Business card

Japan is in our mind the land of the business man. And this image is quite correct for the big cities as Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, ...
The most important tool for a business man is his business card. If you don't own a huge map full of other people's cards you are a nobody in Japan. The business card is synonymous for the person himself. So you have to treat a business card with the same respect as for the person itself.
Upon receiving a business card make a slight bow and stretch out both arms. You will take the small card with both hands and make a quick nod with the head. Examine the card and then put it away respectfully. NEVER FOLD a card, because this could be seen as a sign of folding the person himself. Don't put the little piece of paper in your trousers but place it respectfully in a card holder or in the pocket of your jacket.

So a little card can make quite a fuzz. Upon walking in the streets in Tokyo I saw some men giving their business cards away (still with 2 hands and a little bow) on corners of the streets. It seemed only females were targeted in this random give-away game. I decided to ask my guide why these men were giving away these precious little papers.
Because Japanese get more relaxed after work and after some beers I decided to take my guide to a beer bar and question him. The bar was located in Ginza area, which is a good and expensive, but mobster-directed district of Tokyo. Only a couple of streets away from my hotel, but on the way I made another amazing discovery. In front of a classy building in one of the streets I saw a lot of pretty ladies all dressed up in wedding dresses. So I thought "What a nice huge wedding took place here!". But anyway it might be something to ask my guide for.
So after a couple of Belgium beers the tongue gets loose and that's when I find out that Japanese are refined in their ways of offering sexual services.
The men giving away them business cards are generally working men (sometimes married) who offer their services after their working hours. It seems a big percentage of the male population in Tokyo is handling business cards in the streets as to find some payed (or not payed) sexual activity!
The wedding girls didn't come from a highly fashionable party. They are the most exclusive prostitutes. How fancier the clothes, how more expensive the lady, that's the Japanese rule. And I didn't get to know the exact price, but it seems such a high class girl will demand as much as a half month's salary (Japanese salary).
Amazing what information you can get with a couple of strong Belgium beers!