Yesterday I went to a computer store to shop for some PC hardware. Unfortunately I forgot that it was Tuesday, which is the day a lot of smaller shops and restaurants have their teikyubi or regularly established day off, to give employees a rest. This is a unique facet of commerce in Japan, and just one more thing that foreigners living here need to get used to. It’s not only small shops that adopt this system: many large department stores are closed several days during the month, which definitely seems odd to my American sensibilities. Murphy’s Law sees to it that the only days I go shopping are the day the stores I’m visiting will be closed, and yet Japanese people — who are more in tune with the rhythm of life here — will usually somehow magically “know” to avoid stores that are closed that day. Another potentially confusing thing about Japanese shops: when they start playing Auld Lang Syne through the store speakers, it means the store is closing and you should finish your shopping and leave.
Shops in Japan are closed on a pre-set day of the week.
