First of all, I thought it was pretty clear from my style of writing that I composed that over the course of an entire week, and when I initially completed it…wait for it…it was Saturday! I can barely post over here because the entire Blogger program is in Japanese, and I basically only know how to insert links and use the orange button to post. Plus, I didn’t think someone would be that asinine to complain…apparently I was wrong.

Secondly, apparently you’ve never been to a real Chinese restaurant in the states. We have a very large Chinese population in numerous cities, and from what I’ve eaten in my lifetime, the Chinatown here in Japan was quite similar. I suggest you go to Yu’s Mandarin in Schaumburg, IL…that is real Chinese food.

In the image you can see the bidet v spray option. Apparently wireless models include drying options.

Not in the McDonalds ad.

I’m not just full of complaints though. The squat toilet frightens me to the point that I demand you figure out how they use it and share the knowledge. I’m also eager to hear about the sitting drama.

Second, you say its Saturday but your post says its Monday. I ignored the advice and attempted to wrap my head around this. I got a headache. But I still think you’re wrong. No part of the planet is more than 24 hours ahead or behind of any other part. If Monday is the local time stamp, you should either claim Tuesday (accurately) or Sunday. Saturday shouldn’t enter into any equation.

Thanks for the warm responses to my post. I of course thought some of it was funny when I wrote it; however, you never know how people will receive your writings until you do.

Hanno,

I will be in Japan for 4 weeks, until September 29th. Then I will be flying directly to Pusan/Busan South Korea and staying in Changwon for an additional 3 weeks. So I will be back in the states on October 19th, and finally back in my office on Monday the 22nd…which is 2 full months since I was last there!

Kev,

I haven’t had any formal cultural training in the sense that I had to sign up and pass a course or anything. However, my company is very aware to the cultural differences present amongst all the different nations where we do business. I have attended any and every optional cultural seminars offered at work. There was a Japanese gentleman who has lived in the states for over 20 years that talked to all the new-hires (over 100) recently. He talked about some of the same things that I have written about, and just pointers for traveling abroad in general. My favorite tidbit from his seminar is that Japanese men are perfect for American women because they already know how to apologize constantly (the Japanese say sorry all the time…).

There was also a gentleman from an business that specializes in international relations for large corporations. He knew how to speak 7-8 languages, and had lived in Europe, Japan, Korea, and China for extended periods of time. He gave a seminar about Chinese culture, which can be drastically different than the Japanese (the Japanese tend to be the most “modern” and “westernized”).

Lastly, they sent me with the best sort of help: a mentor. There is this guy that basically recruited me to come for this trip, and he’s 60 something and has a great sense of humor. He’s helping me get acclimated thus far; now I’m starting to do stuff mostly on my own. But, he has helped me with some of the lesser known things.

Billy Joe,

Actually, I was exaggerating a bit. There are a lot of stores; however, you don’t see people walking around with a lot of stuff. We surmised some of it has to do with the fact that very few people own cars of their own. Also, apartments are very tiny (like my hotel room) here, so I think walking through malls is more fun than sitting in a sardine can.

Alright, thanks for the questions; time to get back to work…

I’m proud of you for trying so many new things. I know that I probably would not have the cultural guts to do that. Also, Japan’s GDP per capita is not remarkably high:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html

Perhaps you are in a richer part of the country.

I really want some of that Kobe beef.

Great article Mr. Bandit. Have fun out there!

Billy

Japanese women love socks with monkey prints. It’s weird.

Anyway, keep us posted, much <3

I wish you would tell us a little more about the seating arrangement.

A lot on the girls, definitely talk about girls.