20 Weird (or Amazing) Things That Are Totally Normal in Japan

What is considered normal in Japan can come as a big surprise anywhere else in the world. For example, all Japanese elementary school students are supposed to wear a randoseru, a heavy-duty backpack that usually costs at least $300, for approximately 6 years. Essentially, these expensive backpacks are not for those who can afford to buy them with their own money.

O awesome.club dives into Japanese culture to see how some things that seem common to natives can surprise people who were born in other parts of the world.

It is a well-known fact that Japan is a very clean country. But the ornamental carp that live in the drainage channels further raise the level of cleanliness in this country. Koi fish need clean water to live and they can also cost a fortune, but nobody thinks to catch them.

To some of us this might seem insulting, but to the Japanese it means that the man trusts the woman enough to let her wash one of his most intimate belongings. It’s a humble way of inviting someone to see even the not-so-beautiful part of a person and accept their help in solving any problem.

In Western culture, it can feel humiliating if you’re told you have a small face. On a Japanese TV show, which Madonna was invited to, the host told her that her face was small and she was confused before replying: “But I have a big heart!” The star could have thought that the journalist was saying something nasty, when in fact he was praising her beauty.

Summer in Japan can be very hot, especially in Osaka and Kyoto, but that doesn’t stop some Japanese women from putting on more clothes to protect their skin from the sun’s rays. In most other countries, along with summer, it’s time to wear loose dresses, but Japanese women prefer not to risk skin cancer or sunbathing.

Even when the sunlight dazzles the eyes, the Japanese prefer to use an umbrella instead of sunglasses, which are seen as something only stylish people, celebrities and foreigners wear.

Although the Japanese are generally very polite, they believe in the need to suck on noodles when eating soups. The reason is that in this way the pasta is cooled when it comes into direct contact with the tongue. Plus, you can enjoy them while those in the bowl remain hot. Some also believe that sipping is an excellent way to enjoy the aroma of soba.

As in Chinese and Korean culture, the Japanese believe that the gods tie an invisible red string around the fingers of those who are meant for each other. The thread may stretch or become tangled, but it never breaks. As for the little finger, if a Japanese person asks, “Is she yours…?” and shows the little finger, it means “girlfriend”, “lover” or “wife”. Unless you’re talking to a member of the Japanese Yakuza mafia – in which case, that means the lover, girlfriend or wife has been beheaded.

One might think: “Are you looking for a cook?”. However, this is an indirect way of proposing marriage. The Japanese eat miso soup every day, but each house has its own recipes for this delight. This proposal means that the person entrusts him with one of the most important components of the daily diet.

In other countries, lawyers are only allowed to have business cards to show they are qualified, but in countries like Japan and Korea, they have special badges that they wear on the lapels of their jackets. The sunflower-shaped emblem at the start is gold, but wear and tear reveals it to be made of silver, which clearly shows on the badges of veteran lawyers, unless they have paid more money for gold items.

Tourists may be surprised that there are few trash cans in such a clean country. In most cases, they are located next to vending machines. Some trash cans outside shops can only be used by shops. The Japanese have the habit of collecting garbage and usually keep it until they get home, where they can dispose of it properly.

the fringes or mother-gami are an extremely popular trend in hairstyles among the Japanese. Perhaps this is due to the culture of emphasizing tenderness and worshiping small faces. Although most Japanese are born with natural black hair, young people tend to dye their hair brown, a trend they call chapatsu and literally means “tea hair”.

People often ask: do Japanese people really eat raw eggs? The answer is yes. Raw and lightly cooked eggs are usually eaten with rice, meat or pasta. The simplest recipe is when a raw egg is mixed with rice, soy sauce and kelp or furikake (a dry Japanese seasoning), considered a bachelor meal because it’s easy to prepare.

O furisode, or long-sleeved kimono, is a garment for unmarried young women. Parents often rent or buy them for their daughters to use when they celebrate coming of age. On top of the huge belt that holds the kimono, some young Japanese women put a cloth hanging from the belt. Married women are not allowed to wear this fabric as it is considered good for attracting men.

When taking their daily bath, Japanese people don’t usually use bath bombs. They always rinse their body in the shower or sink before getting into the tub. After immersion, they soap up outside the bathtub and rinse again before the second immersion. The bath is prepared in advance to ensure the right temperature and is usually shared by all family members.

Japanese women tend to choose lipsticks with softer tones rather than bright or dark colors. However, they like to enhance their natural flush, which gives them a fresh, vital look, as if they’ve just finished working out.

In the rest of the world, people usually celebrate Christmas with their family, but for the Japanese, it’s like Valentine’s Day. There was a time when hotels were full on Christmas Eve because couples spent that day together. Another Christmas tradition is eating fried chicken from KFC, as the brand has promoted its specialty as a Christmas meal in Japan since December 1974.

Throughout life, a Japanese person visits 3 different religious places on different occasions. To celebrate Shichi-Go-San, an annual festival for 3-, 5-, and 7-year-olds, he goes to a shrine. Weddings are usually held in churches, sometimes fake ones, which were built for the sole purpose of holding wedding ceremonies. Funerals are usually held in temples.

While in other countries people only ask for your blood group for medical purposes, in Japan it’s used to find out someone’s personality traits, more than horoscopes. It is said that people of blood group A, which is the majority of the Japanese population, are well-groomed and shy. Representatives of the O group are optimistic and ambitious. Those with type AB blood, the rarest, are eccentric. And anyone with group B blood is described as selfish.

In high-end Japanese restaurants, customers are given a hot towel, or a oshibori🇧🇷 In the cheaper ones, it is usually synthetic. Unlike napkins, which are used to wipe your mouth after eating, it should be used before a meal to wipe your hands. Smearing it on your face or neck is considered impolite.

The word for saying yes is hai and it’s not iie🇧🇷 But the Japanese also tend to use “ii desu” or “kekkou desu”, which can mean yes or no. How to know what it means? You have to look at the context and the way it’s said. The intonation and/or the gesture will determine what the speaker wants to say.

Which of the points in our post can you make known? Do you know more curious facts about Japanese culture?