To be fair, there are probably also a lot of young Japanese nationals, having always had everything done for them at home, who will also be unfamiliar with the nuts and bolts of daily life.

Convenience stores handle so much of daily life. If you have never lived your daily life in Japan then there's a lot to learn. Have to admire the thousands of people who pick all this up on the job.

Most foreign staff in stores have good Japanese language ability, so you tend to assume they also know Japan fairly well. In the article, one clerk from Myanmar had been in the country just over a month, so the learning curve for some is quite steep.

Behind the scenes of Japan convenience store foreign staff training - The Mainichi TOKYO -- Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has been conducting an

Mainichi has a translation of last month's piece on convenience store training of foreign staff. While the Japanese original is behind a paywall, the English version is free to read. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

1973 photo shows a woman carrying a pushchair, with a baby sitting inside, walking down the steps of a pedestrian crossing.

Life on the street had also got harder for pushchair users. Traffic fatalities led to widespread building of pedestrian bridges.

1973 on the Chuo Line. A group of mothers protesting railway company rules requiring passengers to fold pushchairs, and carry children inside the carriage. The rules weren't relaxed until 1998-9. www.asahi.com/and/m/articl...

Tokyo Toei buses all board from the front. Kyoto City buses will now follow suit.

Graphic shows the different flow with passengers exiting from the rear doors at the middle of the bus, rather than the front doors by the driver.

Kyoto released a graphic showing how exiting by the driver can create a bottleneck. The other main change is that the driver can see if passengers are entering with suitcases or other bulky belongings. www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/kotsu/page/0...

Kyoto city buses to introduce new boarding, exit rules in FY 2028 to ease congestion - The Mainichi KYOTO -- To ease overcrowding on city buses caused by heavy tourist use, the Kyoto Municipal Government will change how passengers board and exit buse

Mainichi English report on the changes announced last month for Kyoto buses. Boarding will now take place at the front, and departure by the rear, which is a switch from current Kyoto practice. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Photo of a meeting at the Onigiri Summit

Meetings at the Onigiri Summit are around tables placed in a triangle. summit.onigiri.or.jp

There's a protocol for taking accurate speed measurements, and another for assessing whether a driver is tailgating. Traffic police appear to have violated those protocols, and sometimes falsified charging records. Officers say they prioritized going after offenders.

神奈川県警が不適切な交通取り締まり、違反２７００件取り消しへ…反則切符の虚偽記載疑いも判明 【読売新聞】　速度超過や車間距離不保持の交通違反の取り締まり方法に疑義が生じたとして、神奈川県警が約２７００件の違反を取り消すことがわかった。このうち交通反則切符などの虚偽記載が確認された数件について、県警は、第２交通機動隊員として

Kanagawa police are revoking 2700 traffic violations, restoring licence statuses and refunding up to 30 miilion yen in fines. An investigation reveals officers were over-zealous to the point of illegality. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

YouTube video by テレ東BIZ ダイジェスト “Kawaii”の体験型施設 原宿に今週末オープン【WBS】

All the news report footage makes it look a bit tacky. Maybe different lighting, crowds etc changes the mood. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv0J...

YouTube video by 日テレNEWSカルチャー【公式】 『アンナミラーズ』復活にファン行列　「制服に憧れて」愛され続ける伝統

There was a three hour wait on opening day. Most social media posts seem to focus on the pies and cakes. This NTV news report shows the reuben sandwich is still on the menu, which is all I ever really ordered there. No word on the old free coffee refills. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX1j...

US restaurant chain Anna Miller's to reopen in Japan after 3-yr hiatus - The Mainichi TOKYO (Kyodo) -- U.S. restaurant chain Anna Miller's will reopen in Japan for the first time in three years on Friday, with its distinctive staff unif

Mainichi on the re-opening of Anna Miller's. This is one of those situations where the closing of a chain revealed more brand loyalty than the owners expected. Remains to be seen if it's enough to sustain a store revival. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

so tired i tried to flush the toilet by tapping my sucia card

Definitely would have forgotten without any outside prompting.

Kawaii Monster Land opens tomorrow. www.shibukei.com/headline/197...

If I saw you in Ueno Park today, I would definitely want your autograph.

In Hiroshima, my mum says she was once asked by some schoolchildren what she thought about the atomic bombing, so it wasn't always questions about favourite food. Not sure if schools still ask pupils to approach foreigners these days.

Smartphone photography has completely scrambled people's common sense. Recently, a friend on her first trip was in awe of a uniformed elementary schoolgirl skipping along crowded Omotesando with her randseru. Her instinct was to take a snap, before suddenly realizing that would be inappropriate.

Years ago, it was common for westerners to be actively approached by schoolkids, especially at tourist sites. Teachers would give the kids some tasks, and one would often be to use English to ask a foreigner a question (favourite Japanese food etc).

Hotel near me, popular with foreigners, has a sign posted outside, It asks guests not to speak to children, and not to take photographs of children. There are two elementary schools, and two junior high schools in the nearby neighbourhood, so something must have happened.

It's asking local authorities to keep a more explicit tally of which nationalities are where. Ironically, it was easier to do that when local authorites used to administer Alien Registration Cards. Now, the MoJ is responsible for the Residence Card system.

Stationmaster cat Rokutama on a table next to some themed Valentine's Day chocolates. Rokutama seems to be snarling.

Wakayama Rail has some cat stationmaster Valentine's Day chocolates. Not entirely clear from the photo if the cat wants you to have them. www.sankei.com/article/2026...

Sample of a ticket for the exhibition.

Shunga Lovers t-shirt

Pack of 7 shunga stickers

The 7 shunga stickers laid out.

The merchandise at an exhibition called "The World of Mameban Shunga", includes a Shunga Lovers t-shirt, and a packet of shunga stickers. www.smappa.net/shunga/en/

Under new government guidelines, when foreign residents move into public housing, local authorities must confirm their nationality. Any emergency contact must be someone capable of communicating in Japanese. news.web.nhk/newsweb/na/n...

家庭科のピザで搬送された中学生、原因は…塩「３つまみ」を理解できずに調理し塩分過多か 【読売新聞】　北九州市八幡西区の本城中で、家庭科の授業で調理したピザを食べた複数の生徒が体調不良を訴え、６人が病院に搬送された事案で、市教育委員会は１０日、塩分の摂取過多が原因と推察されると発表した。 市教委学校教育課によると、１月

Six junior high school pupils in Kitakyushu were hospitalized for excessive salt intake, after eating pizza made in a home economics class. The recipe called for 3 pinches of salt (塩３つまみ), and taht measure was misunderstood. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

Henry helped him get an investment banking summer job, and I think he got a full-time contract too. Forget who with. His current career makes him sound like a modern day E.H. Erick, who was MC for the Beatles at the Budokan,

I knew that but was completely unaware Harry Sugiyama is a celebrity.