Cultural Differences

Home Differences -

1. There are no chairs. You eat at the table sitting down (on knees typically, not criss cross applesauce)

2. The toilet is completely seperate from the shower and bath tub.

3. The toilet has the sink on top of it (built-in) and it automatically turns on when you flush and automatically stops after 15 seconds. I didn't know this, so when I used the bathroom at 3am my first night here it freaked me out and thought I broke it.

4. Wear slippers/socks at all times in the house

5. The toilet paper at home has designs on it with different colors. Below is a pic of toilet paper with Japanese popular character Rilakkuma!

School Differences -

1. The students don't move classrooms (unless for their electives), the teachers do.

2. There are no water fountains anywhere

3. Drop toilets and western toilets

4. Chalkboards!

One thing I have noticed is how energy efficient Japan is. For example, their escalators only turn on if you push the button/motion activated. This helps to save tons of money on energy bills. Another thing is that the sinks in private bathrooms are on top of the toilet and only turn on when you flush the toilet and will turn off after a certain amount of time. This also helps to save a ton of money on water bills and conserves water. Japan is one of the cleanest countries I have ever seen. The only trash I ever saw on the ground whether it was the airport or the streets, were cigarette buds and I only saw maybe 2 or 3. The schools and the restaurants are just incredibly clean and it is so amazing because you will almost never find a trash can in Japan. Everyone saves their trash until they are home or until they find a trash can instead of just throwing it into the streets.