Spreading smiles in Japan
My step into Japan was one of ambition and romanticism in which I wanted to see the world in a completely different perspective, experience the hardships of surviving in a completely different culture and language, and learn about the technological and societal developments in Japan. In this series of blogs, I will be reflecting on this journey of growth.
After wishing my friends and family goodbye two hours prior to my flight, I came to terms with the fact that I was about to leave home and enter a new chapter in my life. I’ll admit, I did not know much about Japan before I came here. Aside from some preconceived misconceptions of the food, technology, and geography, my research composed entirely of watching Kimi no na wa (Your Name) over the 12-hour flight to Tokyo in a weak attempt to immerse myself in Japanese history, culture, and language. I wanted to experience the culture from within and learn through experience, instead of arriving with expectations or misconceptions. As such, allow me to indulge you in why that was a huge mistake and the culture shock I experienced in the last two weeks of living in Japan as a complete outsider.
Entropy: the secret behind Japan’s efficiency
The most prominent introduction to my culture shock was disorder and chaos. My arrival in Tokyo was followed by a sleep deprived me being woken up by a lengthy immigration process, misguiding maps of the sophisticated train transportation network, and the infamous and busy Shibuya Crossing.
My initial thoughts of Japan were the same as my high school drama teacher: “Wow, everything is Japanese” — an obvious reality I hadn’t embraced of travelling abroad. My next revelation to culture shock was when I received a phone call on my train and noticed the aggressive signs preventing phone calls, with a designated area for them. This chaos, I soon realised however, was the secret behind Japan’s seemlessness. Disorder created order. Walking on the left side of the road is still a challenge I am attempting to shift my mindset to, but I soon understand that many pathways in Japan are optimized for flow rather than convention. There are countless convenience stores and vending machines scattered across Japan, serving the high-efficiency lifestyle. Alongside Japan’s complicated transportation and train systems, was people’s commitment to their jobs and to being punctual. I am beginning to embrace these philosophical values into my own life and learning how order can come out of disorder, even in everyday life.
The atrocities that define Japanese culture
Over the past couple weeks, I was exposed to the atrocities of Japanese culture that give Japan its reverence for respect. Aside from the very peculiar variety of food and their respective names, food is prepared for you out of care and service is always of utmost importance. Tipping is seen as rude because of their belief that they should always give consistent quality service and a tip is a means of evaluating their performance. I will never forget being yelled at by the Japanese woman for stepping into an Izakaya with my shoes on, understanding it is conventional to remove your shoes before entering a building in Japan, again out of respect.
I also noticed an inaccessibility of garbage bins and realised that is a result of this very same culture of respect and being responsible for your garbage, often disposing it where it was bought or taken home with you. This can be seen through their respect for the environment and nature, still preserving the historical sites and wildlife that makes Japan the island nation of national parks and shrines, and sustainably sourcing seafood and agriculture. Personally, I am incredibly inspired by the Japanese people’s respect for each other and their surroundings, values that have allowed the country to maintain clean and safe cities.
Getting lost in a surreal fantasy
Although the culture shock is still evident, I often find myself intentionally getting lost and sporadically finding myself smiling. Living abroad, especially in Japan, is full of surprises and for me, the largest one has been self-reflection. I look around and am still unable to believe that I am here in Tokyo building robots. It’s a surreal fantasy that I enjoy waking up to every morning. This fantasy clashes with the realities of culture shock, which involves the language barrier, where I often find myself paying for things I can’t read, the 4:00AM sunrise, and a different life, alone and still Lost in Translation. It’s a giant theme park of beautiful wonders, delicious food, advanced societal systems, and kind people.
