- There are a hell of a lot of car accidents in Japan. I'm fairly convinced that this is the most effective form of population control, because in almost every Manga, Anime or Drama I've seen, the parents were conveniently removed due to a car accident. This, of course, leaves many grieving teenagers in situations where they would otherwise be grounded because of their demonstrably anti-social behaviour. These teenagers are often left in charge of their younger siblings who, in the UK at the very least, would have been taken into care, and already well on their way to being a complete social misfit. However, these teenagers are loving and kind to their younger siblings (the aforementioned anti-social behaviour is only shown to others, not family), and no one ever reports them to the social for working unsuitable jobs or having charge of the youngster with no adult supervision.
- Ladies shoes are very badly made, Manolo and Jimmy having no, um, foothold in Tokyo. I can't believe how many, apparently new, shoes are so badly stuck together that it takes nothing more than a slip down a step for the heel to detach almost completely from the sole of the shoe. I'm also surprised at how often these shoes have been shown to be very expensive. This leads us on, quite nicely to:
- Ladies are very proud. Having taken a (often shoe-related) tumble in Japan, it's de rigeur always to collect ones belongings, stand up proudly and walk off, usually limping because of the previous point. I rarely see so much as a trembling lower lip, so I applaud these ladies for their bravery!
- School girls are uniformly bitchy. Damn! This is a huge point. As far as I can work out, if a boy is particularly attractive, he appears to be considered "class property", and no one is allowed to date him. This strikes me as peculiarly unfair, especially to the boy in question, but apparently he doesn't get a vote. If you're a cute, new girl in a school, and you start dating this handsome hunk, you're stuffed. You might as well just throw in the towel right now, and transfer out of there, because no one will back you up, as the rest of the girls in the school find ways to humiliate you (usually involving shredding your expensive and exclusive uniform or shoes), and all the boys will try to get into your underpants and detach you from your beau.
- Keeping, if I may, on the school theme: Girls can disguise themselves as boys, and will remain undetected for months, while her class-mates are more likely to question their own sexuality than hers. Apparently boys can do the same, leading me to believe that the Japanese are quite androgynous. This leads to many "comic" misunderstandings, which could be cleared up by someone just asking a question - for example, "Isn't your Adam's apple quite large for a girl?" Or, "Haven't you got rather a large arse for a bloke?" However...
- People just don't like to ask embarrassing questions. Apparently it's impolite, or something. This is an area requiring more research.
- Love/Like. You can't just like someone. If you like someone, you love them. Maybe it's the translations. This leads me to question how you tell your mate that you like him/her, without the inevitable "You're so gay!" riposte.
- Firsto Kisso. Yes, that's how they say it. This is quite perplexing to a Westerner, but it would appear that Japanese boys and girls save up their first kiss (this is first lip kiss) until they're in their mid-teens. I'm not sure if parents are allowed to kiss their children on the lips, or whether this is discounted as a firsto kisso, due to it being unavoidable.
Well, I hope my insights into modern Japan have been helpful to you, and that you'll send me a postcard when you next visit Tokyo!
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