Since I've been in Japan, I've become accustomed to some pretty weird things. Culturally, this country couldn't be more different to my homeland and I often find the "Japanese way of doing things" to be confusing at best, mental at the extreme. Along the way though I have learnt some interesting things about my adopted home country and here are the top ten examples:
1. Asahi Clear, the cheap "beer" I have been drinking since Japan's last unbelievably hot summer, is not actually beer! Apparently it is some kind of beer-flavoured sparkling sake created to appease the marketshare that wishes to enjoy beer while avoiding paying the ridiculously high tax imposed on the sale of beer products. Despite regularly being called a cheapskate for sticking with it, I still drink Asahi Clear from time to time. Well, either that or the real deal, Kirin Beer.
2. Until recent laws got pushed through (due for an October implementation date) it wasn't illegal for you to download movies from the interwebs.
3. Asiatic Black Bears still live up in the mountains of Shikoku, albeit in small numbers.
4. Legend has it that the fabled Ark of the Covenant is buried under Mt Tsurugi in Toksuhima's Iya Valley. Apparently, the Covenant is guarded by a giant white snake that roams the area.
5. The spiders in this country are huge! After bravely telling the kids about all the crazy animal and insect life we have in Australia, my apartment was besieged by a palm-sized hairy grey spider that made both Phil and I squeal in terror.
6. Fruit is EXPENSIVE. It is not uncommon to pay $4 or $5 dollars for a single large apple or 80AUD for a whole watermelon. Apparently these are the tastier, specially-farmed Japanese varieties of said fruits however.
7. You can buy fireworks in your local supermarket, or small packets of firecrackers in your local Daiso (the Japanese equivalent of a $2 shop).
8. It is not illegal to street drink in Japan. It is very illegal to drive with even the slightest bit of alcohol in your system though. If you are planning on driving, this means no glass of wine with dinner in restaurants, no liquer chocolates at a party and no using mouthwash before school in the morning! It is also illegal to be a passenger in a car driven by a person who has consumed alcohol, and fines for passengers are almost as bad as those for the drivers themselves.
9. You can order just about anything delivered to your door. From couches to audio equipment, books to clothes, meat to event tickets - everything can be couriered to your door, at a time of your choosing, on a day most convenient to you, to be paid for CASH ON DELIVERY. That's right, no need to order and pay for things on your credit card, Japan will deliver it to your door and then ask you to pay the delivery driver for it. Amazing.
10. ATMs close. At nights, on weekends and during public holidays bank Automatic Teller Machines close! This means you cannot get cash out, anywhere - even if you"re rocking a million-yen bank balance! Why? I've no idea, but it's super bizarre and incredibly inconvenient.
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