Etiquette

My dad came up last week to see me, which was nice. The reason I tell you is that he ordered me a book when he was in town, and I have just been to collect it.

The book is "Customs & Etiquette of Japan" by Helmut Morsbach. Small and truly pocket-sized, it contains many tit-bits of information concerning the slightly unfamiliar ways of the Japanese. It's geared slightly more towards someone going to Japan on business, though there is still a lot to be learnt from its few pages. I shall document some of the more interesting things here.

For example, did you know that:

• some unisex public toilets are unsegragated?
• leaving rice in ones bowl indicates that one wants more, but it is an empty glass means one wants it filled?
• a Japanese bath involves laddling water over oneself whilst standing next to the bath, taking care not to get soap in the water? One only gets into the bath when one is completely clean.
• most Japanese toilets in the home are of the squatting variety, and often have no lock on the door? A subtle system of knocking and counter-knocking has thus evolved to determine whether the room is vacated or not.

I'm trying not to let some of the stranger customs put me off, and hopefully I will never have to cope with the weirdest ones. Though I don't know how I'm going to manage that exactly; maybe I'll be let off for being a gaijin (外人)?