I Love Japan: #43

The brooms




The concept of the "garden broom" is, admittedly, a new one to me, especially when they look like something you play Quidditch with. Every day Christina and I pull up to school to find the soccer kids sweeping the front walkway with these things as part of their morning routine. (This is only one of two times they'll clean throughout the day. They clean the school again after a full day of classes, then stay until 8 practicing soccer. Who said Americans were the only ones who overextend?)

I Love Japan: #44

Everyone sleeping on public transportation, and being able to unfailingly wake up seconds before their stop

I'm convinced that Japanese people can sleep anywhere.

I Love Japan: #45

Video game nation

While video games have certainly become more mainstream in most industrialized nations, Japan is still the most accommodating--it is, after all, where most video games are made. You'll see a lot of people playing a DS or PSP almost everywhere you go, regardless of age.

There are also ads for video games and consoles everywhere:

I Love Japan: #46

Japanese puppets - Bunraku （文楽）



While I've never actually seen a bunraku show (complete with a backdrop of shimasen music), I'd love to see one. They're really cool, though some of them are even freakier than marionettes from the West:

I Love Japan: #47

Kaki goori （かき氷）



If you see this symbol, it means you are in the proximity of deliciousness.





This stuff is basically what the Japanese call a snow cone, except the ice isn't so much crushed as it's almost pulled into wisps, kind of like cotton candy. You see kakki goori on the menu of a lot of festival stalls.

Fruits and other foods are added for some interesting results (e.g., the beans in the upper left...)

I Love Japan: #48

Haichu （ハィチュウ）



Japan's answer to Starburst, but less taffy-like and more gum-like. The one in the picture is melon-flavored, which is another common flavor in Japan.

I Love Japan: #49

My gym

Sure, it only has six different types of machines. Sure, it's the size of a couple walk-in closets. But what it lacks in options, modernity and general quality, it makes up for in character.

For example, like most vending machines in Japan, the ones at the gym make various sounds after you put in change and purchase something. In this case, you're greeted with animal sounds.

So far, I've encountered:

-Meowing
-Oinking
-Cock-a-doodle-dooing
-And some Japanese guy saying, with a very thick accent, what I believe to be "OLD MCDONALD!"

And oh yeah, we have this thing:

I Love Japan: #50

The flavor of green tea and its ubiquity

It's not just limited to ice cream anymore...

I Love Japan: #51

Paper lanterns （提灯）

These things are awesome.








You can find them at festivals, or just walking down the street. The red ones are usually hung outside of restaurants or food stalls. I took those last three pictures in Osaka (the bottom one is advertising a place that sells ramen).

The things really add killer ambiance. If you're walking down a city street at night, the entire place can be illuminated with a faint red glow that emanates from the lanterns, which in some places, can be found hanging outside every other shop. They're like jack o' lanterns, but cooler. And more Japanese.

I Love Japan: #52

The overnight highway bus (aka: "Dream Express")



Twice has this bus saved my hide. When I traveled outside the country for winter and spring breaks, I always got back to Tokyo around dinner time, and had to be back at work the next morning. So, for a mere 50 bucks, I can take this handy double-decker directly from Tokyo Station to home sweet home in good ol' Shiz.