Initial Impressions

Here are some initial impressions from our first few hours in Japan...

• Before arriving, we had read about and were told to expect  Japanese toilets designed to mask the sound of bodily noises that inevitably occur when one enters a bathroom stall, and those warnings were dead on. Toto brand toilets seem to have monopolized the toilet market here in Japan, which means that every single public Japanese toilet we've encountered so far makes a running water sound when you sit down to do your business. One toilet actually had the option of waving your hand in front of a sensor to add an additional running water noise on top of what the toilet was already doing. If you click on the picture below, you can see that you also have the option of pressing a button for a bidet or spray feature, but neither of us have been brave enough to try that out yet. Another toilet tidbit, a graphic on the bathroom stall doors indicate if there is a Japanese style toilet in the stall, which is basically a porcelain basin in the floor that would seem to involve some form of squatting. Thankfully, there seems to be one Japanese toilet for every four or five Western-style toilets, so we probably won't have to use those in the foreseeable future.

 

• Both airports were filled with stands selling various cakes and other food items packaged in little boxes.

• The Japanese work ethic and customer service orientation was immediately apparent, as everyone at both airports were very friendly and helpful. Here are a few examples: First, we witnessed a male Customs employee literally run to his booth to help the next customer presumably coming off of a break. I can't even imagine seeing a U.S. Customs employee doing the same. Second, a woman working for the airport must have seen us schlepping our four suitcases off of the airport  bus, and proceeded to rush a cart over to us with a bow and a smile. Third, about three male employees of the "Friendly Airport Limousine" service scurried to unload bags from the undercarriage of the bus and all three bowed in unison as the bus pulled away. This will probably be a valued aspect of our experience here.
• We can already tell that it is going to be very interesting to compare and contrast our experiences of living in America, Germany, and now Japan. For example, it seems that the Japanese are a bit more customer service oriented than the Germans; however, from our perspective, what the Germans lacked in friendliness and warmth was made up in their mastery of the English language. Although employees at information counters in both airports spoke great English and can give you all the info you need, not surprisingly, other individuals don't seem to speak English nearly as well as we were used to in Europe.
• There were some crazy fashion statements being made at the airports, including school girl uniforms (I'm pretty sure girls don't have to catch a plane to school each day), knee high socks on young and middle-aged girls and women, lots of Western-style clothing, high heels ranging from one to four inches on many female travelers, scrunchies, and hats being worn indoors.
• We saw three Starbucks being frequented by a lot of Japanese customers  in the two airports, but also noticed that nearly everyone ordered the Tall (i.e. small) size drinks. Portion control?
• The Japanese word for "yes" is pronounced hi. This word sounded a bit stern to our Japanese language virgin ears. This is because when put into our Latin characters, the word would actually be Hai with an emphasis placed on two syllables instead of one.
• We noticed priority seating on the airport bus and priority boarding on the Japan airlines flight for pregnant women. 

It will be interesting to see how these and other first impressions may evolve over the next three years!