It used to be said that you know it's time to leave Japan when you start bowing on the phone. Have you been in Japan too long? Maybe. But to prevent you from becoming one of those old Japan-hands relenting the present and waxing lyrical about the past and the "good old Japan days," first tell me if you remember:
When people-watching wasn't any fun? Nowadays you can go to Harajuku or Shinjuku and look at the girls all dolled up in everything from Hello Kitty accessories to costumes. You can park yourself almost anywhere in Japan and see studded, tattooed, hair-dyed people wearing funky clothing. Not so before. Everyone used to dress in staid, dark clothing and everyone looked the same -- very serious.
Waiting at the crosswalk for the "Don't Walk" light to change so you could cross? Nowadays, I often find myself, the "gaijin," the last one waiting, while all the Japanese have already jumped the light. No one waits for the light to change these days except for kindergarten teachers.
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