CULTURE SHOCK


Here you will see the things that surprised and shocked me most about the Japanese Culture while I was in Japan. Let me make it clear now that I am in no way trying to slander the Japanese culture, people, or country in any way.  This page is intended to show the contrast between two very different cultures and possibly find some humor in it.

 
Pizza:  If you could have called it that.  I don't understand why the Japanese have to put the nastiest things on pizza.  Here were some of the toppings that I found on pizza while I was in Japan:  Corn, squid, shrimp, salmon, tuna, egg plant, clam, seaweed, and other various strange vegetables.  The funny thing was even if a person had ordered a pepperoni pizza, which they did have, it still would not taste like a regular pizza.  The Roads:  The roads were backwards of course like they are in almost every other foreign country.  But the roads in Japan were at least 1/2 the size of the roads in America.  It was totally crazy.  I was afraid many times that we were going to scrape another car next to us because the road was so tiny.  It amazed me that 2 cars could fit along side many of them.  I guess that is why their cars were so small.
Christmas Cake:  This is one for all you American's out there who celebrate Christmas.  Have you ever heard of eating Christmas Cake on Christmas?  Now I am not talking about fruit cake, that has a legend all it's own.  I am talking about like a white cake with frosting and strawberries and maybe a Santa on top.  This is what the Japanese do at that time of year and they believe that it IS the tradition in America.  It is believed, and practiced (well at least by some) in Japan, that a family sits down on Christmas and has cake together in America.  This was one of the funniest things I had heard of while I was in Japan.
Time Difference:  Of course the time zone is different in Japan, just the opposite of America.  But something was still different about how timed worked while I was in Japan.  The sun would set at about 5 or 6pm at night and rise again at about 5am or so.  To me that was very different.  The people seemed to be more night kind of people too.  The cities were awake and very busy from 5pm to 1am. No English:  It surprised me that very few Japanese people understood the English language very well.  I thought that there would be many more that would be fluent in the language.  I was also very shocked to find that there were very few signs on stores, stations, etc... that had an English translation on them.  The only escape I had were movies that were in English and had Japanese captions.
Little Crime:  It was a great shock and relief to know that there wasn't much crime in Japan.  I was able to walk the streets of Tokyo and Aizu very late without worrying about being mugged. I was also able to leave my bags unattended somewhere without wondering if something was going to be stolen or not.  However I did find out from my brother that lately there had been a rise in crime and that usually when it did happen there was a huge outbreak.  There were a lot of copy crimes like the poisoning that had taken place recently. Americanized:  After seeing the litter in Tokyo and watching TV and listening to the music I began to think that Japan was really Americanized and had lost a part of their culture.  Once I was up in Aizu though and saw a few festivals I discovered that their culture had not been totally lost.  The Japanese did seem to be very technological and less in touch with the land.  After talking to a few people who had lived in Japan for over 40 years, they said that Japan had majorly changed and that it wasn't the same place. They had been here during all the major changes and had watched the country go through many things.
Radio and Music:  Don't get me wrong. I love a variety of music but most of the Japanese music sounded like the same Techno Pop to me.  The cord progression was terrible.  There were a few songs that I enjoyed listening to, but that was a small few.  It was funny to note too that once in awhile the lyrics used in some of the songs were part in Japanese and part in English.  When listening to the Radio it seemed impossible to hear a whole song.  The DJ's were always talking or there was some ad that had to interrupt the music that was playing.  I actually laughed about this while I was in Japan...luckily I had some REALLY GOOD tapes to listen to that I brought and were sent to me while I was in the country. Thanks again Gwen!!! TV:  The television shows that were on in Japan were VERY dramatic.  Everything was over emphasized to the point of humor!  The only shows that were available were the news, Soap Operas (Japanese Westerns), a variety of talk shows, cooking shows, and a few educational language shows (German, Italian, English, French...which was very impressive to me).  It was quite a strange thing for me to watch TV in Japanese.  It was more mind numbing than the TV back home.  The commercials caught my attention, because many famous movie actors/actresses from America appeared on several commercials and ads in Japan.  Something that you don't see back in the US.
Digital Phones:  This was one the most popular things in Japan while I was there.  Everybody and their dog had one of these little digital phones.  When one of the phones would ring it would play a tune that a person can select.  Some people even inputted a Midi file from their computer into their phone to play their favorite song when their phone rings.  The phones were about 4 inches long by 1 inch by 1/3 of an inch.  They were very light and very small.  Some people used these as their only phone since they have to pay for local calls on regular phones anyway.
Shoes:  In every house that I entered and a few restaurants I was required to remove my shoes and walk around in socks.  Which wasn't a bad thing.  Just something very new to me.  I think that I am going to use this custom in my household.  It will keep the carpets nice and clean (which I might add I didn't see a Japanese house with carpet during my stay). Big Socks:  Speaking of shoes there was a fashion that I noticed while I was in Japan.  Most of the teenage girls were wearing these huge puffy socks (looked like leg warmers) with their school uniforms.  I didn't understand what the big deal was.  It wasn't attractive to me.  They also wore shoes that had at least 1 to 3 inches of rubber on the bottom to make themselves taller, or maybe just for the heck of it.  If anybody has been in Japan during the last couple of years they will understand (and laugh) what I am talking about.
The Toilets:  All I have to say is, "Squat, drop your load, and go!"  These toilets were not designed to let you sit, take a rest, and read a magazine while you relieve yourself!  A cool feature though,  that were on Japanese toilets,  that I would like to have on American toilets is a small facet that turns on after you flush that is placed on top of the toilet behind the seat.  This is so a person can wash their hands when they are done taking care of their business. Quick and easy!
Slaughter Of The English Language:  It cracked me up to see an ad that said, "Tasty Hair Removal".  These kinds of ad's were very common in Japan.  I guess it was cool to use English to describe a product, but many times what they intended to say didn't come out right.  Let me give you some examples:  On a wedding cake "Just Marriage" was scribed with frosting; a famous drink in Japan is called "Pocari Sweat"; "Healthy Book" was printed next to the Japanese title of a book about pregnancy; This quote was on a bar of soap, "Humanity are fighting against tired. -Charley Support You."; etc...

All fun aside, the experiences I had in Japan were very real and are very special to me. I learned quite a few things during my escapades in that foriegn land. I learned that we as HUMANS, are all faced with the same problems and difficulties, though the form in which they appear may differ in direct relation to what culture we live in. There is no race, culture, religion, or person that is better, grander, or holier than another! Let's come back to the individual and work together towards discovering ourselves. By doing this we will all find that deep down inside...there is a common current that exists in all of us (there are many different names for it throughout the world. Call it what you would like)...that is the same for all and unites us together as ONE WORLD!!!

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