shite ittara...(free-form)

So, here I get to discuss what will probably be an ever growing list of things to do (and not to do) in Japan. These are not necessarily things that will get you in trouble or even get you laughed at, but things that I might have liked to have known before I came.

1. Pick the skin off your grapes. I've had several people tell me they did it just because that's what people do, or because the skins are chewy. I like the flavor, so I ignored this more or less. But I think they actually put something on the grapes (fertilizers and such), so it's probably best not to eat the skins.
2. If you really feel you must complete your sentence, speak quickly...maybe that's a given...
3. When travelling on the roads, memorize the kanji as well as the street names. The signs are written in such a way that the kanji can be read from a great distance quickly, while the English names are smaller and harder to read from, say, across the street.
4. 2000 yen bills, quite common in America, are considered rare here. Machines, including those in the train stations, do not take them. Oops.
5. When people ask you in Japanese if you want ice cream or some such, they frequently use "iru" which literally means "to need." The first time I was posed this question was quite confusing, as I was not sure what to say to "do you need ice cream?" Well, no, strictly speaking, I probably don't, but I would like it...the right answer is yes.
6. I am not the person to ask about manners. When offered food and things, you are supposed to turn it down 3 times in most of Japan, something more like 5 in Kyoto. Being a foreigner, people may or may not think you are aware of that rule. Ultimately, you should accept, and with a host family, just saying no once or yes first seems to be fine (or maybe they secretly thing "gah, so rude" every time).
7. I wonder if there really is a place where people use the other ends of their chopsticks when reaching into communal food dishes. I haven't yet met someone who observed this custom.
8. Good omiyage = food. :)
9. When using a Japanese style toilet, face the other way (towards the flusher). It is also customary to not tear the toilet paper willy-nilly (haha).
10. I have occasionally thought while here, "if this is your pillow, I would hate to meet your brick." I don't know why some pillows here are so very hard, but it is interesting. What was the point of this comment?...Dunno, maybe that if you have a favorite pillow, you should consider bringing it.
11. The Japanese version of dirty is different from the American one. America = germs are invisible and dirty, stains / dirt is annoying. Japanese = germs?, stains / dirt = dirty. That may be a bit extreme, but you don't wash your hands after going to the bathroom or before eating...you wash them because you got grease from your fried fish on them.
12. For those who don't know, there are three meanings for the word kiru in Japanese (albiet the kanji are different - and actually, there are more than three, but the three here mentioned are common words). That is to say, "to come" and "to listen" or "to ask." So, today I was sitting at the dinner table while my host brother was across the room on the sofa. Suddenly, he begins to yell, "kite. Kite! KITE!" I glance around, but he makes no sign that he's seen except to fall silent, so I assume he's talking to his mother (also nearby). Of course, he starts up again, and adds my name, so now I know he's talking to me, and turn around. "Nani? (what?") I question. "Kite," he insists. "Kite iru," I say uncertainly (I am listening) which earns me a dubious expression, for I am clearly not coming towards him (which is what he wants me to do) and even if I were, in Japanese one says "I am going" when they come, not actually, "I am coming." Beware of these simple seeming words!
13. Be careful what you say you like, especially when it comes to food. Chances are you will quickly find yourself recieving more of it than you ever bargained for, and occasionally your words can lead to the uncomfortable situation of your host running out late at night to buy something for the next morning's meal....or you may choose to use this strategically (like me) and tell everyone you like anko (red bean paste flavored foods) so that you can eat a lot of what you like :)
14. The roads are reversed here. Aside from standing on the wrong side of several cars waiting to get in, I have also occasionally ridden in the wrong lane on my bicycle. On the other hand, people notoriously do not actually bike on the left side of the sidewalk. Again, you can be like me and teach them a lesson by hitting them (I am one of the 0.02% of people here with a helmet, so I'll be safe) or you can just watch out.
15. You can't pay with your debit card. That includes online. Get a credit card, or get used to using cash.
16. Cockroaches are real! And there are few things more amusing than a host mother running around with a can of bugspray and squealing whenever the little critters come near...

17. Beware of host siblings, too. Incidentally, I do not care if my host brother tries to "check on me" while I'm in the shower (he is under 10, worry not) but his mother might not feel the same. However, saying "your mother won't like that" is about as effective here as in America. *Having grown up in a busy family, my spidey senses tingle whenever he nears the bathroom door - he has yet to get it open successfully, and has ceased to try.
18. Japan can seemingly be very random at times. Case in point - the dinosaur images on this page (besides showing how very random I can be) are from a kabuto (horseshoe crab) museum in Okayama. Since dinosaurs are also ancient, they apparently fit the bill. BTW, horseshoe crabs are fascinating creatures (and are also poisonous, being most closely related to spiders).
19. XD Will add more as they come...