Cultural conundrums...Cash and smoking

There are a few things that I have noticed here that really throw me for a loop and seem inconsistent within the Japanese culture.

First and foremost is how much cash is used. I had always heard that Japan was incredibly technologically advanced. That you could load money onto your cell phone and use it as a pass in the subway, etc. Maybe these things exist in Tokyo but not in Kyoto. Or, maybe we just can't read and understand Japanese well enough to realize how much technology is used in Kyoto. In any case, very few places seem to accept credit cards or even debit cards. As a result, we actually have to carry around and pay for things with cash. CASH!! I have almost forgotten what American dollars look like since the only place I need them at home is the farmer's market. Otherwise I've grown accustomed to using my debit card for everything back home. But here no such luck. Furthermore, the ATM machines are extraordinarily fickle. Very few of them accept a foreign card. When Jim and I were meeting our new friends for the first time, we were late because we had to stop at five or so different ATM's before we finally found one that would accept our card. Even when using a Japanese bank card, there are issues. It turns out that ATMs here (even your own bank) will charge a fee if used after banking hours. (!!) Jim says apparently they don't understand what the “A” stands for... We were grocery shopping with Mery and Jeff the other day and poor Jeff went to six different machines trying to get cash from their Japanese bank account without having to pay a fee. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful, so they had to buy a bit less than originally planned. I had a similar problem in the grocery store a few days later, because I realized I didn't have much cash with me, so I had the sad task of putting things back and carefully counting my total before checking out. Another way I am truly becoming a “dependent” as stated on my visa is that we only have one bank card. (You have to pay for each card, so Jim and Yasuko decided—in my absence I might add—that one for Jim was enough.) So, now I have to wait until Jim withdraws money from the ATM. Unbelievable!! (Especially since I've been our breadwinner for the last four years while he was in grad school!)

The second thing is smoking in restaurants. The Japanese are, as a culture, probably the most polite people on the planet. Except that is, when smoking in a tiny restaurant with no ventilation. Fortunately most of the ramen shops we've eaten in have not had anyone smoking and in the izakaya (pub) we were able to have our own rice walled room which reduced the smoke around us. However, Jim and I stopped to get noodles in a little place a few days ago and after the waitress got us an English menu (they had one!) as we started to sit down we realized that the guy next to us was smoking like a chimney, and blowing the smoke in our direction. I have a really low tolerance for cigarette smoke (always have) so I turned to Jim and said, “This isn't worth it.” We turned around to the confused and concerned look of our waitress. Oh dear. How do you politely say, “There's too much cigarette smoke,” when the smoker is inches away from you. And, oh yeah, we don't know how to say that in Japanese yet (minor detail). As it was, we very awkwardly and apologetically left. I worried all the way home that we had created some horrible impression of gaijin (foreigners) in their minds. Jim did tell me later that the cook had turned quizzically, wondering what was going on as we were leaving and Jim motioned to him about smoke and the cook nodded understandingly. At least, I hope he understood. Being foreigners makes us pretty conspicuous so I feel like we need to always be on our best behavior. Ah, the responsibility of being cultural ambassadors!