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20 Things that can only happen in Japan

The country of the rising sun have some things to hide!

Bicycles impounded, amazing bans, non-existent jobs in other countries around the world, the Japanese raise a few eyebrows to us Europeans. Here is a non-exhaustive list of surprising things that only happen in the country that brought us Hello Kitty.

1/ If your bike is badly parked it is taken to the pound

Is your bicycle badly parked? Bikes don’t get preferential treatment and can be taken to the pound just like cars, where you will have to pay a fine to get it released.

2/ Students have to clean the bathrooms in their school

There are no cleaning teams who look after the toilets in universities or big schools. It is the students who are called in to clean on a rota.

3/ There exists stores that don’t have staff

Stealing in Japan is considered inconceivable. There are stores outside, like a kiosk where you serve yourself and leave the money in a machine, without seeing any staff. A system that wouldn’t work in other countries.

4/ They pay employees to push people on the tube

In the Japanese metro there exists ‘pushers’ who as the name suggests, pushes commuters into the carriage to make use of as much space as possible. Don’t believe us, watch the video too!

5/ There are walking lanes depending on your speed

The Japanese who are walking fast, walk on the right side of the road, those who are not walking in a hurry walk on the left side.