Quicky: long overdue, but here goes anyway. So, when you enter a shop or restaurant, be prepared to be shouted at by as many employees that you can or cannot see. They will cry out irasshaimase at you, indicating that you are very welcome in their shop (and in doing so, possibly, alerting colleagues).
Read more, here.
And also, this is very, very true as by personal experience.
Quicky: there are not many places where you can park your bicycle. That is, there is space to park your bicycle, which people do, but it’s definitely not marked as such.
On the other hand, sometimes there are places that are designated as parking spots and then you can store your bicycle in a clamp, which doubles as some kind of lock. A chain lock if you will.
I noticed that almost no bicycle is locked with an additional lock, let alone securely attached to immovable objects. But maybe that’s not necessary when every bicycle is explicitly registered…
Quicky: to continue my observations regarding traffic lights, over here they are almost strictly on a timer creating “waves” of traffic, you could say.
This is unusual to me because in the Netherlands there are detectors in the road, which sense if there’s traffic waiting. Only then will that particular lane get a green light shortly thereafter.
Similarly for pedestrians, in the Netherlands they press buttons to indicate they want to cross the street.
Only once or twice have I been at an intersection of crossing here, where I had to push a button to wait for a green light.
Quicky: the first thing you get asked when entering a restaurant, is how many people will be there. Just so you know. Your host will point up 1 finger and ask you a question when you enter. You answer by saying “hitori (alone)” or “futatsu” (with two).
Quicky: so this is a thing in Japan…
It’s just chocolate (with almond, in this case), stuck on a pretzel stick. But, it’s convenient for not getting chocolate in your fingers.
Quicky: trying to order a set menu, but varying one element, which deviates from the standard, making the set more expensive (or so I believe), proves to be quite a challenge. And leads to humorous situations. lol
Quicky: Nagoyans love building shopping malls underground. Lots.
Quicky: calling a taxi is easy. All you have to do is see an unoccupied one coming your way and raise your hand. The driver should stop close by and hastily get out of the taxi to pick up your luggage and store it in the trunk.
You can tell if a taxi is unoccupied by the light on the roof. If it is lit, the taxi is unoccupied. (if I’m not mistaken)
For more info on taxis, see a previous post.
Quicky: I learned that every bicycle is registered with it’s own number. That is, if ever a stray one is found or fined, the owner can be traced.
Quicky: many trucks that are driving around over here, have ridiculous amounts of chrome parts on them. Pimp my truck, baby.