Randoseru

Elementary schoolkids are required to carry the Randoseru (a word imported from Holland) all through their six years of school. The wonderfully crafted leather backpack with metal fittings and buckles is actually quite nice to look at, but most people will balk at the cost. A Randoseru can cost anywhere between 25,000 yen (SGD$400) to as much as 80,000 yen (SGD$1300) depending on the quality of the bags.

Talk about expensive branded bags for primary school kids.

Smoking or smoking?

Japan has a number of rules that doesn't make a whole lot of sense sometimes. In Japan, you are prohibited by law to smoke while walking in the open. It is believed that doing so would cause a public nuisance. You are only allowed to smoke in certain designated areas (much like Singapore's yellow box) or... check this out: in restaurants.

Now this is the part where common sense and rational thought goes up in smoke. There are smoking and non-smoking sections in restaurants but almost 99% of the time, seats next to each other are separated only by a glass partition that doesn't even go up all the way to the ceiling. Most of the time you'd end up smelling of smoke while suffering from smoke inhalation. The sign should instead read: 1st hand smoking and 2nd hand smoking.

Starbucks and Mr.Donut are the only two places I know that are only non-smoking. If you intend to eat elsewhere, hold your breath.

delivery bike

There must be something about me and Japanese transportation. So far I've already blogged about trains and bicycles, and right now the topic is motorbikes. I guess there must be something unique or particular about it. Anyway here goes...

Most eateries in Japan have a motorbike that does food deliveries within the neighborhood. Foods like udon soup and sushi are difficult to transport on a typical pizza hut delivery bike, so the Japanese invented a mechanism that allows the food tray to stay horizontal even when making sharp turns.