please mr. postman

i must say that japanese efficiency reached a new level the other day. i had a small problem by not receiving my vodafone cell phone bill last week, so i went into vodafone to ask why i hadnt received it yet. they said that although i had changed my address with the city and the post office i had to change it with vodafone as well (sidenote...thats ridiculous...a change of address is a change of address...but i digress). so i talked to an english operator on the phone and they said that theyd mail me a new bill and while id missed the payment date i wouldnt be charged interest on the outstanding balance.

the new bill arrived in my mailbox the next morning. literally in under 24 hours a new bill was mailed to me. in north america itd take a week or so.

the authorities here are among the best ive seen too. everybody at the ward office, the post office, the gym, ecc, the police station, ect...seem to take their job seriously and are happy to serve you. with the exception of one pleasant yet stubborn man at the naka ward office one day who wouldnt let me leave for work when something got delayed, he kept saying "patterson-san doko desu ka? patterson-san doko desu ka?" even when i said i had to go to work, even when it was explained to him in japanese. other than him everybody treats you like a servant.