Malls

In New Jersey there is a mall every few miles and they are all pretty much the same - a giant shopping center surrounded by a parking lot two or three times its size. Inside you might have two or three levels filled with the exact same stores as the mall a few blocks away.

In Japan they just don't have that much space, so they build their malls about the size of a Home Depot and about seven or eight stories high! Customers park in a parking deck behind the mall about the same size and height.

The inside of malls in Japan are just as different. In the US stores have their separate little shops, but walking the mall in Japan is more like a trip to Wal*Mart or Target. Imagine walking around Target, you have a large central aisle that circles the store and around that aisle you have each department (electronics, toys, men's clothing, ect.). Now imagine that each department is its own separate store. Now you have an idea of what malls are like in Japan.

They also have food courts like malls in America do. Food courts in the US are usually a large central seating area surrounded by various food stalls; they are the exact opposite in Japan. In Japanese malls one floor is devoted to eating, yet unlike the mall area, each restaurant has its own enclosed shop with its own seating inside. They have their own unique Japanese food plus some well known favorites from America like McDonald's and Starbucks.

And I think I've stumbled onto the secret as to why Japanese people are so thin - no Cinnabons.