50 things which surprised me when I was in Japan - Part 2

   Hello everyone ! I'm back today, terribly sorry for being late, but here anyway, with the second part of my “50 things which surprised me when I came to Japan” !

   Today, let’s speak about gaijin, japanese children and restaurants.

1.     "Oh gosh, an alien !"

 Yes, strangely, this is one of the most common reaction Japanese people are going to have if they are not living in a place where they can see a lot of foreigners. As a French girl, I see a lot of different “types of faces” every single day : Asians, Blacks, Arabs, … But, this is not the same for Japanese people. I clearly saw and understood that I was different from the others : with brown curly hair and a white face, this was really obvious…

   People were looking at me, staring at me and I heard sooo many times “Oh ! Gaijin da !”. This was pretty funny to be considered as a so much special ‘thing’. But, from time to time, the interest you provoke towards others make them react a… pretty strange way. I remember once, in the underground, a group of high school students, or university students, looking at me, and making "hello" with their hands, super excited, like children.

2.     "Let's speak to this !"

    If you add your European type face to the kindness of Japanese people, the result which you are going to have is wonderful ! People in Japan are often really curious about the reason why you are in their country, what is the interest you have in Japan, or Japanese language, what you are planning to do, for how long you stay…

3.     "Do you need some help ?"

   Japanese people are really kind people, and they will always be ready to help you. This is something that seems to be written in their DNA. I will give you a cute anecdote. Actually, for my second day at school at Wahaha, I had to find my way alone, thanks to a map of the town. But, walking, I noticed that I took the wrong road. I guess that my face was saying that I got lost because an ojîsan began to speak to me, about my map, and then, he asked me where I wanted to go. Understanding that it was really not where I was actually going, he told me that he was going to come with me to show me the where that Ôhori Kouen was. During fifteen minutes, we spoke in Japanese. When I met him that morning, he was doing his everyday morning walk. He told me that he once went in France, in Paris I think, and that he really appreciated his trip. We spoke about my reasons to come to Japan, to learn his language, ... Then, we arrived in front of the park, he checked that I really was where I wanted to be, and he left, after I thanked him for what he just did. This act of kindness surprised me, deeply. I was and still am terribly thankful toward him.

4.     On their own Japanese children

   You probably already heard about these Japanese children who go to school alone from their 6 years old. This is absolutely true, and I was really surprised to see the two boys (6 and 10) of my host family leaving alone on morning in this city more similar to Paris than my small town ! They go to school alone, take the train, the underground, go to evening classes, ... This is really different from what we are used to in France. This can be due to the fact that Japan is safer than Europe, or it is simply cultural, and this is just to raise children and to teach them to be independent. 

5.     Cheap and so... yummy !

   The truth is that I was really surprised to realize that japanese restaurants are very cheap. You can have a full meal and only spend 7000 yen ! Furthermore, the products' quality is veru good and the food you can eat there if often delicious !

6.     A glass of water, please !

Yes, it is not in a restaurant, but at my japanese home,
but, I wanted to use pictures I took in Japan :D  

   When I came to Fukuoka, even if we were in October, the temperatures were very high. It was a pleasure to note that each time that I took place at a table in a restaurant, a waitress brought me a glass of fresh water, freely !

7.     Fast and effective

   One main difference that I noticed between France and Japan concerning the service at a restaurant, is that in Japan, everything is made to be fast. In French restaurants (mainly gastronomy ones, that's true), waiters take their time, in some way, and they will come to you all along the meal to ask you if you need something more. In addition to that, you will have to wait between around 15 to 30 to have your first plate. In Japan, dishes are often quicker to make, so that your full meal will be in front of you in 10 minutes ! I am obviously speaking here about generalities, and about my own experience. I also noticed that the link to the customer is not the same. The first day, when I arrived in Fukuoka and that we went eating sushi, the waitress who welcomed us put a knee on the ground to take our order. This is a way for Japanese people to show respect to the customer... But this is not something that I like that much.

8.     Turning sushis, or the Kaiten zushi

   Once, to thank my host family, I wanted to bring them to a restaurant they like, so we went to a Kaiten Zushi. Basically, this is a sushi restaurant, but, a non-traditional way. Sushi are turning on a sort of conveyor belt, and you can take the one of your choice. Then, so that the waiters can count how much sushi you ate, you have to put each one of your plates into a small gap.
   You can also order your sushi thanks to a screen (that we can't, unfortunately, see on the piture). These sushi will arrive more quickly and on a higher conveyor belt. This one is so funny ! It looked like a spaceship !

9.     You will have to wait... outside

   In Japan, when there is no place anymore in a restaurant, you can wait outside on small benches until a table gets available !

10.     Japanese women and beer

   And finally, I end up this article with beer... I noticed that, in Japan, a lot of women enjoy beer. In my school, there were small presentations of teachers, and, where they had to put the things they liked, some of them but "beer".
   I also remember that, when we went to the Oktober Fest, I could see a lot of women, maybe more than men, with their beer, half drunk... It was really surprising !


   I hope you enjoyed this article ! See you soon !

A~