I don't even know where to begin about Japanese punctuality; so I'll just list all the examples.
1. Internet set up: the appointment time was between 1pm ~ 5pm. The man came at 1pm.
2. Household moving company: the appointment time was between 1pm ~ 2pm. The man came at 12:55pm.
3. Shopping package delivery: the delivery time was between 6pm ~ 9pm. The man came at 5:40pm.
4. Household moving company, part II: the appointment time was at 8am. They came at 7:25am.
I mean, I appreciated it, but what if I wasn't home?
04 July 2021 Opposite of Japanese Punctuality:
The office hours of the Property Management Office is 9am ~ 6pm, everyday, except Wednesday.
Three Japanese grandmas run the place.
We went to the office to pay rent on Sunday, 04 July 2021, at 3:30pm. The office was closed, without any notice posted on the door. I called the cell phone of Lady Middlefield, one of the Japanese grandmas running the place; nobody answered. I emailed her; she emailed me back saying "We're closed today. Pay tomorrow." She didn't explain why they were closed on a day they should've been open.
I emailed her back asking what time the office would be open. She emailed me back saying "9:30am". The sign on the door said 9am. If I hadn't asked, I would've wasted more time waiting for them.
This is not the first time they closed the office without notice. In the past, however, they would at least post a sign saying "We'll be back in an hour". They were never back in an hour, but at least there was a sign.
Apparently Japanese punctuality and professionalism do not apply to Japanese grandmas.
05 July 2021 Opposite of Japanese Punctuality, Part II:
We arrived at the Property Management Office at 9:20am. The office was already opened. So they were opened on time at 9am. Why did Lady Middlefield tell me 9:30am? I had other places to be! I asked her if 04 July was a Japanese holiday; she said no. She said she went home so she closed the office early 😲
It was ¥1,000/day penalty for me paying rent late. Why wasn't there a penalty for them to close office early, especially at the beginning of the month when people needed to pay rent?! 😡
Japanese punctuality and professionalism definitely do not apply to Japanese grandmas.