Poll: Which of these things have you experienced while in Japan?

[changedonrequest]

I've experienced all of these things and would like to share some of the "positive" things about Japan.

Feel free to place your comments below after you vote.

If you have some positive comments to make please take the time to add them here.


PS: to any moderator on duty here, please remove my vote from my answer on Number 20, I hit it by mistake; sorry about that....

[Han Chan]

I have also experienced so many positive things in Japan. I cound make a very long list!

[changedonrequest]

I have also experienced so many positive things in Japan. I cound make a very long list....but where is the poll?

Do you see it now?

Hey Han-Chan, feel free to put your long list here, I would love to see it. The way I am thinking about it is this, instead of constantly seeing the negative which brings out the "darker" emotions in many people, lets go positive and get lighter emotions flowing here.

Time to pick things up here.

[MeAndroo]

I've actually only had one of those happen to me, but that's due to limited time spent in Japan. Having lived there for less than a year, I never had a car, so any traffic things are irrelevant. It's probably inaccurate to say I was more responsible since the one experience I do share was losing my wallet, but I can't fathom asking a cop for taxi fare, cutting in line at a market, storekeepers taking me to other stores, or a number of the others. Maybe it was because my Japanese was adequate enough not to warrant people going out of their way, maybe because I didn't feel it right to ask.

Aside from the wallet incident, the event that stands out the most in my mind in terms of random acts of kindness was the first time I took a different route to school. I got dropped off at a station that was much larger than the home one I was used to, had trouble reading the signs, and just generally appeared befuddled. An older woman saw me staring at the map, asked me if I could read it, and when I said no, proceeded to buy my ticket and point out exactly which line to get on. It wasn't as though she strained herself, but the mere fact that she was observant enough to see me struggling spoke volumes about her as a person. I doubt that's an exclusively Japanese thing, but I'll always remember it.

[changedonrequest]

but I can't fathom asking a cop for taxi fare, cutting in line at a market, storekeepers taking me to other stores, or a number of the others.
I was walking home from rather far away and stopped at a Koban in the middle of a rainstorm, the cop on duty offered the money first, I refused, not feeling "ok" about taking money from a cop, but the rain never stopped so I asked him for it and he gave me 2,000 for the taxi fare home, without even asking me for any ID, needless to say I paid him back the next day, but I was truly surprised at the incident myself.

At the supermarket I was in a rather long line with only a couple of items, as most Japanese supermarkets where I live dont have express lanes. Anyway this lady motions for me to get in line ahead of her because she has a basket full of stuff. After that one I have done the same thing with others.

For the shoppng one that actually happens quite a bit, I go to the "shoten-gai" (local shopping district) and look for something, if they don't have it quite often they will walk around the area with me looking for what I want, and aksing other shop owners for assistance. I would say that for customer service it is unpparrelled, it also gets me to go back when I need stuff too.

[Spyder93090]

Haha, I would of voted for "little kids with smiles on their faces while looking at you" but, I remember, my homestay had a little brother (maybe 4 years old) and his next-door-neighbor (who was also 4) came by to ask if he could play. But before he got to the front door, I was playing Hacky-Sack in the "front yard" and then the little boy saw me and stared at me for about 5 seconds then screamed "BYE-BYE !!" and ran as fast as he could, while laughing, home. It was so funny, I don't think I'll ever forget that. Haha, good times.

[Maciamo]

Interesting poll. I love this kind of topics. :-)

I didn't have a car in Japan, so I cannot share my experience in this regard.

Let me comment on a few.

- People letting you cut in line ahead of them at the supermarket.

It has never happened to me, although I went to the supermarket at least oncew or twice a week. Very often there would be people with a full basket and they never let me pass before them when I had only 1 or 2 items. In Belgium people almost always they you cut the line (when there are special lines for people with less than 7 items).

- Drivers letting you cut in at a busy intersection.

I was surprised that Japanese drivers (in Tokyo) almost always take their priority over pedestrians. In Belgium, France and several other European countries, pedestrians have the priority everywhere on the road (not just on "zebra crossings" like in the UK) and cars must stop, even if there is no pedestrian crossing. The vast majority of Belgian drivers do. Never seen a Japanese do it even by courtersy (as opposed to being legal bind to do so).

- Shop owners/workers taking you to a different store to get what you are looking for.

I have heard several times of such stories, but it hasn't happened to me.

- Bus drivers stopping in the middle of the road to let you get on.

Again, something they would do in Belgium (and which I have experienced despite rarely taking the bus), but which I have never seen in Japan (despite taking more often the bus than in Belgium). I think that Japanese people are just too afraid of breaking the rules to do that. It's like when you go to a fastfood restaurant, get cold chips/fries and they won't give you hot ones when you tell them.

- Extreme politeness in the face of anger or misunderstanding.

I rarey get angry in public (almost only at home) and my wife is not the kind of person to be polite in such situations (she either gets angry back, cries or sulks).

I have heard that in East Asian (Confucian) societies it is considered more impressive to stay calm and extremely polite when confronted to an angry person. I was advised that if a (drunk or tired) Japanese salariman ever got angry at me in the metro/street for some reason that I should stay calm and reply to him in Keigo, and that he would be so impressed and belittled that I would "win the fight" and "save face". So Japanese people who do that do it for cultural reasons, not out of good character.

- Complete strangers sharing food or drink with you.

It has happened to me several times while travelling around India or South-East Asia, but never in Japan. I think that it has to do with the Japanese (well the Tokyoites more than the Osakans, apparently) being too inhibited wit foreigners.

- Getting your wallet returned with nothing missing after a week.

I have heard of it several times, but I have never lost my wallet. :bluush" I have also heard of the same thing happening in Scandinavia and Canada.


- Japanese children almost always having a smile and greeting for you.

Children in all the world smile more often than not. In Japan and a few other East Asian countries (e.g. Thailand), I have often been confronted to children pointing a me, staring at me, or giggling at my sight, rather than smiling innocently.

- Japanese people saying "Shigatta ga nai" or "Sho ga nai" at your foul-ups or mistakes

More often what I heard was "Gaijin dakara shikata ga nai", but not just about "mistakes" but more commonly differences of opinions. My in-laws have often said that when we were talking about the meaning of marriage, of when I mentioned that problems in Japanese politics.


Hachiro, CC1 and others who live in Okinawa, if you have also been/lived elsewhere in Japan, do you think that Okinawan people are the same as "true" Japanese ? My wife has quite a few good friends from Okinawa, but life there seem to be so different...

[changedonrequest]

Maciamo, good question, There are a number of differences that I can pull off the top of my head, but the more subtle ones are going to take a bit of time. Some are good some not.

For example;

Loose with time, what many people here like to call "Okinawa" time. In many circumstances an acceptable excuse for being late. Kind of like the saying "so and so would be late for one's funeral". Punctuality is not a strong suit of many Okinawan"s that I know.

Okinawan's have the highest drunk driving rate per capita in Japan. Drinking establishments here stay open all night. There is no "last" train to rush off to so people take their cars out when they go out. An Izakaya here will not have many customers if it doesnt have a parking lot. Even with the change in the drunk driving law and the heavy fines that are imposed people still drink and drive.

Traffic can be impossible, with no trains and a bus system that while reliable can many times be inconvienient, means that people have vehicles.

There are more registered vehicles in the Prefecture than registered drivers, something like 800,000 registered vehicles in a Prefecture of only 1.3 million people. Many households have 2 or 3 or more cars.

There is a difference in business here called "tate yoko shakai" In mainland business would be top/ down but here in many businesses and personal relationships it would be "side to side", networking, school mates, and friendships are most important in establishing a new business or a continuing business. Many business owners will not change vendors even if the price was better, because of these interpersonal relationships.

The divorce rate is the highest per capita in Japan, part of that reason is that women can always (almost) rely on their families to help support them and any children in case of a failure in marriage. There are many, many, single mothers here in Okinawa.

The violent crime rate here is close to the lowest in Japan. Trust among people. I can, I don't, but I can, go to sleep at night with all the doors and windows open on the house. No one will come in. Not everywhere is like that but there are some older public housing areas that actually have no locks on there doors. (They are being replaced) There is petty crime but mostly amongst JHS and HS students.

Everything, from births to funerals has drinking. There are "oyu ai" for damn near everything. I've spent many a night drinking at wakes and funerals.

The weather, while hot in summertime is great most of the year.

Because of the low cost of living for many people the islands population is actually increasing overall. Many elderly Japanese are moving into the Prefecture for their retirement. Including many of the outer islands. This however is putting a strain on the infrastructure, nearly all the water in Okinawa comes from the collection of rainwater in dams, with the increase in population water supplies in the past few years, having been coming close to running out during the dry periods of the year. There is more reliance on typhoons than in the past.

There are many good to high quality senior citizen day care centers all over the island. Eldery people are abundant, and truly "genki". They are generous and wonderful people.

More later....I have to help make dinner for the kids.

btw thanks for asking!

[Maciamo]

From your description of the Okinawan lifestyle, Hachiro, I think it could be said that Tokyo and Okinawa are the most different places to be within Japan. Tokyo has virtually no nature ("concrete jungle" as far as the eye can see), trains and buses are everywhere, (business) people try hard to arrive exactly on time, relatively few households have a car (let alone 2 or 3 !), the crime rate is the highest in Japan, and things tend to be very formal rather than spontaneous.

[Rich303]

I remember a very nice lady who saved me a lot of trouble as I was leaving Kyoto after my visit.

She worked in a kiosk at the station where I got a drink for my journey.
I stupidly forgot about and left my JR Rail Pass at the kiosk and boarded my train.

I was unaware it was missing, until just before the train was due to leave, and the woman (having left her kiosk) frantically found me and returned my pass. It was not just the act itself, but the importance she placed in it. Maybe she knew what a pain it would have been to replace the pass, but she acted almost like her life depended on it and seemed as relieved as me that I'd got it back. I was quite touched.

I will try to post more of these...

[Alma]

none of these. well, kids use to smile at me, but nothing unusual. extreme politeness is one of good things I've noticed. but i was there just for two weeks, so couldn't see all of these.

but i did came back home full of positive experiences.

[caster51]

population , #crime, crime ratio 2004
秋田県 1,159,000 9,565 0.83% akita
岩手県 1,395,000 12,885 0.92% iwate
長崎県 1,495,000 13,911 0.93% nagasaki
山形県 1,223,000 11,423 0.93% yamagata
鹿児島県 1,769,000 17,128 0.97% kagoshima
宮崎県 1,162,000 13,610 1.17% miyazaki
島根県 749,000 8,864 1.18% shimane
青森県 1,452,000 17,360 1.20% aomori
福井県 825,000 10,060 1.22% fukui
石川県 1,179,000 14,648 1.24% ishikawa
大分県 1,215,000 15,482 1.27% ooita
富山県 1,117,000 14,206 1.27% toyama
新潟県 2,452,000 31,391 1.28% niigata
徳島県 813,000 10,522 1.29% tokushima
山口県 1,504,000 20,311 1.35% yamaguchi
長野県 2,211,000 29,822 1.35% nagano
熊本県 1,852,000 25,628 1.38% kumamoto
福島県 2,106,000 29,137 1.38% fukushima
鳥取県 609,000 8,688 1.43% tottori
山梨県 886,000 12,967 1.46% yamanashi
佐賀県 870,000 13,033 1.50% saga
広島県 2,878,000 44,325 1.54% hiroshima
北海道 5,644,000 88,249 1.56% hokkaido
静岡県 3,795,000 60,440 1.59% shizuoka
沖縄県 1,359,000 21,884 1.61% okinaawa
愛媛県 1,477,000 24,654 1.67%
奈良県 1,431,000 23,942 1.67%
高知県 803,000 13,482 1.68%
宮城県 2,371,000 40,211 1.70%
滋賀県 1,372,000 23,841 1.74%
和歌山県 1,050,000 18,704 1.78%
茨城県 2,989,000 55,633 1.86%
栃木県 2,013,000 37,943 1.88%
岡山県 1,952,000 37,195 1.91%
香川県 1,018,000 20,800 2.04%
岐阜県 2,110,000 43,160 2.05%
三重県 1,864,000 38,455 2.06%
神奈川県 8,732,000 183,148 2.10%
群馬県 2,033,000 42,643 2.10%
東京都 12,378,000 283,326 2.29%
京都府 2,638,000 63,593 2.41%
兵庫県 5,587,000 135,119 2.42%
千葉県 6,039,000 147,587 2.44%
福岡県 5,058,000 128,545 2.54%
埼玉県 7,047,000 181,350 2.57%
愛知県 7,192,000 208,170 2.89%
大阪府 8,814,000 255,697 2.90%

[leonmarino]

I hate it when people copy-and-paste data without making a point!! What are you trying to say Caster? To what does it relate?

[changedonrequest]

I hate it when people copy-and-paste data without making a point!! What are you trying to say Caster? To what does it relate?

He is trying to say that Osaka has the worst crime rate and that Akita has the lowest. With Okinawa being 25th, BUT what he missed in my post was that I said VIOLENT Crime.

Which as everyone knows is a hell of a lot different.:-)

Now I could be full of it, so maybe I'd better just shut up and let him jump in here now.

Caster sorry for interuppting you.:wave:

[changedonrequest]

From your description of the Okinawan lifestyle, Hachiro, I think it could be said that Tokyo and Okinawa are the most different places to be within Japan. Tokyo has virtually no nature ("concrete jungle" as far as the eye can see), trains and buses are everywhere, (business) people try hard to arrive exactly on time, relatively few households have a car (let alone 2 or 3 !), the crime rate is the highest in Japan, and things tend to be very formal rather than spontaneous.

Oh I forgot to add as a plus, thanks Maciamo for reminding me.....

If you like the color GREEN, Okinawa is the place for you! There is plenty of nature to go along with the ocean and beaches.

Maciamo I really think that there are day and night differences between Tokyo and Okinawa. Even TV shows sometimes try to portray people from Okinawa as being from "inaka".

[caster51]

hate it when people copy-and-paste data without making a point!! What are you trying to say Caster? To what does it relate?
Ｊｕｓｔ　information
I dint know how violent is.
I thought even you can guess
# crime that was acknowledged and crime ratio

[changedonrequest]

Ｊｕｓｔ　information
I dint know how violent is.
I thought even you can guess
# crime that was acknowledged and crime ratio

No problem...

Violent crimes are usually classified differently than other crimes. For example murder, rape, assault, crimes of physical violence, crimes using a weapon, crimes committed with the intent to maim or kill...things like that are violent crimes.

[Pachipro]

With the exception of the bus drivers, taxi drivers and policemen giving me money to get home I have experienced them all often enough.

There are many Japanese who dislike sushi and natto and even thier own education system. I have been allowed to cut in line at a supermarket and such more times than I can count especially in the neighborhood where I lived by neighbors or people who knew I lived in the area.

I have had complete strangers buy me beers or pour me beer or whisky from their bottles numerous times and who have even shared their food with me at izakayas and nomihodai establishments and even at small neighborhood snacks. They did it only because I was a foreigner or because I spoke Japanese. I made quite a few good friends this way.

And my wallet being returned. I already posted that story (http://http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18740) in the stories section. Very surprising and relieved at the time.

I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get my drift. Good Poll!

[DoctorP]

Hachiro, CC1 and others who live in Okinawa, if you have also been/lived elsewhere in Japan, do you think that Okinawan people are the same as "true" Japanese ? My wife has quite a few good friends from Okinawa, but life there seem to be so different...
They are most definitely not the same, but most of my friends are not Okinawan, but rather Japanese that have moved here and decided to stay. That is why I differ in many of your opinions of Japanese. I have also lived in Kanagawa and Ibaragi though.
Maciamo, good question, There are a number of differences that I can pull off the top of my head, but the more subtle ones are going to take a bit of time. Some are good some not.
For example;
Loose with time, what many people here like to call "Okinawa" time. In many circumstances an acceptable excuse for being late. Kind of like the saying "so and so would be late for one's funeral". Punctuality is not a strong suit of many Okinawan"s that I know.
I can attest to the Okinawa time. Whenever we go somewhere I am always early or on time only to be waiting for our friends to arrive. It drives me nuts at times, but it is very similar to life in Hawaii or Thailand.
Okinawan's have the highest drunk driving rate per capita in Japan. Drinking establishments here stay open all night. There is no "last" train to rush off to so people take their cars out when they go out. An Izakaya here will not have many customers if it doesnt have a parking lot. Even with the change in the drunk driving law and the heavy fines that are imposed people still drink and drive.
There are quite a few drunk drivers (I should know, I work nights and drive with many of them!). But, there are also quite a few responsable people who take taxi's after a night of drinking.
Traffic can be impossible, with no trains and a bus system that while reliable can many times be inconvienient, means that people have vehicles.
There are more registered vehicles in the Prefecture than registered drivers, something like 800,000 registered vehicles in a Prefecture of only 1.3 million people. Many households have 2 or 3 or more cars.
Qualify this statement with the note that there are not so many "new" cars in Okinawa. Many people buy cars that have been shipped from mainland Japan. The dealers get them for prices ranging from $600 to $9000 and then resell them. That is one reason people can afford more cars. Cheaper cars = lower taxes. If you are lucky enough to have a friend who owns a car lot, you can go to the auctions with them and get a hell of a deal on a car!
There is a difference in business here called "tate yoko shakai" In mainland business would be top/ down but here in many businesses and personal relationships it would be "side to side", networking, school mates, and friendships are most important in establishing a new business or a continuing business. Many business owners will not change vendors even if the price was better, because of these interpersonal relationships.
This is very true! I was out just a few days ago with close friend and he introduced me to 15 of his business friends who happened to have also gone to grade school with him. This was at a moii party and he even told me that he would rather give his business to his friends and keep the money in the community than to run after the bigger savings...although the friends seem to cut some pretty sweet deals his way too!
The divorce rate is the highest per capita in Japan, part of that reason is that women can always (almost) rely on their families to help support them and any children in case of a failure in marriage. There are many, many, single mothers here in Okinawa.
I don't think this equates to the families helping, but rather the government subsidies given to these women, and the cheap apartments they are able to rent. I know many women who live in government housing and draw subsidies by saying they don't work and that they are divorced or the husband abandoned them. I have more to say on this later!
The violent crime rate here is close to the lowest in Japan. Trust among people. I can, I don't, but I can, go to sleep at night with all the doors and windows open on the house. No one will come in. Not everywhere is like that but there are some older public housing areas that actually have no locks on there doors. (They are being replaced) There is petty crime but mostly amongst JHS and HS students.
I sleep with the doors and windows open and I leave my van unlocked with the keys inside. I have no worries here.

[Maciamo]

I sleep with the doors and windows open and I leave my van unlocked with the keys inside. I have no worries here.

I my neighbourhood in Tokyo, most of the houses had bars on the windows. My wife got angry at my on my first week in Japan because I had not locked the door after coming in. I replied that I didn't know Japan was so dangerous that people had to lock their door even when they were at home, but she insisted and so did her family. After 4 years in that neighbourhood, I think it was a bit paranoiac of their part as I never heard of any robbery, but I always locked my doors and windows all my time there. According to the crime map of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police (http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/toukei/yokushi/yoku_aj.htm), my neighbourhood was one of the safest in central Tokyo. I can only imagine how paranoiac people would get in "bad neighbourhood" (e.g. Shinjuku-ku, Nakano-ku, Suginami-ku...).

[changedonrequest]

This is very true! I was out just a few days ago with close friend and he introduced me to 15 of his business friends who happened to have also gone to grade school with him. This was at a moii party and he even told me that he would rather give his business to his friends and keep the money in the community than to run after the bigger savings...although the friends seem to cut some pretty sweet deals his way too!

CC1 Refered to one very important thing about Okinawan life, there is something here called, "yuimaru", a word that kind of means people taking care of people.

The gathering he refers to is called "moai". I currently participate in 2 right now. The idea of "moai" or "tasukeiai" comes from a very long time ago when people needed to "borrow" money many times they used the "moai" instead of a bank.

Here is how it works....Each (usually) month a group of people gets together, to make it easy to follow I will pick 12, one for each month of the year, please note however that that varies according to the group, the amount of money each person pays is determined by the group ahead of time. Some people participate in "moai" that have as little as 1,000 being used others up to 1,000,000 per month and above. More about that later.

Now moai's are usually for about 10,000 yen. All the money is collected and each month a different person gets to take the collected money, in this case 120,000 yen. Some moai's charge a 500 yen interest fee, payable starting the month after you take the moai.

There is a tremendously HUGE trust in a "moai" which goes back years in Okinawan history. To take the money and run, which sometimes happens, would be a huge stigma. There are moai for everything, classmates, people who work together, anything and everything. Many times people do it for the friendship and to keep ties alive. Elderly do it to get out of the house and participate in an activity with friends.

I wrote I participate in two, one is a "fishing club" moai, we put an extra 1000 in the pot every month, thats 12,000 per month and once or twice a year we go deep sea fishing. :-) Another is a group of friends that I've known for about 10 or 12 years now. It gives us a chance to get together and talk, and drink or go bowling, enjoying each others company.

In a "moai" people have to have trust in each other, I was in one moai once where one member ran off after the 2nd month and never returned. They took with them 200,000 yen, the person that called the moai together then had to cover that persons portion of the amount that everyone else lost. That person skipped the island and now is supposedly living in mainland. The people involved in that moai will never forget that person.

Oh about the 1,000,000 yen moai, I know doctors here that pay that monthly for their moai. A doctor friend of mine needed 10 million yen for his son's medical school fees, he got his doctors friends together and started the 1,000,000 moai. Of course after everyone has had their turn it is ok to quit the moai, there is no obligation to continue. I've been in one of my moai's now for about 10 years now.

Moai's are a cultural aspect of many Okinawan's lives, helping out friends, staying in touch with classmates, businessmen helping each other out, things like that. In a moai people help each other out, have fun, share information, talk about families, everything. Which reinforces the aspect of "yoko-shakai". I can't remember the last time I saw or heard from a school classmate. Probably because I live in Japan. But I know people here that are in their 70's and 80's that have been in the same moai for 50 or 60 years now, with the same classmates.

For example last week one of my moai friends father died, he was in his 90's and had been sick for quite a while. We all got together and went to the funeral. That is another part of the moai, being there when needed.

[changedonrequest]

I don't think this equates to the families helping, but rather the government subsidies given to these women, and the cheap apartments they are able to rent. I know many women who live in government housing and draw subsidies by saying they don't work and that they are divorced or the husband abandoned them. I have more to say on this later!


Let me expound a bit more about this one. Yes of course government subsidies are available for single mothers, and there is government housing available as well. But that isn't just here in Okinawa, the subsidies are throughout Japan. Oh and there are subsidies available for 2 parent families that have children as well. I know I get them.

I know women that get divorced, on paper only, to collect the subsidies and get the housing as well. That is not what I am talking about.

In mainland Japan in many cases, when women get married they can not go back home if they get a divorce. Many are stuck in bad marriages because there is no support for them, particularly when they have children. Many Okinawan women, make better money in their jobs than their husbands, and many husbands live off their wives. The wives get fed up with supporting their husband and get divorced. The families will welcome them back home, and in many cases help support them and get them back on their feet.

It is also an island, which helps out a lot. It is easier for a woman to take her kids to Grandma's house for the day when they only live 10 to 15 minutes away and not the neighboring prefecture. The word I used in my previous post, "yuimaru" which is helping people out. That is in the hearts of most Okinawan people.

Many women get divorced here because they CAN go home, in mainland, according to what many people, both Japanese and Okinawan have told me, they can't.

Qualify this statement with the note that there are not so many "new" cars in Okinawa. Many people buy cars that have been shipped from mainland Japan. The dealers get them for prices ranging from $600 to $9000 and then resell them. That is one reason people can afford more cars. Cheaper cars = lower taxes. If you are lucky enough to have a friend who owns a car lot, you can go to the auctions with them and get a hell of a deal on a car!
Good point, and an important one as well. One that is causing huge problems too.

Because the Okinawan economy is the way it is, one doesn't see all that many "new" cars on the streets, they are there but percentage wise still rather few. Cars get bought new in let's say Tokyo or Osaka, bets used for 3 years, then traded in. That car goes south, then let's say it it bought in Fukuoka, used for a 3 years more, gets resold and sent south. Boom it lands on Okinawa. Okinawa is the resting place for literally tons of used cars. People turn over their cars quite often, myslef included. Let's see I am on my what, 7th or 8th car in 20 years. It used to be that scrap dealers bought the cars when junking them, not any more, the landfill space is nearly gone and now scrapping a car costs anywhere between @10,000 to 100,000 depending on the car.