This Country is as if from Another Planet

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Most of the country's population is concentrated in cities. Therefore, be prepared for constant queues. The queue for boarding the train, the queue for the escalator, the queue for the restaurant. Yes, yes, to just eat at some street eatery, you can stand waiting for two hours.

Incidentally, it’s surprising that there is also such a problem here as “endangered villages”. Only here is this problem, again, with a local flavor. Due to the rapidly aging nation and overcrowding of megacities, the number of abandoned houses in rural areas is growing. The authorities of small settlements take drastic measures: some houses are put up for auction for a symbolic fee, others are given away for nothing, and for some they are even ready to pay extra if you start repairs there. Of course, there are restrictions - only young families with children are provided with free housing, parents must be no older than 43 years old, and children must not be older than the age of primary school students. At the same time, families are obliged to move to this settlement and certainly live in it, and not just come on vacation or on vacation. So those who want to have a free dacha in Japan can forget about their bright dreams.

Mentality

There are legends about what Japanese comrades are attentive to trifles. And for good reason. Sometimes it seems that they are able to bring any business to the absurd limit. Besides the longest living, it is one of the most hardworking nations in the world.

The average Japanese man sleeps only 6.5 hours a night. Therefore, most fall asleep during breaks at work, in parks, in cafes, in bookstores, in shopping malls and in any other public place. Such a dream is so common and so normal that the Japanese have a word for it - inemUri, which means "to be present during sleep."

In other countries, sleep at work can cost an employee this very job, but not in Japan. Here it is considered a sign of diligence, since a person is so devoted to his work that he worked until exhaustion. The Japanese are adept at inventing entertainment for themselves, where they can exercise their Japanese diligence, patience, and concentration. For example, dorodAngo - balls of earth, polished to a shine.

In theory, everything is quite simple: we mix earth and water to the state of plastic mud, we form a smooth ball. Then we dry and rub the surface to a mirror-like shine, the so-called “hikara” (“shining”) state. In fact, this is a constant change of tedious monotonous actions for several hours. And you need to constantly monitor so that the ball does not crack. One Japanese jeweler probably didn't want to get his hands dirty, and he came up with another entertainment.

He took a 16-meter roll of kitchen foil and began to crumple it, then hammer it, and then polish it. A couple of dozen Japanese man-hours - and we got such a ball. It is clear that the rest of the Japanese were delighted, and now the whole country is obsessed with polishing foil balls. But to say that the Japanese are boring is impossible, they are just different. This, by the way, is very clearly seen not only in anime, but in general on Japanese shows and television. What is there just not.

Transport

Of course, Japanese public transport is punctual and incredibly developed. Taxis are terribly expensive here, a check for a trip can amount to tens of thousands of rubles. But our man will hardly be able to rent a car: Russian license in Japan turns into a pumpkin. Owning a private car also has its own nuances. In Japan, you can't just save up money and buy a car. First you have to prove that he will be able to use it without causing inconvenience to others.

One of the main requirements is the availability of a personal parking space located within a radius of no more than 2 km from the house. A parking space is often rented. The size of the parking lot is also important. When you submit documents to the police, you need to provide a drawing of your parking lot.

A police officer may not let you buy a brand new SUV if he thinks your parking lot is too small for him. Japan is also the most cycling country in Asia. And Tokyo is one of the ten most cycling cities in the world. But at the same time, there is practically no cycling infrastructure in the country! Whole streets are closed to cyclists.

If you think that you only need to follow the rules of paid bicycle parking, then you are wrong. Cyclists have their own riding rules and a system of penalties for violating these rules. All bicycles must be registered. A special sticker with a number is glued to the bike, and the owner is issued an identification card, which must always be carried with him.