When I visited Japan as an Indian I found many things new and fascinating for me. Everything was entirely different as in India. There were a few things that were hard to believe. Like, there are no bank-cheques, there are no signatures but a signature stamps for every individual. You mostly have to carry cash because most places only deal in cash, In many temples, you have to pay to visit-fee. I am sharing a few of the things which were surprising to me at first and were kind of culture shock for me as an Indian.
Kind people: Basic human nature is the same wherever you go, they feel everything the same but Initially when I arrived here, people were so polite and kind. Honestly, in my natural state, I am mostly kind but direct and straight forward, I cannot smile and be good all the time. If I do not like anything you can clearly see it on my face. Things are totally opposite here, people are so polite all the time, at some point, I think do not they get tired of being nice. They will never say things on your face, they will never say a direct “No” even if they do not like anything. They will never brag about their things and qualities. You will never see them saying like “I am good at that”, “you cannot do so” or “you are wrong”.
Surgical Masks: Surprising number of people wearing masks in public, in train, subway, there will be many people wearing surgical masks. It is a common etiquette here when you are sick so that the germs do not infect other people, but I got to know sometimes when girls do not wear makeup they wear masks. Sometimes to avoid people. Sometimes it is a state of fashion, You will find many fancy masks.
“L” is R” and “Fee” is “Hee”: To my surprise, I could not even understand the English words spoken by Japanese people. They are confused between L and R. They say “Milk” as “Miriku”, and “McDonalds” as “Makudonarudo”, “Coffee” as “Kohi”. This is called “Nipponized”. It was hard for me but as I started to learn Japanese things became easier.
Sit in squats in Public: In India, Sitting in squats position is only preferred while defecating. It is not considered good to sit in a squat in public. But in Japan, you will see many people sitting or waiting at the subway in a squat sit position. Personally I feel it is a comfortable posture to sit in.
Convenience: Japan is all about convenient things. You will be amazed to see how thoughtful Japanese people are about all the general problems. before you think of any convenient thing to invent, it will probably be present in Japan. I feel so good about it. I will share a few things. Convenience stores are also so convenient, you can get fresh foods, lunch boxes which are so healthy and are just put for 2-3 hours on the shelf and discarded after that, hot drinks, fruits, vegetables, yogurt, milk, sanitary, freshly fried food, fresh soup, salad, cold drinks, smoothie, ice cream, print machine, snacks, drinks, alcohol, stationery, socks, umbrella, most conveniences are open for 24*7 and you can also use the clean toilet there. You will find a clean toilet even if you are in a temple, forest, in-state buses or some mobile area.
Wax food displays: Japan believes in honest ads, you get what you are promised for. When you see a picture menu you will be served the exact food. There are some beautiful wax food displays in many shops, which gives a better idea of the size and quality of food. When I first saw such wax models of food, I could not believe that they were not real.
Super Clean and Quiet: Japanese people think as a group and are considerate of others. You will hardly see any dirt or trash anywhere. In toilets, there are separate wipes to clean your seat before or after using the toilet. The only dirt you will rarely see are fallen leaves or flowers. There are no dustbins and people carry their trash home with them. The garbage is also thrown separately in different groups like kitchen waste, plastic, glasses, tetrapak, cans, recyclable things, everything is thrown separately on separate days. You can only throw your trash in the morning when it is supposed to be collected. There are no janitors in schools and kids learn to clean their environment from a small age. In almost every house and some restaurant, you have to remove your shoes and you are given separate indoor shoes.
No need for security: I am so happy with this, I do not have to get myself or my bag security checked at subway, malls, cinema, stations unlike in India. Even at the airport, you are not bothered by unnecessary security checks. You can even carry your water bottle on a flight. There are no security checks anywhere and there is hardly any case of robbery or any crime. The cop also doesn’t carry any weapon with them. Japan is indeed a very safe, peaceful and crimefree country.
Separate smoking areas: You cannot smoke on public areas, instead there are separate rooms or spaces with a proper chimney where you can smoke. There are smoke rooms in malls, public places like a museum or outside a convenience store.
Nude public baths: Being an Indian I was so surprised at my first visit to Japanese traditional public hotspring baths “Onsen” where you cannot wear any clothes. But I became comfortable as you enter, nobody watches nobody and it feels natural. I love to visit onsens, most preferably the one located closed to nature. In onsens, you first remove your all clothes, then take a shower there are shampoo and soaps which you can use to clean yourself properly before entering the hot spring bath. You are provided with a towel and after wear at some big onsens. The baths are separate for males and females, and there is one indoor bath and one outdoor bath. I prefer an outdoor bath as it has beautiful views of nature including waterfalls. The water in the bath comes from natural hot springs, you can relax there as long as you like. After that, you again take shower and change.
Not Selfied: You will not see many people taking selfies in public except some historic places, trips, and some special instances. You will hardly see anybody taking selfies on the road, sidewalk, restaurants, transport, etc. It is actually not considered good or comfortable for others. You will not also notice anyone talking on the phone while in public.
Comics: Everbody knows how popular Japanese manga is, comics are actually very famous in Japan, In most of the Japanese restaurant, barbershop, Salon, Clinic, they have a comic section. where you can enjoy reading comics while eating, getting a service or waiting.
Green in Traffic signal is not green but Blue (Aoi): I recently got to know that Japanese people say the green light in traffic signal as blue not green. There are some facts about it. In fact, in many places, they say green as blue.
I hope you like reading it.
Lots of Love
Yogu