One of the first things I noticed while in Japan is that there is a big difference in temperature between the mornings and the afternoon. There has usually been a difference of over 10 degrees Fahrenheit. There has also been strong winds blowing which causes the mornings to feel colder than what the forecast says. So there have been times where I dress to stay warm in the mornings only to be close to sweating once it becomes noon. This has been a big contrast to Chicago in which the temperature stays fairly constant throughout the day.
There are also very few animals around. While walking around the city I would rarely see any animals. I would mostly only ever hear the calls of crows, which there are many of. Even when I took walks around parks, which have more nature in them, the only animal that I would come across would be crows. I have not seen any squirrels, pigeons, or other birds in my 2 weeks since I came to Osaka. These are all common animals that you always see in American cities. Aside from the wildlife I also noticed that not many people have their dogs outside. While walking in America, it is very common to see people walking their dogs or seeing dogs be in the yard of their owners house. It is also common to see both big and small dogs in America, so far I have only seen small dogs that are no taller than my knees. The only other animal, other than a crow, that I have seen is a single small snake, which I found on the steps that lead up to a local shrine.
Coins are also more useful to have than they are in America. While paying with paper money, I often get 100, 50, and 10 yen coins back which I find to be useful to use to pay for other things. The train, for example, is usually around the 200-300 yen range, so I use 100 and 10 yen coins to pay for it. This also helps to get rid of the large amounts of 10 yen coins that I accumulate whenever I buy something. Though, I haven't been using 1 yen coins often. In contrast, most US coins are a hassle to use for regular purchases, and it's usually easier to pay using a single dollar bill. 25 cent coins are the most useful, because of their high value, and because they can be used to pay for public transit.
The morning rush on the trains is also very real. I had previously known that it would be crowded, since I had seen some images of it online, but I thought that they were exaggerated. On the first day where I had to get on at around 8 am, I found out that it was not an exaggeration. People will try to fit into a train cart that already looks full. They will also squeeze people together in order to fit more people inside the train cart. This not only gets uncomfortable, but if you are not able to grab on to anything then you also need to try and keep your balance while the train is moving so you do not fall onto other people. The upside though, is that even if the train is completely full, people will move to let you out. Unlike the trains, the buses take a longer time to arrive if you end up missing one. I had once missed a bus to get back to my dorm and when I checked to see when the next one would come, I saw that it would take another hour. It would have been faster for me to just walk to the dorm than to wait for the bus, so I decided to walk instead.
It was also a big surprise when I noticed that there are very few sidewalks for people to walk on outside of the major streets. Coming from America, at first I did not know where I was allowed to walk on. So I looked at what the other people were doing and saw that they were just walking on the side of the street, so I did the same. On narrower roads the cars would often drive up close to me but as long as I moved to the side if I saw one coming I would be fine. This was something that I got used to pretty quickly.
There are also very few animals around. While walking around the city I would rarely see any animals. I would mostly only ever hear the calls of crows, which there are many of. Even when I took walks around parks, which have more nature in them, the only animal that I would come across would be crows. I have not seen any squirrels, pigeons, or other birds in my 2 weeks since I came to Osaka. These are all common animals that you always see in American cities. Aside from the wildlife I also noticed that not many people have their dogs outside. While walking in America, it is very common to see people walking their dogs or seeing dogs be in the yard of their owners house. It is also common to see both big and small dogs in America, so far I have only seen small dogs that are no taller than my knees. The only other animal, other than a crow, that I have seen is a single small snake, which I found on the steps that lead up to a local shrine.
Coins are also more useful to have than they are in America. While paying with paper money, I often get 100, 50, and 10 yen coins back which I find to be useful to use to pay for other things. The train, for example, is usually around the 200-300 yen range, so I use 100 and 10 yen coins to pay for it. This also helps to get rid of the large amounts of 10 yen coins that I accumulate whenever I buy something. Though, I haven't been using 1 yen coins often. In contrast, most US coins are a hassle to use for regular purchases, and it's usually easier to pay using a single dollar bill. 25 cent coins are the most useful, because of their high value, and because they can be used to pay for public transit.
The morning rush on the trains is also very real. I had previously known that it would be crowded, since I had seen some images of it online, but I thought that they were exaggerated. On the first day where I had to get on at around 8 am, I found out that it was not an exaggeration. People will try to fit into a train cart that already looks full. They will also squeeze people together in order to fit more people inside the train cart. This not only gets uncomfortable, but if you are not able to grab on to anything then you also need to try and keep your balance while the train is moving so you do not fall onto other people. The upside though, is that even if the train is completely full, people will move to let you out. Unlike the trains, the buses take a longer time to arrive if you end up missing one. I had once missed a bus to get back to my dorm and when I checked to see when the next one would come, I saw that it would take another hour. It would have been faster for me to just walk to the dorm than to wait for the bus, so I decided to walk instead.
It was also a big surprise when I noticed that there are very few sidewalks for people to walk on outside of the major streets. Coming from America, at first I did not know where I was allowed to walk on. So I looked at what the other people were doing and saw that they were just walking on the side of the street, so I did the same. On narrower roads the cars would often drive up close to me but as long as I moved to the side if I saw one coming I would be fine. This was something that I got used to pretty quickly.
