Top 10 - with contributions from Monica and Claire

Just in case a rosy picture has been painted about my experiences to date...

10 innocuous, everyday things we do that apparently offend the Japanese:

1. Eating/drinking while walking and going about your daily business.
Commuting to work, running errands, etc. Imagine just one day in your week when you couldn't carry your Starbucks around with you. That's us EVERYday. Starbucks here has to-go cups, but we can't figure out why, since it's considered rude to drink and walk. Nobody on the subway, walking down the street, or sitting in an office has a Starbucks cup. It's a total mystery.

2. Talking on your cell phone in a public place.
Walking through the subway station or walking down the street. In the U.S., everybody talks on their cell phone pretty much anywhere they can get reception. Here, the subway stations are packed to the gills with commuters yet everyone is silent.

3. De-ricing sushi.
Rice is sacred here. To eat only half the bundle of rice under the maguro is a sin. Servers are not very happy with they clear your plates and one is stacked high with rice piles.

4. Lack of elevator edict - talking while in the elevator is not allowed. This is quite frustrate when you are in mid-conversation and have to postpone until you have reached your floor. There is a greeting that is muttered upon entering and exiting the elevator that does not solicit nor require a response/acknowledgement however it is required - go figure.

5. Not wearing hosiery and going barelegged. Wearing stockings with open-toe shoes, or better yet, wearing knee-high stockings (sometimes black) with a skirt AND open-toe shoes.

6. Showing emotion (aka smiling, laughing, etc) - apparently these are not activities that are embraced by the Japanese culture

7. Expressing an opinion - as a woman having an option is not recommended or encouraged

8. Amount of food we consume - the amount of food required to fuel our normal sized bodies is offensive because the majority of the women here make Nicole Richie look obese (think Kristie Alley pre-Jenny Craig)

9. Walking into a restaurant without a male companion - the women are not expected to eat without the presence of a male; this is our presumption because we have yet to see a woman dining at out night.

10. Using the "loo" without pressing the fake flush noise button. Every woman (not sure about the men) here uses this function to mask her natural #1 noises

Top 10 things that make us go "WTF"

1. Wearing stockings with open-toe shoes, or better yet, wearing knee-high stockings (sometimes black) with a skirt AND open-toe shoes.

2. Mouth noises. Apparently smacking and slurping are just a normal part of the dining experience.

3. The morning commute. Subway stations are so densely crowded with commuters that every day is like playing Frogger. You arrive at the office exhausted from your near-brushes with death.

4. All the shit that hangs off people's cell phones, even men's. Grown men and women have Beanie Babies, bells, Hello Kelly trinkets and assorted tchotkes hanging off their phone, sometimes doubling or tripling the size of the phone. WTF.

5. No towels or air drying facility is provided in the bathrooms. Individuals will carry pieces of terry towel (often of designer provenance btw did you know Chole does mini wash clothes) to repeatedly dry their hands with or mop their sweat up with - how can this be hygienic?

6. The quantity of make up worn by individual women (although no guilty parties in KSA Japan). In some cases this is almost mask-like in its thickness and doll-like in its perfection. There are some women who apply so much mascara they can barley blink.

7. The intensity level of MAX STRENGTH exercise classes - are we missing something? There was some shaking of the limbs and heavy breathing (mind you the whole class was in Japanese and we only understood the "right" and "left" commands). The only reason we broke a sweat was from laughing and/or lack of AC (see #8 below)

8. No AC provision to save energy is surely counteracted by electricity required to power fans and decreased productivity levels

9. Excessive multiple packaging - they are militant about saving energy and recycling however each time you make a purchase it gets wrapped in 3 layers of plastic plus a bag.

10. Recycling - it's insane here. We are of at least average intelligent people (although some may disagree) and we still have a difficult time figuring it out. There is a place for combustibles, non-combustibles, bottles, and cans (the reason why we don't have a place for cans in our work area is because we are not allowed to have non-lid items in our work area - more to come on that point).

Top 10 Things We Like About Japan

1. It is not illegal to drink alcohol on public transportation (i.e. no open container law) however see point #1 in "10 innocuous, everyday things we do that apparently offend the Japanese" This does come in quite handy when you have had a really bad day - more to come on that too (and you thought we were all fun & games here!)

2. Internet access 24/7 anywhere in Tokyo via the smart card that now hangs outside of our laptop

3. Subway station signs that tell you how many minutes til the next train arrives.

4. The "hundred yen" menu at McDonald's... mini chocolate milkshakes for under a buck.

The rest are still TBD... the challenge will be getting to 10 by the end of the project.