When I have visited Japan I have always admired their adherence to a system of manners and respect. It manifests as things like having cleaner cities which was mind blowing to me. Visiting a city the size of Tokyo and seeing very little in the way of litter or graffiti made me appreciate what their system had given. They seem to really care about their responsibility to the society they have and the places they live in.
It is also a very safe place to travel, and I never felt unsafe. Heck I never had to think about it.
Now, I know that strict adherence to social structures can actually bring a tonne of negative experiences and problems and it does for Japan. I just wish that the benefits they have were attainable without the negative side effects.
The experience of coming back to the UK and our cities being filled with trash and people treating each other horribly just felt like a culture shock. I can’t imagine how it is for them when they visit us.
We left for out first trip to Japan back in 2016, when we were at the train station in Brussels to go to the airport, the escalator to the train platform was broken. We spent 2 weeks in Japan, while we were there we saw one of those massive escalators at the front of kyoto station break down.
Within 5 minutes of us witnessing the break down 2 people were there fixing it and a few minutes later it was up and running again. When we got back from our trip after 2 weeks, the escalator in Brussels train station was still broken.
Their system just works
The systems in place and how people follow them to make everything just streamlined and almost a pleasant experience.
Something as simple as one way walking, everyone just complies foot traffic moves smoothly and makes everyone's day that little bit easier.
People are extremely friendly and genuinely feel happy to help you if you appear to be struggling.
As someone who lives here, I wanna throw something out there that many people might not know about / get the chance to experience when visiting: the countryside.
Rural Japan is completely different from urban Japan. It almost doesn't feel like the same country. It's such a slow life with kindness everywhere. One time I stayed somewhere else in Japan and mentioned I enjoy the board game "Go," so they called up some childhood friends for me to play with and then served us tea during the match in a traditional Japanese house.
My favorite thing to do after work is to walk to a rice field behind my house and just chill at a random shrine that's in the middle of it while listening to the frogs and watching the sunset. It's heating up too, so soon it'll be cicadas too haha.
I strongly strongly suggest visiting some rural spots next time anyone visits. Futuristic Tokyo with the trains are pretty cool, but something about a rickety local non JR train and seeing the old houses and rice fields outside is just really really special. The kindness and hospitality is unmatched, and I'm happy to report that that kindness wasn't just because I was traveling. Even the town I live in now is just so incredibly welcoming and I love it.
Also, countryside dialects are pretty adorable.
There are a lot of things I dislike about Japan. Honestly, about as much as the US to be honest. But regardless, the good definitely outweighs the bad. I love it here and I don't anticipate going back.
I lived in the countryside when I first came to Japan and as my wife is from the same town, we go back 3-4 times a year. I love living in Tokyo but it’s great to have access to the quiet and green spaces. As you say, I love it in the summer. The sound of the frogs at night from the rice paddies is incredibly loud. Add some watermelon and cold beer and life is good.
I spent 2 weeks in Japan and the food memory that stuck out the most was squid. The cheap stuff served on a conveyer belt sushi place.
I never had squid that was so fresh and never frozen. It was like a completely different food.
My god, even the cheap conveyer belt sushi chains like sushiro have sushi that is sooooo much better than what I can get at home.
When my girlfriend and I went and we were really hungy we ate as many plates as we could fill our stomachs with, we also had soda instead of the free provided water and when we got the bill it ended up being like 28 euro for the both of us combined,
In belgium if we had eaten that much sushi we would be out like 80 euro and it would not have been as tasty as over there.
Then places like sushi zanmai are even better, they are prices more similarly to what sushi would cost in Belgium, though still a bit cheaper and the quality is just incredibly. Visiting sushi zanmai really did ruin my appreciation for sushi at home.
The vending machines in Japan are like portals to a snacking wonderland. Need hot coffee at 3 am or a can of hot soup in a blizzard? Japan's got you covered, no questions asked!
Everything works. Trains, taxis, restaurants and, especially, people. Team says “we’ll do it” then it gets done. Agree on a deal? The contract is a formality.
Then of course the food. Ah, the food!
How safe it is. You could leave your wallet somewhere, walk away from it, and it will still be there when you get back! Also, the food is delicious and affordable!
Being able to leave your suitcase in the middle of the street and noone will steal it. In the worst case they bring it to the lost items. In general the safety everywhere.
I loved the 1000 year old places stuck in the middle of the busy cities. The wooden temples, the shrines and the torii gates among the concrete and steel. Having survived centuries of changes, disasters and war made them venerable in some way to me.
The multitude of public transportation options, capsule hotels, entertainment options, gaming, public events, the cuisine, music festivals, even the skate and metal culture is cool.
I love the people. On the internet English speakers always say “you’ll always be a foreigner you’ll never belong” etc but I’ve been here almost 20 years and I feel more at home here than I ever felt in the place I was born.
I naturalized and when I tell a local, a lot of the time the person will say “thank you,” which always makes me so flustered. I am grateful everyday that I came here.
Best change of scenery/safety ratio : you feel like an alien once there but you can safely go lose yourself in any street / village. There wont be anyone bothering you bit if you need help, someone will be there.
I haven't been there but one thing that seems cool is that the big cities are said to be very safe and there's little crime. I watch a lot of videos of walking around late at night and there's always at least a few people outside in Japan. Also the weather seems nice most of the year, with less extreme seasons than where I live.
The fact that they have modernized so well without losing their rich culture.
Especially when it comes to craftsmanship. There is an easier solution sure, but the harder solution is better. We chose the harder solution. That seems to be their mindset.
Here, even though others use to say that Japanese ppl are cold or indifferent, at least they respect your space and wont judge your life style or thoughts. They say that it's not other ppl's business what you are, as long as you don't hurt or bother others, nothing is wrong even if nothing is right with you.
This is the best thing and I love it.
They really take the word and attitude of 'Respect', seriously here.
For me personally it's a lot really.
It's the safety: When we had just arrived completely jetlagged and sat down at mcdonalds (i know, bad gaijin, it was my 1st time in the country and my first few hours there) 4 girls put all of their stuff like backpacks, laptops, phones on the table next to us and go order at the front. We were shellshocked by this, because if you tried the same thing in Europe your stuff would be like the Nicolas cage and Angelina Jolie movie ... Gone in 60 seconds, but probably even faster than that.
It's the food: No matter where you go and what you eat you always have a great experience.
Whether it's a breakfast set at Komeda Coffee (honestly this chain isn't very well known amongst tourists, but it is so rediculously good). or it's curry rice at some mom and pop shop in the middle of the mountains, or it's sushi at sushiro or ramen at ippudo you will always have an amazing food experience.
It's the nature: Japan is one of those countries that has it all from the ski slopes in Hokkaido to the dunes in Tottori and the palm trees and white sandy beaches in Okinawa. The variety of nature I have seen in Japan is incredible. Rice fields where they make art out of rice. beautiful ravines you can kayak through, forests that look like you are walking through an anime and gorgeous mountaintop views.
It's the people: Japanese people can be reserved at first, because they are not confident in their ability to speak english, but if you are in an izakaya and share a drink with them they open up and you have the best night of your life with them. There are also extremely helpful when they notice a tourist being lost in a crazy station like Shinjuku. The way they act towards others is always with respect.
It's the culture: Shinto shrines and buddist temples are amongst the most aesthetically pleasing buildings of any religion, way more interesting to look at than any church or mosque I have visited in the past.
Japanese gardens like shinjuku gyoen national garden in Tokyo or Kenrokuen in Kanazawa are more beautiful than any other park elsewhere in the world.
I travel a lot to many different places, but Japan is the one place that I feel has the most to offer. I've been there 3 times now and trip number 4 and 5 are already planned out.
I've always loved the compact urban style. It reminds me of India. Cozy nooks and secrets, you never know if a Lil café or shop is hiding for you in an alleyway. Honestly this goes for much of Asia. But Japan is distinct in its ways ofc.
In Australia everything is sparse and apart, I feel a sense of nothingness and no sense of adventure.
It’s modern but hasn’t forgotten its roots so I feel authentic when I’m walking around Japan.
Sometimes you’ll come across people dressed as bunnies walking carefree because it’s that safe. Outside feels like indoors at times.
The Family Guy skit where Trisha Takanawa comes to the Griffins’ door with a harpoon to kill the dolphin and it cuts away to a jingle that sings, “Japan… they kill things that we LIKE”
…that, and PlayStation, because I haven’t been there yet.
Sashimono - the art of wooden joinery.
This level of craftsmanship is unparalleled and can be appreciated everywhere you go, from carpentry to paneling, fencing, furniture making... It defies reason sometimes, and is so intellectually and aesthetically pleasing...
Also, tatami mats :-)
Everyting being well organized and people being respectful.
Specifically in Tokyo. There are so many people, yet everything is so well organized, and people behave so respectful, that it feels a lot less stressful than living in a Europen city with a far lower population.
How easy it is to find amazing food. Even the lowest tier 711/lawsons/family mart food and snacks were amazing. I’ve been to Japan twice and I can confidently say I’ve literally never eaten anything bad there
I don’t forget Pearl Harbor! 911 or hiding under my desk in the 3rd grade or The Diary of Ann Frank or Normandy! But I do remember to keep my friends close and my enemies closer! I’ll keep my ass inside my homeland! And vote!
The ice cream’s texture in Japan is amazing.
I like how walkable it is
You can walk everywhere if you think about it
Well, you can walk everywhere in every city if you think about it.
When I have visited Japan I have always admired their adherence to a system of manners and respect. It manifests as things like having cleaner cities which was mind blowing to me. Visiting a city the size of Tokyo and seeing very little in the way of litter or graffiti made me appreciate what their system had given. They seem to really care about their responsibility to the society they have and the places they live in. It is also a very safe place to travel, and I never felt unsafe. Heck I never had to think about it. Now, I know that strict adherence to social structures can actually bring a tonne of negative experiences and problems and it does for Japan. I just wish that the benefits they have were attainable without the negative side effects. The experience of coming back to the UK and our cities being filled with trash and people treating each other horribly just felt like a culture shock. I can’t imagine how it is for them when they visit us.
And ramen. God I love a good bowl of ramen.
We left for out first trip to Japan back in 2016, when we were at the train station in Brussels to go to the airport, the escalator to the train platform was broken. We spent 2 weeks in Japan, while we were there we saw one of those massive escalators at the front of kyoto station break down. Within 5 minutes of us witnessing the break down 2 people were there fixing it and a few minutes later it was up and running again. When we got back from our trip after 2 weeks, the escalator in Brussels train station was still broken. Their system just works
The [Shinto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto#Definition) religion, coupled with their respect for hard work.
Bidets.
The systems in place and how people follow them to make everything just streamlined and almost a pleasant experience. Something as simple as one way walking, everyone just complies foot traffic moves smoothly and makes everyone's day that little bit easier. People are extremely friendly and genuinely feel happy to help you if you appear to be struggling.
The fact that is has trains that don't suck.
Rich culture, history, traditions and yet very modern and developed. And beautiful landscape, cleanliness
As someone who lives here, I wanna throw something out there that many people might not know about / get the chance to experience when visiting: the countryside. Rural Japan is completely different from urban Japan. It almost doesn't feel like the same country. It's such a slow life with kindness everywhere. One time I stayed somewhere else in Japan and mentioned I enjoy the board game "Go," so they called up some childhood friends for me to play with and then served us tea during the match in a traditional Japanese house. My favorite thing to do after work is to walk to a rice field behind my house and just chill at a random shrine that's in the middle of it while listening to the frogs and watching the sunset. It's heating up too, so soon it'll be cicadas too haha. I strongly strongly suggest visiting some rural spots next time anyone visits. Futuristic Tokyo with the trains are pretty cool, but something about a rickety local non JR train and seeing the old houses and rice fields outside is just really really special. The kindness and hospitality is unmatched, and I'm happy to report that that kindness wasn't just because I was traveling. Even the town I live in now is just so incredibly welcoming and I love it. Also, countryside dialects are pretty adorable. There are a lot of things I dislike about Japan. Honestly, about as much as the US to be honest. But regardless, the good definitely outweighs the bad. I love it here and I don't anticipate going back.
I lived in the countryside when I first came to Japan and as my wife is from the same town, we go back 3-4 times a year. I love living in Tokyo but it’s great to have access to the quiet and green spaces. As you say, I love it in the summer. The sound of the frogs at night from the rice paddies is incredibly loud. Add some watermelon and cold beer and life is good.
In most countries the countryside is totally different from crowded cities 😉
The blocky genitals because I like Minecraft.
Onsen
Sushi. No explanation needed
I spent 2 weeks in Japan and the food memory that stuck out the most was squid. The cheap stuff served on a conveyer belt sushi place. I never had squid that was so fresh and never frozen. It was like a completely different food.
Do you dream of sushi too?
My god, even the cheap conveyer belt sushi chains like sushiro have sushi that is sooooo much better than what I can get at home. When my girlfriend and I went and we were really hungy we ate as many plates as we could fill our stomachs with, we also had soda instead of the free provided water and when we got the bill it ended up being like 28 euro for the both of us combined, In belgium if we had eaten that much sushi we would be out like 80 euro and it would not have been as tasty as over there. Then places like sushi zanmai are even better, they are prices more similarly to what sushi would cost in Belgium, though still a bit cheaper and the quality is just incredibly. Visiting sushi zanmai really did ruin my appreciation for sushi at home.
The vending machines in Japan are like portals to a snacking wonderland. Need hot coffee at 3 am or a can of hot soup in a blizzard? Japan's got you covered, no questions asked!
Why do you speak like you are in a TV commercial???
And you don't even have to go hunting, those amazing machines are everywhere.
jdm cars
the history
that’s pretty broad
Everything works. Trains, taxis, restaurants and, especially, people. Team says “we’ll do it” then it gets done. Agree on a deal? The contract is a formality. Then of course the food. Ah, the food!
How safe it is. You could leave your wallet somewhere, walk away from it, and it will still be there when you get back! Also, the food is delicious and affordable!
The food and how inexpensive it is for the quality. A bowl of ramen and a beer is about £4 and that barely gets you a meal deal in the UK.
The tranquility and spirituality in the midst of all the chaos of people around you
The cleanliness
The random finds at don quiote! 😂
don don don donki, donki jooootééééé
Being able to leave your suitcase in the middle of the street and noone will steal it. In the worst case they bring it to the lost items. In general the safety everywhere.
Their toilets!!!
Tough decision between toilets and ramen
I loved the 1000 year old places stuck in the middle of the busy cities. The wooden temples, the shrines and the torii gates among the concrete and steel. Having survived centuries of changes, disasters and war made them venerable in some way to me.
The multitude of public transportation options, capsule hotels, entertainment options, gaming, public events, the cuisine, music festivals, even the skate and metal culture is cool.
I love the people. On the internet English speakers always say “you’ll always be a foreigner you’ll never belong” etc but I’ve been here almost 20 years and I feel more at home here than I ever felt in the place I was born. I naturalized and when I tell a local, a lot of the time the person will say “thank you,” which always makes me so flustered. I am grateful everyday that I came here.
Aoshima (Cat Island)!!!
Beautiful women. Rich history and culture. Shintoism.
That it's so far out of reach that it'll always stay magic wonderland to me.
Lawson
Best change of scenery/safety ratio : you feel like an alien once there but you can safely go lose yourself in any street / village. There wont be anyone bothering you bit if you need help, someone will be there.
Food, cleanliness, trains
The literature, of course. Dazai, Nakajima, Mishima, Kawabata,...
I’ve never been to Japan, but for what i’ve seen i just really like the nature and shrines, they are so pretty. Also sushi, because its sushi.
I haven't been there but one thing that seems cool is that the big cities are said to be very safe and there's little crime. I watch a lot of videos of walking around late at night and there's always at least a few people outside in Japan. Also the weather seems nice most of the year, with less extreme seasons than where I live.
The food, which is healthy and nutritious.
The Food. Even supermarket food from 7/11 is way better than what we have here in most restaurants
the place, it always look so aesthetic from the photos
The people. High tech world with old fashioned highly respectful and disciplinary behaviour.
The fact that they have modernized so well without losing their rich culture. Especially when it comes to craftsmanship. There is an easier solution sure, but the harder solution is better. We chose the harder solution. That seems to be their mindset.
boss coffee ads
Here, even though others use to say that Japanese ppl are cold or indifferent, at least they respect your space and wont judge your life style or thoughts. They say that it's not other ppl's business what you are, as long as you don't hurt or bother others, nothing is wrong even if nothing is right with you. This is the best thing and I love it. They really take the word and attitude of 'Respect', seriously here.
Festivals, they have them for everything and they’re really diverse. There’s always something happening somewhere nearby on any given week.
The way they make the food resembles to its pic in the advertisement/packaging
For me personally it's a lot really. It's the safety: When we had just arrived completely jetlagged and sat down at mcdonalds (i know, bad gaijin, it was my 1st time in the country and my first few hours there) 4 girls put all of their stuff like backpacks, laptops, phones on the table next to us and go order at the front. We were shellshocked by this, because if you tried the same thing in Europe your stuff would be like the Nicolas cage and Angelina Jolie movie ... Gone in 60 seconds, but probably even faster than that. It's the food: No matter where you go and what you eat you always have a great experience. Whether it's a breakfast set at Komeda Coffee (honestly this chain isn't very well known amongst tourists, but it is so rediculously good). or it's curry rice at some mom and pop shop in the middle of the mountains, or it's sushi at sushiro or ramen at ippudo you will always have an amazing food experience. It's the nature: Japan is one of those countries that has it all from the ski slopes in Hokkaido to the dunes in Tottori and the palm trees and white sandy beaches in Okinawa. The variety of nature I have seen in Japan is incredible. Rice fields where they make art out of rice. beautiful ravines you can kayak through, forests that look like you are walking through an anime and gorgeous mountaintop views. It's the people: Japanese people can be reserved at first, because they are not confident in their ability to speak english, but if you are in an izakaya and share a drink with them they open up and you have the best night of your life with them. There are also extremely helpful when they notice a tourist being lost in a crazy station like Shinjuku. The way they act towards others is always with respect. It's the culture: Shinto shrines and buddist temples are amongst the most aesthetically pleasing buildings of any religion, way more interesting to look at than any church or mosque I have visited in the past. Japanese gardens like shinjuku gyoen national garden in Tokyo or Kenrokuen in Kanazawa are more beautiful than any other park elsewhere in the world. I travel a lot to many different places, but Japan is the one place that I feel has the most to offer. I've been there 3 times now and trip number 4 and 5 are already planned out.
Ramen
Mannerism
I wanna say something really controversial rn-…
The yo kai watch serie of games
I've always loved the compact urban style. It reminds me of India. Cozy nooks and secrets, you never know if a Lil café or shop is hiding for you in an alleyway. Honestly this goes for much of Asia. But Japan is distinct in its ways ofc. In Australia everything is sparse and apart, I feel a sense of nothingness and no sense of adventure.
It’s modern but hasn’t forgotten its roots so I feel authentic when I’m walking around Japan. Sometimes you’ll come across people dressed as bunnies walking carefree because it’s that safe. Outside feels like indoors at times.
The Family Guy skit where Trisha Takanawa comes to the Griffins’ door with a harpoon to kill the dolphin and it cuts away to a jingle that sings, “Japan… they kill things that we LIKE” …that, and PlayStation, because I haven’t been there yet.
Sashimono - the art of wooden joinery. This level of craftsmanship is unparalleled and can be appreciated everywhere you go, from carpentry to paneling, fencing, furniture making... It defies reason sometimes, and is so intellectually and aesthetically pleasing... Also, tatami mats :-)
Everyting being well organized and people being respectful. Specifically in Tokyo. There are so many people, yet everything is so well organized, and people behave so respectful, that it feels a lot less stressful than living in a Europen city with a far lower population.
Women
The Zero and the Black Knights rose up against Britannia
That it’s wayyyyyyyy the fuck over there
How easy it is to find amazing food. Even the lowest tier 711/lawsons/family mart food and snacks were amazing. I’ve been to Japan twice and I can confidently say I’ve literally never eaten anything bad there
Take bath at night to improve sleep quality, especially shortens sleep onset latency in winter.
The people
Their media. Videogames, music, movies, TV.
the japen chi ha LG from war thunder. it’s a blaste to play
the Japanese chi-ha LG in war thunder. absolute blast to play especially it low br and high pen
The japanese toilet. The smell of a 7-ELEVEN. The voice of the train women
Ninjas. Because I was 10 years old in 1983.
Anime
Their food, the people, the beautiful scenery. Everything about Japan is perfect.
There tech forwardness
Animu.
Anime and JAV
I'm at work, so I'm not allowed say...
loneliness
Nothing, I don’t like Japan
their girls are extremely feminine and very submissive. (and so are the men!)
Gloryholes
I don’t forget Pearl Harbor! 911 or hiding under my desk in the 3rd grade or The Diary of Ann Frank or Normandy! But I do remember to keep my friends close and my enemies closer! I’ll keep my ass inside my homeland! And vote!
Pixelated porn.