Bridge the Globe

Japan, you’re on notice.

One phrase that comes to people’s minds when they think of Japan that I’ve found to be totally untrue is, “On the cutting edge of technology.”  Uhh, these guys make those wireless routers I have at home, right, so why don’t they USE THEM?  Seriously.  I expected to get Wi-Fi on every bus, train, and street corner, but I can’t even get internet – we’re talking with a wired plug here – in most of the hotel rooms I’ve stayed in.  I’ve resorted to pulling the wires out of unused computers to download my email.

I mean, what’s the point of lugging a laptop halfway around the world (back to the country where it came from, by the way) if I can’t even use it for email?  I’ve stayed at a random hotel in the middle of nowhere in Kansas and had free wireless internet in my room.  Why can’t the hotel lobby, at the very least, hook up a router and help a brother out?  And it’s not like I’m staying in rat-holes, here, because I’m traveling with my dad who’s reached a point in his life where he doesn’t have to stay in rat-hole hotels anymore.  So what gives?

Japan, you’re on notice.

Mr. Clean is Actually Japanese

Japan in one word: clean.  Not pristine in the sense that things aren’t used, because they are, and not new – most buildings are certainly older than they are in the US and you can see rust and other signs of aging.  But everything, everywhere, is absolutely clean.  The streets, the floors, the sidewalks, the gardens – you can’t even find dead leaves on the ground.  Litter just simply doesn’t exist in drainage ditches, train stations, parking lots, underpasses, or anywhere.  Busses, bathrooms, and hotel rooms don’t sparkle like in some Tilex commercial, but they are CLEAN.  White glove clean.

And all of this without trashcans.  Anywhere.  A small one in hotel rooms, but not on sidewalks, parks, vending machine areas (which are everywhere), or bathrooms.  Of course, why would they need one in a bathroom because, ha, good luck finding a paper towel to dry your hands with in this country.  Occasionally they’ll give you those jet dry things, but since you didn’t use any soap (who needs soap in a bathroom, right? Not the Japanese, that’s for sure!), I guess you just don’t need to dry your hands.

But everything is absolutely clean.  If you do see a piece of trash, which I challenge you to do, rest assured that it was left by accident.