Coming to live in Japan means getting used to some new things. Pizza with squid, corn and mayonnaise on top. A land of vagueness where a phrase like so desu ne (literally, “yes, that is so”) is often used to mean, “Although we will appear to politely consider your proposal, it will not be accepted.” If you’re from a country that doesn’t use the metric system, it means learning to think in centimeters, meters, kilometers and kilograms, and to figure out that if it’s going to be 20 degrees tomorrow you will need to bring a light jacket, all of which is very easy to pick up. Although Japan is a solidly metric nation, they actually use Imperial measurements for a few specific purposes. Distances in golf are always reported in yards, and the sizes of certain products like televisions and blue jeans are expressed in inches. Japan also has some homegrown units that can confuse gaijin. For example, the sizes of rooms are always expressed in the number of tatami mats (jo) it contains, or would contain if it were a tatami room, and after living in Japan for so long I’m able to perceive these units easily. I might visit a friend and say, “Your living room is very large. This must be least least a 20-mat space!”
Living in Japan means getting used to your weight in kilograms.
