Over the past year, I have visited Japan three times. In this post, I share some observations I took during my trips.
Notes on Introversion
- I often heard ‘Japan is a great country for introverts’
- I agree, it is
- eye contact is rare
- going to a restaurant or the movies alone is normal
- people mind their own business
- however, that does not mean most Japanese people are introverts
- instead, I found they want to be polite and not disturb others
- furthermore, most of they time they are just ‘busy’ or immersed in some form of entertainment (manga, anime, games…)
- for example, when riding the train, everyone either looks at their phone, manga or sleeps
Notes on Talking to Japanese People
- few Japanese people speak English
- if you want to talk to Japanese people, you should be at least conversational in Japanese
- striking up casual conversations in Cafes or other public places is not very typical during the day
- most people are ‘busy’ doing something (-> Notes on Introversion)
- i felt that it was ‘weird’ talking to someone you don’t know without a reason
- caveat: my Japanese talking ability is probably also a factor
Notes on being a Foreigner (“外国人”)
- Japan is the country with the lowest ethnical diversity (2.1%)
- most “non-Japanese” looking people are tourists
- therefore, you will probably be treated as one, even if aren’t
- before visiting Japan, people told me that I will be stared at a lot, because I’m caucasian and from Europe
- I found that not to be the case
- maybe it is because of the points listed in Notes on Introversion
- or because the Japanese have gotten used to tourists from abroad
- however, this probably depends on where you plan to visit
- in bigger cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto…) none bats an eye
- in rural areas, you will get more looks
Notes on Food
- restaurants & cafés are very cheap
- you can generally get a full meal for under €6
- as a result, I barely cooked in my AirBNB
- after reading the Notes on Introversion, you might have gotten the impression, that the Japanese are pretty quiet
- this is not the case when they go out to eat or drink
- when the Japanese like food, you hear it
- “美味しい!” -> “That’s tastes good!”
- *loudly slurps soup*
- “マジでうますぎ！” -> “It’s really good!”
- “Ahhhhhh”
- when the Japanese enjoy an activity, you hear it
- “えええ、ここが綺麗だね!” -> “Wow, this is beautiful!”
- “すげ！” -> “Awesome!”
- “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”
- Convenience Stores (コンビニ) are everywhere
- Vending machines (自動販売機) are everywhere
Notes on Culture
- visiting Japan feels like visiting the 2000s
- CD shops everywhere
- malls are thriving
- people use fat laptops
- there’s magazines and books for everything
- “nerd stuff” is normal stuff
- it’s normal to see businessmen reading manga on the train
- bookstores usually have big manga sections
- including all the “weird” manga
- however, that does not mean people run around wearing “nerd clothes”, instead they usually just consume the content
- Japanese people like rules and structure
- people usually wait when the traffic light is red, even when there’s no traffic
- if there’s a sign that says something, follow the sign
- as a result, it’s very safe
- e.g. you can leave your bag at your seat, it won’t get stolen (one must not steal after all, right?)
- Japanese people really like service
- service, meaning e.g.:
- advice while shopping
- hello & bye when entering shops
- always having a human available for help
- visiting (clothing) stores is unexpectedly ‘noisy’
- you will hear the employees yelling all sorts of phrases, most of which you can safely ignore
- you can see large areas of mobile carriers in malls, where you can talk 1:1 to an employee and e.g. buy a new phone + data contract
- on less busy occasions, you can often see shops with multiple employees just staying around
- service, meaning e.g.:
Notes on manners (basics)
- don’t eat and walk
- smoke only in designated areas
- when entering a “clean space”, like a home or even a fitting room, take off your shoes
- don’t disturb others
- follow the rules