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October 12, 2009
Japan: A certain way for everything
I love Japan—in part because Japanese culture is the most different from our own that I’ve ever experienced. The United States, for example, is a country of individualists … but in Japan, it’s more about the whole. (I guess when you have so many people living within such a small area, it helps to have everyone on the same page.) There are certain ways in which things get done—and this applies to just about everything: There’s a way to greet somebody and a way to enter their home, and there are certain shoes to wear in certain rooms. Sometimes these “certainties” were hard for me—but that’s all part of travel.
Early one morning in Kyoto, Alan and I couldn’t sleep, so we went out for a walk. It was around 4:30 am, and there was absolutely nobody around—until we came to a road with a flashing red traffic light. Across the street, a man stood with his dog, waiting for the light to change. Alan and I looked to our left, looked to our right, and there were no cars for miles … so we did what any impatient Americans would do: we crossed the street. The man was still standing there when we reached the other side, and he gave us a little “tsk, tsk” as we walked by. I kept looking over my shoulder after we passed him, just to confirm that he did not set foot in that street until the light turned green. And, of course, he didn’t.
What’s the most dramatically different culture you’ve ever encountered in your travels? Tell me about it at
harriet@oattravel.com
I’ll be featuring the South Pacific next in Harriet’s Corner, but I look forward to all of your stories.
Harriet Lewis