Will Miss #371 - vinegar drinking

What's for dessert? Vinegar, of course!

Of course, when I say I'll miss drinking vinegar, I don't mean me personally, but the fact that the Japanese do it. And it's not that "only" they do it, because apparently folk medicine worldwide claims vinegar will cure everything that ails you. It's more the pervasiveness of vinegar for drinking and how it is more fully integrated into the culture and mindset as something people just do. While I'm sure there are raw foodies, hippies, and those who think modern medicine leaves something to be desired who stir a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into a glass of water everyday and knock it back in Western countries, they're not having new products styled to suit their desire to ingest a little extra vinegar nor entire boutiques dedicated to vinegar beverages.

I'll miss the infusion of this (somewhat dubious) habit in Japanese culture.

Won't Miss #371 - methodical scanners

Yeah, I'm talking about this guy (among others). Learn how to use the equipment fellow!

I haven't lived in the U.S. for a long time, so this may be a problem there as well, but it's something I never experienced there. When I go to markets in Japan, at least 30% of the time when I am buying more than one of the same item, the cashier will scan the same item through again and again rather than scan it once and use the multiply function of the register. I've had slacktacular clerks methodically run eight bottles of the same beverage through at a snail's pace rather than press a few buttons and do it more efficiently. This behavior occurs regardless of how long the line behind me is and drives me crazy. If it was uncommon, I'd write it off to slow-witted or poorly trained employees, but it happens far too often to believe that. Also, this is hardly a country where employees aren't properly trained. If anything, they are over-trained and instructed in how to do their work down to the last detail.

I won't miss this tendency among clerks to choose ease over expediency when checking me out at stores.

Will Miss #370 - monster goya vines

At this stage of the year, the vines are about 4 stories high, and they're not finished yet.

Goya is a vegetable that is often translated to mean "bitter gourd". It looks like a big cucumber with a bad skin disease and is famous for being a part of Okinawan cuisine. Some Japanese folks swear by it and others detest it. It's one of those polarizing things, but mainly, I notice it in the summer when the local government office grows monster goya vines up the side of its building. With post-quake energy conservation (setsuden), it was recommended that many people follow their lead because the vines have the potential to cool buildings by a few degrees. In my area, this massive vine growing project has been going on for years and is part of the rhythm of life in Japan for me.

Seeing the progression of these vines from seedlings in tubs to multi-story wonders to browning debris every year is a reminder of the cycle, resiliency, and power of nature, and how the Japanese can be so particular in how they harness it, and I'll miss it.

Won't Miss #370 - being told what is "Japanese"

I'm going to blow your mind, and very likely piss you off when I say that Japanese people do not know Japanese culture by virtue of being born in Japan. Don't believe me? Next time the Golden Week holidays roll around, ask your friends what each day celebrates and how it is observed. Or, ask them what a mikoshi is/does. Being of a culture is not the same as being educated in it and sometimes it's frustrating to have people lecture me when they clearly don't have a clue. For instance, an Japanese gent of 77 asked me if I like Japanese food. I told him that I like it, but not all of it. In particular, I won't eat uncooked meat or fish (as I was raised to feel it was dangerous to even consume slightly rare food and it nauseates me). He said, 'then you don't like Japanese food because sushi and sashimi are the core of Japanese cuisine'. To this, I say that if you're going to reduce an entire country's cuisine to one or two dishes, then I don't like any country's cuisine, especially America's which supposedly revolves around beef and potatoes (the former which I never eat and the latter which I rarely eat). Besides, sushi originally was salted and fermented fish, not what the Japanese eat today, and it is defined by the inclusion of vinegar and rice, not raw fish parts. The bottom line is that you have to be interested enough and attentive enough to what is going on to really understand any culture, including your own. It's not enough to exist in it and sleepwalk through it without ever applying some mental energy to research and thinking things through.

I won't miss being told what's what in Japan by people who feel that they know everything merely by birthright.

Will Miss #369 - simpler living

The Japan Times newspaper used to run a series of columns by an American writer named Don Maloney which was compiled into a book called  "Japan: It's Not All Raw Fish." In one of his articles, Maloney talks about the inconvenience of life in Tokyo and how much more cumbersome it is than life in the U.S. A reader wrote to Maloney and talked about how he and his wife cope just fine with the high prices of food by growing their own vegetables and work around the problems of hanging clothes out to dry during the rainy season by setting up a rack inside (among other things). Maloney said that letters such as that one help him get more money for expenses from his company because they validate how much harder life is in Japan than back home.

Our perceptions of hardship are defined by the average lifestyle of everyone in our immediate area and culture-wide norms. This is one of the reasons why someone who complains about the price of their car repair isn't mollified by the idea that people are starving in other parts of the world and that should make their problems appear less dire in comparison. One of the things about life in Japan is that you live a more basic lifestyle on many levels. When Americans first get here, like Mr. Maloney, it seems like a big step down to go from complex and easy living to the simpler. more difficult life in Japan, but it does put you in touch with your humanity and the necessities of life. It also reminds you of how reliant one can become on technology (cars, dryers, central heating) and how it makes you feel removed from the costs and realities of maintaining a high lifestyle.

I'll miss the simpler living in Japan as a norm, and the way it brings about a greater sense of peace and perspective through the extra effort.

Won't Miss #369 - facial hair prejudice

Okay, this guy definitely isn't helping the image of facial hair, but give him a break. This picture was taken at a summer festival, not at the office. You'd all look less than ready for Wall Street in 93 degree heat and high humidity at a crowded public gathering.

When my husband came to Japan in 1989 seeking a job, his brother, who also lives in Japan, recommended that he shave off his beard. In fact, my brother-in-law for many years would remove his facial hair when applying for jobs because many Japanese companies view it as dirty, untidy, or lazy to sport facial growth. They tolerate beards and mustaches more from foreigners, but there is always a risk that you will lose a small edge in a competition for a job unless you are clean shaven. Personally, I find beards very becoming and they are, after all, the default state of a male face.

I won't miss the prejudice against male facial hair and the way in which it means you see very few men with beards in Japan.

Will Miss #366 - "trash cops" (the good)

As I've said before, dealing with garbage in Japan is complex. It's so complicated that many Japanese folks get it wrong, too. There are different rules for different neighborhoods and some subtler rules come into play about washing garbage. You can't, for instance, put out a can of food that has expired. You have to empty the food and wash the can. It's easy for people who have busy lives to make mistakes, and when they make them, the trash collection agents won't carry away the improperly handled trash. They just leave it there with a sticker. In some areas, one of the residents will take it upon themselves to fix the mistakes others make with their trash. In the picture above, a woman wearing plastic gloves is sorting other people's improperly organized trash so that it will all be taken away rather than left behind. I like how Japanese people will do this sort of dirty work for the benefit of the community for no pay or overt expressions of gratitude. No one asks them to do it and it certainly isn't their job to clean up other people's messes.

This behavior shows a sense of looking out for the greater good rather than simply saying, "not my problem," and ignoring it, and I'll miss that.

Won't Miss #366 - trash cops (the bad)

A (rather nice-looking) sign created by and placed in a trash collection area by a self-appointed "trash cop" reminding everyone that today's trash collection is over. This is to let them know not to put out more trash bags until the next collection day.

Some people are vigilant about making sure the trash on the curb of their block is properly done and that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. However, some people aren't content to fix the problem quietly or wait for others to handle their mistakes. They find out where trash sorting mistakes are made and decide it's their job to harass whoever they believe has made the mistake through garbage-based-sleuthing. These garbage Nazis can be so oppressive that they have actually driven people out of their apartments with their consistent badgering. What is more, many of them are proud of being such angry jerks about something as minor as trash.

I won't miss people who have so little in their lives and get off on bullying others so much that they paw through their trash looking for mistakes and who made them.

Will Miss #365 - capsule machines

Things may have changed since I was living back home, but most of the capsule (or bubble) machines that sold little plastic balls with an item inside were designed for kids. Not only that, but the stuff you got in them was pretty crappy and tended to hold ones attention for about 15 minutes then end up mashed into the carpet of your parents' car when you returned home. In Japan, there are plenty of capsule machines for kids, but there are vast numbers quite clearly designed to cater to the tastes of adults.

They sell very peculiar items which cater to esoteric tastes in these capsule machines, and I'll miss them.

Won't Miss #365 - wiring money home

As I've mentioned before, Japanese banks have paltry interest rates on savings accounts. In fact, I'm surprised most people don't hide their money in old bento boxes and bury it in the back yard. That probably has more to do with the fact that so few people have actual backyards than it being considered a lesser option than putting it in the bank. Since I'd prefer to lose as little of my money to inflation as possible, I'd like to make a little interest on my savings. The only way to do that is to wire it back home. This is a big pain in the patootie. First of all, you have to fill out a bunch of forms in Japanese, which isn't so terrible but they appear to require quite a bit of after-faffing in which a polite clerk will take the documents and hand them off to someone who will frown over them and a computer screen for approximately 22 minutes. You can then hand them about $75 in fees and transfer your funds at an exchange rate which is at least one yen worse than the actual rate and wait for the cash to reach your account back home. Oh yes, you also have to tell them why you're sending it home and if they don't like your reason (and suspect money laundering), they're going to go tell the police on you and it'll be "fun" hijinks for all.

I won't miss the hassle, cost, and sense that my privacy is being unnecessarily invaded (in a minimal manner) when I wire money home.

Will Miss #364 - emotional control emphasis

Sumo wrestlers are famed for the stoicism. Tournament winners will stand sweating and tired in front of an interviewer staring straight ahead and grunting minimal answers. They rarely smile or show any overt happiness, even when they are elated at their victory. This is an extreme example of emotional control, and few average Japanese folks have such a tight reign on their feelings. That being said, the cultural emphasis in Japan is on keeping your emotions under control. It is said in Japan that only children cannot control their feelings in front of others and people are socialized not to burden others with their extreme reactions. That does not mean that everyone succeeds, not by a long shot, but it does mean that there is a fair amount less hostility or extreme emotional behavior on the whole. In America, people often think they are being "brave" and showing they don't fear censure or social rejection by getting in someone's face. Showing your angry feelings in an overt way doesn't make you a rebel who is indifferent to society's rules. It makes you an inconsiderate asshole.

Most people in Japan are capable of keeping their emotional control in difficult situations and I'll miss that.

Won't Miss #364 - Benevolent Prejudice

One of my students is a lovely older lady who is friendly, fun to talk to, and frequently gives me gifts. She's a delightful person who makes mundane stories sound interesting and makes an effort to carry on a conversation, unlike some students who sit there like a lump and expect the teacher to interrogate them into improving their English while they grudgingly utter short replies. She's a very nice person and I like her a lot, but she also acts toward me with prejudice (as in "preconceived notion"). She tells me she wants to be my friend, because I am a foreigner. Now, to frame this in a way which others can more readily empathize with, I suggest you imagine a white person telling a black person that she wants to be friends because the other person is black. Benign prejudice is rampant in Japan, and most foreigners dismiss it by saying "no harm, no foul", but it underscores and supports malignant prejudice by perpetuating the notions about outsiders which prop up the latter. That is, that foreigners can be known merely by their foreignness, and that their nature can be prejudged, categorized, and understood based on a set of (often) erroneous assumptions. Sometimes those assumptions create a situation in which people reject you out of hand, and sometimes it makes them like you for no reason.

I won't miss benevolent prejudice because it makes it much harder to be friends with people I feel friendly toward because I know they value me for reasons that have nothing to do with me as an individual (and often for reasons that are purely imaginary).