50 things which surprised me when I was in Japan - Part 1

   Hello Japan lovers !

   I'm back here (after weeks, yay !) to speak about Japan. I waited a long time before writing an other article about it, but here we are !

   Japan is a country radically different from our western world so, I sometimes was really surprised by some things, some behaviours, some ways to speak. This is why I decided to make a 4-article series about what can be crazily amazing and... weird in Japan !

     1.     Courtesy

   Japanese courtesy is absolutely not a myth. As crazy as it seems, Japanese are extremely gentle, kind, with everybody, in general. If you are a gaijin, then, they are going to make their best to make you feel comfortable, and to help you sightseeing.

   Furthermore, they are also gentle with each other : politeness is one of the most important principles for Japanese people. You will see a lot of them almost doubling up in several occasion : to say hello, thank you, to welcome people, … Manners are really different there, and this is a good way to show us a zen culture, respectful and really enjoyable.

2.     You said foreign languages ?

They have a good will !

   Everyone use to say to you can travel the world knowing just English, and be able to manage. This is completely false ! In Japan, there is only a few people speaking English correctly so that you can have a conversation with them. Anyway, you should forget all the other languages. I already expressed quickly my opinion about Japanese school language learning system, but I prefer to advice you : you should learn at least a few Japanese sentences before coming in Japan if you don’t want your travel to be quite tough !

3.     "Salut, ça va ? Je t'aime"

  I am French. What kind of image, of clichés do you have about France ? The bread, the frogs, the cheese, … well, basically : good food and wine, AND romance. France is the love country. At least, it is considered as so. People think French as fashionable, “kakkoii”, so that, when the Japanese people I was talking to was said they were talking to a French teenager, they almost ALL said the only words they knew, namely : “Salut ! Ça va ?” and, our eternal “Je t’aime”. I’m not criticising Japanese people here, but I found funny noticing they all knew a few French words !

4.     Japanese people and love

愛してる❤

   I think this is a particular subject. There is so much things to say about that that I could write a book, seriously. Basically, in Japan, love has to be hidden. You shall not demonstrate your affection toward someone in public places (no kiss, no hug, almost no holding hands, …). Moreover, Japanese people (mostly men) expect you to understand their feelings. Knowing how much girls’ and boys’ minds are different, I let you picture how much it can become complicated.

   I also wanted to say something about their conception of love. I think that this is one of the things I love the most in Japan : they have a beautiful way to conceptualise love. This feeling has to be hidden because it is precious. It is the strongest emotion you can feel. This is why you will be lucky if one day you hear someone saying “aishiteru” to their lover. This expression literally means you entrust your life to your partner : he has the charge of it. Aishiteru is a promise you shouldn’t break, something you say after you got sure you found the only one. Don’t be frustrated if your Japanese koibito only uses “suki”, because it shows his/her affection too ! That’s the same for love words : using it too frequently makes the words lose their true meanings. With Japanese, you end up realising that you appreciate more when, from time to time, they appear in a conversation and get, for once, unexpectedly meaningful !

5.     Japanese people and sex

Sex is definitely the most paradoxical side of the land of the rising sun.

   On one hand, Japanese people do NOT speak about sex at all, this is taboo. Even the young ones. And we all know that they are said to have problems with sex (don’t we ?). As a French person, I was really surprised with that !

   On the other hand, who doesn’t know Japanese sex industry ? And the manga / anime fan service ? All these feminine characters with their big boobs and butts ?

   To be honest, I still don’t understand why such a paradox exists in Japan…

6.     Vending machines

   You can see vending machines in almost every street ! In France, vending machines are not numerous and more often situated in buildings (cinemas, schools, …).

7.     Konbini

   Konbini are these convenience stores opened 24/7. You can find a lot of things there, like food, hot meals, mangas, books, snacks, notebooks, everyday tools, … And it is not always really expensive !

8.     No bin...

   In Japan, as you probably no, there are really NO BINS in the streets ! However, sometimes, it gets really non practical.

9.     ... but so clean !

   Japanese towns, parks, and pretty much every place are extremely clean : even if there are no bins, you can’t find any trash on the ground !

10.  Kawaiii !

   Japanese things are really, definitely, terribly cute ! Supplies, bottles, snacks design, underground… EVERYTHING !

   I hope you enjoyed this article ! See you soon for the next 10 things !

A~