Japan- it’s all in the details!

18 Nov

Japanese are often viewed as being very polite and courteous, and we witnessed example of this on daily basis while visiting Japan. The attention to details in Japan is uncanny, and it was a great insight into the culture.  For instance in public restrooms I often noticed how the toilet paper was folded into a triangular shape. I originally thought it was the cleaning ladies that did this, but soon realized that women do it themselves after using the tp- just to make it prettier for the next person using it. How nice is that? Talking about public restrooms- they are so abundant and so well maintained that I was constantly surprised.

My husband and I noticed a yellow raised line that goes along the  sidewalk, and for a while couldn’t figure out what it was intended for. We later realized that it was intended for the blind to find their way. When they tap on the yellow with a cane it makes a different sound from the  sidewalk, and it  makes the  streets easier for them to navigate.  When we went to the post office we noticed that they had glasses to  lend out to the elderly people who forgot theirs at home. There are courtesy seats in the subway, and people constantly get up and give up their seats to the elderly or pregnant women.  And although the following is a clever advertising strategy,  the concept is still based on politeness and attention to detail that is so prevalent here- there are ads printed on packets of tissue,  and passed out on the street.  I guess most of us would throw out a flyer after glancing at it, but  you are much more likely  to keep the pack of tissue- and every time you use it you are looking at a particular company’s ad again and again. My purse was filled with packets of tissue, and it came in sooo handy on so many occasions. Thanks for the clever advertising gimmick!!!
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Yellow courtesy line for the blind

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A sign for "courtesy seats"

We stayed in several different hotels, and they were relatively similar- small rooms, very clean and simple with state of the art toilets. In case you haven’t heard of TOTO-Japan’s number one brand of plumbing equipment- most toilets in Japan have a bidet, seat warming and deodorizing features, and a feature that plays a soft ” flushing ” like sound throughout your restroom use. The first hotel we stayed at was Shinjuku New City. Simple diggs, but immaculately clean, and the whole ” attention to details” thing was very much at play here. There were robes and slippers in our room, as well as a flashlight and shoe polish. In the bathroom  there were packages with a toothbrush and tiny toothpaste, razor and tiny shaving cream. I have stayed at much nicer hotels in the US and Europe but have never gotten an unsolicited toothbrush before.

Our second hotel was also in Shinjuku- we loved the area, and found it super convenient to everything. Rose Garden Hotel was also a simple business hotel. What really impressed me was- when it rained there were two hotel employees standing at the entrance and handing out towels. They also had umbrellas they lent out to people going out. These were such nice gestures, and so helpful. There was a typhoon somewhere outside of Tokyo, and it rained pretty hard for several days. Coming back to our hotel and getting a towel after being rained on for hours was a very welcome end to the day.

It’s fascinating to me that in a city that is so densely populated, so fast paced and busy people find time for little gestures of politeness. I appreciated it so much more so just because it would be so easy for the Japanese to go on with their busy lives and dismiss the small gestures.  And yet they find the time to fold the toilet paper, pass out umbrellas and pay their respects to the elderly. Witnessing this part of Japanese culture made my stay a lot more meaningful and pleasurable.

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One Response to “Japan- it’s all in the details!”

  1. sofia 24. Nov, 2010 at 9:04 am #

    Folded toilet paper? That’s such a sweet gesture! I might just start doing that myself :)

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