Walking with Coco the dog in Tokorozawa I usually pass by a few things that are so typical Japanese. Actually, come to think about it, there are only two things. Trust and honesty, or more correctly trust in others that they will be honest.

This may manifest itself in different ways. In Tokorozawa where there are a lot of small local farmers one of the manifestations is that the farmers put up small unmanned vegetable shops. They put the vegetables in the kiosk and expect people to put money in a box in exchange for the vegetables. And it works. Nobody is stealing. Not the vegetables and not the money in the box.

Another manifestation is that people leave porcelain on the doorstep for the delivery guy to pick it up after they finished eating whatever was delivered in the first place. This is a usual way with soba restaurants that also do delivery. No disposable plates. Just solid porcelain and reusable utensils and chopsticks.

The trust in honesty here is that the expectation is that nobody will steal the utensils. I think in Sweden it would be gone before you can say Stop the Thief. In US it would probably be gone before you even put it down 😉

This is one of the best aspects of Japan. People are honest. And they trust that everyone else are honest as well.