I try really hard not to make fun of any of the English translations for things here. I appreciate the effort – when was the last time YOU tried to right something in a different language? So you’re not going to see any posts from me with pics of all the hilarious names you see all the time here.

But sometimes I’m genuinely confused with the translation choices that were made. For example, the pillows in my fancy business hotel (only $45 a night!) in Osaka came with instructions:

• Why are only the names of the pillows, and the “Points”, in English?

• What am I missing out on by not understanding the instructions?

• Why do the pillows have names?

• Come to think of it, why do the pillows have instructions? I took the covers off to see if there was switches or buttons or something, but nothing. I mean sure, they’re not your standard pillows, but there’s only one real way to use a pillow.