The Japanese are an incredible people. Strange and incomprehensible from our point of view, but still fascinating.
There are many strange things that you will find once you land. Today we will tell you some of them:
🚧 Weird Vending Machines
In Tokyo (and all over Japan), vending machines are everywhere! You'll find them in alleys, stations, temples, on mountain roads, and even in the middle of nowhere. (One strange thing is that nobody vandalizes them!) But besides the usual cold or hot drinks, you can find surprising things. Canned soups (like oden, a broth with eggs and tofu or fish broth. Yes! With fish soaking in it!), vacuum-packed cooked rice, absurd gadgets, ties, umbrellas, used panties, fresh flowers, and even ready-made meals cooked by local chefs. Everything works 24/7, is regularly restocked, and is often cleaner than a European bar. Some vending machines are deliberately "mysterious": you put in the money and only find out what comes out afterward. It's part of the game!
🚇 Subway
On the Tokyo subway, there's a real unwritten "etiquette": no talking on the phone, keep sounds low, often travel in absolute silence. This respect for other people's space is sacred. Plus, there are women-only cars during rush hour, designed to protect them from harassment (yes, unfortunately, episodes of chikan, i.e., molesters, exist). Even the air conditioning varies: some cars keep it to a minimum for those who are more sensitive, and they are marked with visible labels (useful in summer, when the temperature changes between the train and the street are significant). Everything is organized to offer silent, comfortable, and respectful alternatives. What a dream!
🍸 Hidden Bars and Clubs
Some of the best bars in Tokyo are impossible to find (unless you have our map!). They have no visible signs and are often on high floors of buildings that look anonymous. Open a metal door, go up in a micro elevator, and you find yourself in an 8-seat cocktail bar with a film noir atmosphere. This style is part of the Japanese culture of privacy: those who know, know. Many of these places are discovered by word of mouth or by following small clues (like a lit lamp or a name engraved on a plate). Unique and memorable experiences!
📚 Sleeping in Manga Cafes
Manga kissa (manga cafes) are spaces where you can read Japanese comics as much as you want, but also surf the internet, play games, or... spend the night. For those who have missed the last train, or for those traveling on a low budget, they are an alternative to hotels. You have a reclining armchair or a private micro cabin, showers, free drinks, sometimes even blankets. The atmosphere is surreal: low lights, people sleeping with their heads on the table, someone reading in silence until dawn. Tokyo never sleeps, and if it does, it does so in the strangest ways!
💦 Soap Land
Prostitution in Japan is officially illegal, but the reality is more nuanced. There are areas like Kabukichō (Shinjuku) where the so-called fūzoku (pleasure services) are concentrated, legal because they offer "special massages" that do not technically include full sexual intercourse. Soap lands are places where you are greeted by a woman who washes the customer in a tub and then offers other erotic services. Some places are only accessible to Japanese people, others accept foreigners but require discretion and specific rules. It is a world regulated by internal codes and a certain cultural opacity.