Life in Japan

Some things we have learned in the past month we have been here in Japan:
-trains: They are ALWAYS on time, and if you are riding during commute hours no one talks...SERIOUSLY! Also, it's important to know which side of the door to stand on while waiting to embark, because one side always gets on faster than the other based on the direction people are exiting the station. The trains are also really clean, it's amazing. I love the trains here.
-vending machines: They are EVERYWHERE! If you are thirsty, fret not, you will pass a vending machine or 7/11 equivalent within a few feet. Mostly it's just drinks (Hot and cold) and occasionally there are cigarettes, but rarely any snack machines.
-bikes: If you lock your bike, you must be an American. Yep, they don't lock their bikes, and it's because there's super low crime here, people aren't going to steal your bike (unless you live on base, then most likely an American will steal your bike). My boss has had 3 bikes stolen from his children...3! He lives on base. The other time bikes are stolen is if you have a super nice expensive one. So best to just buy a cheap one.
-people's surprise/shock sounds: Our housing agent, Ashry, is by far the funniest person to listen to when it comes to being surprised. I can't spell out how it sounds, you just have to experience it, but it cracks me up. I love it! Now it's almost a game to see what shocking thing I can say to get a reaction out of her, or other Japanese people. They are so cute!
-driving: everything is your fault, if you are driving and something happens, more than likely you will be paying for it, even if it wasn't "your fault". In Japan, they also have magnets for new drivers, elderly drivers, and hearing impaired drivers, which I think should 100% be incorporated back in the states. How awesome would it be to see the magnet far off in the distance as you are approaching a car and KNOW to just "stay clear"?!? And once you reach a certain age, you have to put the elderly ones on your car. Brilliant!
-100 yen stores: similar to our Dollar Stores, but INFINITELY better. Better quality, better stuff, more to choose from, stuff you actually need, it's awesome!
-arcades/pachinko: the arcades here ROCK! Brad and I have found our home away from home. I think we should figure out how to bring these arcade games to America and open our own arcade with Japanese games, they are so fun! Pachinko is a different story, we haven't tried it yet, but it's basically gambling, except it's not, because gambling is illegal, so they work around that little rule by giving away "prizes" which you can then trade in for cash...tricky!
-restaurants: no tipping, very weird to get used to. However, you are still expected to tip on base.
-church: We go to church in what seems to be an office building. The church leases or rents the 3-7th floors. It's strange to ride an elevator to get to Primary or Relief Society after sacrament. The ward is small but good. Everyone seems very nice so far.
-sounds: every sound (even the usually annoying ones like emergency vehicles) are like video games' sounds here, it's much more pleasant. There are times that things sound suspiciously familiar, like they were probably in Final Fantasy...also, as a side note, people really do dress like they do in Video games. I had to resist taking pictures, but the young guys and girls I've seen, mostly in the bigger cities, look like they walked right off the screen of a video game.
-my only complaint thus far: nothing is open in the mornings. It's very odd. After working as a barista for a while, and having to be there by 5:30 or earlier to have everything open and ready by 6, it is very strange for me to walk down the street and not even the coffee shops are open until 7. I don't understand it, it's very odd. I bet if we opened a coffee shop and it opened at 6am we'd get lots of business, because we'd be the only place to get it. But I guess people can get their hot coffees from the vending machines if they really want it before the shops open. If there are spelling errors, I apologize. The normal Blogger compose area is not working, no spell check...and I know it's not pretty either. Maybe once we get our computer with our furniture in April...