However, I find this sort of thing super annoying, because there are people who completely internalize this kind of stuff and think that all non-Japanese people in Japan feel the same way. 

Seriously, I have had students who don't believe me when I tell them that I don't own a gun (never even touched one, thankyouverymuch), and my favorite food is not hamburgers.


I have here the list from the article for your perusal, with my personal reactions underneath each one.
 
1. The trains actually come on time
    -I grew up on a farm in Ohio.  We do not have trains in Ohio, therefore everything I know about trains I learned in Japan; thus, trains in Japan are perfectly normal.
2. The fruit is really delicious (There’s a lot of cross breeding)
    - Farm! Ohio! Fruit in Japan is horribly expensive and the majority is imported
3. The bread at 7-11 is really good
    -Sure, if you like sweet fluffy stuff that all tastes the same.  I like wheat bread.  Does 7-11 have wheat bread?  No, I didn't think so.
4. Taxi doors open automatically
   - Cool, but I'd only give it about 5 seconds worth of surprising.  I'm more concerned about the fact that none of the taxi drivers know where my house is.
5. The high likelihood of lost items being returned to you
   - On our farm in Ohio we don't lock our house unless we're going to be gone overnight.
6. Everyone eats KFC for Christmas dinner
    - Really?  I've been gone both Christmases that I've been living in Japan.  Didn't realize it was that prevalent
7. There are vending machines absolutely everywhere
    -Yeah, but since Japan is legendary for its vending machines, I wouldn't say I was surprised.
8. You can buy alcohol and tobacco from those ubiquitous vending machines
    -Since there are smokers all over the place in Japan, the tobacco vending machines make sense.  I didn't know there were alcohol vending machines until my dad came to visit and he wanted to see one.  QUESTION OF THE DAY: How do you keep underage children from accessing said vending machines?
9. The Washlet bidets
    - Two points here- 1. I learned about bidets by watching a South Korean TV show.  2. I never use them.  (Bonus point - Japan is supposed to be the heaven of technological invention.  Nothing that has to do with technology in Japan should be a surprise.) (FYI: a bidet sprays water on your rear after you finish to clean up.  A refreshing change from toilet paper)
10. You can drink water from the tap
     - I guess for people from less developed countries this is true.  However, for me, the farm in Ohio has it's own well, so we got fresh water straight from the ground - not like the treated stuff that comes from the tap here.
11. The tea isn’t sweetened
    - I only put sugar in my tea if you give me a sugar cube (because I like to watch it dissolve).  Otherwise I have always had my tea straight.
12. You can smoke in restaurants
     - You can smoke most other places as well...
13. There are free samples at the supermarket
    - Are there places that don't have free samples?  Some articles on Yahoo from the States suggest going to Costco and getting a free meal by eating all the samples
14. There are tolls on the highways
    - I mostly don't go on the highways, so ok
15. You can find absolute masterpieces of pastry at cake shops
    - ...with zero amount of taste
16. The confusing, complex layout of Tokyo
    - never been there
17. The buttons to summon a waiter at family-style restaurants
   - Dude, those things are super awesome!
18. Touch-screen menus at bars and restaurants
    - Are these common?  I've never seen one...
19. There are holes in the 5 and 50 yen coins
     - In Ireland there were 2-tone coins
20. People hand out free packets of tissues on the street
     - It's a form of advertizing and they come with directions to a store.  I feel bad for taking these, 'cause chances are I will never ever use their product.  On the plus side, you don't have to buy tissues in Japan
21. The quality and selection at 100 yen shops
    - I read somewhere that 100 yen shops are basically stocked by the leftovers from Chinese sweatshops, so I make a point of not frequenting them
22. Japanese people really like Yahoo!
    - They do? 
23. GPS is automatically included in rental cars
    - This is important in Japan, because you have almost no chance of finding your destination otherwise.
24. You can leave a bag to save your seat and no one will steal it
   - See my answer to # 5
25. A small-size drink is actually quite small
    - At restaurants they give you a glass for water, plus whatever else you order, as is common in the States as well.  Unfortunately, the water cups are super tiny, so unless they leave the pitcher with me, I feel like a jerk, 'cause I keep asking the waitress to bring me more water.  Especially in the summer.
26. There are power lines all over the place
   - Yeah, this one's weird.  I know it's a city and all, but I don't remember there being this many power lines when I lived in B-more
27. People politely line up to wait for the train
   -See answer to #1.  Also, this is not completely true.  There are plenty of people who cut in line and try to get on the train before they're supposed to.  (Interestingly, they're mostly of the more elderly generation)
28. Heated toilet seats
    -See answer to #9.  I don't mind them when they're really toasty in the winter, but sometimes it's just a little warm, which is weird because it feels like someone else was just sitting there.
29. The high price of movie tickets
    - OH MY WORD, YES!!!!!!
30. There are pachinko parlors everywhere
    -And they are noisy, smelly monstrosities
31. The skill used in wrapping gifts and other purchases
     - ???  I guess I never get anything gift wrapped...
32. The multi-story parking garages
     - What other kind of parking garage is there?  What I find really interesting are the things where it's two racks of cars, with a little elevator system to get cars onto the top. 
33. The ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) system on the highways
     -Yeah, that's pretty cool.  It's basically like my train pass, where I add money and then it comes out as I cruise through the stations without having to buy a ticket.  Except this is for cars and it means that you don't have to stop for tolls, just slow down to about 30-40mph.
34. There are hot springs just for your feet
     - I love foot baths.  They are usually free, if you don't want to spend money on the full onsen experience.
35. There are women-only cars on the trains
    - Which makes perfect sense, considering all the perverts you have to worry about otherwise.  I guess if you want to call it "surprising," the surprising part is that safe-and-law-abiding Japan has just a problem with pervs that they have to designate special cars for women
36. The love hotels
    - See answer to #7
37. Cigarettes are really cheap
    - Never bought them, don't know
38. It’s so safe you can go walking around in the middle of the night with no problem
    - I do, however, take the subway anytime after midnight, since it's closer to my house and I (a young-ish female by myself) won't have to walk as far.
39. Japanese squat-style toilets
    - See answer to #7.  Also, pretty sure there are many places that still have these.  Most of these places can't afford the porcelain variety, of course, but still...
40. The incredible variety of KitKat flavors
    - See #7.  Also, I have never seen these famous KitKats, other than the green tea one.
41. There are still elevator girls who operate the elevator for you
    - Who are super helpful if you are lost.  No elevator boys, I noticed...
42. The packets of condiments that you can easily open with one hand
    - ?????
43. Capsule hotels
    - See #7.  My goal is to sleep in one of these while I'm here.  Interestingly, there aren't as many of these as you would think.  I think there's one in Osaka.
44. The lucky bags sold at New Years
    - ?????
45. The rooms at business hotels are tiny.
    - Have never stayed at a business hotel, couldn't tell you
46. The foreign guys dating beautiful Japanese girls are often ugly
     - the "beautiful Japanese girls" are often not the prettiest ones around

A couple things that I feel should be on the list, but weren't for whatever reason:
47. love hotels
    - see #7
48. street gardens
    - People in the city have no space, so they plant everything in planters and set them out on the road in front of their house

One thing I saw on another list from the same website:
49. women dress well
    - not just women.  Everyone dresses up all the time.  However, this should only be surprising if you're from, say, North America.  When I was in Ireland and the UK, I noticed that people generally dressed much more nicely than peeps at home did.

Another reason this (particular) list annoys me is because if feels like   A. someone wrote their personal list of things they were surprised at and / or    B. someone wrote all the things that foreigners are SUPPOSED to be surprised at.

source:
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/06/22/46-things-that-surprise-foreigners-in-japan/

When Mom and Beth came

Well, here it is - the long awaited and much anticipated visit from my mother and sister.  Maybe after I get this posted, I'll start posting more often.

 Day 1 (jul 24, tues)- I began by cleaning house, then sitting around bored, so I did some yoga. Since they were flying in to Kansai Airport, which is on an island, I took the ferry to fetch them.  The timing was just about perfect - I got there, had a cup of Starbucks, and then they showed up!  There may have been tears of joy involved.  On the way home, we learned that Beth is apparently afraid of ferries and long bridges.  Who knew? When we got home I made them eat a little soup and we hung out until bedtime.

My apartment, all clean and ready for guests.

Bethy being all jet lagged and stuff on the first night.

Day 2 (jul 25, wed)- We headed out early and walked downtown, because Mom needed to change money.  I convinced them that the walk wasn't too long and they could see a bid of the city, so we walked instead of taking the train.  Turns out this was a bad idea for people who just arrived and weren't used the the MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF HUMIDITY that inhabit Kobe in August (seriously, this is some pretty awful stuff).  Sorry guys.  We had left so early that nothing was open yet (in Japan, stores don't open until 10 or 11), so we stood around swearing for awhile.  After we got the money changed, we went to the city observatory, which is free, and has nice views of the city.  Beth had neglected to take her asthma medicine, so she was threatening to have an attach... After we had rested a bit, we visited the glass museum, which was the one thing mom wanted to do.  It was nice.  Later I bought her Christmas present there. 

At the city observatory

After a quick nap, I made everyone go to Osaka to see "Brave," so they wouldn't fall asleep too early.  Beth and I liked the movie.  Mom was ambivalent.  We had bagels from Bagel and Bagel for supper.

We went to the Osaka Station movie theater, which is 11 floors up and has a nice deck for eating supper on.

Day 3 (jul 26, thurs)-We're pretty sure this is the day we did the Shin-Kobe trail and the Herb Gardens, the same as I did with Dad.  This time, we walked up the trail.  Given the humidity and heat, it was pretty miserable.  At the Herb Gardens we soaked out feet in a nice herbal footbath that they had (footbaths are popular.  sometimes hot springs have them outside for free).  After that we didn't want to walk anymore, but of course we had to get down, so... yeah

here's beth at our dessert buffet place

Day 4 (jul 27, fri)- We visited my school, which was pretty boring because there were no students to talk to.  Then we went to Namba, which is one of the big shopping areas in Osaka.  We had lunch at a dessert buffet, which was very cutesy and Japanese.  I don't remember the name (although I could find it again if I wanted to), but it was not Sweets Paradise.  Since we were in Namba, the cool shopping place for hip young people, Beth had to go shopping.  While I'm all for shopping, she likes the kind of places that have too loud music and strange clothes.  Also she is very indecisive.  so it took a long time and was pretty tired by the end of it.  But then we got do karaoke, which is always fun. Finally we had supper at a restaurant the one of my student's parents own.  It was okonomiyaki and it was tasty.




Day 5 (jul 28, sat)- I had Japanese lessons, so I was gone a large portion of the day.  Mom and Beth apparently did Harborland and Merican Park, which are places I love to go, so I was happy for them.

Day 6 (jul 29, sun)- Went to KUC for church, then came home and got sushi to eat for lunch.  We at with the ladies from the Mennonite church that owns my apartment and meets on the first floor.

Day 7 (jul 30 mon)- We were going to go to Awaji, but I was sick :(  I think this was the result of turning on the AC for the first time all year.  The air was funny and I couldn't sleep.  I think we ended up doing something fun, but I have no idea what it was.

Day 8 (jul 31, tues)- We went to Awaji island!  To get there, we took the train to Akashi, then a ferry over to the island.  The ferry was quite small, but it was fun.  When we got there, we found out that the bike rental place didn't open for another half an hour.  (This is what happens when you want to get an early start!  Places are not open!)

Waiting for the bike shop to open.

view of the island from the ferry

earthquake museum

this is the epicenter of the Hanshin earthquake in 1995

cool!  Windmills!

 We eventually got our bikes and headed around the island.  It was very nice.  Since this was the thing Beth wanted to do, she had us stopping for random things like looking for lighthouses.  We also visited the faultline for the big earthquake in 1995, but we didn't actually get to see it, because that would have cost money.  Eventually we got to this beach that was really cool.  The buildings were kind of run-down, but there was good food and lots of sand and water to play in, so we were happy. 

ooo, pretty!

Mom at the beach

I don't know, but it's pretty!

break time!

break time!

mother taking pictures of rice patties

bethany taking pictures of mother taking pictures of rice patties

 We would have liked to stay at the beach longer, but we had to get the bikes back by 5 (in addition to opening late, everything closes early), so we turned around and headed back.  On the way, we saw another beach that we missed the first time because we detoured to see the fault line.  We decided that even though this beach was big and new, we liked ours better because there were fewer people and it was cooler.  When we got back, we still had a little time, so we biked around the town a bit and had ice cream.  Then we went home.  Good times were had by most.

aww, look at those happy sunburned faces

poor bethy.  just remember, I had it worse than you.

on the ferry, heading home.

temple

 Day 9 (aug 1, wed)- We went to Kyoto!  We saw various temples and Nijo Castle, which has cool squeaky floors.  We also walked around Gion and we saw these cute little ducks out for their first swim, but they couldn't get over a little dam that their mother wanted them to cross.  It was so sad.  I hope they are ok.

entrance to temple

mom and beth

Day 10 (aug 2, thurs)- Beth wanted "normal" food, so I took them to this Italian / Japanese place, where you get to eat your spaghetti with chopsticks.  Then we were walking around and found this cafe where we got a giant chocolate waffle.  That evening we had sushi one more time for supper.  We got a lot, but couldn't eat it all, so mother told me to save it for the next, after they left.  I did this and found out that sushi should not be saved overnight, as it gets hard and yucky when you do that.

our last night together

Day 11 (aug 3, fri)- On the way to the airport, we ate at Vie de France, this pastry place at the train station that we always went past, so Mom wanted to try it.  After I took them to the airport, I went and had Baskin Robbins ice cream, which was something Beth and I had wanted to do, but we never had the time.

smores on the stove

 Also, we spend a lot of time at home hanging out.  We finished a puzzle that I had been working on occasionally since January.  We made smores on the stove (turned out ok).  We played the bean game a lot.  We watched movies.  On night we ordered pizza.  The first day I had a delivery scheduled.  Since I never hear the delivery people when I'm upstairs, mom volunteered to go wait downstairs.  I went down later to find her sitting outside in the blazing sun, because she was afraid she would miss the delivery if she sat just inside.  We made popcorn.  The day before they arrived, I made a huge pot of soup, so I would have something to feed them.

beth with the puzzle.  finally finished!

 I think that is all for now.  Maybe I'll write more tomorrow.