5 ms·

Yet I see people grab their mask and pull it down to let a huge sneeze or cough out into the open, unprotected, all the time. I’ve even had convenience store wo

by fiblye 7y ago

Yet I see people grab their mask and pull it down to let a huge sneeze or cough out into the open, unprotected, all the time. I’ve even had convenience store workers pull down their mask to cough into their hands right before handing me something. Not to mention guys (not sure about women) pretty much never wash their hands with soap and water after using the toilet. Most train station bathrooms, excluding the Shinkansen stations, don’t even have soap—and I’ve been to plenty of doctor’s offices and restaurants that have no soap in or near their bathrooms. Basic understand of disease spread and hygiene is lacking here. Changing into slippers when entering a building and wearing decorative masks are all about appearances, and that’s what’s most important in Japan. It’s even more evident with that sham of a quarantine on the cruise ship before letting infected people off.

sneak 7y ago
I don’t think what you’re describing is specific to Japan. I regularly see all of the unhygienic behaviors you have described in public in Europe and in the US as well.
- fiblye 7y ago
  Other countries have problems, but they’re not praised for their perceived cleanliness. I’ve also never had trouble finding soap in any other bathrooms, and no soap in the bathrooms of some medical clinics indicates a much deeper problem.
- filoleg 7y ago
  Idk about Europe, but in my 10+ years in the US, I haven't seen a single bathroom (whether public or in someone's home) that didn't have soap. And that's across both coasts and a bunch of different states.
  - eric-hu 7y ago
    Check out a cash only gas station the next time you need to fill up and ask to use the restroom.
    - vkou 7y ago
      It's often cleaner than one in the cool, hip, vegan-only, fifty-craft-micro-beers-on-tap establishment I occasionally eat at.
    - perl4ever 7y ago
      In what country? I can't remember the last time I saw such a thing, so I think it's at least been multiple decades. If I did, I would, you know, probably not even attempt to use the restroom.
      - eric-hu 7y ago
        Arco and Valero in California are two chains that are effectively cash only (they take debit cards but charge a fee that's high when pricing it into the cost off gas). I no longer live in the US, but still visit family every year and I've seen those on every visit.
        perl4ever 7y ago
        Oh. But those are big chains, so I probably would expect the bathroom to be decent.
        eric-hu 7y ago
        I think these places are franchises so cleanliness and maintenance depends on the owner.
meowface 7y ago
Is there some rationale for the lack of washing with soap? And is this just after men use the urinals, or also after they use the stalls?
- fiblye 7y ago
  Stalls and urinals. At most, I see guys wet the tips of their nails with water, usually followed by fixing up their hair quick.
bsanr2 7y ago
I wonder if one is supposed to carry one's own soap/hand sanitizer, as it goes with tissue paper (many Japanese bathrooms will not supply it).
- dreamcompiler 7y ago
  And most bathrooms don't have towels to dry your hands. You're expected to bring your own towel, leave with wet hands, or use the electric blow-dryer and scatter germs all over the bathroom. For a country as obsessed with bathroom hygiene as Japan is, the lack of hand towels seems bizarre to me.
nihonde 7y ago
I’ve lived in America and Japan and have traveled the world. There’s absolutely no question that Japanese people have a much, much higher awareness of personal hygiene than most people elsewhere. Whatever axe you’re grinding here, the premise that Japanese people in particular are just robotically going through the motions is utterly inconsistent with my personal experience. During this Covid-19 episode, every single person who visits my home goes directly to the sink to wash their hands, unprompted. Masks are a precaution, not a cure. If nothing else, they’re a reminder that we’re in a heightened state of vigilance. If anyone were to sneeze or cough in public in Kyoto right now, you better believe that everyone is going to notice. It’s tourists that are visibly breaking the rules of hygiene as far as I’ve seen. (Your example of a conbini worker is funny since they’re generally foreigners.) The first signal that this outbreak was serious was when I noticed all the Apple Store employees were masked up. They’re the front line of dealing with foreign visitors. People also rarely touch each other. No hugging, no kissing, no handshaking. All of this is important at times like this. Riding the subways here and in Tokyo recently, I notice that no one is holding a strap or pole any more.
- fiblye 7y ago
  Funny that you mention foreigners, because trying to get an STD test in this country is hell. Doctors will grill you and ask if you’ve had sex with foreigners, and if not, why worry? There’s no way you have an STD. Unless you’re leaking blood, doctors will argue that you don’t really need an STD test. They say that to me even though I’m clearly foreign, but I guess I’m not one of those foreigners. I had to visit a few clinics until I finally managed to get one to give me a test. Even then, I had to argue with them to do more than test only chlamydia and at least include gonorrhea. Syphilis and HIV weren’t included with any degree of persuasion, since they said only certain foreigners from certain countries have it, so there’s no chance of having that. That’s in the midst of a syphilis outbreak in a country that offers unprotected services with prostitutes. It seems like a pattern of fundamental misunderstanding among doctors. I also once had pinkeye and went to an ophthalmologist. The doctor was calling people in one by one during allergy season and examining people in an open office setting so it was possible to see them be person before you being examined. The doctor wore no gloves. The doctor didn’t wash his hands before seeing me. After touching my eyes, he said he’d get me some eye drops, told me I was good to go, and immediately called the next person over. I’ve also frequently been prescribed kanpou/traditional Chinese medicine and had to go to another clinic to get real medicine. These are my experiences with medical understanding here. There’s a big problem with blaming “foreigners”, but the only people I’ve seen washing their hands with soap have been... foreign tourists.

by fiblye 7y ago

sneak 7y ago

I don’t think what you’re describing is specific to Japan. I regularly see all of the unhygienic behaviors you have described in public in Europe and in the US as well.

fiblye 7y ago
Other countries have problems, but they’re not praised for their perceived cleanliness. I’ve also never had trouble finding soap in any other bathrooms, and no soap in the bathrooms of some medical clinics indicates a much deeper problem.
filoleg 7y ago
Idk about Europe, but in my 10+ years in the US, I haven't seen a single bathroom (whether public or in someone's home) that didn't have soap. And that's across both coasts and a bunch of different states.
- eric-hu 7y ago
  Check out a cash only gas station the next time you need to fill up and ask to use the restroom.
  - vkou 7y ago
    It's often cleaner than one in the cool, hip, vegan-only, fifty-craft-micro-beers-on-tap establishment I occasionally eat at.
  - perl4ever 7y ago
    In what country? I can't remember the last time I saw such a thing, so I think it's at least been multiple decades. If I did, I would, you know, probably not even attempt to use the restroom.
    - eric-hu 7y ago
      Arco and Valero in California are two chains that are effectively cash only (they take debit cards but charge a fee that's high when pricing it into the cost off gas). I no longer live in the US, but still visit family every year and I've seen those on every visit.
      - perl4ever 7y ago
        Oh. But those are big chains, so I probably would expect the bathroom to be decent.
        eric-hu 7y ago
        I think these places are franchises so cleanliness and maintenance depends on the owner.

meowface 7y ago

Is there some rationale for the lack of washing with soap? And is this just after men use the urinals, or also after they use the stalls?

fiblye 7y ago
Stalls and urinals. At most, I see guys wet the tips of their nails with water, usually followed by fixing up their hair quick.

bsanr2 7y ago

I wonder if one is supposed to carry one's own soap/hand sanitizer, as it goes with tissue paper (many Japanese bathrooms will not supply it).

dreamcompiler 7y ago
And most bathrooms don't have towels to dry your hands. You're expected to bring your own towel, leave with wet hands, or use the electric blow-dryer and scatter germs all over the bathroom. For a country as obsessed with bathroom hygiene as Japan is, the lack of hand towels seems bizarre to me.

nihonde 7y ago

I’ve lived in America and Japan and have traveled the world. There’s absolutely no question that Japanese people have a much, much higher awareness of personal hygiene than most people elsewhere. Whatever axe you’re grinding here, the premise that Japanese people in particular are just robotically going through the motions is utterly inconsistent with my personal experience. During this Covid-19 episode, every single person who visits my home goes directly to the sink to wash their hands, unprompted. Masks are a precaution, not a cure. If nothing else, they’re a reminder that we’re in a heightened state of vigilance. If anyone were to sneeze or cough in public in Kyoto right now, you better believe that everyone is going to notice. It’s tourists that are visibly breaking the rules of hygiene as far as I’ve seen. (Your example of a conbini worker is funny since they’re generally foreigners.) The first signal that this outbreak was serious was when I noticed all the Apple Store employees were masked up. They’re the front line of dealing with foreign visitors. People also rarely touch each other. No hugging, no kissing, no handshaking. All of this is important at times like this. Riding the subways here and in Tokyo recently, I notice that no one is holding a strap or pole any more.

fiblye 7y ago
Funny that you mention foreigners, because trying to get an STD test in this country is hell. Doctors will grill you and ask if you’ve had sex with foreigners, and if not, why worry? There’s no way you have an STD. Unless you’re leaking blood, doctors will argue that you don’t really need an STD test. They say that to me even though I’m clearly foreign, but I guess I’m not one of those foreigners. I had to visit a few clinics until I finally managed to get one to give me a test. Even then, I had to argue with them to do more than test only chlamydia and at least include gonorrhea. Syphilis and HIV weren’t included with any degree of persuasion, since they said only certain foreigners from certain countries have it, so there’s no chance of having that. That’s in the midst of a syphilis outbreak in a country that offers unprotected services with prostitutes. It seems like a pattern of fundamental misunderstanding among doctors. I also once had pinkeye and went to an ophthalmologist. The doctor was calling people in one by one during allergy season and examining people in an open office setting so it was possible to see them be person before you being examined. The doctor wore no gloves. The doctor didn’t wash his hands before seeing me. After touching my eyes, he said he’d get me some eye drops, told me I was good to go, and immediately called the next person over. I’ve also frequently been prescribed kanpou/traditional Chinese medicine and had to go to another clinic to get real medicine. These are my experiences with medical understanding here. There’s a big problem with blaming “foreigners”, but the only people I’ve seen washing their hands with soap have been... foreign tourists.