Japanese Culture

Okay, so I didn't go anywhere exciting over the weekend (too busy trying to figure out my new house), so I figured I'd satiate your desire for a new post by talking about a few things I've noted regarding Japan vs America.

1) Everything's Based on Respect. Japanese people are BIG on respect and saving face. For instance, if someone trips and falls, no one will try to help them... not because they don't care, but because by not acknowledging it, it's sorta like it never happened. It's even in the wording of phrases... when I gave a gift to my neighbors (a custom for new people moving into a neighborhood), I asked one of the translators to write me an introductory letter in Japanese in case they didn't understand English, and she explained how she had to word it so that I was speaking as a person in lower status than the person receiving my gift.

...which brings me to...

2) New Neighbors Bring Gifts.  I think most of my US friends are aware of the (semi-outdated) custom of bringing a gift (usually some half-stale fruit cake) to a new neighbor moving in... well, in Japan, it's the other way around. The new person brings gifts to their neighbors. I did it to my neighbors, bringing around some "American" chocolates. I was told they prefer American candy because it's exotic since the language it is written in is English, rather than things like towels or soaps (usual Japanese gifts). I think this custom may be more popular with the older Japanese crowd though. No word yet on if my neighbors were impressed.

3) Credit Cards Are Not Cool. America is very credit card friendly... it's almost impossible to find someone who has actual cash on them. In Japan (and Australia, for that matter), they are very anti-credit card. I'm not sure why. All I know is that it gets frustrating when you realize you need to go to the ATM to get yen because the restaurant likely doesn't accept credit cards. There have also been some scams involving a few clubs in Tokyo, where they steal your credit card information (this is mostly Yakuza, or gang-related, activity). That sort of thing doesn't usually happen in clubs in America. Or at least I like to think not... but I'm just a naive young pup.

4) Public Transportation. Yeah, unless you live somewhere like NYC (or Nueva York, as I saw on a t-shirt), the public transportation in America kinda sucks. It's very easy to get around here and go almost all over Japan, but the only gripe I have is that it ends at midnight. In America's defense, I will say that some cities are not as densely populated as Japan, making some forms of public transportation less likely to be used. In Japan it's very difficult to tell the end of one city and the beginning of another, which means it's easier to get around via public transportation.

5) Cutesy Everything. Everything that is anything is animated in some sort of cute way. I have no idea why... I'll admit that seeing a police station with a policeman drawn as a cute animal character makes me much more happy.

6) Cars and Roads are Small. Cars are tiny. I have a Nissan Cube and that thing is not the American version... cut it in half and that's the Japanese version. Seriously. And there are roads here that should not be two way streets. I'm scared. Really terrified. I've already messed up part of my car trying to hug the wall so that a second person could drive by me with less than an inch between us. Ugh.

7) Anime Is Not Cool Here. Yeah, you heard me. Only weirdo geeks like anime here, and they tend to sell pornographic figurines of anime female characters to these outliers... obviously I'm stereotyping, but for the most part anime is not a very mainstream thing like you would assume. And the figurines are real; I've seen them at thrift stores and in Akihabara, and they can be very pornographic.

8) Female Fashion Is Short Skirts or Shorts with Tights That's all. In regards to the tights with shorts, I mean.. they also wear cute t-shirts. Usually the tights are black, but lately I've been seeing skin toned with tattoo like things on them.

9) Central Heating Is Nonexistent. This is probably the most annoying thing about Japan... their winters are fairly chilly (30s for where I am), and NO central heating of any kind unless you wish to spend exorbitant amounts on electricity bills. Alternative forms of heating yourself are warm water bottles you put in the bed (yes, Little House on the Prairie style), the kotatsu (which is a table with a heater underneath it) or the kerosene/electric heater option.

10) Laundry Is Hung Out to Dry. I saw this in Australia, too. They don't like to use dryers because it's not environmentally friendly... so they hang their stuff to dry. They also hang their futons to air, which are not the American version of futon. These are little mattresses they place on the floor and then roll up to put away.

There's a lot more differences but these are the big ones I've noticed so far... I'll save the next part for another time!