Japan In General

Hey Everyone,

Back again. Sorry for the delay in posting. Thanks to those of you who have read so far. Thought I'd write a few things about my impressions of Japan thus far.
The first thing I noticed about Japan was the weather. It was just as I remembered it from 7 years ago - bloody hot and humid. It is also quite similar to Taiwan, so I am used to it. However, it is still quite uncomfortable in the middle of the day when I'm teaching in a poorly ventilated and un-air-conditioned classroom. You don't want to imagine the smell. It has begun to cool down a bit now that it's October, but it is still quite humid.
The second thing I noticed was the absence of food stalls. Tainan's streets are littered with street vendors selling all kinds of delicious food - Japan, sadly, does not have any such thing. However, at night they do have yattai stalls where you can sit down and have fairly decent noodles.
The third thing I noticed is that there are many things in Japan which are considered rude. Among the offenses I have already committed: eating on the street, eating while standing up, drinking on a train, talking on a cell phone on a bus, fanning myself in a classroom, not bowing properly, asking random people questions without prefacing it with "excuse me, but may I ask you a question", improperly sorting my recycling, refusing a receipt, unwrapping a present, sneezing, blowing my nose, not wearing a face mask, dodging to the right instead of the left, and saying things far too directly. Having said all that, in no instance did anyone yell at me, or call me on the carpet, or anything of the sort. In the worst case, an old woman frowned at me and "hmph"ed. Japanese people are far too polite to point out rudeness to someone's face. They kindly wait till the offending foreigner is out of earshot before complaining.
People treat me well. I have met some very nice Japanese people. My Japanese teacher, Noriko, is perhaps one of the nicest people I've ever met and has taken it upon herself to care for every foreigner in Kure. There's also my boss, Mr. Sakata, who despite having 17 demanding foreigners for employees, continues to smile and laugh at my bad jokes. And then, there's Miyaoka, the first person I met in Japan, who works at the international center. He's quite nice and tries to invite me around with his friends. And then Mr. Kamayama at Miyahara Junior High School, who is so accomodating of my Japanese and tries his best to communicate with me. Most Japanese treat me with a sort of harmless neglect. I am stared at, but overall ignored. It seems that people would rather not deal with me. No problem for me, just an interesting observation.