I'm Curious About Balconies Abroad 🌍🧺

I love traveling abroad. But more than the tourist attractions, what I find myself curious about are things like laundry hanging on balconies, mysterious fruits in supermarkets, or seeing a shop clerk eating ramen while serving customers.

People might say, "Wait, you're curious about that?" but observing this kind of "everyday life" is what makes traveling fun for me.

This is a slightly unusual travel essay of mine ✈️🧺🍜

I love traveling.
In particular, I absolutely love traveling abroad ✈️✨

The reason is simple: because it's "different."
The scenery, the air, the sounds, the language, the food, the fonts on signs, the supermarket shelves—.
Everything is different from Japan.
The moment I feel that "difference," I want to shout in my heart, "Wow! This is abroad!" 😆🌏

Of course, I also visit famous tourist spots and World Heritage sites. I research them properly, wait in line, and feel moved by them too.
But that's not where I really get excited.

Housing complexes, residential areas, the ordinary lives of the people living in that country.
I love the time I spend wandering around those places by myself the most 🚶‍♂️

Especially balconies.

I love looking at the laundry hung out on balconies 🧦👕
If there's a small T-shirt for a child hanging there, I think, "Oh, there's a little one here," and if there's just one huge bath towel, I let my imagination run wild, thinking, "Maybe only a father lives in this house?"
Of course, I only take a quick glance so I don't look suspicious, though 👀

How should I put it? I'm happy in those moments when I can truly feel, "Oh, there is everyday life in this country too" ☺️
It feels like I'm slipping past the local life with the face of a "passerby" rather than a "traveler."
I love that feeling so much.

For example, the morning. The scene of kids going to school that I see from my hotel room is also the best.
They don't have school bags, but backpacks, and their uniforms seem casual too. They might be eating snacks or listening to music while walking.
When I think, "So this is what a 'normal morning' in this country is like," I feel happy for some reason 🌅

And supermarkets are also super important tourist spots for me 🛒
I walk around imagining what the local people buy and what they eat.
Strangely large chocolates, 1kg bottles of ketchup, incredibly colorful soft drinks 🌈
While wondering, "Who buys this?" I end up picking it up myself.

And then, the fruit section!! 🍉🍍🍌

This is the peak of my excitement every time.
Thinking, "What is this huge fruit!?" "Wait, do you peel this to eat it?" "It's so heavy!"
I'm super excited all by myself 🤩

Durian, for example—I knew the name, but the real thing is so rugged it's intimidating, and jackfruit is practically a weapon. It's hard to even lift it 💦
Sometimes there are ones that are super sweet and delicious,
and sometimes there are ones so sour you think, "Is it really okay to eat this?"
But that "hit or miss" aspect is part of the fun 🎯

I'm lucky when I can try samples, and just staring at the fruit section is already fun.
When I think, "The local people eat these kinds of fruits every day," I feel happy for some reason 🍊

And when I line up at the register, I sometimes encounter the "best scenes."

It happened when I went to South Korea before.
When I looked at the register in a souvenir shop, the clerk was feeding a baby 👶🍚
She had the baby sitting on her lap and was saying "ah" with a spoon.
Even when a customer came, she didn't flinch at all and continued, prioritizing the baby.
She just smiled and said, "Sorry." What a natural, laid-back vibe!

"Wow~~~ This is a foreign country~~~!!" I gave a standing ovation in my heart 👏🌟

In another convenience store in Korea, the clerk at the register was slurping down a cup of ramen 🍜
And she was doing it openly!
"Wait, you're on duty, aren't you...? No, wait, that's totally fine!" I grinned to myself.

Something similar happened in Taiwan.
At a restaurant in a large station in Taipei, a staff member was eating their own lunch at a customer's table while still in uniform.
I almost wanted to quip, "Is this a cafeteria?" but they were so calm, and no one seemed to mind.
That scene was somehow endearing 🥹

You don't really see this kind of thing in Japan.
Or rather, you'd probably get scolded for it.

"It's rude to eat in front of customers!"
"What kind of attitude is that while serving customers!"
—that kind of atmosphere exists.

But is that really true?
I feel like Japan is just a little too strict about customer service 💦
If a staff member is even slightly relaxed, people say things like, "What's with that attitude!"
That's exhausting, isn't it?

That's exactly why the "relaxed daily life" abroad touches my heart so much.
It's the human touch, or maybe the breathing room.
It makes me happy because it feels like I'm being shown a part of their "living."

Oh, and! Toilets are also a point that quietly gets me excited 🚽✨
In Japan, it's standard to flush with a lever, but
abroad, there are sometimes buttons on top of the tank that you just press.
It's fun to search for them, like "Where is it? Oh, here it is!" and it's a bit interesting that the button is split into two
to choose between "large and small" amounts of water.
By the way, I press both at the same time.

Furthermore, in some countries, you can't flush toilet paper, so
there's a small trash can placed to the side.
At first, it makes you a little nervous, but then you accept it, thinking, "Ah, this is normal for this country."
Travel is truly a series of discoveries.

In my travel photo folder, there are probably many photos that no one else would take 📸
Laundry, signs in supermarkets, staff members eating, cats, and giant fruits.
All of them capture the "normal" of that country.
To me, that is the greatest treasure.

I'm sure I'll keep looking at balconies rather than tourist spots,
and whenever I encounter a scene like "staff eating ramen while on duty," I'll probably just grin to myself 😎🍜
And at the supermarket, I'll probably be holding up a giant fruit and saying, "It's huge!!"

That kind of travel is much more interesting to me.
It's not flashy, but it's unforgettable.
I want to keep collecting those travel memories from now on.

Thank you for reading until the end.

I would be happy if you could feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts or any similar memories you have ☺️