When a suitcase falls apart, and Japan reminds me why I like living here Recently, I was walking to our local station, suitcase in tow, on my way to spend a week with my in-laws in the Japanese countryside. My wife was still busy with work, so she would join me a couple of days later. Everything was going according to plan. Until my suitcase started making strange noises. I stopped to investigate. One of the wheels was coming off. Hmm. I carried on walking. Then another wheel

Japan automates the checkout, but not quite the customer service When I went grocery shopping the other day, I noticed something new. The supermarket had installed a large section of self-checkout machines. I’m one of those increasingly old-fashioned people who still prefers human interaction to a machine. Judging by the queues at the human checkout counters, I’m probably not the only one. In fact, I can’t remember ever meeting anyone who has said: ‘You know what I really enj

Cheap dinners, expensive cheese and the strange mathematics of the yen On our recent trip to Hokkaido, my brother flew over from Switzerland and quickly developed a habit. Whenever we bought something, he would convert the price into Swiss francs in his head. Then he would look puzzled. Surely there must be some mistake. Things couldn’t possibly be that cheap. But they were. At least to him. A lavish dinner with a starter, dessert and wine – the sort of meal that can produce

A story about wine, customer service, and why Japan does things differently The other day, I ordered eight bottles of rosé wine from a large online retailer whose name I shall not mention. Not because I fear legal consequences. Mainly because they have just given me twelve bottles of wine for free, and I don't want them changing their minds. For reasons that remain unexplained, our household wine reserves had fallen to alarmingly low levels. The order was placed on Saturday,

Japanese retail culture meets Swiss practicality Ah, the delight of retail therapy, enjoyed by many the world over! So, let’s explore the contrasting shopping aisles of Japan and Switzerland, shall we? I have always found the shopping experience in Japan a very special one, and very different from what you get in Switzerland, where it tends to be a no-frills experience, whereas in Japan it’s taken to an entirely different level. One reason is the incredible attention to d

Time, efficiency, and cultural contradictions in Japan The first time I came across a sign indicating that a shop was open until 25:00 or 25:30, I thought, “Wait, did Japan invent its own time system? Last I checked, an earthly day had only 24 hours. But they, maybe Japan is just that special!” At first, the idea of an extra hour didn’t seem so bad. More time to hang out with friends or catch up on sleep, right? It’s like the day of turning back the clock one hour in Europe