Japan

One day I ran out of shampoo and was thinking to myself, “Ugh… time to go to Shoppers and buy another bottle.” Then I suddenly remembered how in Japan, you could get those little refill packs. You know the ones I’m talking about: the eco-friendly ones in plastic pouches that are much cheaper to buy than purchasing a new bottle.

And then it dawned on me. Why don’t we have those here in Canada? I mean, they just make sense! They create less waste and are more affordable. Plus you can reuse your old bottle! Everything here is about size, from small size to “family size” packages. I’d much rather have the option to buy the refill pouches than to have to buy new bottles every time.

(Photos taken by my friend Yoshimi Iwai in Japan.)

+1 for Japan!

Canada

When I was living in Japan, I’d often forget to ask for ketchup when ordering take-out at McDonald’s. In Canada, they always give it by default. However in Japan, you have to ask for it. There were many times when I stopped by the late night drive-through only to find out after driving away that there was no ketchup in the bag. It always drove me nuts! Not so much the fact that they don’t give it by default but by the fact that I’d always forget to ask!

+1 for Canada!

Written by Nam Chuong
JETAA Website Director

Share Your Stories

Have you had those moments when you just wished that Canada would adopt a little something from Japan (or vice-versa)? Please share them with us and we’ll post them in our future newsletters! Just send your stories to newsletter@jetaatoronto.ca

JETAA members in Toronto and current JETs in Japan are all welcome to share your stories!