Explore everyday life in Japan
Service in Japan often goes above and beyond anything I’ve experienced elsewhere. It generally begins with a smile and extends to simple gestures and useful objects. From the serving staff at restaurants to the clerks at convenience stores, employees in Japan typically greet you upon entry and speak to you while smiling. In department stores, sales clerks often lead you to the door after you have made a purchase and carry your goods for you, handing them over with both hands while bowing and thanking you for your business and telling you they are waiting for you to return. Receiving handwritten thank you cards in the mail from salespeople in any sector is not unusual, and having your name and last purchase remembered, even after long absences, is commonplace.
Having access to general use umbrellas is also fairly commonplace in Japan. If a customer has to go outside to access a separate building while shopping or patronizing a business, many companies and shopping centers take it upon themselves to supply generic umbrellas for their customers to use while moving between their buildings and stores. On rainy days, seeing crosswalks and pedestrian overpasses crowded with shoppers all holding the same color and style umbrellas as they move from building to building is a typical sight.
In addition, many restaurants and cafes take it upon themselves to supply crates, boxes, or baskets of some kind for their customers to place jackets, purses, and bags, etc. in while dining or using their establishment. Rather than have to hang your jacket over the back of your chair and place your purse or bag on the ground at your feet, in Japan, you can often fold your jacket and place it, with whatever else you are carrying, in a little box beneath your table or counter space. Also, in winter, you will probably find that a small lap blanket has been put in your floor basket for your use if you are cold
While they may not seem like much, all of these tiny details add up and tend to make being a customer in Japan a very enjoyable experience.
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.