Culture Shock in Japan

A question I often get asked by both people back home and people in Japan is whether I ever experienced any culture shock after moving to Japan. Initially I used to think "hmm not really"but after putting more thought into the matter I realised that whilst it may not have been "shocking" exactly, I did experience an awareness of cultural differences. So here are 5 cultural differences I have experienced since living in Japan.

1. Homogeneity
Coming from the South of England/ near London I was used to a pretty multi cultural society and being surrounded by people of many different backgrounds. So when I came to Japan and realised that anyone who was not Japanese stood out like a sore thumb (myself included!) it was quite eye opening! This is especially true in the rural areas of Japan where encounters with foreigners are much rarer, unlike the cities/ more touristy areas. I must note however that whilst Japan is very homogeneous for the most part people are very accommodating, accepting and often interested in people from other backgrounds/countries!

2.Over the top Customer Service

Yasu Wikimedia Commons

In Japan politeness and being humble are key to society and this concept does not go amiss when it comes to customer service. Any place that you visit where you are perceived as a customer you will be met with severe politeness, sometimes so much so that it goes beyond polite and becomes just downright annoying!! Take clothes stores/conveniences stores for example, the moment you even glance into the store you are met with a loud high pitch "Irrashaimaseeeee!"(Welcome), and then once you enter another one followed by some bows and if your unlucky an approach from the store clerk!

3. Safety
I have previously touched on how safe Japan is in comparison to England but now I'll go into more detail. In Japan I am much less worried, and much less stressed about the possibility of having something stolen or worse having something bad happen to me. The reasons that I feel like this is because if you lose your phone/wallet/bag/something valuable, 99.9% of the time it will find its way back to you. This is because it will either a. be handed in to the police/customer service counter etc, b. returned to you directly or c. be left untouched in the exact same spot that you lost it in! Similarly it is not considered unsafe to go out alone at night for a walk/run etc, as there are police boxes/ police officers located nearly everywhere. Obviously it is not wise to be completely nonchalant when it comes to safety as bad things can happen anywhere, but the chances in Japan are much lower.

4.Drinking
In the UK (and I'm pretty sure many other countries) it can be illegal to drink in some places and it is most definitely frowned upon to be seen drinking in public. So when I came to Japan, a country that is very alcohol friendly, and saw people openly drinking in public places/on the train/ during the day (granted not masses of people but still more than in the UK) it was quite a shock. What I found even more shocking was that when people were drinking in public nobody batted an eyelid, no sly looks, no tuts, nothing!

5.Public Restrooms

Matt Perreault Wikimedia Commons

Now this may seem like an odd thing for a culture shock but if you've ever used a traditional Japanese toilet (and no I'm not talking about the fancy ones with many electrical features) then you understand why! The standard Japanese restroom usually features both Japanese style and Western style toilets, however western toilets, particularly if you're in the countryside, are not guaranteed!  Japanese style toilets (washiki) are basically squat toilets, meaning you must squat over a porcelain bowl in the floor, something that does not come naturally to those used to western toilets! Needless to say I was very confused when I first encountered a restroom featuring Japanese style only! As well as this Japanese restrooms often do not have paper towels or hand dryers which leads to more confusion, but also explains why everyone carries a hand towel with them at all times!