There were many things that I have learned about Japan. The food was a bit different from what I was used to eating. I was surprised that people ate ice cream for breakfast. I just didn’t really expect to see ice cream during breakfast time. I was also surprised by how many Japanese people spoke English. Where every I went people spoke a little bit of English. I originally thought it was only a selected few educated people who spoke English but I was wrong most people I have came across spoke English. I was also surprised about the hospitality, I received in Japan. people were very friendly, they will greet you even if they don’t know you. One shocking incident that I will not forgot, is when the cashier was trying to help me put all my coin money in my wallet with me. In America I am not used to having someone put my money inside my wallet, that is really invading personal space. However, I learned that in Japan it seems normal to just drop off someone’s coins in their wallet. When I ordered pizza I gave the pizza delivery person some extra change, but he refused to take my extra change and returned it back to me. This was surprising to me that they do not accept tips in Japan. Even in some restaurants they do not accept tips that was surprising to me. Another thing that was surprising at first was the way Japanese greeted each other. Japanese greeted each other through bowing down. I used to think that the bowing down was only for special ceremonies or it was reserved for important people. But I was surprised to learn that the bowing down was just a simple greeting that was done for anyone they met. Another thing that surprised me about Japan is how the game “Pokemon go” was actually released after the U.S. Japan is known for their anime, so I was a bit surprised when we arrived that first day to Japan and “Pokemon go” was still not released yet. I was also very surprised how when we enter shines and temple we had to remove out shoes before entry as some form of respect. I was not aware of how important removing the shoes were once entering a religious place of worship, in Buddhism and Shintoism. I also learned about the history of modern Japan. We had a guest lecture that discussed the origin of Japanese food. It was a interesting lecture to learn about the modern Japanese diet and what events lead to such change in diet. I also did not know that Japanese people did not consume beef in the past because of spiritual beliefs. I was surprised by that because today in Japan people eat lots of meat especially pork and beef. We had a lecture on the education system in Japan. I was surprised that the younger students were required to prepare their own food while they were in school. This showed me that in Japan there is more to education than academic studies. Life skills are just as important as cognitive studies. It seems like the Japanese education system is very well rounded. I really did enjoy exploring Japan and felt like I have some understanding of Japanese culture.
I really like your take on your new experiences in Japan. I have to agree on most of them. It was interesting to read that people were putting your change into your wallet. I haven’t had this happen to me since I’ve been here but then again, I might have jumped the gun and grabbed the change.
You spoke about tipping and how you feel uncomfortable when not tipping servicemen. I have found this to be a problem as well. When we go to restaurants or have someone help us in some way, I almost feel obligated to tip them. It’s odd to think that they are always so happy and ready to help, even if they don’t receive a tip in exchange.
Finally, you talked about Pokemon GO and I never even realized that the US had the game before Japan! I totally agree that Japan is usually ahead of the US on technology and gaming so it is very surprising to hear that they were falling behind us!