Potpourri - Japanese Edition

* Most people probably do get a little embarrassed when they're in a public bathroom and they're making, well, noises. Japanese women, apparently, are no exception, so much so that in some high tech bathrooms a sensor sets off a pre-recorded sound of 25 seconds of toilet flushing noise to cover up any real noises you make.

* When on an escalator in Tokyo, stand on the left. When in Kyoto, stand on the right. Apparently, it depends on whether you're in eastern or western Japan.

* There are lots of bakeries. When you enter, you get a tray, cafeteria-like, and a pair of tongs. Just grab what you want - it's all good.

* Currently, there are about 110 yen to the dollar.

* Walking about town, you'll notice about 5% of the people with surgical masks. They are not doctors. They're sick. Through what I think is an amazing display of courtesy and acknowledgement of connectedness, Japanese voluntarily wear these masks when they are sick to keep from infecting others.

* I've been sick the last couple of days and have not worn a mask. At a grocery store yesterday, I had the opportunity to buy a pack of them, but I declined because they were too expensive.

* When you enter a household, there are some very defined and strict rules regarding what you can and cannot do with your feet and shoes. Just inside the door is a staging area of sorts where you take off and leave your shoes. The shoes are supposed to both be pointing towards the door. If you touch your de-shoed foot to that "staging area," you will be sharply rebuked by your girlfriend. If you touch your shoe anywhere else but that staging area, you will also receive a sharp rebuke. Similarly, when leaving, you have to slip your feet back into your shoes without touching the floor first.

* The bathroom also has its own shoes - you slip them on when you enter and slip them off when you leave. Touch the bathroom floor with your feet or the floor of the rest of the house with those bathroom shoes and... well... I don't know what would happen. That's one crime I haven't committed yet.

* In the big cities, like Tokyo for example, the people are used to seeing gaijin (foreigners, literally outside person). But where I am now, in Nara (Pam's parents live here), foreigners are not so common. Consequently, I'm attracting a little more attention here. At the supermarket today, a man crashed into another man with his shopping cart because he was staring at me.

* You can drink sake (rice wine) out of what looks like a tall, skinny shot glass. Or, you can get higher class (and more expensive) sake and drink it out of a box.

* I rode on the shinkansen, or bullet train, today. They can go over 300 kmh (about 190 mph). Looking at the countryside whizz by made me feel like I was watching a movie at double speed. California definitely needs to build one between San Diego and Sacramento with stops in LA, San Jose, and San Francisco inbetween.

* Think movies in the U.S. are expensive? Tickets are $18 here. We saw "I Am Legend" in English with Japanese subtitles.

* In Japan, Mark's birthday ended about an hour and fifteen minutes ago, but in the U.S., where Mark actually is, he's only been 32 for a little over 8 hours. So if Mark's birthday occurs first in Japan even though he isn't here, does he make a sound?