28 WTF Japan facts
We all know Japan is a little different than the rest of the world. The Japanese have a particular way of living and I am not at all making fun of them with this post. Beside the Japanese being extremely nice people, maybe even too nice at times, I did discover during my 3 months living in Japan, that I had a few WTF moments, where I took a double take at the Japanese culture and their Japan facts.
So here are 28 WTF Japan facts that most people wouldn’t know about.
- Japan is so organized that it’s average train delay is about 18 seconds
- The Japanese sit down to shower
- 90% of mobile phones in Japan are waterproof – teenagers use them in the showers, yep while scrubbing their you know what, they are on the phone (quite creepy)
- They don’t blow their nose in public (it’s frowned upon)
- There are more pets in Japan than children
- They can’t say no – instead they will beat around the bush and imply no, to save face and appear more polite
- Japan has 5.52 million vending machines
- Heated toilet seats are all the rage– basically all toilet seats are heated and yes, this includes public toilet seats.
- Rice pillows – a lot of them sleep with pillows stuffed of rice
- Late night dancing is illegal ( after about 12pm you cannot dance in the clubs) a law that was brought in about 2 years ago
- Students often commit suicide – if a student doesn’t achieve acceptable grades from university, many of them will no longer see the point in living (quite sad)
- Some people don’t leave their houses for anything (they have everything delivered to them, yes their groceries too)
- They hand out tissues in the streets of major cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka (although blowing your nose is frowned upon)
- Wi-Fi is everywhere – sure you can get Wi-Fi everywhere, but it’s not free
- The Japanese never kiss in public
- All taxi and bus drivers always wear white gloves
- Work to death literally – people work so hard in Japan that many people have literally worked themselves to their death.
- Most places in Japan won’t accept credit cards – cash is king in this country
- Heated coffee tables – a lot of homes have coffee tables with heaters attached beneath to keep your feet warm
- You have to pay to park your bike in busy cities
- Everyone has clear umbrellas
- The average time off from work per year is 1 week or even 2 weeks max – most Japanese get about 1 week off work per year and if you are among the lucky you may get more
- They watch movies until the VERY end – and by the end I mean until after all the credits have finished
- They form the letter X either with their fingers or arms to signify no, or closed
- They are polite even when in a mad rush – often commuters will bump you as they are late but will throw in a bow as they pass
- Japan has about 1500 earthquakes per year
- They sell more adult diapers than children’s – because birth rate is so low
- They grow square watermelons to save space (now that is going quite far)
Comments
The tissues they hand out in the streets are not for blowing your nose but for wiping your arse. Some Japanese public toilets do not supply toilet papoer and the tissues are for emergency use in such toilets.
Ahhh I knew they had a purpose, everything in Japan does. Thanks
It totally makes sense now as to why Sony is so obsessed with making waterproof phones!
They are damn good marketers too, maybe i should hire them hey
I love this list! Japan is probably one of the most weird and amazing country I went to to date and for its quirky side too.
Thanks Franca, your right it is certainly the oddest country I have visited too haha. happy travels 🙂
Some of these are totally crazy and made me laugh, like using the phone in the shower. And I thought I was addicted to my phone! But the suicide one makes me really sad. There should never be that much pressure applied to make a grade.
Wow, these are definitely some interesting and impressive facts! I had no idea about a lot of these. Thanks for sharing the list!