I have a really bad handwriting and I wanted to become a doctor in Japan but that is a little hard cuz I don't have that big brain so I want be a M 1 A 2 N 3 G 4 A 5 A 6 R T 7 I 8 S 9 T.
One thing that frustrated me working and living in rural Japan, was that my Japanese colleagues were always too polite to correct my Japanese. Polite is nice but that doesn't help you learn..
Yeah, in a way it carries over to online too. So many times I see someone say something in English incorrectly, and when I politely correct them, others come along saying things like "Hey lay off maybe English isn't their native language" as if correcting someone equates to coming down on them.
Thats ironic. I once read about a girl in japan who commited suicide because she was bullied. She was bullied because she had trouble with the japanese language.
😂 that's my problem too as a former ESL teacher.. I hate correcting a student directly with their mistakes...i do it indirectly though without them noticing me that I am correcting their mistakes... I just hope they noticed it😆
@@michaels3003 Yes. That takes five minutes and can be done at any time of the day. Security guards arrive with the cash, go in the back, put it in, leave. They don't need to close for that. Potential crimes overnight? Sure, in isolated areas but in cities where there is always people around? Like, why does it work well in every single country on Earth except Japan?
As european can add that my father would probably fail in Japan because his handwriting was really bad and I inherit it. He was a leading engineer in a quite large company and was well known for his knowledge even amongst competing companies. Unfortaly for me I inherited only a bad writing. 😂
For how tech savvy Japan is, a lot of their business practice is outdated in this age. I used to work for a real estate company in Tokyo, and we still have to make faxes or sign minor contracts on paper - and we would sign hundreds of those per day. We could've just gotten tablets and signed documents electronically, which would've saved tons on paper, printing, and storage. When I brought this up at a meeting, they looked at me as if I was some crazy radical and gave me like a 30 min speech on why the old system works. I think it's mostly because of how stubborn they are to change. Yes, it worked perfectly 30 years ago, but we aren't in the 20th century anymore.
I’m Japanese.I think so too very much. I can’t understand why Japanese people don’t use them.Maybe, they don’t like change. I’m not. Only a few of them are aware of that, though. By the way, Is my English strange?
@@user-nu6hi4nf8w I would say it's good - I can understand you perfectly, but there are definitely places that you can improve on. For starters, try combining sentences so that you are not using multiple short sentences. とはいえ、僕の日本語が下手ので、けしてマウントを取るつもりではない
@@user-nu6hi4nf8w "i think so too very much" doesn't sound natural, I'd write that as " I’m Japanese, and I agree with you." or "I'm Japanese, and I also notice that." or "I'm Japanese, and I also think about that very much." In "Maybe, they don’t like change. I’m not.", I'd rewrite that as "Maybe they don't like change, but I personally don't think like that." or "Maybe they don't like change, but I personally am not against change." So just like what the other person said, you need to improve on noticing when to combine sentences so that they sound more natural. Also to properly use some terms ("so too very" put together like that is odd, "I also think very much..." is better).
I've met waaaaay too many Mexicans that don't like spicy food. So I'm not even surprised anymore. There's even a couple of facebook groups dedicated to such a phenomenon.
*How to properly get a seat on the train in Japan:* Step 1: Find an open seat Step 2: Offer the seat to an elderly person already standing Step 3: They will politely refuse Step 4: Take your seat
That's absolutely common in Czech Republic and from what I observed, in rest of the Europe too. But you can see it in any public transportation, not just trains. The only case where would noone blinks an eye if you wouldn't let sit anyone, even old people/pregnant women etc., is when you bought a specific seat in a train or a bus (that's only possible for those which run to other cities/countries, not for public transport within the city). Then it's solely up to you if you give up the seat for someone else, but some carriers charge extra money for reservation. And sometimes you cannot even buy the ticket without it.
I understood how much paperwork there is in Japan after seeing that Naruto's Hokage desk is never empty and the guy has to live on cup ramen instead of his wife's fabulous cooking
Every time I would stay in Japan with my wife, and we'd have to go to the local council office to fill out random papers. For hours! Literally doing nothing! Just shuffling papers, walking around getting papers, filling out papers, stacking papers! I'm like hey guys! What is this the 60s?! **EDIT - I just got back from my first trip to Japan in 4 years and I can report that nothing has changed at the local council office. Still piles of paper on all the desks, still took over an hour, still needed 5 different workers to complete the task!
@@adeptavatar9394 Japan has great capacity to innovate but they hold dearly to old traditions. This is what makes Japanese culture so rich and complex, and also why it is so hard to truly understand as an outsider. Another aspect is that Japanese culture has very strong cultural guidelines regarding questioning the established way of thinking. For example, try having a conversation with a Japanese person about why they call some green things blue!
Yeah I had that! My handwriting isn't the best but they told me to start the paperwork all over again but it was so frustrating as it was a small mistake and had to wait in the queue. It was suppose to take 30 min but I spent a total of 5 hours in there. What a nightmare!
@@angelus_solus I speak 4 languages, not being a native English speaker and I would never give a flying fuck about (subtile) grammar mistakes if the shit I'm trying to express is understandable. Communication always works.
@@RicardoSiah Maybe Shun could comment on that. I read somewhere that Japan seems very high-tech, but from a 1980's perspective. As if technology is everywhere but seems to be stuck in the late 90s.
Japan used to be the best technologicallly advanced country during the world war but they stopped inventing that much rn. So “lesser” countries like Vietnam and South Korea are catching up and surpassing them
Im not a Japanese, however I've been living here in Tokyo for over a decade. And one thing that I still find weird is that the excessive amount of apologizing that the people do. As for the raw fish..I freakin' LOVE them ! 😘😘
Japanese ppl: "Our people work like 16 hours 6 days a week and sometimes don't even have enough free time to go sleep at home." Also Japanese ppl: "The machines need their beauty sleep from 8pm to 7pm!"
The robots have taken over and are secretly promoting robot rights over human ones. The people running the show are either synths or brainwashed humans. Why rights for a vending machine even though robots aren't that prevalent in society? Its to set a precedent for the future.
Japanese rank 21st in the world for hours worked per annum. Most Japanese work 35~40 hours a week. Here's the data as compiled by OECD: data.oecd.org/emp/hours-worked.htm
You likely got it right considering Japan's heydays were the 80's before the crash of their economy in the early 90's and the "Lost Decade" after it crashed.
The only thing I would probably hate in Japan is to work 10-12 hours every day plus traveling between home and workplace. It is insane to work that much every day, 8 hours of work a day is more than enough already!
*You hit two out of my big three:* • Salaryman working longer hours than the ATM. • Cost of network access-how convenient for the telcos that they can forget their senile nationalism just long enough to ignore how cheap, fast, and ubiquitous network access is _in Korea._ • KEY MONEY! Aaaaargh! I'm glad you didn't talk about it, my blood is already boiling
@@vadimsbelovs8208 *It's an institutionalised bribe* amounting to three- to six months' rent in large housing markets. It's quite distinct from (and required on top of) the deposit in that it is considered a gift to the landlord and is categorically non-refundable.
@@TheCollectiveHexagon Yes, but to reduce the possibility of robbery, they don't restock the machines after midnight. They do it in the middle of the day. Then shut them down @ 6pm. I should say they "did" it in the middle of the day, as most ATMs are now 24 hours.
Is that why my German father in law kept ALL HIS PAPER WORK from the time his family landed in Canada during WW2? It's a German thing? Lol.... 😘❤ RIP Opa.... We sure miss you...
In Japan and Germany paperwork is meant to improve organization, in Brazil there's a lot too, but it's meant to leech as much money from people as possible
Yeah, Papierkram AND cash. Very often you have to have cash in Germany. You can be happy if a debit card or EC gets accepted. Quite different to all surrounding countries in Europe.
Who the hell would imagine that the country with the most robots in the world, a country who develops a lot of tech every year, would want handwritten CVs
I sometimes think about that too. I've been to Japan for the first time in 2019 and what I noticed was how they're living in two different 'timelines' in one place. Like you mentioned they are very much out there in terms of technology, yet very traditional in terms of their interactions with each other. I'd like to comment on the writing vs printing thing. In my opinion at least, other than the handwriting thing, Japanese people tend to look at the smallest things and make meaning out of it. While it is convenient (and practical for most of us) to just print out a resume and hand it in, Japanese people might think that writing it by hand would make it seem more like you are very serious and sincere about applying for the position since you went through all the trouble of writing it instead of just using a printer. Much like how Japanese girls tend to make homemade chocolate for the guy they like on Valentine's Day rather than buy it from somewhere, or how home-cooked meals/lunches are very appreciated rather than store bought ones. It might be that they see value and sincerity in the extra effort instead of just doing stuff the easy way. It's interesting, but they need to loosen up too in some aspects. Homemade cooking and stuff are understandable, but writing a bunch of resumes? That's a big nope for my already crappy handwriting that gradually degrades the longer I write. 😂
@@PopCulturePooka To be fair, I still use the fax machine to place a few of my orders. It's just easy to do. I have to go into a custom app and write out a PO. Get that signed off, run it through a scanner, and then fax it off if it's one of the 2 places I fax to, everything else I order online. I still have to write up the PO's and get them signed off and scanned, and then those scanned, moved over to the right folder, and rename then with the PO#, who I order it from and what it's for. That way if need be, they can find a digital copy quickly, instead of looking through the paper copies. It does help me if I need to order the same part once again. I can generally find if from the name I called the file in the past of what it's for. I can then find who I ordered it from and the part number. We still live in a paper world. I still get my emails, but I generally ignore them for a while. Anything important I get texted on my phone.
@@jbdragon3295 Fair enough. There is still a time and place for faxes these day. But Japans obsession with fax machines is a bit of a long running joke among the expat crowd in Japan. Like, the Eikaiwa I worked for until early last year, to request holidays, you filled out a Word document form, printed it, got your branch managers hanko, faxed it to area manager for their hanko, who would fax it back for final sign off, then faxed to head office. Ridiculous when online forms exist. Sites like The Rising Wasabi constantly poke fun at the idea. It's kind of one of the shining examples of the inefficiency inherent in Japanese companies and bureaucracy.
Excellent Shunchan, I learned a lot about not so well documented Japanese traditions from this video. Literally, everything you mentioned I had never heard before.
I love that he's honest about what it's like living there and not in a romanticizing nature or overly negative. I find that American RU-vidrs who live in Japan have a different perspective than someone who's lived there for a while/was born there. It's a major factor in why we experience cultural shock when visiting Japan and is a huge reason why a lot of people move back to the US.
Bruh I live in Costa Rica and Americans LOVE the places in here where there is literally nothing, like the nearest supermarket is miles aways and the streets are shit shows. For a Costa Rican living in a place like that is hell, but for them it is just the best place in the world... Obviously when you have tons of cash anywhere in the world is the best place in the world
@@luism2754 I don't know - I like going to a place far (but not too far) from civilization on vacation (for me, that's someplace in the Alps in Austria), but I definitely wouldn't want to _live_ there. So I kind of see both sides.
its like news... foreign news people who report negatively about your country don't really know what they are talking about. how can one tell how it really is in a country if they haven't even lived there for a few years? most of them haven't even really been to countries they report on... they have "local" PAID sources....
I would feel that way had I not grown up with the mother I did. She bought herself the Christmas gifts she wanted for herself every year when she did the shopping. Then she'd wrap them up, put our names on the from section of the card, and then jokingly announce stuff like "look what you got me for Christmas kids!"
Mad respect he studied in America (learned a large amount of English) and figured out the one thing that links us all: I understand why my country does certain things, but its stupid and I hate it; but its home yo.
“I think sushi and raw fish are overrated” dude I freakin love you like finally someone who gets it like for god sake it’s overrated and my frnds start cussing sayin whatchu talking about ugh
As a Canadian who lived in Japan for a while, the #1 thing I hated the most was the fact that people can smoke in restaurants and bars. I'm used to smoking being banned in public places and it was really gross. #2 was probably the lack of online banking and having to pay bills at the ATM at 7-Eleven.
I went to a nightclub in yokohama in February and I smelled like smoke for days. It was insane being in that enclosed area FILLED with smoke for such a long time. Smokers would love it though.
they recently implemented a bunch of smoking laws, in tokyo most restaurants aren't allowed to have smoking areas unless they are completely separated from the non smoking now. outside of tokyo its a little more relaxed but there are still some laws that was recently added as well.
i lived in Japan for 3.5 years. I absolutely loved it and miss living there, but the things i found most frustrating were: hanko- banks and businesses required a hanko which i obviously didn't have as a foreigner so it caused a lot of frustration, having to pull teeth to have a meaningful conversation- people were so reluctant to express their opinion which made creating real relationships difficult, and the prevalence of "outdated" thinking- it's still a pretty patriarchal society with restrictive gender roles and it generally welcomes "visitors" but not foreigners- my co-worker who was black had to deal with A LOT of shit that i never encountered because of her skin.
Having worked in Japanese company in the past, the number 1 practice I absolutely hate is having to act busy by staying in the office late even after you've completed all necessary task.
Yeah, it's weird how the Japanese can be so smart, and yet so unreasonable. The better way is obvious to many, and Microsoft (in Japan) has found great success by limiting the hours people can work. They love it so much that they produce MORE in less hours. It should catch on.
There's a good book, "Bullshit Jobs" by an anthropologist named David Graeber that talks about that phenomenon and why pointless things like that are so detrimental; if you get the chance I HIGHLY recommend it
The gift giving to relatives who live far away from you to say that you haven't forgotten about them . . . is part of tradition yes but if you connect with a certain family member who lives far away from you , you should send them something sweet/kind that you can keep the connection with them because when you get older it is helpful to have them to speak to and visit , so after I watched your video again this makes sense to me. . . Sending love from South Africa ✌️♥️🌹
Best video I have ever seen about Japan. I've been here for 16 years and agree with everything you said! I personally love Sushi but I get the pressure. New Subscriber.
"There's too much paperwork in Japan" - Because you haven't seen Italy... we have paperwork to keep track of paperwork used to keep track of other paperwork. In quadruple copy.
That actually sounds pretty funny. Do italians know the first paperwork that got tracked by paperwork that got tracked by paperwork that got tracked...?
one of the greatest things about RU-vid is randomly finding some channel like this and enjoying the content and presenter. I have no idea how I got to this video, however I have the sneaking suspicion I'll be back ;)
Great video Shun. I am a Japanese American who lived in Japan for 8 years. Although my Japanese American family practices a lot of old school Japanese ethics/traditions, I was very shocked that most Nihonjin's don't don mochi tsuki in Japan. It's pretty common here in Hawaii, even to this day. Keep up the great content. Every video I watch, I miss Japan! Super stoked you were one of those few Japanese who wanted to experience the American life... we have so much to learn from Japan.
The gift thing sounds like it suuuuuuuuuucks, I hate receiving or sending gifts to people that mutually just dislikes or are indifferent towards one another. It's a waste of money, esp if it doesn't actually do anything to relations (despite the rationale)
Not the mention the fact that you may be receiving a shitty gift of something you may not even want/like, while you may have spend more time and effort buying something which may be more expensive or thoughtful towards the other person and for the other person not to really care… …I mean, it is one thing going through it like once every few years una gift exchange at work with a co-worker or colleague but it must suck to go through that every fricking year with "relatives" while in reality it is really someone you don't really know and who you don't even get to see nor appreciate or care about, I understand why it sucks for sure…
Nope ,it is really good if you think about it, if there are many relatives of yours that you do care about,visiting them or talking to them for no reason can be really hard,sending gifts is the most effective and quickest way to show that you do care about them, of course in some senarios it may seem annoying but ,you will feel it's value when it is not there
@@seven4280 The matter is not whether you send gifts to your relatives or not, it's a matter of rather being genuine and doing something out of pure care and love of others (family members in this case) and not because if is a tradition which you are tied to or because it is a duty…
I just found this video and it's wonderful. I'm really interested in Japanese culture since a brief visit long ago but one thing I've learned is you have to get really close to Japanese for them to feel safe to tell you what they don't like in Japanese life. It made me laugh to hear you admit to not liking sushi, it's one of my favorite foods but I always suspected there must be some Japanese who didn't like it so much. I subscribed and can't wait to catch up with all your videos, you made my day!
@@Kikan319 I'm talking about Shun specifically, not the entirety of the Japanese people that "don't" like it. Shun mentioned he can't eat raw fish and that's what I only meant in my comment
I lived in Japan for 3 years and worked as an English teacher. As a teacher I also had to give Oseibo and Ochugen to other teachers and staff. Mostly it just turned into everyone trading cookies ,sweet bean cakes, and other food back and forth. I noticed that a lot of these items have the production date on the package so that people can't cheat and give the same ones the next year.. :) I would keep the cookies but I hated the sweet bean cakes - those went to the neighbor who loved them.
The resume writing is definitely annoying. I remember sitting in a cafe in Tokyo and a girl next to me had just finished the whole page when her boyfriend came with a cup of tea.. and spilled a little drop on the side of the paper -- so a she had to write everything again. It's really crazy!
I know a guy who got mad when i folded an application as if they not except it for some reason. so now i try take a folder to a place to apply to store it so not fold any lol.
"Because there are shitty people with beautiful handwriting, there are beautiful people *like me* with horrible handwriting" i have never related to something so much in my entire life
I have really good penmanship but I am a terrible worker I admit it, the writing thing is complete BS, if they went by penmanship I could land a nice cushy job
Graphology is actually a science; people with shitty handwriting are usually smart with an high IQ whereas people who write with nice big girlish letters are considered dumb and slow !
Never used a squat toilet in Japan, but I did use numerous, well-maintained, clean bathrooms all over your country. My favorite tradition in Japan. The other aspect of Japan that was so endearing was the relative quiet on the street, in the subways, in stores. Very few horns, no shouting, limited phone conversations..loved it. The last thing is the cleanliness. Although there were few trashcans around, people took care of their own trash. I could live in Japan, assuming they would have me. Campai!!
When I worked at a hotel, I had to send faxes for guests, and there was this one Japanese dude that would have me send about a dozen hand written pages a day. To me, and American, the symbols looked so beautifully done, so perfect, I had to ask him, "are you considered to have good handwriting, or messy handwriting?" He kind of laughed, seemed a little embarrassed, and said he had very poor handwriting.
I think that's a worldwide thing. Same for Portugal. And the people working in the pharmacies can read them as if they're crispy clear. World mysteries.
@@andregon4366 indeed,I don't even know how they can read those weird scribbled lines all over the paper,but hey if it confirms that I need all this shit,I'm gucci (just don't expect me to be able to read it aswell :v also obligatory Portugal Caralho)
@@AstroMartine they have it because during med school they have to keep up with teacher teachings so basically they have to match their writing speed to the teacher monologue speed, specially in Portugal because it's ultra demanding and one of the highest course entry grades you can have; also most of our teachers don't give 2 shits about you...
I love Japanese people. Growing up in grade school I had two close friends that were Japanese. Jimmy is a first generation Japanese-American. Mark came straight from Japan and could hardly speak a word of English. Mark was brilliant in science and went on to do some interesting things in that arena. I was best man at Jimmy's wedding. I worked for a Japanese owned company for several years and had a close relationship with the GM. Japanese are loyal friends and their word is gold. I miss that kind of bond.
@@Cherry-jv1su older generation are sometimes racist against chinese people since they're pretty much competing to be the best in the asian countries, sometimes to korean people as well. depends where you live. a lot of japanese kids in the countryside are scared of americans because of guns and drugs and shit, i guess there's good reason for that. but i would as a country, no, japan is not a racist country . they have racist people like everywhere else, yes, but far less than america for example. also they're much nicer if you show that you know some japanese.
@@kentobreyfogle9598 ok that means they have reason for that I understand it thx for help bro i am really glad after reading your comment😊😃 Thx for giving me your time stay safe take care peace ✌️✌️
Doing business with older Japanese people was often difficult for me. They were not open to adjust their strategies to fit the target country's habit and culture. There were a lot of unnecessary rules and they were especially anal when it comes to things like brand guidelines. It's almost like I'm saying "hey, this is how you get more money in my country" and they replied "no, we use our way, who cares about more money" (and I was like why were you expanding in the first place?) Having said that, I did have a couple of good experiences with the younger, smaller companies, they were punctual, detailed & very open
My teacher lived in Japan for many years he had a "gift closet" his students, coworkers, bosses, wife's younger family would come and give him some little gift like soap, candies, etc right? But you cannot open them in front of the gifters, it's kinda rude, and you're expected to give a gift to anyone when you go to their homes. He never opened the presents except to check they wouldn't spoil and then just regift them.
It's a cultural thing many Asians still have Giving those gifts is like showing appreciation or respect, common when it comes to adults, especially if you haven't met them from a long time. A little show of appreciation isn't all at all wrong don't you think so? Honestly, that teacher is a lucky person as it means he/she is being accepted, and giving those gift away isn't at all wrong when you really don't need them. Can't deny that it's also a dying thing as it really did become something like a "Mandatory thing to do" rather than "giving gift to appreciate/show respect to people you care or are indebted to"
@@wellmakeitworth1316 firstly my teacher was not ungrateful. He was explaining the tradition to us and allowing us to hear a fun personal story from his past. He was originally from France, and lived in Japan in the 80's and everyone regifted non-perishables. The soaps, candles, the decorative paper bundles. They're all bought in bulk to give to hosts at parties. It isn't disrepectful.
Maybe it’s a safety thing ? 🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️ here in US it’s common to not visit the ATM at night…. It’s a easy place to get robbed…. Your back is turned… there’s a point where your wallet and cash is out so it’s easier to take…. I know crime in Japan is almost non existent especially compared to US but that’s like the only logical reason I can think of. And that transaction fee happens here too.. if I don’t want to pay it I have to find my banks atms
@@jordinhocharles There’s actually a lot of ATM’s in Japan. I don’t understand what people complain about. Every single conbini has one and conbini’s are 24/7 every single day of the week. I just don’t get it 😂 Also, most places actually accept card these days. Like 90% of places, in Tokyo anyway. Rural may be different.
honestly i like cash society, it's something you will miss when it's gone. I once traveled in mainland China without a payment app, i got rejected by taxi drivers, restaurants, even by old nanny running mini store, all the while with loads of cash in my pocket
The real reason for the squat toilet is that it's MUCH healthier, because the position it puts your leg muscles in helps the colon vacate much better, and more efficiently. The sitting position restricts the colon from it's full efficiency, and you end up with long term colon problems, constipation, and slowing of it's function.
yeah, I never got the thing about idols' blood types being revealed for their fans to know. In Western culture, that would be stuff the top-tier obsessive stalker fans know.
When I was stationed in Japan, I had international as part of my plan, because in the Navy, you usually end up in foreign countries, so I had it cheaper than my friends and shipmates who had to get SIM cards, new plans or even new phones. I like hearing the darker side of living in Japan, it's important to understand the less savory parts of living somewhere, and shows that no one has the perfect life or lives without issues of their own
As a western guy growing up with western prejudices, I was shocked at how modern and easy transactions are in China. Even a street seller accepts and actually prefers payments through your mobile. Many people never carry cash.
@@angryjalapeno yes, everything, including a street vendors choice for convenience is a political issue with nefarious intentions. Here, have a flower 🌼
@@Dibs1978 Considering that China dreams of a social credit system and has partly implemented one, it is not farfetched. You can keep the flower as I think you need it.
Japanese cash culture has had a huge effect on me here in Scotland. Because I grew up using cash in Japan, that is how I learned to manage my finances. I take money from an ATM, I know how much I have on me and how much I am spending/have spent. With a credit/debit card, especially with contactless payment, I worry I would be spending more money than I thought. All my friends in Scotland tease me because they all use online banking and E-pay apps, while I still whip out cash. Also you left out the thing I hated most about Japan - because it is a female only issue. Being groped on public transport! I am so happy to live in a country where I can take the train or subway into work without the 50/50 chance of being molested on my way to work. I dont miss that at all.
wait its just expected to have a high chance of being molested on a daily commute? Wow, yikes... If that happened in my country, the whole bus/train would stop and police would get the perp, along with being publicly shamed by other passengers. edit: typos
@Rezky Yes mainly because rush hour trains in Japan are so busy you are packed on so tightly you are all squashed together. In that environment, wandering hands are hard to track. No way of proving who the offender was as it could be any of the 15 people squashed in around you. It got so bad that train companies put on "female only" carriages, these fill up fast and if you miss getting on then you take your chances packed in with the other cattle. The Japanese word for these people is chaikan.
@Kaihlik Haha ScotRail gets a bad reputation but their trains are fast and comfortable. The ticket prices are just insanely high! Something wrong when a train ticket from Glasgow to Mallaig is the same as an air flight to Europe!
Surprising. I have always thought that Japan is an extremely modern country, where everything is done as wisely and efficiently as possible. On the other hand, I think that the Japanese love traditions. That is another admirable thing. These two traits seem to collide and continue to compete with each other.
There’s a difference between practicing traditions and just being inefficient. Things like tea-pouring rituals and celebrating traditional festivals are good, but fuck the absolute fuck ton of unnecessary paperworks required for just about everything, like damn even a gym membership requires paperwork lmao what
@マナンナンアナメ I work with websites and let me tellyou that java and images websites died a long time ago, dont confuse them with JavaScript also if your browser is slow how about you get a new computer and better internet connection
I’ve had to navigate these 90s HTML websites for work and they are a f****ing nightmare! I work in digital marketing and know how to work the backend... I still scratch my head with those websites.
This was so interesting. When I visited back in 2009 for the first time, I was there for two weeks traveling on foot up mountain after mountain and I was exhausted near the end and I could not very often in some areas find a place to sit. Once I sat down on the ground and I was told to get up off of the ground. I had such shame because of it. I learned a huge lesson that day even though I really needed a place to sit at that time. My lesson was to watch all the people and pay attention to what they are doing in order to not do something that is considered rude. I still feel it is strange that there is not many places for people to rest and watch people. Strange to me at that time. I also had a real shock with the toilets. Every place we went to had a different type of toilet. There are many things in Japan that are so different. The first time was real culture shock for me, but now I have been there 3 times and I enjoy it so much. The most important thing to remember when traveling to any country is to be considerate and respectful. Sometime Americans have such an attitude and don't always behave the best. When visiting Japan, the culture has many rules that you are not aware of, so just try to be respectful and considerate and it will be appreciated for sure.
honestly the squat toilet thing doesnt sound so bad unless its cold and youre just hovering there with your pants down. squatting loosens a muscle in your intestines which makes going a little easier as opposed to sitting down which slightly restricts it. maybe its because ive had to use the sit down toilets my whole life but i think i would prefer the squat
I love fatty tuna! \(^w^) / I enjoy raw fish in general. But hey to anyone out there if you don't like it that's fine. :) 👍 lol, where I'm from I think the norm is people liking barbecue and tex mex food. I like those and other types of food but I enjoy asian food a heck of a lot more. I hope one day my husband and I can go to Japan enjoy the culture, sites, and cuisine.
I always think it’s interesting when people talk about aspects of their country’s culture you don’t normally hear about. Still, I’d definitely love to travel to Japan when I can
Yes. I would hate all the traditions that *must* be adhered to. I don't think I could stand waiting for the lights to change, even though the road is perfectly clear and safe to cross.
I lived in Japan for 8 years and the thing that frustrated me the most was all things we HAD to pay... pension, health, residence tax, municipal tax, landlord gift money, etc etc. They were each so unjustifiably expensive! The pension system especially is daylight robbery.
@@aerime I'm from Australia - at least here you and your employer pay into your own account. The trouble is that for young people in Japan they're not really guaranteed anything when they retire because the system relies entirely on the younger generations. My Japanese friends are genuinely worried about it and have their own savings as backup. Plus as a foreigner, if you return to your home country, you can only claim about half of what you paid over a maximum 3 years. Since I lived there 8 years, I lost 5 years of payments... i.e. A LOT
I love squat toilets I cannot live without them , when i travel it’s always an inconvenience that i have to bear using western toilets not only the seating and cleaning wise but also the bowls isn’t empty still and I’m not relieved at all.
I'm Swedish. I seriously don't even know how our bank notes look. I haven't used cash in like 7 years. And I haven't done paperwork since like... ever. Germany and Japan are two absolutely incredible countries, but I'm shocked by the cash and paperwork when I visit. It seems so incredibly unnecessary.
I thought that of Germany but never made the connection until now! Two countries with technology, knowledge and ability but terrible bureaucracy. Yes both are bad, but Japan 'wins' by a mile lol! Japan seems to lack the will or ability to evolve.. just do the same thing in the same way forever..
I think it's also because of the demographic aspect. We have a high average age in Germany as it is in Japan. And people in the governments are old people too. They are scared of computers, the internet and digital money. Old people like paper. Bureaucracy is bad. But it also has positive affects...because everything is well documented, corruption is in some matters not too commun, compared to other countries. Even if there's still more corruption than people believed some years ago (we had many corruption scandals in the last years, especially in Merkels Party). And I must say the "lack of free/cheap Internet" is a thing in Germany too. ^^
@Blackdragon Sure, it sucks. But you know what sucks more? Spending all day being treated like a machine only to find out that the ATM machine has more off hours than you do!
My favorite parts: “You wanna date someone you need paperwork “ “These MOTHER FREAKING TOILETS” “I cannot do Asian squats” “Those atm machines need a break from being machines so they can be machines again in the morning “ “Aka people you don’t really know or care about” 😂😂😂😂😂😂 I personally love sushi but it is overrated 😭😭tbhh
$3 at ATM for a transaction is almost the amount we have to pay everytime in Canada! Thank you for your video, it made me see that Japanese are normal!
Sushi used to be something people in the west were weirded out by but it's become a lot more popular. Even a lot of small towns in America have sushi places these days.
The gift exchange thing reminds me of a thing that happened sometimes during Christmas here in the US (at least, I knew people that did it), where they sent out Christmas cards with a big family portrait on it to pretty much everyone they knew regardless of how close they were. I think that tradition isn't much of a thing anymore, especially not with the advent of the internet, but it was wild.
Ugh my family has a really annoying tradition of sending out thank you cards for every single xmas or birthday gift. I always refused and just got in trouble instead but what a complete waste of time. "Oh, thanks for the sweater that is ugly and doesn't even fit me, great aunt twice removed that I've literally never seen in my life". On to the next 40 cards to write.
same with my mother! the forced being right-handed is the dumbest thing ever. I'm also left-handed, luckily I didn't have the re-education in this regard!
As an American living in Japan, the paperwork is something I've learned to live with and it doesn't bother me as much, but it's how strict policies can be that gets me. Like for example I wanted to take a Japanese language course when I entered the country, but because the registration closed while I was in the process of traveling between the US and Japan, I wasn't able to submit my registration for my courses. When I tried explaining the problem, there was nothing that my university would do to make exceptions for my situation so I ended up never able to take a Japanese language class which makes all my classes which are in Japanese much more difficult.
I live in Japan and I think the most frustrating thing is that there are no trash cans on the streets. Only at stations and convenience stores. And it also doesnt make any sense that you can smoke inside a restaurant but not on the street in the open.
I think they do that to keep the streets "clean". I visited Vienna( Austria) a while back and noticed that littering was more common near street corners. Coincidentally, this where they had garbage bins. This also applied to cigarette butts, they were more prevalent near cigarette refuse canisters they had attached to light posts and traffic signals. But, I don't know maybe I am full of it.
It never bothered me. Keep onto the trash until you come home or throw it out at a convenience store. They're literally everywhere after all. The smoking bothered me the most. I'm confused as to why in a country where places are small, lack windows and/or ventilation, smoking is totally a-ok.
Wow there's some similarities between Japan and Italy ! Like in Italy many schools have the squat toilets as well and in the south we also send gifts to family that lives far away; every year me and my parents receive a big box of gifts from my grandparents that live in Italy (we live in UK). So interesting to discover similarities between cultures on opposite sides of the world!
as someone who lived in japan for about 3 years (I moved to the US) the resume thing killed me, especially since I didn't grow up there so my handwriting was absolute garbage. I also hated the ATMs because when I did get a job it was an overnight job. So I would work from 9pm-5am then go home and sleep. I would wake up at 3 in the afternoon, then run and get all of the cash I needed for the day. Honestly looking back it wasn't all that bad, but it was still a minor inconvenience when I just wanted a delicious can of curry from a vending machine during my break. as for my opinion on the squat toilets, they ok, but I can see why they would be an inconvenience to some.