Still not Dead

Well, I've managed to avoid blog entries for a record amount of time -- one month! I think this calls for a celebration! I will therefore dedicate this blog entry to Japan's three attractions that keep the tourists coming: vending machines, toilets, and cell phones.

So, vending machines. I'm fairly certain I buy at least one object from a vending machine every day. That's a lot of gaijin money going to a fairly basic piece of machinery, I'll have you know! But it's not nearly as gluttonous at it sounds. Japan just knows how to market their products, and get my business in three ways -- the sheer amount of vending machines, the price trickery of vending machines, and most importantly, the objects sold in vending machines.

First off, unless you have steel resolve, you simply cannot resist the army of vending machines you see every single day. there are three vending machines immediately outside my dorm. There are three vending machines IN my dorm. I pass over ten on my way to school. If I go to the train station, there are hundreds. There are also vending machines at the bus stops, parks, shrines, temples, restaurants, attractions, neighborhoods, schools, and anywhere else you could imagine. We have the highest number of vending machines per capita, for crying out loud! One vending machine for every 23 people. So, when one feels thirsty, for instance, one could just stop within 50 meters and get a drink, which brings me to my next problem.

The price. Vending machines are not particularly cheap. They aren't insanely expensive, but they are definitely not on the cheap side. But Japanese money is very tricky... You see, the American coin system only [practically] goes up to 25 cents, so popping a few quarters in doesn't really lighten your wallet. In Japan, however, the coins can reach 500 yen, which is about five dollars, which can definitely hurt your budget unless you're especially careful. And that can be extremely difficult living in a vending machine society -- yeah, the drink costs $1.50, but I only need one silly little coin to buy it! And suddenly it doesn't seem like a serious rip-off. You win again, Japan.

Finally, vending machines aren't just for cold drinks. They also have hot drinks. And cup noodles. And cigarettes. And beer -- yes, if you're over 20 (and even if you're not, because the vending machines don't judge), you can buy alcohol from vending machines that are conveniently located immediately outside my dorm (read section on "convenience", seen above). According to wikipedia, other commodities include underwear, iPods, porn magazines, sexual lubricants, live lobsters, fresh meat, eggs and potted plants. My favorite vending machine purchase, however, is the good ol' jello, because I like to live a humble life in Japan.

My next favorite thing in Japan has to be the toilets. Nearly all public toilets have one very special quality -- heated seats. This sounds small, but one simply can't imagine how beautiful your day becomes when you sit down on a warm toilet seat. And those are the "low quality" seats. These "washlet" toilets can be far more advanced. Some of these fancy qualities include water sprays to "save on toilet paper", music, the flushing noise (minus the flush, in some cases), automatic lids, and several levels of flushing. It can be overwhelming for a foreigner in general, but seeing the remote in Japanese is just crazy!

Finally, there are the cell phones. Japan is obsessed with its cell phones, and the technology certainly reflects that. I have a pay-as-you-go phone (which sucks in Japan about as much as it does in America...), but it definitely makes life easier! For example -- you go to a bar and have a few too many. Later, you meet someone and decide to exchange numbers. In America, the number will get saved as "Mike Something-that-might-start-with-a-T", or "Hot Guy Wearing Green Shirt". Japan, however, has already considered this problem, and created a beautiful thing called "infrared". Therefore, you just sync your phones, and you immediately have the correct name and number, along with a picture, birthday, blood type, and hobbies, instantly saved in your phonebook. Phones generally have the "normal" accessories, such as music, a camera, and Internet access, but they also have more practical accessories, like money. Yes, nowadays, many people have scannable cell phones that will have a paypal sort of system to use at vending machines (see above), airports, etc.

It is also very popular to "bling" one's cell phone. This doesn't necessarily contribute to the cell phone itself, but it's certainly cute (and definitely fitting of Japan)!

Well, hopefully this post sort of makes up for the fact that I have not posted in a while. I will really try hard to post more often!! Onegaishimasu!!