For now, I'm going to write a little bit in reaction to a recent article on Cracked. Keep in mind, this is an opinion from someone who has been living in Okayama Prefecture for a little more than 3 months.
"#5 - Everything is Frightfully Low-Tech"
Yes...Believe it or not, this is true. Japan is not the technological wonderland we think it is in the west. Most of the sparkling gizmos we might see online or in the news in the west usually can only be found in large cities like Osaka or Tokyo. Outside of these cities, non-natives might occasionally experience an encounter with a neat trinket but it's not very common. For example, at Eisugakkan (my middle school) and Ridaifu (my high school) the classrooms consist of desks, a podium for the teacher, windows, a chalk board and two sliding doors. That's it. No TVs in the classrooms, no projectors, the teacher does not have their own little office area with a nice computer and definitely no SMART boards.
What I would give for a white board sometimes...
The only place I've seen a computer in the junior&senior high schools is in the teacher's office. As far as the college class rooms go, it varies, but most are the same set up but maybe there might be a TV. As for what the article on Cracked mentions about fax machines, yep, those are everywhere here too. However, many of the professors I work with use email.
Wifi is also nearly nonexistent in Japan. Unlike in the States, the places where you can walk in, sit and surf the internet on your laptop are very, very, very few. This is partially due to most Japanese cell phones being very versatile. From what I've seen, most Japanese people check their email on their phones, use the internet on their phone, translate things on their phone and these phones are usually iPhones. Everyone prefers the 3G network so there's not much need for wifi. Don't even get me started about the time Galen and I forgot to write down our hotel address and were desperately trying to find SOME PLACE in Osaka station with wifi in order to figure out where we were going to stay that night...
In electronic stores, I think that one would find the same kinds of things you'd find at Best Buy. Of course, a great exception to this rule is Akihabara in Tokyo which hosts many fantastic electronic goods. But, again, that's in Tokyo.
As for the 24 hours ATM machines...Just last week in my Japanese class we talked about how ATM machines are 24 hours. However, I never use them so I can't vouch here. It is very common for people to carry around cash though. I've never paid for anything with a card in Japan and have seen people carrying around much larger amounts of money than I had at the time. Since the crime rate is so low in Japan, you don't really have to worry about someone robbing you. Just don't be stupid, of course.
In conclusion, I think that Japan does have claim to cool technology BUT that technology is NOT wide spread. For the most part, it just exists in places like Osaka or Tokyo. So don't cry, those cool knick-knacks you found online are still out there, but they are a part of everyday life outside of metropolitan areas.
"#4 - The Houses Have No Heat"
Yes, but maybe central heating is a better description. Here at the Kake International House, there are two rooms that are warm: Hannah's bedroom and my bedroom. That's it! Every other room is freezing. I've also noted that classrooms are heated but hallways aren't.
So anyway, Hannah and I have moved from watching movies in our living room to staying in our rooms.
I often feel like this when I have to leave my room to go to the bathroom or make food:
I can now understand why many Japanese stores sell plastic canteens for hot water as well as cases for the canteens. They are for keeping you warm at night!
"#3 - The Hospitals Close on Evenings and Weekends"
Yep. Fortunately, I've never been in a situation when I needed to go to the doctor but the hospital was closed. I think I would need to live here longer to talk more about Japanese hospitals. For giggles, my Japanese teacher fondly told me one day that the hobby of old people is to go to the doctor. Everyone loves it.
"#2 - You Will Always Be an Outsider"
Wah, wah, waaaaaaaahh. Once again, this is true. Even today, after I left karaoke with two friends I was approached by a middle aged woman asking with delight where I was from in English, of course.
"Simply put, the country just isn't very accommodating to people who can't speak Japanese."
Right on, unfortunately! Most people don't speak very good English here. However, I think it's the patient and helpful nature Japanese service workers possess that makes it so foreigners can scrape along. I saw a classic example of foreigners discovering how un-English Japan is last weekend in Naoshima. The poor older couple from The Netherlands were utterly lost and confused. I tried to help them navigate the island the best I could. At least they kept their spirits up.
I also every now and then drink the mild prejudice juice here. Now note, the majority of the Japanese people I've encountered have been very nice or helpful. No one has ever been mean to me. However, I have experienced moments when I tried to use my Japanese or even just use the train and everyone around me looks at me like I'm some kind of mutated bird. For example, the first time I went to the post office to send a letter to Galen, I used the wrong kind of envelope. The clerks giggled at me, pointed at the envelope and chatted among themselves for a minute or two before helping me. Occasionally, students at Eisugakkan will brush me off thinking I can't understand what they are saying but the joke is on them. People either automatically don't talk to me or try to speak very broken English to me.
If you are someone who does not look Asian, it is impossible to escape the stares. No matter where you go, you can expect someone staring at you. I remember being on a train once and noticing that almost everyone in the back of the car was staring at me and one man had bent over in order to get a look at me. After the first week, I tuned out the staring.
At least once a week, I see at least one foreigner. Yet, I think this is because I have to use a major train station almost everyday.
Final thought: In Japan, when in doubt, expect to stick out.
"#1 - The Country Really Isn't That Weird"
That's right. Outside of Tokyo and maybe Osaka, Japan isn't that weird so go ahead and ignore that pie chart that says weird stuff is going on 100% of the time in Japan. I even asked my students about the now infamous Bagel Heads and they were baffled. They had never heard of the Bagel Heads and they also thought it was utterly bizarre. The same goes for that Japanese guy trying to sell the Earth on Ebay.
The cute lunch box pictured on Cracked isn't normal food, but cute lunch boxes aren't that hard to find. You can find cute cakes, pastries or bento lunch boxes in large malls or train stations. I once saw a cupcake with a Totoro figure artistically placed in the cupcake. Food here is cute, but everyday food is plain-looking.
As far as the sexual mumbo-jumbo...Well, I wouldn't know. Now don't I sound innocent? I will say that the human body isn't treated with as much sensitivity here I guess. For example, nudity isn't a big deal. Advertisements or manga (comics) in convenience stores are just there. And no one seems to freak out about it. My 5-year olds see each other pantless all the time (why, I don't know but I came into the Nursery one day and half of the kids had their pants off and were running around the play area) Japanese people aren't really shy about talking about body parts either, from my experience. In Japan, the body is the body.
I'm not sure I agree with the sentiments about anime and manga here. I've met many college students that love One Piece or other anime. Granted, the don't obsess over it. For example, I had one college student who just married tell me he recently bought a GPS that was One Piece themed. A manga store I visited was full of young adults browsing comics and not all of them seemed like social outcasts.
So, weird stuff in Japan. Once again, the weird junk maybe speaks for 20% of Japan's population that probably dwells in Tokyo. To loosely quote one of my professors "Japan is very safe and normal but when something out of the ordinary does happen, it's huge and has an incredibly low frequency."
