Observations
The following are just a bunch of mostly pointless but still interesting things that I've noticed about the Japanese. They may only hold true for Southern Kyuushu, or it could be so for the entirety of Japan, I don't know, so don't quote me on these, 'kay?
1. Y'know those arm-warmer thingies... the ones that look like sleeves but they aren't attached at the shoulder, and they aren't gloves either. Sometimes they show up in anime (I know Sanzou from Sai Yuu Ki has 'em). Well, they really wear them, here. I don't know for what reason, though. It doesn't look like they're simple fashion statements, but they seem to have some sort of use (other than warming the arms...).
2. Japanese people don't shrug. When they don't know something, they cock their head to the side, kinda like a bird.
3. The Japanese loo~~~~oove ceremonies. No matter how small the event, there's gotta be a ceremony for it. The English Conversation Class I just started has only 6 people in it, and overall it's a really teeny thing in the workings of Kijo, but they just had to have an opening ceremony. They even brought in one of the directors of the Board of Education to give a 3 minute speech. The whole thing took less than 15 minutes.
4. Japan pours more concrete a year than does the US, and I believe it too. There's concrete everywhere here, from all official buildings to giant jacks that break the surf to little curbs that stick up half a foot from the road. This is a true fact, too, one that's in a book called "Dogs and Demons" (or some such). I did not discover this on my own.
5 . There's no japanese word for "curiosity". They have to do a long-winded roundabout explanation of the concept.
† 6. They have never heard of peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches, nor grilled cheese sandwiches.