It's the little things

I was hoping to post a picture of this before I blogged about it, but uploading takes too much effort so I'm being lazy about it :P

Anyway, this is in regards to an experience during my trip, and while in Osaka.
At the hotel I was staying at, on the desk, there was a little knick-knack (don't know how to explain it) that said "Irasshai!" which is a short form of saying "Irasshaimase", generally used in Osaka.
Irasshaimase literally means "I am available to serve you" which is announced at you everytime you enter a store, convenience store, hotel, restaurant, etc.

So anyway, when I came back from my day trip to Universal Studios, I noticed the block had been flipped from the "Irasshai!" side to "Okaeri, otsukare-san" which means "Welcome back, tired/hard working person". It's like a warm and fuzzy feeling. I thought it was really cool when I saw that.

"Otsukare-sama" or "Otsukare-san" is generally used amongst co-workers and friends as an encouragement or a "well done!" type of thing. Also, sometimes people who are "serving" (such as waiters, clerks, etc.) say it to you after a day of work, school, etc. Something about Japan I'm definitely going to miss.

Edit: Typos
Above