Ever since I arrived in Japan and began seeing how the Japanese do things I have constantly made comparisons between here and the U.S. As I said before living in a country is very different from traveling or even studying abroad. I experience customs and practices that I might not otherwise experience during a short excursion. I am a resident alien and certainly some ideas began as very alien to me! And yet I have grown to accept and appreciate a list of things that I will miss when I return to the States next month.
I wanted to make a short list of five cool things I like about Japan. This list is by no means exhaustive; I avoided easy low-hanging fruits like foods and favorite places because then that blog post would take CHAPTERS. No, I selected other cultural things like hygiene, language, and evidently more hygiene. For some reason Japanese hygiene has made a huge impression on me.
This list is completely subjective and by no means definitive. Please enjoy responsibly.
What Japan Does Well:
1. Onsen
The iron rich waters of Onidake. Pretty weird, right? Soothing as hell though!
#1 has to be onsen (hot springs/public baths). Don't get me wrong: if you're in a hurry, showers are the way to go. But if it's been a long day and you are sore all over, taking a long bath in the onsen is as therapeutic as it is enjoyable. Several times after working out I have bathed in the iron-rich mineral waters of volcanic Onidake, which has gone a long ways towards helping me recover from aches. Some onsen are basic but others are very nice with hot baths, Jacuzzi, sauna, and cold pools for when you get too hot (hey, that's me). They are usually just a couple of bucks and you can use them for as long as you want. With extremely rare exceptions baths are separated by gender. Four years ago I went to an onsen in Akita where the pools were mixed (the water was clouded to prevent peeking). So there I was bathing with men and women. That's an experience I will never forget. I know there are some hot springs in the U.S. but I doubt they are anything like onsen. Americans could benefit from onsen...if they got over the uncomfortable factor of bathing naked among strangers first!
Onsen and bathing are a significant part of the culture here. In general most Japanese bathe at night; they typically take baths not showers. When kids are younger they often take family baths with their parents. I can't forget one of my first lessons at Sakiyama Junior High School where my first years at the time were learning verbs. In addition to the usual suspects "to eat" and "to drink" were "to take a bath", which I don't recall learning in Japanese class. Bathing is such an integral part of the day in Japan that it is a verb covered in the curriculum. You learn about a culture by studying their language. You learn a bit more when you analyze what they study when they learn English.
Tsuru no yu at Nyuto Onsen: the onsen which I thiiiink I used in Akita (it looks a lot like it)
2. Customer Service
In my experience Japan provides excellent customer service. Just recently I went to a glasses store to get new nose pads. While I waited I was served tea and a thimble's serving of a deliciously sweet juice (it came with a little advertisement so maybe it's something they were pitching). The store man adjusted both my glasses and sunglasses for free! I wanted to pay but I believe he said it was a complimentary. When I went in for a haircut a few weeks ago, the barber also served me coffee while I waited for him to finish with another client. I like how every time I go to a restaurant I am given a cloth to wash my hands before eating. These are just a few examples of the many times that I consider exemplary service but is expected in Japan. It may not be universal in Japan but I speculate more often than not you will experience this quality of service.
3. Phrasing
One thing I enjoy about Japanese is the flexibility phrases have in that they can be used in multiple situations. Furthermore they express ideas that are either a very rough translation to English or simply don't exist in the English language. For example, take my favorite phrase "Otsukaresama desu".
It literally translates as "You must be tired." Yet if you dig a bit deeper it conveys a sense of recognizing another person's hard work and thanking them for it; it's also a good rally phrase and paramount for building camaraderie in the office: "We worked hard today! Now let's celebrate with a beer!" I use it every day to fill in conversations and especially when I'm leaving the office. I thank everyone for their continued work while I leave; my co-workers in turn thank me for my work. It helps create a sense of harmony and is so much deeper than "Great work, guys. I will see you later."
Another phrase, "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu", translates as "please be kind to me" but can be used when asking for a favor, meeting someone for the first time, extending regards to a mutual friend or contact, expressing gratitude for a service, etc. Similar to "Otsukaresama desu", it truly is untranslatable but must instead be experienced in a variety of situations to grasp the meaning.
4. Raising Students to be Members of Society
A first glance at the Japanese educational system may impart a strict impression. Before entering the teachers' office, students apologize for their disturbance, express their reason for entering the office, ask permission, and before leaving apologize once again. Students must clean the school (only for fifteen minutes), finish their lunch ("waste not, want not"), wear uniforms in junior high and high school, are required to participate in club activities as they get older, and have less holidays (an American summer vacation is practically halved in summer; also it's not unusual for students to come to schools on weekends for club activities, tournaments, school recycling days, and setting up for events).
And yet it is through this discipline and structure that students learn to become contributing members of society. Kids learn manners here; while I don't know Japanese parents instruct their children, schools reinforce that lesson. Don't get me wrong: first graders bounce off the walls at Midori Elementary. I sometimes have to sprint from a mob of the little ones to leave class on time. Kids are still kids here. But as they get older, in addition to more complex studying and classes they learn etiquette so that by the time they are junior high students they are up and coming Japanese citizens. By the time they are adults they are thanking you for allowing them to do a favor for you!
5. Hygiene
This one took me some time to wrap my head around because a lot of it seems counter-intuitive. Then I realized it all makes a lot of sense.
Custom: There are few public trash cans in Japan.
Reason: People generally take their own trash with them home. Thus streets are generally clean and you never see overflowing garbage cans anywhere. When it's an individual responsibility to keep a place clean, everyone chips in (usually). Of course there are exceptions, you know. The sky isn't always blue.
Custom: When entering any place with an upraised floor, it is important to remove your shoes. Before you can enter a restroom typically you must slip on a pair of temporary slippers.
Reason: This helps keep the floor clean. You never see mud tracked across a floor here! Students will change their shoes in the lobby and wear indoor shoes all day.
Custom: No public towels.
Reason: Very few places will have public towels. Hand-dryers exist but there is no guarantee. Japanese people typically walk around with small hand towels much like previous generations of Americans kept a handkerchief in their pocket. Again this eliminates paper towels and subsequent trash (there are no trash cans after all) and it's not very hygienic for people to use the same public towel.
Custom: Showering before bathing/Toilet separate from bath and shower
Reason: I probably could have included this above but MEH. Fun fact: Japanese people shower before taking a bath because the bath is used for soaking not washing. Take a gander at the picture below: a person will sit on the stool, rinse, scrub on soap and shampoo, and then rinse again. Only after doing this would they enter the bathtub, which would be entirely clean water.
Also you will in this photo that there is no toilet. Woooooahh. Yes, it's in a different room. There is a main entrance to the bathroom which houses the sink. In my apartment there is a curtain separating the toilet from the sink (on the left side). If you take a right there is a separate entrance to the bathtub. It's an interesting hygienic practice for sure!
Not mine. I wish! But this is a typical set up. You follow the same form/protocol at an onsen too.
Well that is all for now! I hope to crack out one or two more articles before my time in Japan is up. Thank you for reading!