Japanese things that grew on me over 20 years.
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- Опубліковано 23 тра 2024
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My Omiyage episode:
• Japanese 'Omiyage' Gif...
Journal of Japan Journeys Podcast:
www.buzzsprout.com/1944496
For a few years I had an assistant that was a Japanese man. Every time he would go back home to Japan (from NYC) he would return with small gifts for me. I was a bit baffled (and touched) at first until I understood this was part of his culture. To this day I still receive some small holiday gift every December and I think it has been maybe 12 or 13 years since we last worked together. Of course, in this instance I think he is really also just a kind person.
Very interesting perspectives. As someone who may move to Japan it’s helpful to hear these things
I remember traveling to Atami with a friend and trying some of the local specialty pudding. Upon returning to Japan, I asked her if I could get that pudding in Tokyo, and quickly retorted, 'Nah, that's an Atami thing'. At that moment, it really dawned on me the perks of regional travel in Japan. I've gone to quite a few places and didn't seek out their specialties, which is a huge fumble. Now it's always on my list. It definitely adds an additional layer to the appreciation of Japan. Great list. Great vid.
Thank you. This video idea was suggested by someone in the comments last week, and I immediately thought - yeah, let's do that.
Is there a good place to find out about all the local specialties in Japan? Though I guess I have Google so there's that.
@@msmith155 try the service area on the Kosoku,the highway . Always have some specialties products of the province.
Ha, many years ago, I was travelling somewhere (I forget where!), and there was this lovely local vegetable salad thing everywhere. I ate it a couple of times, then stopped, thinking, I can do that at home, great idea! But of course, I couldn't the vegetables weren't really available in the right quality at home.
@@msmith155 your best bet is to search each local area based on where you want to go.
All these things are why I love Japanese culture. We are so focused on our individualism that weve forgotten how things like uniforms, social obligations and consideration of others actually makes a better society. Maybe I'm looking through rose-coloured glasses, but I certainly appreciate the Japanese way of living.
No, I think its true.
asian culture is based on confucianism. Japanese have names for all their practices, chinese people don't but its quite prgamatic and wise. i.e we don't go to houses empty handed as manners, but Japanese people call it "Omotenashi"
I don’t like any way of living. The native Americans were very respectful of nature and others it’s not necessarily a Japanese thing just they have the nerve to steal it from cultures and package it the Japanese fashion.
I don’t think it’s rose colored at all. Based on who you are, you really resonate and appreciate Japanese culture. I think I do to, and growing up in the US I think only made me appreciate Japan even more. Currently working on immigrating there!
@@shakenbacon-vm4eu ofc you do, the marketing is heavy for sad and lonely people.
Omiyage may be a part of Japanese culture, but it is not so much that omiyage culture exists independently as it is that Japanese people have a strong custom of giving things to each other as a way of uniting the community and cultivating friendship. As you may know, Japanese people give gifts to friends and people in their own community for any reason, such as mid-year gifts, year-end gifts, New Year's cards, and New Year's gifts, as well as chocolate gifts in connection with Valentine's Day, which is originally western thing. This doesn’t have to be any specific day or period.Until around the Showa period it’s common for neighbors to share the food and ingredients from their own homes. In some areas, this custom still exists today.
Giving omiyages is simply just one aspect of Japanese-giving-culture that unites and affirms community.
I just got back from my annual Japan trip last week and I am always a little depressed coming back to the states (NYC). Your channel is helping to ease the transition. Could a single, 60 yr old man move and thrive in Japan?
I don't see why not. It wouldn't be without its challenges, but in many ways Japan is an easier country to live in compared to many others, just due to the safety and how orderly everything is. There aren't a lot of bad situations to find yourself in.
@@ExJapTer i am up for the challenge but I wouldn’t even know where to start. I’d love to teach English. I’m fourth generation Japanese/American, in your opinion do you think that would make it harder or confusing for people? My language skills are not great but know words and phrases.
Man coming back from Tokyo into JFK is like going to a third world country. :D
I kind of just live vicariously through bloggers in Japan but you really inspire the idea in me that I maybe someday I could really do it, and be able to travel to and around Japan with some genuine humility and an open mind. I think I am just always so afraid that I will be laughed at or unwelcome because of my ignorance in things, but I recognize I still have to start somewhere that way
The Japanese are kind, welcoming, and patient with foreign visitors - at least the ones who try to be kind and respectful in return. Japan really is an easy place to travel because of this - I encourage you to cast away fears of being laughed at or made to feel unwelcome.
Thank you for sharing. I agree completely. Glad I found your channel. One thing I wasn't fond of then that I appreciate now is the neighborhood boss lady. She would watch the neighborhood carefully, and notice if I didn't sort the trash properly. When I return to Japan I will volunteer to be part of the neighborhood association.
Yes, the neighborhood societies do a lot of work to keep places nice. I was a part of ours and was even the chief of our little area for 6 months or so (it rotates around). It also means you learn there are some really strange people due to their random complaints and requests....like the elderly couple who complained about children playing in the park! That's what parks are for....
Just found your channel. Great info here.
Thank you. Recently my videos seem to have gained some traction, although I haven't done anything different....
Any topics you are looking for or are interested in seeing?
shoutout reggie! Great vid as always
Thank you. "Keep it Casual."
On the topic of uniforms, I grew up in Australia and schools from grades 1 through to year 12 wear school uniforms. Every school has a different colour for their dress code, and one the biggest advantages to this is if there ever is a problem or situation the students are easily identified and the corresponding school can be notified.
Thank you!
Thank you explaining the meaning of umiyagi. I come from Hawaii and we usually use this way of gift giving when we go and travel. I still carry this way of gift giving.
It's not just you who needs at least several years (usually 3 to 5 years ) to even begin understanding and appreciating cultural differences and values when living abroad especially when there are such substantial differences between your native culture and the one you are getting into. Japanese and American cultures, in particular, are polar opposite of each other in countless ways, and the majority of people from either nation ALWASYS have a rough time understanding the other culture. I always tell people who are interested in learning Japanese or English " Leaning a foreign language is easy until you hit a cultural barrier. You then have to find a way to blend yourself into that culture and learn their history, tradition, standards, perspectives, politics, and all the other things that ultimately form their culture in order to cultivate your language further. "
Yes, the form of the language contributes greatly to how one thinks. Learning the language gives important insights into how that culture thinks.
日本では仕草や服装などは心の表れだと言われます。逆を言えば服装をきっちりすれば心も引き締まると言う事です。
コメントありがとうございます。その表現が好きです。英語では「the clothes make the person」と言います。
First time i have found the channel. Really interesting. It is obviously a complicated culture with so many layers am not sure i will ever fully understand but your explanations are a good start so will watch more of your channel. Good luck
I appreciate the comment. I do not always have the full picture, and I often learn more from comments on my videos (and from Japanese friends who watch!) However, I try my best to give a fair and multi-layered approach to what I talk about based on all the years I've been here.
Great video. Like how you greeted the policeman on the moped. LoL
Looked more like a delivery person
@@jimwoo9552 Yes, perhaps a motorcycle delivery service? They keep parcels or thick documents in the box. They are requested on a spot basis and delivered urgently from company to company. Before facsimile machines or the Internet became popular, we saw many of them in urban areas.
Awesome video, I'm interested to see your view on this .... I've travelled in Asia over the past 8 years last month I went to Japan, I loved it so much that I am considering doing some sort of longer stay. I'm a software engineer in my late 20s from the EU, and I've looked online, but I see a lot of different stories and perspectives. Furthermore, I speak Dutch (native) and English (c2) so I could teach my native or the English language, but I have no experience being a tutor. I would love to study the Japanese language, which I already started doing since I travelled, but I kind of need to work since all of this costs a lot of money I assume. You got any tips on how I can get the ball rolling?
There is a lot in there to consider - what sort of job are you willing to take, or would you like to vie for a software engineer job? If you are fine with working as an English teacher, but you also want to study Japanese, you are going to be very busy. It isn't easy finding enough teaching work to sustain oneself without going full time, which wouldn't leave you much room for Japanese lessons.
What I would suggest is try to find some Japanese language schools first, and then see what opportunities for work may exist around that area. You may find better luck in more rural areas as well, since cities like Tokyo are saturated with foreign teachers already. I knew someone who worked in Ofuna (Kanagawa) at a small locally owned English school and he had time to study on the side, so it can be done!
In Canada I used to bring gifts to my friends/neighbors on their birthdays when I'd get invited over... and I was usually the only one to do that, and everyone got super awkward about it. I wasn't going crazy, but I bought stuff like car polish/car wax kits or new fishing gear for friends who liked fishing etc. I dunno, tbh I don't know why I continued to do it so long. They never bought me anything :p
I find it totally odd that bringing something when invited wouldn't be reciprocated. But pretty much my entire adult life has been in Japan, so maybe that isn't strange?
That's because in Canada gifts like that aren't the norm. Usually the guest will bring desert or drinks. Bringing a bottle of wine? Normal. Fishing gear not on a special occasion? Not normal.
@@adorabell4253 Ahh, so birthdays aren't a special occasion? My bad...
20 yr club here too. I like how open Japan is. Nowhere is really forbidden or private. Even if you do accidently stumble on to private land they are just as likely to say to you to go ahead and explore. You certainly won't get met with the type of paranoid aggression you'd face abroad from the owners.
Trust-based societies come with perks like that.
Yea. I'll probably end up here for life, economical time bomb though it may be. We'll weather what's coming.
I have undoubtadly stumbled through private property in the past without knowing it. Makes the culture of manners and not causing meiwaku even more important.
That is a beautiful quality of welcoming. How delightful and as you say, somewhat different to other reactions in diverse countries.
This is a bit of a misunderstanding. As tourists were warned in Kyoto, Japanese also do not like to be trespassed on private property or private roads without permission. However, they are tolerant at first of unfamiliar foreigners, and they do not reject them out of hand, but rather respond to them in a friendly manner. If the degree of tolerance becomes too great, they may suddenly reject them. This is the difficult part of Japan's multilayered structure. After living in Japan for a few years, some foreigners notice this discomfort. Of course, there are some really open places in the countryside, but it is dangerous to assume that this is the basis of Japan.
Are you sure about that? Kyoto is starting to ban foreign tourists for that same reason. Now this raises the question: _Why_ do you wish to trespass unto private and residential area?
Wow! You walk along the rail way near ZUSHI It’s very familiar to me.
What I have realized about Japan all these years watching videos and that matters a lot to me once I get there, or if I happen to meet Japanese people online is
1. My Japanese communication level
2. Honne and tatemae are not necesarily negative, once I start trying to think as someone visiting the country
3. Reading the air as they over there put it is very much important
4. They got their own, it would not change easily
How good would you say your Japanese skill is from 1 to 10, considering fluidity while speaking and it being as close to a normal your same age native's skill?
My Japanese is all over the place if you divide it into different skills. My listening and then speaking are the best. These days I am treading water on my kanji and vocabulary by reading manga casually. When I finish the PhD I will go back to studying kanji and vocab more seriously and start looking at doing the proficiency tests. If I get the degree, I hope to then vie for jobs that require Japanese skill - we'll see how that goes!
My co-workers and I in the United States were still giving each other gifts after we traveled, as was my family, in the early 90s. I don't know what happened after that but I don't remember doing it any later than that. Maybe it's because anything that was special about another culture can now be purchased on the internet.
Some work environments encourage that sort of camaraderie outside of Japan. My impression is that it feels less like an "obligation" in those cases though. I may be wrong.
ありがとう先生
As an American, I appreciate the emphasis on dressing as a matter of respect for self and for fellow citizens. When I grew up, Americans dressed with care. I miss those days.
Well too bad! Times change. Oh well! Be the change you wish to see.
In Japan right now, visiting for the 1st time. So interesting with the specific gifts from the place you have visited. Now I understand all the gift/sweet shops at the stations. I am part Asian, and have always have been taught to bring gifts in case you need to give a gift, and have always brought things home to give to people. But this is a different level. I live in Hawaii and things are even more casual than the mainland US. So dressing up is still a little hard as a visitor, as I just don't have dressy clothes in my wardrobe, but I probably would as a local. When I lived in London or big cities, there were certain dress codes or ways of dressing that you just followed, especially with work. I also almost don't ever wear socks, I live in flip flops (slippers), unless I'm working out and have to wear tennis shoes. But I did bring socks for this trip!
I always appreciate Hawaii's casualness when I have visited there, and have no doubt I would adapt if I lived there!
20 years here and I totally agree about the gift giving at first being a chore. And I like the uniforms at schools here…although a bit expensive. It’s funny how many places have uniforms, yet we don’t see them wearing the uniforms in commute…have special changing rooms and lockers for the staff. In America I would just wear the uniform from home.
Yes, the up-front expense for those uniforms can be a bit eye-opening....
uniform culture and it's history is japan is an incredibly interesting subject, well worth it's own vid. look back to the 90s, where school uniforms stooped being mandatory, but were still chique, so students put theyr own little twists on it. also 80s japanese pop culture was ... so much it's own thing! combine japan and 80-90s pop colture, and you see just HOW much cultural influence japan leaked just from "akira" to "a ghost on a shell". way back then. and it just keeps on going!
Sukeban and Tsuppari styles are fun, and I wish that, or some variation, was still a thing.
Great video. I appreciate the insights. I lived in Japan most of the 1990's. As I woman in a higher level position in a Japanese company, I would NOT wear a uniform. I was rightfully concerned that I would be viewed and treated as an office lady. To this day, I believe that it was the correct decision to stay firm on that point. Daily, it was very clear how I was treated with more respect than the Japanese women in the office. I hope things have changed for women professionals in the last 25 years.
There has been progress, but not nearly enough.
It seemed safe walking around where you were at.
Very safe area. Most places are, really.
To your point about the Japanese "caring"about what they wear: while this is probably true, I think that they are also conformist and may actually worry about what others think about them. Whatever the drivers for their fashion sense are, they are amongst the most stylish dressers in the world (the others being the French and Italians).
Uniforms benefit all kids when in school.
Here in the U.K. everywhere I’ve worked people often bring biscuits or other snacks back from holiday for their co-workers. So that not just a Japanese thing. Do Americans not do that?
Americans will do this for co-worker friends, or their close team maybe, but bringing back something to share with the entire office (even with the people you never talk to) isn't common.
Might need to start improving my wardrobe, start distancing from casual U.S. dressing. I'm definitely fond of the idea of uniforms but don't know how I would feel in practice.
Its easy to feel slobby in Japan if you try to fit in.
I wear a uniform in America and to me it feels like a marker of class and ownership. The collar is literally blue, and I am marked with corporate logos to let everyone know who I belong to. I hope it's different in Japan.
As someone who has been in and out of Tokyo for 20 years, i just tried Natto for the first time and i dont hate it. Lol
Cant be afraid of it! Nato is ok, but I cant handle tororo, too slimey.
tried it here in the states -- well said, I didn't "hate" it but I can see it is an acquired taste :)
I am really struggling as new to Japan on how to travel affordably. (Live in Tokyo)
Tokyo is one of the toughest places to live affordably, unfortunately. When it comes to buying food and home supplies, it can help to do a lot of shopping around. If you try to do everything in one stop, it is often more expensive. It takes time, but finding the cheapest places for necessary items can help you save money here and there.
Yes and that I am managing my family and I tend to do/eat as locals in most places we live. What we are struggling with is affordable trips/adventures anywhere in Japan. The transportation cost have been the biggest struggle. It was much cheaper to travel as a non-resident than now as a resident. But maybe I'm doing something wrong. Help advice? Also, thank you for the reply
who has money to travel at all these days, let alone to buy stuff for other people?... the only situation i can think of actually buying something for coworkers is when i would go to my own home country, and everyone would know that i went there... last time it happened 5 years ago, and who knows when it may happen again...
Thats fair. Many Japanese would answer its part of the cost of traveling and not buying omiyage is unthinkable due to the perceived relationship strain it could cause.
Flights and hotels are booked. People are traveling.
@@mtkaren only rich westerners and russian oligarchs
お土産を買わなければいけない事はありません。買いたい人は買うしそうでない人もいます。自由ですよ。見返りを考えるのであれば買わないほうがいい。
Nice observations, all ring true. As a long-term resident of Japan for over 30 years, I can attest to their accuracy. However, these societal niceties, as I would call them, come with a cost. Each is a convention and rule that one must conform to in order to fit into Japanese society. Collectively, they can feel quite burdensome. This is likely why many Japanese people mention "freedom" when speaking of America and express envy for the more relaxed American lifestyle.
Yes, my wife also talked about how free America felt when we lived there. When I asked her if she wanted to check out the local "Japanese residents society" she refused, saying it would be too mendoukusai!
@@ExJapTerI can sympathize with that! Women in Japan bear much of the responsibility for keeping the social machinery well-oiled, and I can easily imagine a woman not wishing to entangle herself in that machinery when in a 'free' overseas country, especially if she already speaks some English and does not need a Japanese support network.
Very well articulated. If all the gaijin immigrants were like you, Japan would remain Japan and an awesome place to live.
I try my very best to be a enlightened and productive member of society.
Yes! Domestic travel! In my early years if I were using paid leave, it meant I was leaving the country.
I think it's the case that Japan circa 2000 was NOT a primary international travel destination. That has certainly changed, and not just because of the weak yen. In fact, I'm now thinking that the single biggest change in Japan in the past quarter century has been the influx of tourists.
Yeah, this could be a topic I tackle some week in the future.
That's very interesting
I've tried to explain this, and it's hard for many tourists to believe that Japan was not a major tourist destination years ago.
@@weeklyfascination I'm young so I only know Japan as a major tourist destination. This topic is truly very interesting to find out about.
制服は毎日着る物を考えなくてもいいので楽です。
where are you walking?
Zushi city, which is close to where I used to live, so I know the area well.
I’m going to be honest with you! This culture of individually wrapping of cookies, little cakes, candies, tea and all sorts of little things in fancy wrapping, and packaging them in unnecessarily large (and fancy) boxes is really prevalent all over Asia. I can imagine that it started in Japan and then spread to everywhere else. Initially, it fascinated me. But not only I no longer care for it, I find it to be criminal towards the environment. You open a huge box, made of wood or highest quality cardboard, sometimes lined with embroidered silk, etc., to find five little pieces of cookies, in turn wrapped in fancy wrapping and put in individual plastic containers, similar to Victorian lockets. And where does all this unnecessary waste ends up? In South East Asia’s open seas and oceans!
It certainly isn't an environmentally friendly practice, I agree.
that house in the background @7:32 looks so odd and peculiar, and european, but not quite
Japanese homes come in (literally) all shapes and sizes these days.
I think this vid is a great example of doing at least a little research and homework of the place you're visiting prior to departure. I say this with no disrespect. Understanding the culture/beliefs/rules and actually respecting them for what they are (albeit different from your own) may translate to a better traveling experience.
Yes. And Japanese manners and ways to show respect aren't really all that difficult or foreign. It seems like a minimal effort to make sure everyone has a good experience.
Why does your voice reminded me of every single AI voice?
I have never heard that before. I will say though, that I have developed a "teacher voice" to make it easier for Japanese students to understand me, so maybe thats whats happening?
@@ExJapTer I'm saying this as a compliment. Your voice is very acceptable for any ears
maybe you are assimilating, in 20 years you are going to call any foreigner gaijin 🤣
Not there yet, lol.
I think for women a lot of the dressing up for being in public is quite burdensome. They feel that if they go out, they have to wear makeup. Which is why many women wear a mask. Wearing nice clothes and makeup may be more of living up to an expectation. Although, many people do like to wear nice clothes.
There are certainly plenty of people who find it a burden. Most of the male students at my university claim to not care about fashion and don't shop often for clothes....but they still look better than American students since the default styles aren't sweatpants and t-shirts. The base level seems to be higher.
Clickbait
Bot. ;)
You tourists are gross Lol I been here since 1998 lol
LOL
Americans wore and appreciated uniforms for many years, until the liberal started the anti establishment movement. I still prefer uniforms. It shows professionalism and helps identify people and their careers.
Uniforms in what capacity? Aside from private schools, was there much of a culture of uniforms in public schools? My parents went to school in the 40s and 50s and they didn't wear uniforms back then.
Do you mean in the workplace?