My Technology Rant

I recently read this post by another expat blogger referencing a Cracked.com article on popular misconceptions about Japan.  It really speaks to me.  Particularly the first two items about the myth that Japan is a high-tech wonderland of robots and hover boards.

Because whenever someone asks me about the awesome futuristic innovations of Japan.... well....I get a little peckish. And I feel compelled to dispel that particular myth in the strongest terms possible.  I've mentioned several of these things several times before and I will continue to do so until people no longer ask me what it's like to live like the Jetsons.

I believe this particular myth was started by a foreigner who discovered a heated toilet seat in a Tokyo hotel. What he/she didn't understand is why the toilet seats are heated. It's because in most houses the rest of the bathroom isn't. So while your rear end is warm, the rest of you is frozen solid.   I wish I had been a fly on the wall when someone long ago thought, "Wow, it sure is cold in the bathroom. Wonder what I could do about that?" and instead of figuring out how to, oh, I don't know, heat the bathroom, they came up with heating just the toilet seat.  I have no idea how I'm supposed to potty-train a toddler here.  How do I convince her to go to the bathroom when I don't want to go myself??

And let's not forget that half of the country's toilets are holes in the ground.  Personally I would give up the fancy heated toilets for an entire country of plain, garden-variety toilets.

When they had the problem with heating in the rest of the house, they came up with a gadget called a kotatsu which is basically a heated table.  It's a low table (like a coffee table) that has a heater on the underside.  You put a blanket over it, and then sit on the floor with your legs in under it.  And you watch TV.  And hope you don't have to go to the bathroom.  You might be thinking "Well, that sounds like a pretty neat invention!".  No, no, it's not.  You know what are neat inventions?  Insulation.  And thermostats.

As for robots, I'm only gonna care about one when it's Wall-E and will dispose of my garbage for me.  Because I have no garbage disposal.  And can't get one for less than $4000 and a piece of my soul.  We've been told that "the sewer systems weren't designed for it".  Which is a total load of garbage (no pun intended) if you ask me.

The laundry machines here (a combo washing machine/dryer) are ridiculously small and do a terrible job of actually drying your clothes.  It's more like strangling the clothes to dampness.  So everyone hangs their laundry outside.  When you go down the street it's like a scene from The Grapes of Wrath.  I dream of high-efficiency washers and dryers.

Our house came with a fax machine.  They are very popular.  And every week or so I have to go to a cash machine and get out a fat wad to do my grocery shopping.  Because no one uses debit cards. 

Did I go through a time warp in Narita airport?? Is it 1990?

And one last tip: if you ever come here don't think you can get super cheap and fabulously advanced electronics.  You might be able to, but they are manufactured for the Japanese market which means there are no English settings.  So unless you plan to also learn to read Japanese just buy your GPS/printer/camera etc. at home.

So the next time we meet, do yourself a favor and do not ask me about all of Japan's technological wizardry.  Just....don't.  Please.  For my sake and yours.

Architectural Progress

I think it's a shame that all the new house construction here looks like this.....

...instead of like this.....



....but then neither one has insulation or a thermostat.

 

More on that later.... 

Baby Food Exposé

 

Back when I was pregnant, I did some recon on the jarred baby food sold here.  At the time I was flabbergasted (and a little sickened) to discover some of the flavors that are sold:

 

 

Rice Porridge with Flatfish & Vegetables

Codfish, Tuna & Vegetable Risotto

Tuna & Vegetable Curry

But, I guess if fish is going to be a integral part of a baby's diet, best to get them started early.  These photos were at a Baby's R Us a couple of towns over.  They also had applesauce, peas, carrots and some other more "normal" stuff. 

Now that I'm close to the point where I'll have to actually use baby food I went back to my local Baby's R Us for a second round of recon.  And not only did I not find any normal stuff this time, I found the pièce de résistance of Japanese baby food:

Vegetables & Horse Meat in Cream Sauce

I nearly fell over.  Fortunately I have the time and inclination to make most of Cora's baby food and was just going to use the jars as backups.  But now that I know they'll put horse meat in it I'm not giving her any of it and will just order backup jars off the Internet.  I mean....horse meat.  Horse meat.

Gag. 

Hope it's not mealtime for you.
 

And the Adventures Continue....

We've been back in Japan for almost two weeks and for various reasons I am just now getting back to blogging. I promise to do better - I got so many great comments about the blog when we were back home. I appreciate all my loyal readers!

And I've got some posts planned for the new year, including the long-awaited bombshell about Japanese baby food (how's that for a teaser?). We've got a trip to Osaka planned for next month so be on the lookout for that. Also, I am officially soliciting for blog topics. If there is anything specific you would like to know about Japan please put it in the comments and I'll attempt to answer. I've had several people tell me they had trouble commenting (specifically the part where you indicate who you are) so here's some tips on how to do it:

1. Under the "comment as" dropdown box choose "name/URL". A white box will pop up.
2. Type your name in the name box and leave the URL box blank.
3. Click "Continue".
4. Click the "Publish" button.

Also, as I write this, it's snowing here! Which is nice...if it's got to be ridiculously cold, it should at least be pretty!

Happy New Year everyone!