Monologue on Misc. Money Matters

by Claytonian (9/25/2005)

So I'm the new owner of the car in that picture (the suit and girl came separate). It only cost me 8 man, but soon I'll have to pay shakken. I think shaken is really, really stupid. Basically, if you don't know, shaken is a strange scheme by the government to charge people excessive amounts of money for owning cars, under the pretense of assuring their efficiency. Besides the government, automakers and car repairmen benefit from this silly system. It got me to thinking about Japanese commerce.

Btw, since I have a car now; feel free to invite me to something and I can actually make it. Ah the possibilities...

RYU being served. Get it? It's so sublimely stupid and absurd, it's brilliant. Ahem, anyways, that picture is an odd segway into talking about services versus goods in Japan. Simply put, services are cheap, goods are frikkin expensive. A common saying in Japan is, "The customer is god." Why? Part of it is no doubt the culture, but I think another is the fact that because monopolies exist and prices are fixed everywhere, customer service is going to be a deciding factor for repeat customers.
Wait, you didn't know that prices were fixed in Japan by a vast army of middlemen? Well, then I suggest you read on here.

Then you may come to understand why Sapporo doesn't seem to have much competition in the drinks industry (outside the possibility of Coca-Cola).
I am a melon-soda addict, and I have a problem

0 comments | Read/post comments | Permalink