Myths about Japan Fruit is REALLY expensive. Well actually this isn't a myth. If you go to a big department store here you can lay out 6000 to 8000 Japanese yen for a nice rockmelon/canteloupe if you want. That's like 50-65 US dollars!!! You can buy the panties of schoolgirls out of vending machines in Tokyo. I don't know. I've heard there are shops that specialize in this kinda stuff. Actually there are shops catering to pretty much EVERY kinda sexual fetish you can imagine in Japan. All Japanese people are rich. The exchange rate is pretty favourable for Japan now and it's often difficult to take long holidays here. So people get a few days and go and blow their dough in foreign resorts and it gives the impression that Japanese only live in a bubble of financial lubrication - which is not always true. They don't know how to relax. I'm not a big fan of karaoke, but I think there are a lot of recreational thinks funking there way through Japanese society. What can I say about a country, a culture, a people that has captured my imagination to such an extent that I leave my friends and family in Australia to learn more. Japan, huh? Make good cameras. Good motorbikes, too, actually. Make a lot of good stuff really. Old-school analogue synthesizers and what not. Good food. I'm tempted to make some sweeping generalization here about how careful and attentive the Japanese people are to details. It would be a generalization and thus not always true, but I'm still tempted to say it. I've spent about three years of my life here (I'm 26 now). I like the learning curve. I think the culture here is complex and I enjoy learning about it because it's like some delicate, ancient yet still evolving organism with many component parts. I think the people here can be very considerate in a lot of ways. Maybe I could say the society is quite closely knit, but a lot of people maintain a kinda mental distance from a lot of things. I could also say I often find my Japanese friends to be quite empathic. Link to Ward's scribbling