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.

1. Japan is so organized that it’s average train delay is about 18 seconds
2. The Japanese sit down to shower
3. 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)
4. They don’t blow their nose in public (it’s frowned upon)
5. There are more pets in Japan than children
6. They can’t say no – instead they will beat around the bush and imply no, to save face and appear more polite
7. Japan has 5.52 million vending machines
8. Heated toilet seats are all the rage– basically all toilet seats are heated and yes, this includes public toilet seats.
9. Rice pillows – a lot of them sleep with pillows stuffed of rice
10.  Late night dancing is illegal ( after about 12pm you cannot dance in the clubs) a law that was brought in about 2 years ago
11. 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)
12. Some people don’t leave their houses for anything (they have everything delivered to them, yes their groceries too)
13. They hand out tissues in the streets of major cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka (although blowing your nose is frowned upon)
14. Wi-Fi is everywhere – sure you can get Wi-Fi everywhere, but it’s not free
15. The Japanese never kiss in public
16. All taxi and bus drivers always wear white gloves
17. Work to death literally – people work so hard in Japan that many people have literally worked themselves to their death.
18. Most places in Japan won’t accept credit cards – cash is king in this country
19. Heated coffee tables – a lot of homes have coffee tables with heaters attached beneath to keep your feet warm
20. You have to pay to park your bike in busy cities
21. Everyone has clear umbrellas
22. 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
23. They watch movies until the VERY end – and by the end I mean until after all the credits have finished
24. They form the letter X either with their fingers or arms to signify no, or closed
25. 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
26. Japan has about 1500 earthquakes per year
27. They sell more adult diapers than children’s – because birth rate is so low
28. They grow square watermelons to save space (now that is going quite far)