When I landed in Kansai International Airport, Osaka, a sudden rush of excitement came over me as I knew that the next 3 weeks were going to be full of unexpected events and unthinkable situations. Not knowing what to expect is one of the beauties of travelling for me, and I truly went to Japan not knowing what to expect.
My knowledge of the Country was initially tested whilst I was on the train to central Osaka. A father and his daughter sat next to me on the train, we chatted for a good 15 minutes until he asked me, ‘What is your favourite thing about Japan?’ I panicked and said the first thing that came into my head, ‘Sushi’. Awkward laughs filled the carriage. I felt much better when I asked him what his favourite thing about the U.K was, he scratched his chin and nervously exclaimed, ‘Chip & Fish!’
Here are a few things that the next 3 weeks taught me about both British people and Japanese people.
People in Japan know how to put in a solid shift at the office. So much so that there’s even a word for working yourself to death in Japan called, ‘Karoshi’. According to official data, around 200 people a year die in Japan from overworking themselves.
One of my french couchsurfing hosts who works as an animé translator told me that he was planning on taking two weeks off at once, and when he put in a request, his boss thought that he was joking. A poll by Japan Times stated that only 1 in 6 people in Japan took paid leave, and the majority of people only take half of their allotted holidays. Whether this is engrained in them from an early age, or whether it’s just the way their working culture is, watching the hordes of businessmen waiting for the metro in their almost matching outfits every day is certainly something that is interesting to observe.
In the U.K if it get’s to the end of the year and people still have holidays left, Skyscanner gets a good pounding and people always manage to fill them last few dates with something or other, whether it’s a holiday or a 5 day Prison Break marathon.
2. The majority of Japanese people truly care about the environment around them.
Waste bins are incredibly hard to come by in Japan, and when you do they’re always material specific recycling bins. Watching people separate their straw from their carton and placing them both in separate bins was somewhat mesmerising at first. We soon learnt to keep a plastic bag in our rucksacks to fill with rubbish until we found a bin.
When I came back to Britain, seeing people throwing cigarette and crisp packets on the floor was really frustrating and made me realise how little some British people care about recycling and their own personal waste. Whether this is due to the education system or people’s outlook on day to day life I’m not sure, but I feel it’s something that needs a serious shake up after my 3 weeks in Japan.
3. British people are incredibly extrovert compared to Japanese people.
In fact, the majority of the world are extrovert compared to Japanese people. We arrived to Japan straight from China, so the difference in noise levels and cleanliness were bizarre and surprising. Whilst we were waiting for our bags in Kansai International Airport, I swear a bogey could have fallen out of my nose and it would have echoed throughout the room (slightly disgusting but you get the point, I blame the smog). It was just so different to what we had been used to.
We jumped onto a metro one day and realised, after feeling an unnerving sense of foreboding due to the awkward looks, that we had stepped onto a women’s only carriage. Even though this is seen as extremely disrespectful in Japan, nobody said anything because in Japanese culture, confrontation is avoided at all costs. Also, our friends that we met told us that in Japan, people will only say ‘No’ to you after knowing you for a good amount of time.
This all being said, Japanese people will happily dress up as cartoon characters, walk around naked in public spa’s and extravagantly show off their dance moves on Dance Evolution in the arcades. For those of you who haven’t see this, you might want to check out this video!
There are certainly many other things which Japan taught me about British culture and all other cultures around the world, but it’s so difficult to explain without actually going. Japan was an absolutely amazing place, all of the people were incredibly friendly and helpful and I’d love to go back again. The only downside about Japan, due to the incredibly fascinating, different culture is that you always feel like an outsider there, and I feel that without spending a lot of time there and learning the language, that’ll always be the case.