Time to get real. We’ve been to Japan enough to know a few important cultural practices in homes such as removing your shoes at the “genkan”, how to bidet and heck, our realtor even taught us the proper way to slurp noodles. But I have to admit, I was mind blown by a handful of “common things” I never knew about Japanese culture. Like MIND BLOWN.
Ten things that made us stop and say WTFUKUOKA??!
Prepare for a blank space.
No appliances come with the house: they literally remove the fridge, washer, AC and all the lights!
No WiFi.
Because foreigners don’t have residency, we can’t get a bank account….. 
No bank account = no cell phone and no WiFi. This means no Apple TV for me!
Our current workaround? Hot spotting from our phones and popping in to cute cafes.
Trash culture.
Trash is part of the culture. I’m gonna do a whole post on this cause I lost my sanity trying to figure out what’s burnable and where to recycle cardboard. 😵 And if you mess up, you could jeopardize your trash mates.
What’s a fish grill?
Wait, where’s the oven? What’s a fish grill? There’s no ovens here?
Yup, NO OVENS. And we didn’t get a toaster so we’ve been maneuvering around the fish grill trying to toast our croissants and tweak our toaster oven meals.
The entire bathroom is a wet room. 🫨
A fricken wet room!!! Like that bar isn’t made for a shower curtain. It’s to dry clothes on the “vent” setting. Genius! We got a washer and dryer in one and the setting was so high, it melted the label on Bryson’s jeans. 😅
Just one bathroom!
There’s normally one toilet towards the front of the house. That’s it folks! 😮 We tried looking for places with 2-3 toilets but that was a diamond in the ruff.
Wallpaper.
Walls are generally wall papered, which I love! But changing wall paper is a skill versus touch up paint.
No disposal.
There’s no disposal in the kitchen sink! These cute little hair net looking items catch food waste that you transfer to the “red” garbage bag. 😶
Amazing curtains!
Curtains are pre measured by standard sized windows and can be adjusted for height with a few clicks! 🤭 Dragging curtains? Not here.
How many tatamis?
Rooms are measured by tatami mats so when we got our AC units, we got five total units! Most people get 1-2 for a space our size but we maxed out and it completely overrun our lanai. At least we’ll be warm and then cool! 😎
Hey, now we know right? The more we learn, the more we’ll share. 💯