1) If you have a small blonde child they are treated like a celebrity. No joke we have had groups of young girls scream like they were at a Justin Beiber concert. They will also want to take pictures, hold and high five your child.
2) When elderly locals give candy to your child you actually let them eat it.
3) You go off of pictures and plastic replicas of meals at restaurants and just pick "what looks good."
4) A lot of the time you may not fully know what you are eating/ what you ordered.
5) Corn comes on almost everything! salads, pizza, pasta, bread, etc. Its even a choice at McDonalds instead of french fries.
6) Seeing the ocean pretty much every single day.
7) You find yourself constantly bowing to everyone.
8) You answer hai instead of yes.
9) You wouldn't dare stop at a 7-11 bathroom but Family Mart bathrooms is a whole other story.
10) Convenience stores in Japan are actually convenient. You can buy a meal, drink, snacks, candy and more and you aren't afraid to go in late at night.
11) Your child frantically points and exclaims "MART" every time you go by Family Mart and Lawsons. They have one about every few kilometers.
12) going 80km on the expressway actually feels really fast.... Which is only about 50mph
13) A lot of friends in the states don't know exactly where you are. They may ask you how Hong Kong is.
14) You avoid the post office during holidays and for a couple of months after. Have your spouse go/ or wait until you can go alone so you don't have to wait in a line that wraps all the way around to the back.
15) If you see something at the BX that you might want/need you buy it then or it won't be there next time.
16) You see something you really like that the commissary/ BX normally doesn't have you buy as many as you can.
17) You buy holiday decor, pumpkins, turkeys, etc. WEEKS before you really need them just incase they sell out or all good ones will be taken.
18) Your child prefers ramen or Okinawa soba to any other foods.
19) Your toddler will turn his nose up to a lot of foods but will eat whole small fish a lady gives him at the farmers market.
20) Your child is obsessed with Eisa drumming and the locals love how enthusiastic he is about it.
21) There are vending machines EVERYWHERE! Even on a dirt road in the middle of farming fields... never know when you might get thirsty.
22) Trying drinks from the vending machine can be fun and interesting. There are a lot of tasty drinks that are not offered in the states. But beware of the ones that have gel in them... the texture can be unpleasant if you aren't expecting it.
23) At first driving on the left hand side and sitting on the right side can really throw you off but you get really used to it after a while. But you can spot new people when you see their windshield wipers go off on a perfectly sunny day ( also know as the okinawa wave).
24) Grocery shopping off base can be really interesting and fun. Just make sure what ever you buy has picture directions.
25) Pointing at what you want on the menu becomes pretty normal.
26) It is surprising the conversations you can have with just gestures.
27) You listen to the morning radio shows at night and night ones in the morning.
28) Vending machines with pictures to order food at restaurants.... best idea ever!
29) Spending more than usual time in public bathrooms trying to figure out what the control panel does on the toilet.... those heated seats though!
30) You actually love going to Daiso (100 yen store) because they have nice quality stuff.
31) Finding clothes in local stores can be difficult unless you are really small. You have to size up at least 2 or 3 sizes.
32) If you know a little bit of Japanese and you speak to a local they get excited and start talking really fast to you.
33) Japanese pedicures will always be better.
34) Seeing motorcycles use the sidewalks and zoom in between cars is no big deal.
35) The first time you see a gecko run in the house you freak out and catch it to let it back outside. After a couple of times you just ignore the fact that it ran inside because you know that it will eat any other nasty bugs that come in.
36) Recycling pretty much everything! If its glass, metal, paper/cardboard, or plastic it can be recycled. Also everything including trash goes in clear plastic bags. If the trash guys don't like how you bagged it they don't collect it.
37) Buying a Japanese electric lawn mower.... its so cute and it sounds like your vacuuming the lawn.
38) You have no problem spending yen because it still just feels like monopoly money.
39) You need a second wallet or coin purse since everything up to $5.00 is in coins.
40) Buying hot coffee or soup from a vending machine.
41) It is totally normal for someone to stop in the middle of the street, put their hazard lights on, and get out to buy something from a street vendor or vending machine. Also, cigarettes come in vending machines too.
42) You explain to friends and family to write the address exactly as you tell them to and DO NOT write Japan on it. Also, one stamp is acceptable for a normal letter.
43) Your child imitates cars when playing by beeping when they go in reverse.
44) Loosing your ID card gives you a worse feeling than loosing a credit card.
45) You plan out where to eat by if they take yen or credit cards.
46) It's totally normal to see a local farmer walking his goats down the street.
47) Most of the time is it very hot and places you didn't think could sweat have sweat.
48) When the weather hits 60 degrees the long sleeves and boots come out because its "cold".
49) You wonder how the locals can cover up so much when its so hot and then you get a horrible sunburn. You then realize why they cover their arms and wear hats in 120 degree weather.
50) Side streets are two way but only one car can fit. At first it's pretty nerve wracking driving down them but eventually you will use them all the time to avoid the heavy traffic.
These are just scratching the surface and I may add to this later. It has been a huge culture shock and learning curve living here but we are liking it a lot.
~Courtney
