QI: Quirks and Interesting stuff

This blog post has been written to share those things, which as the title hints to, I have found quirky or interesting, and as a result of travelling alone have so far been unable to share with anyone… So here it is for all to read.

Walking through the underground corridor beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices is a cardboard city full of a large number of homeless people, which was previously and unfavourably dispersed by the government, but has since built back up again. When I first walked through to go to the observatory I thought it was another metro platform, and that people were drying off their umbrellas. It was, however, the case that the open umbrellas were providing shelter to those that have set up base in the darkened corridor The sheer number of homeless people was a sight to behold in itself and they had clearly established a sense of community, but the thing that struck me the most was the fact that they still abided by the respectful and traditional Japanese practice of removing your shoes to go indoors. The cardboard homes that had been made (sometimes, rather ironically, out of Apple imac boxes), had a pair of shoes sitting outside and the 'owner' would be sat barefoot or in socks inside their 'home'.

On a similar note, after spending most of my teenage and early adult years rebelling against wearing slippers at home, I have found myself conforming to the idea here in Japan, where it is customary to remove your shoes and slip some on when you arrive at a place, wearing a second pair in the bathroom and never wearing any into the bedroom. Knowing this before I arrived (thanks to my trusty guide book, which I in fact lost here on my first day and now feel naked without), I felt rather smug when an irritating Columbian girl sharing my room walked around the bedroom in the red bathroom slippers to the disgust of a Japanese girl in the next capsule to me!

Keeping with the footwear theme, I have seen with my own eyes specially designed socks for sale here in Japan for exclusive use with flip flops, and have actually seen people wearing them together! Now fashion forward Japan may be, but I urge that this crazy combination, one which can be compared to our own embarrassing socks and sandals combo, be discouraged!! Similarly, I have seen Pepsi (other brands are available) delivery men wearing flat capped baseball hats backwards and sideways, a retro look I have not seen since The Fresh Prince of Bel Air days, circa 1990! And I have found that the Kappa brand (surely everyone remembers Kappa popper trousers) is alive and well in Shibuya, "who'da'thunk'it?!"

The trusty guide book also taught me that here in Japan, etiquette dictates that you sniff rather than blow your nose. This has not, however, been an easy thing for me to follow since whenever I have been stood on a tube, or in a restaurant and hear lots of sniffing I also hear my mother's voice in my head asking, albeit rhetorically, "would you like a tissue?!", which has been drummed in to me since childhood.

Now I realise that this next topic is not one that is usually encouraged to be discussed, but I feel I have to share it with you. Venues in Japan are increasingly offering Japanese and "Western" style toilets to offer choice for the user (obviously I only have experience of female rest rooms and have no idea or desire to know what happens in the male ones). The Japanese toilets, I discovered, require strong thigh muscles, and so I have often opted for the Western. But the point which I would like to make here is that their "Western" toilets come complete with bidet, warm seat, seat spray and electronic flushing sound functions. Now correct me if I am wrong, but I am not aware that we have these in the West?! So here is Japan leading the technological way forward in a convenience probably installed with the tourist in mind.

But as I have found, Tokyo is quite often helpfully designed with the tourist in mind. For example, each subway station has a yellow tourist information board with the "hot spots" in that area and directions to the corresponding nearest exit. The problem lies, however, when you step outside the metro station and no further directions exist!! This has often lead to me wandering around aimlessly until I stumble upon something which interests me or a randomly placed area map, where I can find my bearings and the location I was first looking for.

I am sure I will find more things to add to this along the way, but for now I think I'm about done.