Japanese Oddities Trivia Quiz

Some of the things observed by visitors to Japan are puzzling. Hope you enjoy some of these strange but true factoids!

A multiple-choice quiz by hews. Estimated time: 5 mins.

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Author
hews

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
120,912

Updated
Feb 08 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
2314

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 84 (7/10), Guest 24 (4/10), Guest 172 (5/10).

This quiz has 2 formats: you can play it as a or as shown below.
Scroll down to the bottom for the answer key.

1. Which of the following things is MOST likely to be frowned upon by the Japanese? Hint

Drinking alcohol in an internet cafe

Smoking in the bank

Eating a hamburger on the subway

Urinating in public (at night)

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2. Women may not set foot on a professional tournament's dohyo (sumo ring).

True

False

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3. Which of the following combinations of items is available in vending machines for sale? Hint

all of these are available

video cassettes, phone cards, ice cream cones

softs drinks, eggs, hot coffee

books, bottles of wine, packs of cigarettes

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4. As an urban dweller, which of the following pieces of junk mail would one be LEAST likely to receive in one's post box in Japan? Hint

Brochures from massage parlours

Supermarket specials

Real estate brochures

Car dealership flyers

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5. Ok, now imagine you travel to Japan (if you are not already there!). Which of the following things is LEAST likely to happen on the subway? Hint

You accidentally step on somebody's foot and THEY apologize to you

You notice the passenger next to you casually light up a cigarette

You give up your seat for an older passenger and they allow a child travelling with them to sit down instead

You notice another passenger travelling with three or four pets in a basket or cage

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6. What is the legal age for the consumption of alcohol in Japan? Hint

there is no legal age

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7. More of these are purchased daily in Japan than in any other country in the world. Which item is it? Hint

Motorcycles

Newspapers

Eggs

Compact Disks

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8. Which side of the road do Japanese drive on?

Answer: (left or right)

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9. Which of the following two countries also double as popular coffee and chocolate brands in Japan, respectively? Hint

Brazil and Germany

Georgia and Ghana

Belgium and Guinea

Sweden and Spain

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10. As in other countries around the world, there are many different flavours of "Fanta" sold in Japan. But unlike in other countries, which flavour is by far the most popular? Hint

Orange

Grape

Apple

Banana

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which of the following things is MOST likely to be frowned upon by the Japanese?

Answer: Eating a hamburger on the subway

Japanese people don't eat on the move - it is considered quite rude to stroll along munching away on a meal. Most big banks, such as UFJ, Sumitomo and the Bank of Tokyo, tolerate smoking in the branches and even provide ashtrays. Urinating in public (discreetly of course) is fine as there are virtually no public toilets. Many internet cafes SELL alcohol.

2. Women may not set foot on a professional tournament's dohyo (sumo ring).

Answer: True

Sumo is one of the few remaining sports where women may not take part in any way, whether officiating or competing. Prefectural governors have sometimes not been permitted to present the winners of tournaments with trophies on these grounds. The rules have recently been relaxed for certain life and death situations.

3. Which of the following combinations of items is available in vending machines for sale?

Answer: all of these are available

There are more than seven million vending machines in Japan. Machines selling alcohol and cigarettes may do so only between 5am and 11pm.

4. As an urban dweller, which of the following pieces of junk mail would one be LEAST likely to receive in one's post box in Japan?

Answer: Car dealership flyers

Information or flyers from car dealerships don't arrive very often. Supermarket and real estate flyers arrive quite regularly, but by far the most common form of junk mail comes from (you guessed it) the other category. This kind of advertising was restricted on February 1st, 2003 in several prefectures, but remained in force for only 14 days.

5. Ok, now imagine you travel to Japan (if you are not already there!). Which of the following things is LEAST likely to happen on the subway?

Answer: You notice the passenger next to you casually light up a cigarette

Smoking on the subway is not permitted (this is surprisingly observed). On long distance trains it isn't a problem. Children rarely stand - on school trips for example, teachers often stand whilst all the children are seated. Parents often stand in crowded trains too, whilst their children are seated. Any unintentional physical contact is tolerated remarkably well, with both parties usually apologizing - the affected party often first!

6. What is the legal age for the consumption of alcohol in Japan?

Answer: 20

The age for alcohol consumption is 20, although this is often not respected.

7. More of these are purchased daily in Japan than in any other country in the world. Which item is it?

Answer: Newspapers

75 million newspapers are purchased every day in Japan, 12 million more than in the USA being in the second place. Another interesting item which puts Japan in the first position are bottles of hair dye.

8. Which side of the road do Japanese drive on?

Answer: left

Nothing odd about it if you're from the UK, India, Australia, NZ or any other of the 60 countries that also do so, right?

9. Which of the following two countries also double as popular coffee and chocolate brands in Japan, respectively?

Answer: Georgia and Ghana

Georgia coffee seems to be available in almost every soft drink vending machine in the country, while Ghana, distributed by the Lotte confectionary company, is Japan's most popular individual brand of chocolate.

10. As in other countries around the world, there are many different flavours of "Fanta" sold in Japan. But unlike in other countries, which flavour is by far the most popular?

Answer: Grape

From the ten flavours released in Japan, "grape" accounted for 41% of Fanta sales in 2002. A difficult quiz, but I hope you found it interesting!

Source: Author hews

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Beatka before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

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