To those who think Singaporeans are poorly mannered (well,
SIngaporeans are, but...), have a read of this excerpt of the first
two paragraphs from this article from The Economist Nov 20
2010:
Friends and neighbours.
-----------------------
Walk into the inn in the Hokkiado village of Akanko, and
everything from the welcomeing cry of "irasshaimase" to the
taciturn old man grilling chicken on the fire seems
quintessentially Japanese. Until, that is, you hear all the
customers speaking Mandarin. The Chinese have flocked to this area
since it provided some of the settings for a 2008 Chinese
blockbuster comedy, "If You are the One".
The local Japanese were shocked when the early arrivals used the
onsen, or spas, to do the unthinkable: they washed their clothes in
the hot tubs. There is still some tut-tutting about Chinese
customs- the elbows on the table, the lack of familiarity with
flushing loos- but if not for these visitors, the tourist trade in
the area would be half dead.
