Strange things about Japan (to an outsider)

[vuzedome]

And speaking of weird stuff from Japan:

Squatter toilets.

I tried using one once... never again. I will wait for a Western toilet to open up in restrooms at train stations.

Squatter toilets are actually more hygienic and easily maintained.

[Proin Drakenzol]

And speaking of weird stuff from Japan:

Squatter toilets.

I tried using one once... never again. I will wait for a Western toilet to open up in restrooms at train stations.

Squatter toilets are actually more hygienic and easily maintained.

And I don't squat.

[kyoterry]

And speaking of weird stuff from Japan:

Squatter toilets.

I tried using one once... never again. I will wait for a Western toilet to open up in restrooms at train stations.

Squatter toilets are actually more hygienic and easily maintained.

And I don't squat.

LoL...it's like hovering over the toilet seat...no thanks. If I want to squat it will be out in the forest when im out camping..that is the only exception

[Proin Drakenzol]

And speaking of weird stuff from Japan:

Squatter toilets.

I tried using one once... never again. I will wait for a Western toilet to open up in restrooms at train stations.

Squatter toilets are actually more hygienic and easily maintained.

And I don't squat.

LoL...it's like hovering over the toilet seat...no thanks. If I want to squat it will be out in the forest when im out camping..that is the only exception

The S.Korean net cafe I'm at right now has a squatter. Good thing I only had to piss.

[DrmChsr0]

This would apply very much to anyone who wants to live in or do business in Japan.

One of the stranger things about Japan I know of off my head is this strange event that happens after work, is very much similar to clubbing except for the fact it's office workers and the places they visit. Can't remember the term off my head, but it's pretty much the only time they allow themselves to relax and have fun. And to truly let out how they really feel about everything.

Well, that, and it's either the fact that a poisonous fish is a popular dish in Japan, the fact that Japanese life in the cities feels so regimented that it sometimes feels like you're in the army, or the fact that you have to remember to bow very, very low.

There's also the casual racism that seems to be the norm, revisionist history, pornography becoming art (though you must admit, Japan's probably the only country I know of that has actual pornography becoming an artpiece. I mean, The Fisherman's Wife seems to be flat-out porn, but it's considered art in some circles. Naked people were the norm in most Renaissance and other period artworks, but never in erotic positions for the most part...)

[Sosseres]

Well, that, and it's either the fact that a poisonous fish is a popular dish in Japan, the fact that Japanese life in the cities feels so regimented that it sometimes feels like you're in the army, or the fact that you have to remember to bow very, very low.

There's also the casual racism that seems to be the norm, revisionist history, pornography becoming art (though you must admit, Japan's probably the only country I know of that has actual pornography becoming an artpiece. I mean, The Fisherman's Wife seems to be flat-out porn, but it's considered art in some circles. Naked people were the norm in most Renaissance and other period artworks, but never in erotic positions for the most part...)

Sweden has a national dish that is borderline poisonous due to how it is prepared, not due to which kind it is. So that I don't find strange.

When cooking and eating lutefisk, it is important to clean the lutefisk and its residue off pans, plates, and utensils immediately. Lutefisk left overnight becomes nearly impossible to remove. Sterling silver should never be used in the cooking, serving or eating of lutefisk, which will permanently ruin silver. Stainless steel utensils are recommended instead.

Then nude art isn't something I would even notice. The erotica genre in western porn is quite large and that can in some cases be compared to nude picture art.

[ilk3000]

I used those types of toilets in China for a month and a half. You get used to it and I think the position actually helps you go. It was weird to start using Western toilets again.

Does anybody know what's up with nose and ear picking in Japan? It seems to mostly be done by anime characters who are showing they don't care or are rebelling. It's not something you'd see here, but is it still considered impolite?

[vuzedome]

I used those types of toilets in China for a month and a half. You get used to it and I think the position actually helps you go. It was weird to start using Western toilets again.

Does anybody know what's up with nose and ear picking in Japan? It seems to mostly be done by anime characters who are showing they don't care or are rebelling. It's not something you'd see here, but is it still considered impolite?

Very impolite, but I still do it in front of my employer, he'll just laugh it off and start picking his own ear. His desk is right beside mine and the whole office is a sausage fest.

[Proin Drakenzol]

The "pimps" in Japan (and all the Asian countries I've been to, actually) are female.

In Japan they're called (by us at least) "mama-sans." It's kinda weird.

[LiquidZero]

And speaking of weird stuff from Japan:

Squatter toilets.

I tried using one once... never again. I will wait for a Western toilet to open up in restrooms at train stations.

Deal with it...

i'd be too scared i'd fall in! or slip in er something, especially while high.

[quekmeister]

And speaking of weird stuff from Japan:
Squatter toilets.

I tried using one once... never again. I will wait for a Western toilet to open up in restrooms at train stations.

Deal with it...

i'd be too scared i'd fall in! or slip in er something, especially while high.

If you were high, wouldn't you just go on the floor?