Do you love Japanese culture? Are you ready to study abroad in Japan? Before you take off for a summer camp or a semester abroad, there are a few keys things you’ll want to know about Japanese culture. Although Japan and the United States are close allies and have quite a few similarities, travelers to Japan are often struck with a sense of weirdness or vast difference. Questions like “Why do they do that?” or “Isn’t it strange that this is customary here?” are bound to run through the mind of a visitor to the Land of the Rising Sun. With a little extra preparation, we hope to prepare a novice visitor to Japan with the top 10 things to know before you arrive.
Never, ever be late.
Punctuality is a cornerstone of Japanese culture. If something is scheduled to start at 8:00am, you need to be there by 7:45am. You’ll notice, especially on public transportation, that people are always running or speed walking to their next destination. Lateness is not at all accepted or acceptable behavior. For example, we have had past participants who would get text messages one minute after the class was due to begin, wondering if everything was OK, with instructions for how they would be rescheduling the class. If you are running even one minute late meeting someone, text or call to let them know. A good rule of thumb is to always arrive earlier than expected, and setting your alarm or watch early will help you do that.
Get ready to take your shoes on and off all the time.
Whenever you enter into a private space, such as a host family home or school classroom, you will need to remove your shoes. Please always have socks with you as barefootedness is an absolute no-no. Most places have a lobby area in the front with cubbies for you to store your shoes. For your host family stay, you need to bring “house shoes” which are like slippers or flipflops that you only wear inside. The house shoes should not be worn outside.
It is clean. Like REALLY clean
One of the first things you will notice about Japan is how clean everything is — the people, the homes, the streets–it’s all very neat and tidy!
There is rarely litter, everything is cleaned regularly and graffiti is not a thing they deal with. It’s practically spotless! However, you’ll also notice a distinct lack of public garbage cans. They don’t really exist! You’ll need to hold on to any garbage you create during the day (to-go coffee cups, candy wrappers, water bottles, etc) until you get home and can dispose of it in your own home. Keep this in mind before you hop into line at Starbucks. Under no circumstances should you litter while in Japan. The Japanese take great pride in their country’s cleanliness and this would be extremely rude and inconsiderate.
In addition to clean public spaces, the Japanese are a very, very clean people. Here are just a few examples of how a value on personal hygenie manifests itself in Japan:
People shower every single day, sometimes multiple times in a day. You need to be cognizant of your hygiene, always wearing deodorant and showering daily.
Wet naps/moist towels are provided in nearly every restaurant and people are regularly washing their hands throughout the day, not just after using the bathroom.
One of the most popular leisure activities in Japan is to go to a Japanese bathhouse!
Across the country, people wear hygienic face masks which they believe will keep germs at bay.
Most places have a special tray for you to put your money in and receive it from, so that you don’t have to hand it to anyone who could give you germs.
Finally, Japanese people keep their homes in nearly spotless conditions. No matter how clean you think your room is, it won’t be clean enough. Your standards of cleanliness are probably much different than your host family’s standards. Expect that your host mom will still clean up your room — even after you’ve done your version of a full cleaning. This does NOT excuse you from trying to keep your space as clean as possible, however. Your efforts will be noticed and much appreciated. If you don’t attempt to clean up after yourself, that too will be noticed.