Will Miss #38 - free Krispy Kreme donuts in line (reflection)

While waiting in long lines at Krispy Kreme in Japan, someone would often come out and hand a free fresh donut to folks in line. I thought that was pretty cool in Japan because it was not common to receive things for free. I didn't know that, in America, getting things for free is far more common and that what you can get is much, much bigger.

Since coming back, I've discovered that you can get a ton of things for free from full-size products to magazine subscriptions. It goes without saying that free samples are extremely easy to come by. It's also the case that a plethora of freebies can be had at fast food places, coffee shops, and, yes, good old Krispy Kreme. Several times a year, you can score a donut or a dozen from them during the holidays or just plain because they seem to feel like it.

Given how much more freely American companies offer freebies, the free donut in line at Krispy Kreme Japan takes on a quaint nature as a rare example of corporate largesse, but it does pale in comparison to the freebies you can get in America. It turns out that I actually don't miss this point, because it's only a rare thing within the context of Japanese culture.

Will Miss #473 - sabisu ("service")

A man offering a free bean cake to my husband while he rode in a rikshaw in Asakusa. 

There is an excellent Nepalese restaurant not too far from where I used to live in Tokyo. I made sure to go there several times  near the end of my stay and during one such visit, I wanted to order a particular special curry set of the day. I retracted a request for tea after I found out it wasn't included with the set and my husband just ordered one with his set (which did include it). When our meals arrived, there were two cups of tea and we were told the second one was "sabisu". Sometimes you'll go into a restaurant or a store and be given something for free, even when it didn't have an effect on your purchasing. It had nothing to do with a free sample. It was just an extra.

I realize that people are given freebies all over the world, but there was something uniquely Japanese and quaint wrapped up in that one word. For a country that often has byzantine paths to communication, it was this compact and efficient way of letting the customer know that this was their way of delivering extra service by giving you something for nothing. I'll miss hearing people say, "sabisu". 

Won't Miss #379 - the "lesser" customer

This woman at Adores gaming center was giving some sort of discount card or ticket to everyone who came in, but didn't offer any to my husband and I. This is despite the fact that we actually patronize their establishments. 

Walking down the streets of Tokyo or going into shops, you see people sometimes handing out free samples, tissues, coupons, and flyers. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you will be given a flyer regardless of foreignness. About a third of the time, however, you are not given tissue packets. And an even smaller amount of the time, you are given samples or coupons. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I can see when every person who walks by is offered something and I am not. It's hard to conclude anything other than it is highly likely that foreigners aren't seen as important enough potential customers to be given the same treatment as Japanese. There might be an assumption that we can't read what we are given or the people who hand out samples may have been explicitly told not to "waste" them on certain groups of people (including foreigners). 

I won't miss being seen as so unimportant as a customer that I am not extended the same benefits, small as they might be, as Japanese people. 

Will Miss #243 - neighborhood freebies

The sign behind the cups on the left tells people they are welcome to take these things.

I'm not sure if this is something which is common all over Japan (or Tokyo) or if it just happens in my neighborhood, but I often see people putting out free items with a sign encouraging anyone who wants them to take the objects on offer. More often than not, it's dishes, but sometimes it is pieces of furniture, clothing, or even novel objects like Japanese dolls. I'm particularly lucky because one of the most generous people is about a minute from my apartment. I rarely take things from them, but I think it's a nice thing to do. It's neighborly and reduces waste.

I'll miss these neighborhood freebies, which are not only useful, but have uniquely Japanese items.