As an American, I can say that I agree with pretty much every point that Paolo makes. I love punctuality and hate when people block traffic on sidewalks or in stores...and I am that strange person that cleans up after themselves at restaurants. A lot of people often give me weird looks for cleaning the table a bit before leaving, but even though I am not getting paid to clean, I still don't want to leave a huge mess for the waiter or waitress. They may be an employee of the restaurant, but they're not my mom!
Thank you for cleaning up after yourself XD As someone who works in the food industry, that is a wonderful thing to see! I just think it marks a politeness that's lost on so many people in America, really :x (There are people who purposely make heinous messes and sort of laugh about it as they leave, after all - you'd think it'd be kids or teens, but no - grown adults do this a lot.)
Oh my goodness the hands under the table is something I was taught was good manners. We had to keep our hands and elbows off the table and to ourselves. Although I think that last part was so us kids weren't picking at each other. 😅 Love your reaction, I look forward to more. 🌞
for everyone else in the world, going to Japan and living Japanese culture, is a lesson in education, good manners, respect, ritual, sensibility, patience, zen energy, etc... many aren't even worthy of such experience.
Some of these things like blocking traffic are frowned upon pretty much everywhere. Also, sitting on the floor in a department store would definitely get some weird looks in most places.
You are such an energetic and happy person and incredibly polite, you deserve way more subscribers, please never give up on RU-vid you make hundreds of peoples days
As an American, I think the messy table thing varies. If I'm eating at a fancy restaurant with silverware and real plates, I'll gather up any trash into a pile but I leave my plate where it is with the cutlery on top, a waiter/waitress usually takes them before you leave. There are less fancy restaurants or cafeterias where they have a station for you to bring the plates and silverware to (they wash them later) and also trash, so when I see a station like that I know to clean up after myself. And if it’s fast food or anything using disposable plates and cutlery, I just eat the food and throw everything out.
I appreciate that you pause your videos to explain things. In some of you videos you take the time to explain why something is said or done a certain way.
Maybe it’s my culture thing, but when we are sick, we simply don’t leave the house until we are well. Mom virtually confined me to bed all the times when I was little and even into my older teen years when I got sick. People leaving outside while sick is strange to me.
I found your videos by total accident, but I like your videos a lot. I visited Kyoto during hanami in 2013 with my mother, and since then I've wanted to keep learning Japanese and, hopefully, teach English there one day. During the pandemic I started to learn Japanese again and now I'm trying to save up some money for a holiday in Japan, maybe in Tokyo or Osaka this time. These videos really help me understand Japan more. Even though I know some Japanese and my culture is quite similar to Japanese culture, I want to learn more about the different cultures, such asa Japan's.
11:44 the clearing up after eating in a public place is funny. It is considered bad manners to clear up after a meal in a nice restaurant in Europe, as it interferes with the wait staff. People who pile up plates etc in the UK are considered embarrassing.
Im in the uk and clean up after myself all the time, ive never heard anyone say it's embarrassing, personally, im embarrassed to see someone leaving the place a mess.
I found this channel today and love the videos. I don't think Japanese people don't like foreigners. Rather, I think the Japanese don't like foreigners who misbehave (rude, loud, etc.) and who don't show any respect. And I can understand that completely. I don't like that at all either.
The blocking traffic behavior drives me crazy here in the US. It's just courteous to move out of the way. I try to do that when I am in public and need to stop for some reason. I truly wish others would do this as well. It's common courtesy.
Since you reacted to Pokemon videos before, I would love for you to react to "Lockstin & Gnoggin" where he is creating his own pokemon region and fan made pokemon. I think it'll be great to see you react to the pokemon and also learn more about the area he selected as the region, which is the pacific north west of the united states
Most of the western world outside of the US: "Maybe I am japanese." Jokng aside, tbh most of the listed things (except the mask prepandemic) are also true for a lot other countries.
The hand under the table thing was interesting. In western etiquette you are taught to put your other hand in your lap while you are eating if the hand is not in use. Keeping your hand on the table is considered bad manners and was something my grandma always used to scold me about as a child. 😂
i wouldnt that its a general westerners thing, im from germany and there its pretty much the same as in japan except that its also rude to put your elbow on the table and the few french friends i got do it as well so idk.
Not all western countries...having hands in your lap, etc is bad manners in France, Germany and Netherlands. I don't really know about rest of western Europe.
I"m an oyaji from Toyota Canada and have been on many business trips all over Japan. Their respect for each other is something the whole world should pick up, best part of Japan for me.
I relate to that last one so much, my mom talks so loud it's like she's yelling, I can hear like %80 of her conversations even when we're on different floors of our house lol
Just a reminder peeps. Living in Japan long-term vs. coming here as a short-term tourist are 2 very different things. Most short-term visitors will probably not experience something negative while traveling in Japan. They will go back home and tell everyone how great Japan is. That is exactly what Japanese people want tourists to do. They love the wonderful publicity. Japanese people love to keep the facade of "Japan is a great country" and will ignore justified criticism of their country no matter if it is true. For many Japanese, as long as they view you as a short-term guest, there is usually no problem. However, it is when you make it clear that you intend to live here long-term that suddenly your presence becomes a problem. Ask any long-term "foreign resident" of Japan about their experiences, you will hear the good, the bad and the ugly about living in Japan. Japan is just like any other country...there are many wonderful things here, but there are many problematic things too.
Japanese just hold manners in the highest regard, there was a time this was also true in Britain, manners are important in life and should be aspired to. This is a good Japanese characteristic, in my opinion, it's easy to be rude and takes a little effort to be polite so it shows only positive things.
I think the cleaning up after you is a universal thing taught to children of respectful parents. My family cleans up after ourselves even at fast food restaurants even to the point of bussing our own tables and taking the trays to the trash bin and placing the trays on top in the docking section. In a sit down restaurant I always try to put everything in the plates. EXCEPT for the 4-5 star restaurants because the waiter will pull your finished plate quickly and the only thing left on the table before you leave is your empty glass, the desert plates and your napkin.
Great reaction video..! I'm lucky enough to have been in Japan (just before the pandemic) so these videos are really interesting to me and allows me to compare my visit to Japan. I will be returning to Japan in 2023 (I can't wait..!) so will be watching more of these videos - I found the Japanese people to be hugely respectful and it just felt natural for me to be totally respectful back (I normally am!). Respect is not always shown or given in the West & we can learn a lot from Japan for sure. ありがとうございました
As a European I can relate to almost all the irritating things mentioned here (especially not tidying the table after oneself in restaurants - waiters should lot have to clean after us as if we are farm animals; not blocking the pedestrians road; not engaging in small talking with people dealing with daily errands) although they’re not an expectation at all here. Is suppose most Japanese habits are simple common sense when one sincerely wishes to be considerate and respectful to their surroundings and others. As for the loose time of finishing meetings and work… the boss scoffing when an employee just wants to go home after finishing the work’s day, I really hope that would change and companies would start respecting their staff’s need for alone time or out of work activities more. After all we are here to be creative in non productive ways, and savour life as much as we are here to respect our responsibilities and better society.
I usually show up for things early too, as does my partner, and we hate to be kept waiting. It is really annoying- even professionals could be 10/20 minutes (over an hour one time) late for home appointments. If it happened occasionally and they gave me notice or had a good excuse when they arrived even- fine, stuff happens, but when your midwife turns up over an hour late and just says, "Sorry, I'm running late today!" without even a courtesy call to let you know and make sure you have nowhere else to be it is so irritating, just checking the clock and looking out the window for them to decide to turn up so you can get on with your day!
Hi Shugy San, I'm a new subscriber here. I like how you give more clear explanation and provide relevant examples to each topic. More power! Ganbatte ne.
About that nr 8 rule its quite different depending on the country here in Sweden there is a saying that translated goes something like this: only the whealthy/ high class comes late to the party meaning if you are early its because you are poor. But its only when it is a private dinner party like its rude then to come early when the ppl arrange it might not be ready to be a good host. if you are going to meet up and stuff we are usually on time or early. But japanese ppl that travel to India must get frustrated when I was there on a school field studytrip we had made plans to go on a bus(private bus) the bus was supposed to be there at 8 in the morning to pick us up we where already at the spot and ready 10-30min before that time it did not come until 13. And besides that you needed to plan to spend one hour or maybe three waiting for a bus or a train to leave.
I love seeing you react to all these different videos! I think it would be interesting to see you react to some videos by "Gaijin Perspective", he makes some good videos about his time living in Japan
My thing is im learning Japanese but im not that good at it yet but im also afraid that i will mess up and or do something wrong and i will embarrass myself or make people mad but i want to be as polite as possible and learn the language so i can actually go to japan and meet people and possibly live there so im sorry if I accidentally insult someone i am just as shy
People having little meetings on the sidewalks in Vancouver are also crazy annoying. Loud drunk people are also very annoying. These are a few of the reasons we want to move to Japan.
I use to be a waitress back in the day in and the one thing I wish that people would do the must was to stack all the messy left overs or napkins in the plate or bowel that they eat or food left on the table in them too not on the floor or table... but growing up in a German Irish family we was taught to not leave the table messy and eat all the stuff on your plate because growing up we wasn't rich enough to eat big name food so when we did it was a "luxury food" so we had to eat what we see not go ewwwwy I hate Broccoli... (still do) but I think it's just depends on how people was rasied but then again we was allways told no elbows on the table... and its is a hard habit to kick sorry Emma (grandma)😆
if I ever go to jp I'd have to bring one of those little carry stools because my legs don't work well but this is good to know! I was always sitting on the ground or on the side in school because of my problems lol. though I do wish that places would have more seating for people around, I'm not a terrible case but I still can't walk around a shopping centre for long without needing to sit and there's rarely seating even in Australia.. sad! I think a lot of these tips are also just very good manners! not being loud in public, or blocking the way, or cleaning up after yourself are just good manners!! the hand under the table makes sense too, though I'm not sure if it's an Italian mannerism but you should not place your elbow on the table either
from video to video the content getting better i love it!! fortunately i havent pissed off any japanese people, and i feel like this things normally dosent really comes out of japanese people ! from my experience japanese people will let you off the hook most of the times because you are forienger and you dont know the manners, so dont stress about it just be a normal human being who cares about other peopels feelings and you will enjoy what japanese society has to offer !!
Funny, a lot of those points also work with germany i can see why ppl often compare those two cultures They are still pretty different but those points highlights the similarities very well.
the one with the hands on the table is funny, cause I was raised to never have an idle hand on the table as it was bad manners. Interesting how it differs. The punctuality thing is the same here... though I've met a lot of people after becoming adult that are lazy with it but, I grew up in the countryside in Denmark and I always learned that if you're late, then you're left behind. Nobody should waste their time waiting on someone who doesn't respect others time.
This is true for me too. I was taught that good manners are to place a napkin on your lap, and fold your hands in your lap, and to only have hands on the table when actually eating/drinking. But the thinking of keeping hands seen also really makes sense. It's just the opposite of what I was taught as an American/Westerner. I can see how it can look weird for one to have their hands below the table, like one is possibly hiding something.
tbh from a filipino person myself, NO person who lives in a 1st or 2nd world country should NEVER visit the Philipines, there are alot of bad people who extort foreigners for money like cab drivers who lengthen the route for money and you’ll most likely be pickpocketted by the locals.
@@deergoat3468 Oh no, I meant like The title sounds like its gonna be negative, but like the title twists, Like for example, when you go to Philippines you would end up getting fat because of the great meals, And how you'll end up getting stuck there because you wanna stay or something
Bit late but Vietnam also wears masks a lot as well before the pandemic. As for reason I think it's similar to Japanese but not sure as this was just something I noticed when visiting Vietnam.
Sweden is the opposite, there is lesser places who takes money and only cards. we also uses a banking ap called Swish, so in several places you can pay with your phone or card.
The ‘Japanese people like to follow the rules’ thing does have its exceptions. I am looking at you, bicycle riders and motorists. When on or in a vehicle, the rule-following nature seems to go out the window.
My husband works in IT and many people don't realize this, but many places, depending on certain laws, for a business to accept credit cards, they have to have certain safety things built into their business. It's not usually as easy as "buy this certain software". It can be millions of dollars worth of hardware, software, and hiring support contractors. You have to pass safety tests, and get certifications. Or you pay fines. It's very difficult and expensive! So, small businesses, I can see how they would not want to do this. Or couldn't do it, practically. So us Americans shouldn't expect that they can just use a card everywhere, no matter the country they happen to be in, and they should be understanding about using cash, to support small businesses. Us Americans often claim to be supportive of small business ventures, but our culture is so dominated by huge corporations, often with smaller companies under their umbrella kind of pretending to be "small" businesses, that I don't think many of us actually know what small businesses actually look like, or how they function.
Great video, and I have thought of moving to Japan, but I don’t know if that will happen or even where to start. Do you have any tips on how to live in Japan? And what about learning the language, what all should I know?
When it comes to cleaning the table at a restaurant, I just thought it was about manners. Restaurant staff are busy and the job is hard, so just make it a little easier. I have the same attitude in hotels. It’s like a whole ritual for me I have to clean my room very well especially if I’m there for multiple days because I just can’t function well with mess around me and my mom always cared about what workers thought about her kids cleanliness
The problem with the mask... in the first months in Japan I went to the laboratory with a cold... and one of my professors scold me and give me a mask to wear. I started to buy some for myself, but I didn't use them too often. Your English is great, above the normal Japanese (Near of my professor in Japan, that was 3 years as a postdoc in the USA) If you want to meet new people, and visit Galapagos, write to me. Also, I hate when people talk too loud.
Shugy, I started learning japanese just to kill time. I have already learned some words like niku(meat), mizu(water) and numbers like 1(ni),2(ichi) and 3(zam). Can you give me some tips?
@@SHUGYSJAPANHOUSE oh thanks I will definitely try that. Btw I learned some more words today like soba(noodles) , ocha(tea) , Gohang(rice) , shiroi(white), to(and)and I even made a sentence- Shiroi gohang to niku
See, in the USA, I think that most people would consider it shameful or awkward to be early. Especially when a person is throwing house parties. If the party is scheduled for 8, it’s normal for everyone to show up between 8:15 to 8:30.
*Velcro ripping sound* Velcro is a big NO! I Kihon ... As long as one does not live in Tokyo or visits Tokyo, one should be all good visiting in Kihon.. Tokyo, Luckily I will be living west of Hokkaido in Sky Tree City in the future... Citizenship Test is Kihonese is insane. I even Walk and Eat on Australia so I will not Walk and eat on Kihon .. make sense everyone? .. Japan, Nihon, Kihon .. Kihon. I am not speaking Kihonese outside of Kihon.. So I can speak Kihonese on Kihon... since we are arriving by boat being arressted and detained for 10 days is happening once we are on the boat and on our way too Kushiro docks before North west too Sky Tree.... ♡