It's year 23 in Japan. Heisei 23. But it's also 2011, of course. They just know both dates. A new era starts each time a new emperor ascends to the throne, and the Heisei Emperor is the current reigning emperor. He's reigned since 1989. Anyway, I needed to write year 23 when I opened my bank account here a few days ago, so I thought this was interesting.
As I was reading about the current emperor, I started reading about his wife too. She is the first commoner to marry into the Japanese Imperial Family, so that's really neat! Anyone interested in reading about her, here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Michiko
Money
It’s kind of difficult, but I feel like I’m finally getting used to thinking in terms of yen here in Japan. It’s interesting trying to think how much something in yen translates into in dollars and cents. At least all I have to know is yen, whether it’s in bills or coins!
Also, I can finally recognize the coins without having to flip them over to look at the numbers. I struggled at first trying to find the right coins, and it slowed me down when I had to examine the coin to find out its value, but it’s become much easier!
A funny little comparison to our money: 1 yen coins are just as useless as pennies, but they’re lighter and they don’t leave that obnoxious metallic scent all over everything they touch. 
Some toilets are like this, especially in the smaller schools and older buildings. It occurs to me that walking into a stall with one of these without any warning would be pretty much awful, so I’m glad I knew of these before I came to Japan! And now, I give the heads-up to anyone reading this. :)
How do you even use one of those??? (You don't have to answer - hopefully I'll never need to know...)
ReplyDeleteLook up "japanese toilet" on google, and it comes up with a few "how to use" signs.
ReplyDeleteOh, Maggie, I'm learning so much from your blog. ^-^ -Laura
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