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I’ve pointed out that black suits are fairly standard business attire for Japanese men. But here’s something I don’t get. When it rains, which is starting to occur more frequently as we’re entering Japan’s rainy season, one would assume Japanese men would use a black umbrella. But no, this is where standardization flies out the window. In fact, one of the most popular umbrellas is the clear plastic umbrella. I suppose it helps when walking the crowded Tokyo streets to be able to see better but I can’t help but think I used to have that type of umbrella when I was six. Although mine might also have had a cartoon character on it, probably Snoopy. I’m seriously debating finding an adult clear plastic cartoon umbrella and bringing it back to Japan just to mess with their minds or to start a new fashion trend.
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One of the more popular hair colors for elderly women that I’ve seen over here is light purple. Yes, that’s not a typo. Light purple. I’m being serious. The first elderly woman I saw with this hair color, I thought, “Man, that poor woman must have gone to an inexperienced stylist. I would have loved to seen her face when she saw herself in the mirror.” However, a few days after I saw the first woman, I saw another lavender-locks elderly woman and it was definitely not the same woman. So now I’m thinking there’s this maniacal hair stylist loose in Tokyo playing a purple prank on elderly woman who might not have the eyesight to see what he/she is doing to their hair. Two weekends ago I did a lot of sightseeing and was all over Tokyo and saw about ten elderly women with the same light purple hair color so I decided to do a search on the web and, sure enough, found a comment on the purple hair phenomenon.
It is a fashion. Japanese women don't like white hair. White hair will become yellowish if we are idle in caring for our hair. It looks dirty. Older women like purple on their hair best. An elder woman whom I know said to me that she would liked to get older sooner to have very white hair, then she can dye her hair her favorite color.
I think it’s also more than fashion. Japanese society can be rigid in certain ways and I think these women have reached an age where they don’t feel bound to the traditions and codes that applied to them earlier in their life. I’m all for the difference. It’s nice to see a little splash of color in a sea of gray and black.
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Did anyone notice something unique about the picture of the groceries in the “Tokyo-version of the Price Is Right” blog. Take a look at this image.
The limes are wrapped nicely in plastic with a little twist-tie on it! Why would you wrap a lime? It naturally comes with a wrapper.
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The vending machines in the office are forcing me to exercise and I loathe them on a personal level. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not an exercise nut. The machines are nearly identical to those in the States except for one sinister difference. The pickup tray for the machine is about eight inches off the floor and whereas that may be a perfectly acceptable height for your average Japanese citizen, it’s a pain in the ass when your 6’4”.
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I’m really starting to enjoy the subway commute on the way home especially if I hit peak of rush hour. When you’re packed in like sardines you can always count on getting groped. Once was even by a woman. Okay, I made that one up, she wasn’t a woman, more like a pre-op tranny. Reno, that one’s for you.
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One Japanese Yen is roughly equivalent to a U.S. penny and is just as worthless. Plus they look and feel like they might be a token from a Chuck E. Cheese-type restaurant.
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Japanese taxis rule. You never have a problem finding one. They’re super clean. The doors open automatically. A lot of them have little TVs for your viewing pleasure. The drivers are very professional and you don’t need to tip the driver which is a general rule in Japan, no tipping required. I’ve talked with my Japanese co-workers about tipping and they are equally perplexed as to this American custom as I am about several of theirs.
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Major faux-pas at the office a few weeks back. A female co-worker handed me what I thought was a little bottle of Purell hand lotion. I thought “okay, it’s been two weeks and maybe I’m starting to get that desperate look”. I asked if she was willing to help out. She then pointed to the label which when read more closely said “Purell Hand Sanitizer”. The company was handing them out as a swine flu prevention measure. Whoops.
Okay, before anyone thinks I’m actually soliciting female co-workers that was obviously a joke. The company did pass out hand sanitizer which, it turns out, can be used for more than swine flu prevention. I’m on my third bottle.
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Tokyo is super clean. No litter on the streets. Which is amazing since you won’t see a trash can for miles in this city. If you walk out of a store with a food item, you better be prepared to carry that trash back to your apartment. What litter that does occur in the city does not stay on the streets for long either. Here’s a little tourist travel trash tip, the best time for trash viewing is Sunday morning but be up and about early. A few Sundays ago I was up early and walked over to some stores close to the train station by my apartment. I need to cross a bridge to get to the station and there are several mini-gardens and shrubs right near the bridge entrance. Apparently some late Saturday night revelers decided to dump their fast food bags and napkins in the shrubs and one of them dumped (guess how) their soba noodle dinner on the other side of the bridge. I was in the stores for maybe an hour or two and by the time I walked back, the soba dinner was gone and the sidewalk washed and the trash from the shrubs was picked up. It’s like they’re using cleaning leprechauns. I’m determined to snap a photo of one before I leave here.
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