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Once you've been living in Nihon for some time, it seems that your senses are somewhat dulled to the quirks and soforth of everyday life.

You get used to the fact that everything is triple, if not quadruple packaged and then bagged for your convenience, but conversely the population is positively anal about recycling...???

You begin not to notice the hilarity in the naming of local pensions...'Pension Potato Chips' or perhaps Pension 'Hurry Slowly'. 'Hurry Slowly' is a phrase so much more apt in Japan than you would ever believe! Most things (at work) are done with a sense of incredible urgency, people scurrying about with busy expressions on their faces, doing and redoing the same little task, JUST in case the boss might be looking and therefore see that you are a.... very....goood....worker. 'Tis all about appearances.

But appearances here, it has to be said, are certainly different from Tokyo. Since we have been living in Hirafu, I believe we may NOT have seen a single item of Louis Vuitton. I caution to add, that this does not mean that dear Louis isn't lurking somewhere, backstage behind a pair of discarded old skis or last seasons deflated rafts. But Tokyo's obsession with the pooey light brown and pooey dark brown fashion statement just may have encountered difficulty in making the crossing from Honshu to Hokkaido, so for the time being we are SAFE!

Cars here are not a valuable commodity. Nor sheds. Or even, in some cases, houses. Things are not built to last. It's a consumer society and upgrading...regularly...is the name of the game. When the snow melts after a long, cold, six meter deep winter, the things you find are amazing! 'Oh Look! THERE'S the Toyota, Dear, I wondered where that had gotten to!' Never mind about what the packed snow has done to the bonnet, or the fact that the windscreen is now in the back seat, we'll just buy another... The carnage that becomes apparent in Spring is something to be seen!

Speaking of cars...and thinking of road rules...the limit here is 50km/hr. But everybody drives faster than that. And a five seater vehicle is certainly no obstacle to a party of 6 people...why else does a car have a boot?! Our housemate spent 8 hours in the boot, sleeping off a hangover, while simultaneously joining us on a 'sightseeing' daytrip to Noboribetsu Onsen. We had to admire him for wanting to make the most of his day off.

Convenience Stores. They're everywhere. I can now understand why that Japanese man came to Sydney, bought a motorbike, filled it with petrol and started to drive to Ayres Rock, with not so much as a thought for refuelling, drinking water, food or other basic necessities for survival in the Australian desert. You'd be hard-pressed here to drive for less than 32 seconds and NOT come accross a 'Conbeenie'. And the ladies that work in them can only say one word: 'Irashimase'. It means 'Welcome', but it sounds like 'eeeeeeek I have a Daikon up my nose and it hurts!' 'Eeeeeraaaashiiiiimaaassssaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy'!!!!

Punctuality. I think this word must be Japanese. Don't be late.

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