The survey was conducted in November and December 2025 and gathered responses from 28,049 schools nationwide, representing a response rate of 98.6%. More than seven out of ten Japanese public schools still rely on fax machines for everyday operations.
…Despite the governments aim to attempt ridding of this practice by 2025.
I think my perception of Japan has always been one of technological advancement alongside roots in tradition… and this strikes me as definitely the latter and not-so-much the former. But to be fair, I can’t even remember the last time I saw a fax machine. Thinking about so many papers getting Hanko stamped and faxed all around… that’s a lot of paper!
I do think Hanko stamps are really cool, though. They look fun to use.
I remember my Japanese teacher awarded participation by giving you a stamp on a stamp card every time you raised your hand or volunteered for a skit or something like that in her class. She had a billion different stamps so we were always excited to see what kind of stamp we could earn that day.
I’m going down a bunraku rabbit hole. I found this essay called History and Sustainability of Bunraku, the Japanese Puppet Theater that gives a really good explanation for the ups and downs of bunraku’s survival and its current standing in modern society. It made me fairly excited to experience it myself especially since there’s English audio headsets provided now. I wonder if I can find some translated works either in book or video form since a lot of these performances are based on written works.
I’ve been going down a Tokyo hotel rabbit hole as well. I think I’ve settled on a place I want to stay at next. It’s called the Hotel Century Southern Tower. The only thing it doesn’t have that I wish it did is coin-laundry but they offer laundry service. Unfortunately they don’t list the price of the service so hopefully it isn’t super expensive but considering the currency exchange, I think it’ll be okay. What I really like about it is the views, the price, and how close it is to Shinjuku Station and shopping/food options.
I can’t give any advice that isn’t conjecture but I’ll say in my experience I never stayed anywhere in Japan where laundry was an issue for me monetarily, and I’m real cheap. I never stayed at a place as swanky as this, but I’m sure that basic amenities like laundry are set to a standard low price in general. I’m sure you could get in touch to inquire about pricing just in case, too!
The thing I like about coin-laundry is that we can do it all at night in our jammies (if there’s a machine available). With the laundry service, we’d have to give them our laundry before 10am to get it back in the evening so we’d need an outfit to wear during the day. But it may end up being less of a headache so we don’t have to keep checking if our clothes dried and just relax in the evening.
The last hotel we stayed in had coin laundry and the other guests kept overfilling them so it’d take like 4 hours for them to dry their clothes and they’d end up hogging all the machines because of it. It was really annoying. I remember my partner getting so mad at another guest because he was waiting for them to pick up their laundry, they showed up, checked it, told him they’d just need like 10-20 more minutes to dry, then put enough coins in for 2 more hours right in front of him. BUT the laundry room had a nice view of the Tokyo Skytree and vending machines with Strong Zero, so it wasn’t too bad.
I just wanted us to try a different place to stay at in a potentially different area. This one is still in Shinjuku but its proximity to the train station is going to be a lifesaver for my feet. A 10 minute walk to the station doesn’t sound like a lot but it adds up. The last place was also in a very crowded party area so maybe it’ll be a bit quieter and chill at this new place.
BUT the laundry room had a nice view of the Tokyo Skytree and vending machines with Strong Zero, so it wasn’t too bad.