The mass fear of catching swine flu has made Japan a bit paranoid lately. It’s not that I have had classrooms full of students wear masks, or that I can honestly say that there are some children I’ve never seen without masks, it’s just that I think people here have gone a bit… overboard.

For instance I came across this video put out by Unicef that tried to teach children the joys of washing their hands. Instead, I think it probably freaked them out.

So, here is a fun Japan fact. Bathroom sinks in Japanese schools don’t have hot water. Nope. None. Personally nothing discourages hand washing more than cold water sinks in the dead of winter. And by dead of winter I mean that I can look outside and see snow falling while at the same time standing in an unheated classroom.

(Via Daily Bento)