What's something that is commonly known (or believed) in one country, which would be mind-blowing to foreigners?

What's something that is commonly known (or believed) in one country, which would be mind-blowing to foreigners? Click here for more Quora info.

• That weird, hard to comprehend anime/manga/tv show? A lot of Japanese people find it weird and hard to comprehend too.
• There really is no tipping! Really! (Well, not for tourists. See: Japanese Culture: How does tipping work in Japan?)
• Sadly, samurai have not existed for around 150 years now. (See Samurai: Are there living samurai in this age?) However, participation in martial arts practised by the samurai is still quite high, such as kendo (swordsmanship), judo, kyuudo (archery) and so on.
• Sadly, ninja don't exist either, although a few practioners of nin-jutsu do. (See Japan: Do ninja still exist in Japan?)
• There are less than 100 real geisha left in Japan. Most are in Kyoto, but there are a few in other areas too including Asakusa, Tokyo. (One of the main reasons for the decline in geisha is the changing of child labor laws. Geisha used to start their training as young girls, but now the minimum age one can enter training is 15, so it's very hard to recruit new trainees.) Most of the geisha you see walking around the Gion district of Kyoto are maiko, a geiko in training (the word 'geisha' is not really used much esp. in Kyoto.)

• Kungfu is not the same as karate. Only one of those is actually Japanese. (Okinawan in origin, current forms of karate were largely developed on mainland Japan in the 20th century.)
• Besides KFC chicken, pizza from Domino's or Pizza Hut etc. is also popular for Christmas dinner. (This is because there's no Christmas dinner tradition in Japan, and eating stuff like KFC and pizza is considered a treat. It's also a triumph of marketing by those franchises.) This is a Domino's Pizza Christmas Dinner Set from last year with a multitopping pizza, 'smile potatoes', roast chicken and salad. It cost 4,900 yen for a regular and 5,900 yen for a large. You had to reserve it in advance.

• A Christmas cake looks like this. (Strawberries are a must.)

• In Tokyo/Yokohama, a man can walk around wearing a schoolgirl's uniform, pigtails and makeup in broad daylight, and barely anyone will bat an eyelid. (Actually happened.)
• The most shocking thing you may encounter is some quiet young salaryman avidly reading an X-rated manga right next to you on the train.
• Ghost stories are associated more with summer than winter/Hallowe'en, since until fairly recently Hallowe'en was virtually unknown in largely non-Christian Japan. Ghost stories are told in the summer to bring a chill down ones spine, which brings temporary respite from the heat and humidity. Female ghosts are generally more scary and vengeful than male ones .

• People almost always put book covers on their books because they don't want others to see what they're reading (and to keep the books in pristine condition).
• Not all commuter trains are so packed that pushers have to push people in. That only happens on the very busiest lines at the busiest times. Commuter trains are very crowded, but most of the time you can stand up at least. Just avoid the rush hour if you don't want to feel like a canned sardine, or in Japanese parlance, 'a packed sushi'. Here's a typical scene during morning rush hour. 

• The pace of life in the cities, especially Tokyo, is very, very fast. In my experience (and I realize this is subjective) it is about 2x the pace of New York City. People walk ultra fast because they have precisely timed their movements. Directions in Tokyo can be timed to the minute. If you idle and dawdle you may get knocked down, although you'll most likely be politely helped up by total strangers too.
• People have the amazing ability to fall asleep anywhere, in any kind of pose, especially on trains. Sitting down, standing up, sitting on the curb, leaning against a pole. Especially young girls.
• To combat the humid climate, futons, duvets, and other bedding are hung outside to air out and get fresh almost every sunny day, especially in the summer. Or you can buy futon-drying machines. (This is why your futon gets icky. You're not airing it out!)

• The real bosses of Japan are married ladies. They are the most demanding consumers, know how to sniff out the best bargains, and by and large they, not their husbands, control the family purse strings.
• Compared to Western homes, especially American ones except in cities like New York, Japanese homes are tiny. The average size of the house or apartment for a family of four is around 75 to 90 square meters.
• Homes are also often cluttered like hell since they're so small, yet Japan is a very consumerist society. Conquering clutter is a big thing. Forget about the Zen-like calm Japanese interior that you may have envisioned. That usually only exists in temples, or in the homes of really disciplined people.
• In Tokyo, people walk on the left side (such as on escalators). But in Osaka, people walk on the right side.(Note: this left-side right-side thing is kind of confusing to remember, so just go with the flow when you're visiting a city. ^_^;)
• Japan has two different electrical frequencies. In the east it's 50 Herz, in the west 60 Hertz. It's like 2 different countries in that regard. Electrical appliances in Japan are built to handle both. (This is why, right after the March 11 earthquake last year, the power plants in western Japan could not easily send over excess power to the damaged east.) See why: Japan: Why does Japan have two different electrical frequencies?
• The people of Japan do not think as a comformist, monolithic whole, contrary to the way it's portrayed in the western media. There are ultra-right wingers, neo-conservatives, as well as an active and thriving Communist Party. There are anti-nuclear energy activists as well as pro-nuclear energy factions. There are tinfoil-hat types, charlatans, and just some plain crazy people too. In short, it's just like anywhere else. This is the flag of the Japanese Communist Party.

• There are many different dialects in Japan, and it can be hard to understand some of them. Standard Japanese is actually mostly based on Tokyo (or Edo) dialect.
• Japanese women do get fat!
• Little stone statues of a benevolently smiling bald deity are everywhere, on roadsides and street corners and pathways. Often they are dressed up with cloth or knitted bibs, sometimes caps, and have snack foods placed next to them as offerings. These are Jizō Bosatsu (Ksitigarbha), a Buddhist monk that is believed in Japan to be a protector of children. They're affectionately called o-Jizō-san or o-Jizō-sama. You'll also see a lot of tiny shrines with flower offerings. These are little Shinto shrines. Many homes also have a kamidana (God Shelf) for Shinto, and if they have deceased relative, a butsudan (Buddha shelf) for Buddhism. This for a country where when surveys are taken, the vast majority say they are not religious. (See: Japan: What are some of Japan's best kept secrets?)

• Japan is not crime-free. But it is relatively low in crime, especially violent crime. You should still take common sense precautions.
• Elderly Japanese people are not that quiet and meek. They're actually pretty bossy, especially women.
• Since all you tend to hear is that the country that is supposed to be in dire economic straits, you'd expect to see more visible signs of it. On the contrary, it still seems to be working remarkably well. Infrastructure is not crumbling, unemployment is still quite low compared to other countries. Streets are kept swept. Puzzling.
• Small earthquakes really do occur all the time, almost daily. You get used to it after a while.
• And finally, Japan, China and South Korea are totally different countries with people that act very differently.

  

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