I'm getting so used to living here that strange things don't seem so strange anymore. However...

In Japan, ATMs aren't open 24 hours. There is no good explanation for this. The only theory I've heard is that the "housewives lobby" wants to keep it this way so that their husbands will come home at night. This same group is also allegedly responsible for the early closure of train services (usually by 1230am) and lack of all-night buses. A salaryman could stay out all night with the excuse that "I missed the last train, had no cash for a cab, and had to spend the night at a hostess bar that accepts credit cards". So who knows? You'd think that the department store lobby might push for a change, so that people can get money out to shop on Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and holidays - after all, Tokyo at least is a place where the shopping never stops.

In Japan, the baseball teams are owned by department stores, as I may have mentioned before. Winning the league pennant and the Japan Series leads to big sales. The Daiei Hawks recently won both. I just bought a lot of new clothes for under 10,000 yen (about $125 Cdn). GO HAWKS!!!

In Japan, I've been to an ice-hockey game. At a Latin club in Roppongi, ordinary-looking Japanese office workers were salsa experts. Last night I went to a hiphop club and at 2am there was a breakdancing display.

In Japan, it is next to impossible for non-Japanese to obtain citizenship and voting rights, no matter how many generations their families have been here. But many people say they're studying English because they want to talk to foreigners, and they don't just mean for business or travel. They're making it very hard for me to practice my Japanese and I'm getting very frustrated!!!

In Japan, Meg Ryan and Anthony Hopkins sell cars and Jean Reno, Tiger Woods, and Stevie Wonder sell coffee. Stevie Wonder's latest single seems linked to the name of the coffee he's promoting, as if he wrote the song for the ad.

In Japan, when my mobile phone rings it plays the "Pink Panther" theme. I have quite a selection if I want to change it. I've heard many types of classical music. One of my friends answers to the "Mickey Mouse Club" theme, another to "When You Wish Upon a Star".

In Japan, the men are fashion victims too. The latest look - plastic hairbands to keep the hair back off their faces. With a curly perm, it's quite fetching!

Copyright Ailsa Wylie 1999