mannerisms: part 1

underline it, highlight it, circle it: if you ever decide to come to japan--to live or even just for vacation-- know at least the basics of japanese mannerisms. othewise, be ready for unpleasant surprises. japan is nothing like the states.


people:

strangers you meet eyes with on the street here in the states acknowledge your presence, and may even smile or greet you. how sweet, right? not in japan. we keep to ourselves a lot. if you smile at them, they will think you are weird. if you say hello, they will think you are insane. why? it's not that we japanese people aren't friendly. trust me, we are. we are once we get to know each other. and these meetings happen in some given setting. thus, some random and sporadic event such as a greeting on the street is considered rare, and most of us won't respond: we'd simply ignore you and go about our busy business. that's another thing you should know about us: we are busy people. it doesn't matter if we aren't really busy; all we really need to do is look busy. and this is another reason why casual greetings on the streets don't mix well with japanese culture. so seriously, just do yourselves a favor and avoid random "hello"s and "how do you do"s. ...unless you have a question (like asking for directions). we'd be more than willing to help you.


restaurants:

customers are god. that's just the motto of a japanese restaurant. no matter how shitty you treat the waiter(esse)s, they will continue being kind, professional, and apologetic. it doesn't matter if it was the customer's mistake; it's now the restaurant's mistake. and dependent on restaurants, the waiter(esse)s at some places bow each time you interject to take and order or pick up plates, other places verbally let you know they are coming. also, they don't come by to ask how the food is or the infamous, overused phrase, "how's everything going over here?". they feel as if they are interrupting the conversation that the guests are having. even when the guest is alone, the restaurant does not want to disturb the customer's solitude. and when you're done, you go to the register to pay your bill. the waiter(esse)s only come to drop off the bill, not to come pick it up.


another things about restaurants in japan: if you can't stand smoke from cigarettes and the like, good luck dining out at all. japan allows smoking indoors. a common scene you see in japan is both father and mother of two or three young kids smoking in a family restaurant. seems disgusting and unfathomable to those not used to indoor smoking, but this is common in japan. the restaurants come with a smoking and a non-smoking section, but it doesn't really matter, because the two areas are not really separated; it's just like this invisible line that the restaurant decided to draw. so the smoke still trickles into the non-smiking section. that's just how japanese restaurants work.




more mannerisms to come. and look out for a series of quirks in japanese culture as well. good day, fair people.

anime

let me get this out first and foremost, so that everyone knows: not all japanese people are interested in anime!.


every anime lover i've met overseas in the united states asks me, "do you watch anime?" as if it's the question that will make or break the friendship. and i always have to say, "no... i'm not into anime..." and then i get answers like, "oh... that's too bad" or "what?! you don't watch anime and you call yourself japanese?! what is wrong with you??". oh, so since i am japanese, i am obligated to know about anime and must be able to recreate the plot and reiterate the storyline to any stranger. right. it's not happening.


this is not to say that there aren't any anime lovers in japan. needless to say, there are some people who are pretty hardcore about that kind of stuff; i just happen to be the japanese girl who doesn't follow anime trends. i recognize some anime titles and know a bit about the storyline, but i can honestly say i do not know enough to be recommending anime, that's for sure.


a lot of times, i see anime on tv in the states. there are anime shows in japan, too, but it's not like that's all that's on tv. as a matter of fact, in comparison to sports shows/games aired on japanese tv, anime amounts to only a fraction of the importance. in japan, we mostly read anime. that's what the shows sprout from anyway. and the comic books are much more fun.


there is nothing wrong with liking anime. there is nothing wrong with it at all. it's just a problem for me when i meet someone who assumes that i know everything there is to know about anime because i am japanese. not all japanese people are gurus at anime. anime is not the problem; the assumption that japanese people must know everything about anime is the problem.

purpose

i can't help being attached to japanese culture. and i am proud to be japanese. here, you get to see japan through the eyes of a 20-year old japanese girl. enjoy.