Puts My Trust In God And Man
I mentioned before how Japanese culture is very trusting of people. It's a beautiful thing, makes me weep for the state of the rest of the world (or at least Western culture). Examples:
- at the cafeteria you buy a lunch ticket from the vending machine to pay for your food. you then go get whatever food you want and throw your ticket into a bowl. At no point does anyone ask to see that you actually have a ticket.
- there are vending machines absolutely everywhere, even at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. In the US the same machine would be broken into to steal the money, then to steal the contents, then maybe shot a few times just for kicks.
- there are a lot of cart vendors in the hotel. at night, do they lock up their wares for fear of roving bandits? of course not. a simple sheet covering the cart is enough to discourage would-be thieves. I am reminded of a sketch in the comedy show The State where the prison guard says to the prisoners, "There is no way to escape. Except for that unguarded doorway over there. But we like to consider that `off limits`"
- in the morning on the sidewalk outside of buildings you'll often see stacks of plastic crates holding large bottles of beer (the 30+ ouncers that they serve here). I assume that there is a delivery man around somewhere, but I've never seen one. If you wanted you could just grab a bottle on your way--one for the road, so to speak.
- jewelry vendors with open cases outside their shops. this isn't cheap junk either, I'm talking $500+. How much could one grab in a single swipe?
all in all, it's quite impressive. People working for the good of the whole, not the rabid individualism of american culture. each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but it's certainly a refreshing sight.
- at the cafeteria you buy a lunch ticket from the vending machine to pay for your food. you then go get whatever food you want and throw your ticket into a bowl. At no point does anyone ask to see that you actually have a ticket.
- there are vending machines absolutely everywhere, even at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. In the US the same machine would be broken into to steal the money, then to steal the contents, then maybe shot a few times just for kicks.
- there are a lot of cart vendors in the hotel. at night, do they lock up their wares for fear of roving bandits? of course not. a simple sheet covering the cart is enough to discourage would-be thieves. I am reminded of a sketch in the comedy show The State where the prison guard says to the prisoners, "There is no way to escape. Except for that unguarded doorway over there. But we like to consider that `off limits`"
- in the morning on the sidewalk outside of buildings you'll often see stacks of plastic crates holding large bottles of beer (the 30+ ouncers that they serve here). I assume that there is a delivery man around somewhere, but I've never seen one. If you wanted you could just grab a bottle on your way--one for the road, so to speak.
- jewelry vendors with open cases outside their shops. this isn't cheap junk either, I'm talking $500+. How much could one grab in a single swipe?
all in all, it's quite impressive. People working for the good of the whole, not the rabid individualism of american culture. each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but it's certainly a refreshing sight.
random bits cobbled together by j-dub
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