Paper tissues

06/02/2002 English German

Edition # 40
San Francisco, 06-02-2002

Japan, Finally Aircraft as Arcade Tokyo Gastronomy Tokyo Fish Market Masks Beverages Beer Paper tissues Shuwattchi! Fashion Safety Technophilia Shinkansen Japanese speaking English Busy Bodies Rambunctious Youth Surveyed by Students Geishas Original and American knockoff Consumer Frenzy Japanese toilets Bicycles in Tokyo Train station in Tokyo Uniforms Taxis To Bow Shoes Off and Shoes On Hiroshima Ryokan Japanese Bath In the temple for AOL Koya-San Cemetery in Koya-San

Paper tissues

Michael Visiting Japanese public bathroom, you'll notice that paper for drying your hands is not always available, so you should always have tissues with you. Instead of brochures and flyers, distributors on the street often hand out packs of tissues, which sometimes advertise (occasionally questionable) services.

Figure [1]: Paper tissues are handed out as advertisment.

Those distributors usually do not offer tissues to foreigners, by the way. However, in the hustle and bustle of the subway stations, we managed to grab some several times. As for using the tissues: place them on the shelf *before* washing your hands—rummaging in your pocket with wet fingers after washing is uncool.

By the way, in Japan, it is considered extremely rude to blow your nose in public. This is even stricter than in the USA, where you are not supposed to blow your nose at the table and should excuse yourself to go to the restroom instead.