Culture Shock! Door Handles And The Like

It's time for a new series! This time it's culture shock. I did a lot of research before I came here, so I was prepared for a lot of stuff but some things just came out of left field and took some getting used to.

Most doorways here are pretty short, and many of the boys in my program are about as tall as or taller than doorways. That is expected and people will tell you about that. However, the doors that aren't sliding doors (and many are) have lever type knobs verses the American round knob. This isn't the shocking part, though. I shall explain the shocking part through a little anecdote.

So I have just arrived at the place I will be staying and decide to visit the toilet room (I did my research and was aware of the separate room, sink toilet combos, and bathroom slippers). However, I hadn't found anywhere that the flush mechanism points down, not sideways. Perplexed, I decide to try pulling it towards me. It works. I go to leave the toilet room and after unlocking it push down on the lever handle to open the door. The door doesn't open. I try again. It doesn't open. I make sure the door is unlocked, and it is. Not wanting to embarrass myself by getting locked in the toilet room my very first day in Japan, I think a little bit and decide to try lifting the handle like I did with the toilet. It works.

So essentially all handles lift up here. Door handles, toilet flush things, locks, any lever type thing. In America it is the exact opposite. You push down on door handles, push the flush mechanism down, and twist locks down to lock them. After a couple days I was completely adjusted but it was definitely something I did not expect to be different. To my American brain it is more intuitive to push something down than to pull it up, but it must be the opposite. Doors also open the opposite way than expected most of the time. For example, in my house the front door opens into the entryway, the bathroom door opens into the bathroom, and my bedroom door opens into my bedroom. In Japan, the front doors open onto the porch, the toilet room doors open into the hallway, and my bedroom door also opens into the hallway. 

Also, light switches are sideways and often on the outside of the room they like. Means you can mess with your roommates by turning off the lights when they are in a room. It's great.