Quirks of Japan 2
Here are some more quirks I've noticed while living in Japan!
Midi music. This isn't true for all stores, but in quite a few of them, like the 100-yen store, you'll hear music over the store speakers. This isn't unusual, but the music is basically midi tracks of popular songs. I don't really know why they do this, but you'll be shopping and suddenly hear music like it's from an 8-bit video game to the tune of a popular song (including songs like Call Me Maybe). Without lyrics of course. Thank goodness.
Stomach medicine. I'm not really sure why, but Japan is full of different brands of stomach medicine. And they all do different things, and they can be really specific in what they're for, not like general Pepto Bismol. My personal favorites are the ones specifically for when you drink too much alcohol. Not that I've bought these or anything, but I just find it really amusing that there is specifically a drug for when your stomach is upset during a hangover.
Bags of stuff. So this is actually something I find really cool about how Japan does things. Say you go to the store, buy a bottle of shampoo or soap or whatever, and bring it home. You like it, you use it, it's all gone. Time to buy more. But! Instead of buying a new bottle and throwing out the old one, most products will have refill bags. So rather than buying a whole new bottle of shampoo, you can buy a bag and empty it into the bottle you already have, then throw out the bag. I just think this is a really good idea, and saves on waste!
Scents. Japan likes scented things, and to be fair I do too. One cool thing I've seen in stores is tiny little bottles of aromatic beads near products. Like, huh that bottle of fabric softener looks good, I wonder what it smells like? Rather than actually opening the bottle and smelling it, pick up the little bottle that's connected to the shelf and try that. It'll smell just like whatever you're looking at. So don't be surprised if you go down an aisle of soaps and see tiny bottles on strings attached to the shelves in front of various products.
Also TP. Yeah, Japan does scented toilet paper. Like, roses and other stuff. You can actually buy toilet paper that smells like roses. I mean, I guess it makes your bathroom smell like that too maybe? I'm not sure. It was kind of weird to me, and still is, but it's really common. In fact you'll have a harder time finding non-scented toilet paper in Japan!
Midi music. This isn't true for all stores, but in quite a few of them, like the 100-yen store, you'll hear music over the store speakers. This isn't unusual, but the music is basically midi tracks of popular songs. I don't really know why they do this, but you'll be shopping and suddenly hear music like it's from an 8-bit video game to the tune of a popular song (including songs like Call Me Maybe). Without lyrics of course. Thank goodness.
Stomach medicine. I'm not really sure why, but Japan is full of different brands of stomach medicine. And they all do different things, and they can be really specific in what they're for, not like general Pepto Bismol. My personal favorites are the ones specifically for when you drink too much alcohol. Not that I've bought these or anything, but I just find it really amusing that there is specifically a drug for when your stomach is upset during a hangover.
Bags of stuff. So this is actually something I find really cool about how Japan does things. Say you go to the store, buy a bottle of shampoo or soap or whatever, and bring it home. You like it, you use it, it's all gone. Time to buy more. But! Instead of buying a new bottle and throwing out the old one, most products will have refill bags. So rather than buying a whole new bottle of shampoo, you can buy a bag and empty it into the bottle you already have, then throw out the bag. I just think this is a really good idea, and saves on waste!
Scents. Japan likes scented things, and to be fair I do too. One cool thing I've seen in stores is tiny little bottles of aromatic beads near products. Like, huh that bottle of fabric softener looks good, I wonder what it smells like? Rather than actually opening the bottle and smelling it, pick up the little bottle that's connected to the shelf and try that. It'll smell just like whatever you're looking at. So don't be surprised if you go down an aisle of soaps and see tiny bottles on strings attached to the shelves in front of various products.
Also TP. Yeah, Japan does scented toilet paper. Like, roses and other stuff. You can actually buy toilet paper that smells like roses. I mean, I guess it makes your bathroom smell like that too maybe? I'm not sure. It was kind of weird to me, and still is, but it's really common. In fact you'll have a harder time finding non-scented toilet paper in Japan!
Love your blog!😊
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