Random Japan observations

[tikistitch]

This was a super-giant, super-scary Tarako kewpie thingie we saw at a collectibles shop in Chiba.

Japan has gotta be the sleepiest country in the world. Even though there's this cultural stereotype of the Japanese as super-hardworking, which seems to be pretty true, every time they sit down, they seem to nod off! We rode the subway a couple of times with some random person snoozing on our shoulder - and not some crazy homeless person, we mean an office worker. When distributing the medallions to the audience at the collectibles panels at Celebration, we often had to nudge people awake. Not really sure what to attribute it to, though the super hot/humid weather certainly didn't help. Maybe because it's so safe, people feel ok about nodding off in public knowing that they'll still have their purse or wallet intact when they wake up.

Comments

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're back! :D

I think the sleeping-in-public thing is just opportunistic--they're so busy, any chance they get to nod off is best taken advantage of.

The thing that amazes me is how Japanese people can fall asleep the minute they sit down on the train seat, and then wake up in time to get off at their stop!

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

The thing that amazes me is how Japanese people can fall asleep the minute they sit down on the train seat, and then wake up in time to get off at their stop!

I know! I was wondering if they set their cell phone/PDA thingies to beep or something?

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that doesn't surprise me--applechailatte is expected to work so hard that she winds up getting 4 hours of sleep a night on a GOOD night, so I imagine she drifts off whenever she gets a chance. hee.