Now before you jump to any conclusions about Japan or my opinions regarding the Land of the Rising Sun, let me share with you the truth: Japan is amazeballs. A more appropriate title for this post might be “11 Things In Japan That Americans May Or May Not Find Rather Annoying”, but I did not think that flowed as well.
Just be forewarned that it's not all karaoke splendor and peep shows.
THERE ARE NO TRASH CANS
I don't know how this is possible, but finding a trash can in the wild in Japan is extraordinarily difficult. Recycling bins are everywhere, but for whatever reason, you will find yourself carrying around your trash in search of an appropriate waste receptacle for days. When I encounter this problem I always look around and notice that no Japanese people are doing the same. What do they know that I don't? Are they just not creating any trash? Is it in their pockets? Are they dumping it into recycling bins? They aren't throwing it on the ground because this place is quite clean. What is their secret!?
THERE'S NO SOAP OR TOWELS
This does not hold true everywhere (in tourist-heavy spots soap is usually provided), but when you go to wash your hands post-bathroom use, you will frequently find that soap has not been made available for your hand cleansing needs. “Okay,” you say to yourself, “I'll just rinse off the bacteria with water, that works, right?” But when you go to dry your hands you are disappointed once again when you fail to find paper towels or an air blowing machine. Admitting defeat you wipe your hands on your jeans and through your hair, now thankful that you have to bow instead of shake hands.
Further reading on Japan's garbage situation: Garbage In Japan: The Country’s Greatest Mystery.
EVERYTHING IS INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED
Whether you invest in a bag of candy, a box of pocky, or even an ear of corn, practically everything in Japan is individually wrapped. Once in a while, it will make sense, but most of the time you will find yourself wondering why anyone would waste so much wrapping. The worst part? You can't take handfuls of chocolate out of the bag unless you unwrap them all first. Maybe this is the secret to solving America's obesity epidemic.
WELCOME TO OUR STORE!
When you enter a store in Japan, you will usually be greeted by someone shouting: irashaimase (いらっしゃいませ)! Nothing wrong with that, I suppose I would prefer to be acknowledged instead of ignored. However, it appears that the only way to properly welcome someone is to scream “irashaimase” at the top of your lungs or to mumble “irashaimase” to yourself as you stock the shelves and look miserable. Sometimes a 7-11 (or similar store) will have as many as six people working, and hearing them all scream “irashaimase” or mutter it to themselves like an abused parrot at every person who walks through the door is an uncomfortable combination of sad and annoying.
BREAD IS SILLY
Apparently Japan only make loaves of bread in one size. These loaves are then cut into four, five, or six pieces – I hesitate to call them slices because they are almost loaves themselves (once I saw ten pieces – eight is 50/50). Placing two pieces together as one would to make a sandwich results in three to four inches of crust. Excellent for mini-pizzas, but not ideal for your everyday sandwiches. You can get freshly cooked bread, but you will have to go to a market large enough to have a bakery.
THE STREETS MAKE NO SENSE
I am constantly asking myself how some of these roads and intersections came to be in Japan. It is as if Japan had two rival road systems that one day were forced to overlay one another. Sometimes the intersections ended up working out, and sometimes it ended up a giant clusterfuck. Occasionally you will pull up to a traffic signal and there will be four different green arrows because the intersection you have stopped at is the meeting point of five different streets. How is that even possible? Trust me, it is.
CHEESE IS SCARCE
I love cheese. I will literally just take bites out of a block of cheese and call it a meal. Not a snack, a meal (it's got everything you need). Sadly, the Japanese do not share my enthusiasm for cheese, and the selection at the market is usually quite slim. You can find the plastic “kraft singles” type cheese, miniature pre-sliced blocks of cheese, and then (very) expensive mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. A two-pound block of cheddar? Out of luck, pal.
SQUAT TOILETS
A lot of the time you will have a choice in Japan when deciding which toilet best suits your excretory needs. However, sometimes a squat toilet is the only option. If you are a “sit and enjoy” type (like myself), then squat toilets are not conducive to your typical bathroom routine. Squat toilets cut short your enjoyment time, and increase the risk that you will drop your cell phone into the toilet (if for some strange reason you are using it in the bathroom).
YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING
When you travel to another country without speaking the language you expect (or should expect, you ignoranus) to not understand most of what is happening in the world around you – that is part of the fun. However, in countries that use different alphabets, the difficulty is multiplied. For example, say someone tells you the name of the subway stop you need to exit the train at. Good for you, you are prepared. Then you get to the subway and realize that even though you know the name of your stop, you cannot decipher the symbols on the map. Time to start being the lost tourist (or time to start studying).
FRUIT IS OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE
Want to get your hands around some delectable Japanese melons? Okay, well how about just some delicious cantaloupe instead? Maybe you are more a watermelon person? You won't have trouble finding these products in Japanese markets, but you may have trouble bringing yourself to shell out the money for them. At almost $20 each, I do not understand who buys these things. Watermelon is good, but it isn't that good.
SMOKING IN RESTAURANTS
Yes, smoking in restaurants is allowed in Japan. I suppose for anyone who smokes this is a reason to love Japan, but for everyone else, it's a drag. You may elect to sit in the “non-smoking” section, but it can be more accurately described as the “second-hand smoke section” as opposed to a truly smoke-free section (it usually isn't even a separate room). Even though smoking is typically banned in Japan's crowded outdoor areas (ex. shopping arcades), smoking in restaurants is something you may have to deal with whilst eating your raw horse meat.
Or Japan could join the rest of the world and be progressive. Some of your rules make ZERO sense. I love Japan. I’ve lived here for years. Many great things about Japan. But to say, “If you don’t like it, go home” just proves that you are an idiot, and validates all the complaints about Japan. These are valid complaints. Japan is behind the rest of the world, and needs to broaden it’s vision. Fact. Accept it. Like, I said, I really love this country… but don’t pretend it’s perfect…
I get same response from Chinese and Taiwanese. It is the “losing face” societies not being able to handle criticism. Every criticism will be responded by rude reply stating the wish to “kick somebody out”.
It appears you’ve noticed many of the things I noticed back in 1997. As relates traveling on the subways, we used subway maps that had both the symbol & the alphabet so we counted the stops because all the public signs were in the symbol language of Japan once you left larger cities.
As a western female PhD, I was treated terribly by the corporate old guard. They sent me on tours with tolerant younger 30 yr old scientists so I could not stay in the lab.
However I was allowed to return for lunch in the board room among 12 male scientists including my hubby & ea. scientist had their own barely legal brightly adorned heavily madeup female servant present them with a fancy black lacor three tiered lunch box of sushi.
I also noticed an elderly female on her knees with her head in the corner & as hubby & I walked by, she’d wipe the pristine tile floor with a giant beige cloth. Both she & her cloth blended into the floor. Once she wiped behind us she returned to her corner on her hands & knees. How medieval.
The pimps & homeless only emerged after business hrs. into public places. The helpers never gave me a tissue packet on public streets just to my hubby rt in my face.
Cd not figure out why til I opened one. On the bk are the addresses of the sex clubs. The rich had fancy Italian autos the raced at 3am every morning. The locals were saturated with bicycles.
If you are rich & beautiful you are treated well but if you are not you are ignored regardless of origin or race. I did modeling work in NYC to pay for school. You get the pic.
The kids in the parks always stopped us to show us their dance moves. And they always wanted my hubby to toss a few baskets. We loved the interaction & blending of cultures.
Yep, the food & entertainment costs were outrageous cantaloupe $10, movies $20, 4oz of beef $17, McD’ fish sandwich was actually fish & shrimp..fantastic.
All beverages were 4oz like cola. Milk was 4oz. Loved the structure in the schools, uniforms, kids were so orderly, smart, spoke English fluently. I’d often ask for help reading at the market.
Because of the kids, Japan is hopeful.
First, I must be in a complainyass mood because I’m already annoyed that I can’t tell if this post or the responses were made 10 years ago or 1 day ago. Let’s start there.
Second the “if you don’t like, it go home”…is that really a Japanese issue. Ever hear a ‘merican respond to someone from another culture about how America does things? I’m an American and I love my country AND f’ all that nationalistic posturing. We’re all idiots and if we could take the best from each other, we’d do a lot better. Peace – yeah, both are true.
While I agree that especially with social issues you’re 100% right about Japan being behind such as with their problem with misogyny and male chauvinism and their lowkey homophobia and intolerance towards anyone who doesn’t follow the “study, work, marry, make kids, die” formula and that Japan unlike what some manchild obsessed unrealistic anime fans claim, is not perfect, and for sure housing needs to be improved significantly there too, it does seem to be among the top and most progressive in many aspects too though like agriculture, industries, technology and basically anything related to academic and professional advances and then there are fields that are only doable in Japan altogether.
Every point in this post is so spot on. I have been living in Japan for the past two years and i can relate to everything thats said here. Unfortunately the entire society totally missed out on things which are very critical for happy survival
1. The banks still treat ATM cards and Debit cards as seperate and it is not so easy to get a debit card here cause not all banks give it!!!
2. To apply for any service, Sim cards etc. there is so much reliance on fax machines…they still use Fax machines for communication.
3. I was made to post a few documents by postal mail ONLY for my request to get registered. These were simple xerox copies of my residence card and visa, which could have been dealt through emails in much faster way, but they dont do it by mails
4. I sometimes feel they are highly depressed – their infatuation to small small things – cute art on dishes, love for small dogs, taking them around on a stroller – it sometimes becomes so much to bear that you start to wonder if its even for real. How can a society live a life which looks so artistic and artificial. The ladies are well muffed and look like dolls from the start of the day until the end. no dot of makeup gets disturbed, hair remains intact. But at the same time their houses are a messy.
5. the work culture is all about drinking
6. Extremely patriarchal society, I have been working for a multinational Japanese company and while the men would go out for drinks, ladies were invited just so they can pour drinks and laugh out with other men
7. They are all fake – no one will tell what they dislike. Its impossible to guess whether they are happy with your work or unhappy
8. Their education system is a mess. All that is produced is a bunch of robots who can not think on their own. Who are taught since childhood that thinking outside the box is not a good thinking – you need to to only what others are doing. It is education system like this which results in a society which is not progressive – which, despite being one of the largest economy in the world, still lacks on technology and risk taking ability by miles as compared to other countries
9. The place where i work is global giant but when the employees are thrown with any calculative question, they take out calculators from their bags and start working it out. then get confused after a while and sit with blank faces
Language is impossible. I do understand most of Japanese but I know how tourist unfriendly the place is because there is just so little which is mentioned in English. The worst is when restaurants will hand a sign saying “Today’s Special” in English and then have the entire menu written in Japanese. All that I know is there is something as today’s special but I never know what it is.
Japan is no doubt a gorgeous place, a highly mannered place and every country can learn so much from here. But yes, the country has genuine issues which they need to acknowledge and address as early as possible.
Unlike the western world, they have thousands of years as an intellectual collective historical culture. They have learned, as China also knows, if you let westerners in they will steal, rob, exploit, an annex.
Japan will never let you know who they really are, as a protection.
Look at Africa, the riches continent on the planet, sold exploited robbed…gold, silver, copper, tin, diamonds, the largest oil reserves are not in the middleast, the oldest architectural structures are in the deepest Congo not Europe.
Look at North America stolen robbed annexed. I’ve only met 2 Native Americans in my life & one was drunk. Why? They welcomed them in.
Smart folks to some extent.
Note the language problems are becoming less of a problem day by day if you learn some Japanese before hand, popup dictionaries when you search Japanese internet, use OCR on your cellphone to read kanji, along with google autocomplete (for example if you search for door it will autocomplete sentences with open), google translate(voice recognition).
The reasons stated in this article are pretty trivial compared to the literally hundred of other deeper reasons to hate Japan. It’s not even really the fault of Japanese people on an individual basis, it’s their collectivist culture that poisons everything for them. Most Japanese people have never and will never live abroad, and aren’t very curious about the outside world (as is their programming), therefore they have nothing to compare their own culture to; to them they think this is normal. But nearly every foreigner (who isn’t a weeaboo) I’ve talked to dislikes living in Japan and can’t understand how Japanese people are. I’m not just talking about Westerners living in Japan – I’ve talked to Koreans, Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, Indonesians, as well as a swath of Europeans and they all say the same thing: something along the lines of “Japan is a safe country at least, but these people are impossible to understand”. Trying to figure them out is enough to drive you crazy sometimes; why do they put up with things the way they are? Why do they work themselves into an early grave and seem to have no other interests outside of work other than drinking, smoking, [their poorly drawn] anime, and shopping for useless things. I swear if this country sank into the ocean the world would be a better place.
You are both ignorant and sick!
And that’s not an argument.
Since you don’t want to take the time to tell me what exactly you disagree with, let me give you a list and you can tackle them point by point.
• Economically:
Although none of our countries can be very proud economically right now, Japan is in a particularly bad position, often referred to as a “zombie economy” by economists. The Bank of Japan is even stuck offering NEGATIVE interest rates just to keep the economy afloat. We can discuss the various reasons why most economies are failing right now (fractional reserve banking, central banks creating money and lending it to their governments *at interest*, the inevitable result of decades of borrowing from the future, 25~ years of currency war with China and Russia, flawed Keynesian theories, etc.) but that won’t change the fact that Japan is right up there with [although not yet as bad as] Greece, Spain, Portugal etc..
• Low birth rates and aging population:
This is a gimme. Adult diapers outsell baby diapers every year. Everyone knows this, and everyone is concerned about it (except Japanese people in their 20s and 30s apparently).
• High suicide rate:
For being the 3rd largest economy in the world Japanese people sure do kill themselves at an alarming rate don’t they? If you ignore the suicide rates of the 3rd and 2nd world, Japan’s suicide epidemic is really only beaten by Korea and China (what is the deal with Asians?!).
• Work ethic:
I use the word “work ethic” lightly; it’s really just mindless collectivism veiled as hard work. What they call hard work is really just a lot of meetings, a lot of talking, horrible efficiency, and a lot of laying your head down on your desk to take a nap. There is a massive problem in Japan with obligatory overwork, even to the point of death from overwork (過労死 {Karoushi}). You know this, I know this.
• Philosophy and social structure:
You can find some nice things in 武教 and 神道 – and I think Japan was probably a lot better off philosophically in the past than it is now. But when I look at the modern Japanese mindset I mostly see a depressing mess of despair and decay. Japan is a shadow of its former greatness (aren’t we all these days). The internal conflict between tatemae and honne may lead to low crime and the illusion of harmony, but under the surface it robs the individual of creativity, motivation, confidence, self-respect, and 生き甲斐. Maybe there are some interesting ideas to be found in 侘び寂び or もののあわれ, but these philosophies are a little bit too fatalist for my taste. And anyway the greater point is that judging by their suicide rates, problems with depression/mental illness etc., I would say things are not working out for them philosophically. Which leads me to my next point.
• Depression/mental illness:
There is a mounting, unacknowledged, and undiagnosed epidemic of depression and other mental disorders in Japan. If Japan is going to turn its society around it is pertinent that it addresses this problem.
• Alcoholism:
To me alcoholism is 1 of the larger pink elephants in the room for Japan. No one talks about it, everyone ignores it, and it’s absolutely poisoning this society and murdering their relationships and productivity in my opinion.
• High rates of stomach [and other] cancer(s)
We can discuss whether Asians have a higher proclivity for certain types of cancer (for example Caucasians are clearly more suseptable to skin cancer). But I think mostly the cause is stress, poor diet (mostly in the working class), excessive drinking/smoking, and absence of exercise.
• Alarming rise in single mother households:
In the west we have no reason to be smug about this problem either, but it’s worth pointing out that because of Japan’s overwork culture, the problem of disintegrating families and rise of single motherhood is getting particularly worse here.
• Unsustainable welfare system:
America is out of control in this regard too. However the difference in my mind is that Japan is a collectivist society while America is an individualist society (with collectivist elements thrown in such as religion and other ideologies). Instead of having various pockets of collectivism, Japan wears collectivism on its sleeve – it is built into the general culture making Japan far more likely to fall down into the trap of overburdening those who contribute to society for the sake of those who are not. This simultaneously has the adverse effect of robbing welfare recipients of self-worth, motivation, passion etc. thus creating a vicious cycle where the burden imposed on those who contribute spirals out of control until the entire system collapses under the weight of its own unsustainability.
{Sorry, because I have shit to do today I am just going to plow through the rest and we can talk about them later if you want. Also I apologize for any grammatical mistakes, I just really don’t have a lot of time today}
• Broken/unsustainable pension/retirement system (年金 {nenkin})
• Plunging marriage rates, and the dysfunction of existing marriages.
• High rate of singles (70% for young men, and 60% for young women).
• Sexual harassment of women in the workplace.
• Epidemic of pervert/stalker/molester/痴漢 culture.
• Borderline (and often not borderline) child pornography in anime, manga, hentai etc..
{That covers most of the major problems I see in Japan, I guess here are some of the things I would consider minor problems that could become major problems}
• Overcrowding in Tokyo (leading to the spread of colds and flu unseen in the West.)
• Over-dependence on imported food.
• Rampant gambling addiction (pachinko parlors)
• A sex industry that warps and perverts the relationships between men and women.
• Alarming rise of ‘hermit culture’ where people refuse to leave their homes (引きこもり {hikikomori}).
• An education system that produces incompetent unthinking robots.
• Shallow, passive aggressive, emotionally closed interaction with other humans.
• Infantilized culture obsessed with cuteness, characters, anime, manga, and other childish bullshit.
• Racism against foreigners – particularly Koreans, Chinese, Pacific Islanders, and Blacks.
Dude, so well said! I’ve been living here on and off for a year or so, and most of these points are spot on. Particularly I feel there is some irony with packaging as the Japanese are obsessed with separating trash for recycling, but at the same time over producing plastic which I’m sure doesn’t all get recycled – a lot ends up in burnable. It’s a very wasteful society and no Japanese I’ve spoken to so far cares.
I also can’t understand why you don’t get bags for things at the grocery store without asking/paying for them, but then at konbinis you sometimes get a bag for literally everything you buy (and without asking).
New rules from 2020…pay for every plastic shopping bag at practically every shop…a step forward.
Unless a gaijin isn’t following the recycling laws then the shit hits the fan. I’ve had them rip every single trash bag I put out an inspect it. I got read the riot act over a Parmesan cheese can. It’s plastic metal and cardboard this was my first month in the country I didn’t know what to do with it. Meanwhile my Japanese neighbors just dump their appliances On the side of the road. And yes they do litter. I didn’t live near Tokyo but in a very rural farming area. Illegal dumping was an epidemic.
On Youtube there are lots of people that literally believe that the Japanese can do no wrong and that their people are the most well behaved in the world. Does anyone here have some sort of a blog or whatever that tells people about the truth of Japan? A lot of Japanese that leave Japan tell you all about the problems of Japan, although if you repeat what they say to other Japanese or even them they will take it personally hahaha.
Dude, I’ve been living in Japan for decades. It’s not some years.
i appreciate the time you took to post
Reading through your list, I was able to mentally check pretty much every bullet point for Australia, especially the ‘Racism against foreigners’ one. I doubt that many of us from other countries couldn’t do likewise if we were honest.
Japan doesn’t have the market on that. Travel to Montana USA & if you are ethnic you are a problem that needs to vanish. You can barely visit but you can’t stay here.
And, if you are ethnic & Native American…you’re not even allowed to exist. But they all have a Cherokee grandmother.
I don’t think White Fish was named after a fish. I watched those fascist mistreat The Americans on their own continent. Yet, sell & embrace their culture for profit…Indian blankets $65, feather hates $45, breads $55, sterling Indian jewelry $75 & up.
I like anime, manga, and cuteness O_o… However, while I would put some of those minor problems as major problems its true that Japan is SCREWED. The West is also screwed, we pollute the world and own 50% of the worlds natural resources yet have 5% of the population, thats a huge amount of waste. We have been bullying the nations of the global south for a while now. America’s suburbs were built by the oil lobby, and it seems the government acts for the interests of the corporations rather than the people. Other major problems are expensive health care, drug abuse, fewer ppl having children, fake degrees, huge amount of people in prison. I heard good things about Vietnam, but Vietnamese is so hard to learn so maybe its problems aren’t known…
Hauke you are just dumb…Japanese culture is robotville…are you going to argue that that’s okay for humans to behave like brainless robots who follow the norm for the norm’s sake…follow the rules for the rule’s sake…even when it’s just plain evil…? Are you really going to argue that that kind of a culture is admirable and worthy of being imitated? That’s the litmus test…is something exemplary…is it worthy of being an example, worthy of being followed and imitated…Japanese brain dead fake to your core two faced robotron culture…a resounding no.
That’s some serious ‘hate’ baggage you’re lugging around there man. I can’t imagine enjoying a few beers with you before things became toxic.
Dude lay off the last sentence. I was sort of with you until that part. Anyway, I’ve gotten my Japanese to N2, and it can get maddening how superficial Japanese are when they talk to foreigners, and how very very difficult it is to befriend them. One big problem is that the Japanese don’t seem to find it wrong to befriend foreigners just for free English practice… The Japanese girls are soo cute, but they can tell you they like you and your handsome in one day then the next day report you to the police for being fat/ugly/loud/insensitive/not reading the air/thinking too much like an american/thinking too much like a japanese/etc… If you like anime I suggest you go to Southeast Asia as the people are more “genuine”. In Japan bigotry can reign supreme b/c they avoid freedom of speech and comfrontation.
I agree with every word you say, Ben. I wish I can leave Japan. I wish I can say more.
observed national public holidays – U.S.A. 12 days per year, U.K. 8-10 days per year, Australia 12-13 days per year, Japan 16 days per year. Someone is getting a good deal here.
One thing I dislike about this country is the Policy.
Japanese bow down to policy like bowing down to god. They can throw away their Life to obey their internal policies.
Each company, store, school have the “policies”, often meaningless and even harmful for tasks to be done smoothly.
Another one is their corrupt government and inability.
Witnessing how they deal with the Fukushima disaster 2011 and the recent Wuhan virus, I’ll say the government is very incompetent.
Probably due to public’s apathy toward politics, so that the government continues to corrupt, without facing counter-reactions.
Oh, yet another thing I forgot to tell.
I find young people especially disturbing in Japan. Everywhere they talk and laugh, ignoring others’ existence.
The “politeness” has become a thing of the past. Also, their inability of critical thinking shocks me.
Seriously, I cannot tell whether someone walking there is a robot or a biological human.
So yeah, Policy, Government, and the young generation are the main things that disturb me.
(Not to mention other minor problems, and of course, no country is perfect. Actually I find humans quite disappointing in general, just different drawbacks)
Nevertheless, if I get a chance to leave this country, I swear I won’t step on their soil again. Never ever. I’m not welcomed here, anyway 😉
as you know the japanese can not speak English,also they did not like Foreigner as well
That is not true. They do not like rude foreigners.
Not true, they don’t like gaikokujin with any opinion they don’t like.
Baloney. I have Japanese friends and made over the years. They were always good friends. I think it is you that have the problem.
Narcissistic / Egotistical foreigners tend to blend into Japanese society very well. It’s not something to be proud about. Either that your you’re just completely oblivious to the fact they’re most likely talking shit about you behind your back and only hang out with you because you boost their self esteem. Its one or the other, or both.
Are you sure they aren’t using you for English practice?
Any other ridiculous sweeping generalizations for us?
excuse me i am japanese and i can speak english
Yes, good thing we can all read, write (with appropriate upper-case where necessary) and punctuate our English correctly.
dont worry. Im japanese and some things up there are thing that japanese people hate as well.
I’m in Japan now and I love it. This list did make me laugh a lot though because I have been really noticing some of these things and feeling like “wha?”
But only because so many things here in Japan aew actually super dialed-in and amazing – for instance, all of the automation technology, the top-notch cleanliness – both environmental and personal – and the incredible caring and politeness of most people.
Caring and politeness, yes. Willingness to be your friend? That’s a tough one. But yes, there is a lot of amazing in Japan too 🙂
You have not been to the U.S. Mac.
No, but the US is high on my list of places to go!
please don’t come… :p
I just left!
Mac. Most Americans likely could not tell you the name of their neighbor.
I don’t see how this is relevant.
Maybe you’re just not likeable?
And suddenly everything makes sense.
The secret of where the Japanese throw away their trash? That’s a no-brainer dude. Any konbini (and there are a ton of them in the cities) will have trash cans for you.
As for fruit, some of it is expensive, but what you are looking at are fruits meant to be gifted. Shop around and be thrifty and you can find bananas, watermelon and grapes for good prices (100~400 yen). I recommend you visit a dedicated mom & pop vegs/fruits store for good deals.
Thankfully, smoking in restaurants is banned now – or rather, reversed. Instead of no-smoking zones, there are smoking zones. It’s a good change. Even the pachinko parlors are smoke-free!
Pachinko parlors are smoke-free now?! All of them!?
So let’s begin: “THERE ARE NO TRASH CANS” excuse me but what?That sounds ridiculous as a reason to love or hate anywhere and I always see trash cans and recycle bins all over Japan. Surely, finding the right recycling bin shouldn’t be difficult and nowhere in the world you can find that many trash cans in the wild. Also in Japan it’s considered rude to eat or drink while walking about so probably people just toss their trash where they eat/drink like the side of a vending machine or some conbini or something. “THERE’S NO SOAP OR TOWELS” I mean that’s due to free bathrooms being available, right? Most countries that have those available (still struggling to remember ANY countries where they were making sure the bathrooms had those all the time) similarly do not supply regular amount of those and maybe you’re in some rural parts since I even heard of homeless people who live near parks to be able to access toilet paper and soap and basically used the park’s bathroom as their free bathrooms.”EVERYTHING IS INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED” I don’t get how that’s a bad thing. That encourages sharing and it does lower the calorie intakes and they do for the most part recycle their plastic and many factories are already changing into non-plastic wraps. Plus it’s proven that anticipation hightens the joy so consider the time you spent unwrapping those sweets as part of the joy. Plus paying individual attention to anything that is made available to the public is one way the quality is high in Japan. In mass productions plenty of faulty or flawed produce/products also get tossed in since any one pieces of that product does not matter to the maker. Making things and having close quality control on each piece and making that level of a fuss over them is a massive factor in raising quality. “WELCOME TO OUR STORE!” We all have sounds and noises that are specific to our countries and I’m sure ignoring that shouldn’t be that hard. If they actually expected a reaction however which I know they don’t I see how that could get to you on a long hard day. “BREAD IS SILLY” This! As a bread lover I do agree with you and personally wouldn’t be able to live somewhere where my beloved bread is treated as a luxury rather than a food that should always be available at reasonable prices to all. “THE STREETS MAKE NO SENSE” Again, this is something in common in ALL lands and cities with a rich history and long years to get developed. My country is the oldest on this planet and all its cities is a mixture of old and new, modern and traditional, highrises beside old villa houses, narrow roads that were designed for foot in the ancient times linking massive modern boulevards together that were designed for large cars and machineries. I personally always loved that about where I live and that can be more inclusive of all tastes and it offers a nice blend of different settings and places left are usually filled with greeneries and trees. Streets being entangled like that might be an issue if you’re someone who despises walking and wants to go everywhere with just cars, then again not walking is not healthy, is it? “CHEESE IS SCARCE” Yeah, cheese is also like all animal based products not really human food and the reason behind many malignant and fatal diseases. There is a reason why meat eaters who cover everything in cheese like Americans are prone to get horrible fatal diseases like cancers, heart disease, tumors, etc. “SQUAT TOILETS” Don’t say more, I LOATHE those holes in the ground! And we got them in my country too. HOWEVER, the thing is that now most countries are mixed and you can simply never use those and always go for the normal sitting toilets. In my country those ugly holes are in most places and considered the norm but I have personally almost never used them. I only use the normal toilet ones. Personally can’t get how some people like those but apparently health-wise squatting is better for you than to just sitting on a toilet, so if you’re a health freak you might want to try to embrace those ground toilets. Again though, I can’t ever see it fit to hate a country or place because it doesn’t have toilet seats everywhere. As long as your own place and your work have it, you’re good to go. “YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING” In Japan you need to learn the language before you go. It’s a proven fact that Japan is still a closed off country to foreigners and they don’t owe it to anyone to make their country in a way to please some visitor. If you don’t want to though there are regions in Japan that do cater to English speakers and now even apps that automatically translate the texts for you. “FRUIT IS OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE” I gotta say, maybe you’re staying in a place where fruit is scarce? Fruits are known to be ample and very good and offered everywhere as snacks in Japan. Plus keep the quality in mind too. In Japan you can surely count on all the fruit you get to be top quality for that price. In my country when I was a kid for example, even a kid could but like a minivan full of fruits with her pocket money but would be left with plenty of low quality, useless, insect-ravaged, unripe fruits among that pile and would end up with a lot of them that were not even edible. “SMOKING IN RESTAURANTS” You totally have my vote on this one too. For a country that cares a lot about health it is an issue and strange that they failed to limit or prohibit smoking at least to an extent where nonsmokers wouldn’t get exposed to the toxic fumes. That being said, I’m really shocked at how more important reasons to hate Japan aren’t on your list, such as the overall bad treatment and animal abuse of pets and slaughter of animals such as dolphins, whales and horses and their likes or the horrifying and shocking extremity and depth of misogyny and systematic discrimination and objectification and sexualization against women, the overall homophobia and treating anyone who doesn’t conform with their gender or sexual orientation’s stereotypes as a joke or the minuscule housing units and the insanely hot summers there or how as a foreigner you would be the second chance for any serious friendship by the Japanese along with how now, the presence of too many foreigners is causing a drop in order and quality in Japan since a lot of foreigners go to Japan based on their shallow interests in stuff like anime and fashion and whatnot but life in any countries goes well beyond just it’s media and entertainment section (while some foreigners just like Pewdiepie reduce Japan’s value to and treat Japan as a company that offers shows instead of an actual country) and hence how foreigners are seen as bad elements over there that are for sure all major issues not just for Japan both for the entire world that for sure need to be changed and addressed asap. Natural disasters are also a risk that anyone permanently living in Japan is taking that might make some reconsider their country of residence. Anyways, this was an interesting topic. Thank you!
I really liked your article because all these things were true in the 1970’s when I lived in Japan. The ONLY one that bothers me personally is lack of real cheese. However, I’m happy eating rolls with a sweet bean filling instead. Really, I could adapt to anything just to be in Japan. Regarding the snippy commenters, I get the impression you know quite well that it’s perfectly normal for Japan to be different than the US. Otherwise why bother going? Therefore I believe you wrote the list primarily to be witty and get people involved in the culture. JMO.
You appear to be one of the few people out there who understands this article.
You are hurt in your pride for your country and mistake criticism for racism. Dont worry my friend, that is quite common in blame-societies. In shame-societies in the west, we are quite used to being criticised and know how to deal with it. Lemme know if you lived abroad before and where it was. I would be interested about your experiences (and annoyances) in that country.
I lived in Japan for 4 years?
Random overuse of a word nullifies it.
why is everyone talking about the past this is the present we shall not look at the past in hate we should look at it in peace and also you mean some of the japanese people not all of them are bad okay? this makes me kinda sad because im also japanese and i love it here…
I was feeling particularly irritated while driving in Fukui today and typed “I hate Japan” to see what hits so I would get share my anger. Low and behold it was YOU bearded baby man! Thanks for posting. Living abroad more than a year or too is good because you get comfortable with the differences.. however, there are some days when I want to ram my car into the back of one of those damned Daijatsu mini-trucks going 20km/hr!
HA! Hello, friend! Yes, Fukui does a great job inspiring feelings of discontent for the 日本ね? I’ll actually be back there in March/April to say hello. Hopefully my time will be brief enough that I won’t find myself behind any k-trucks.
My husband’s company moved us here for a 3 year stint from the states. I like to think I’m always up for an adventure, but Japan has just about taken it’s toll on me over the past two years.
Your points are so relatable, and I would even add a few of my own (everyone must sort their trash for meticulous recycling, but we will stuff 2 lbs of junk mail in your box daily / speaker cars / lack of anything approaching personal space / prioritization of preserving traditions over considering logic).
It is HARD to successfully make it as a Westerner in this culture, and everyone needs an outlet to just unpack their frustrations. Thank you for sharing yours – I hope I can get myself to do the same in the future!
Looking forward to reading your part!
What do you mean tradition?
you forgot that the Japanese don’t know how to do bulk pricing. Generally when you buy in bulk the cost goes down but in Japan, the cost goes up. 450g salsa, 1.25 yen per gram. 1984g salsa (same brand and style) 1.28 yen per gram, WTF! Oh and don’t get me started on shipping for amazon. I can get free shipping on ovens, office chairs, desk lamps computers but a tube of toothpaste–300 yen, 1280 yen for shipping.
#japanlife
After living in China for a few years, I can understand why Japanese supermarkets would wrap everything. I know Japanese habits are vastly different from Chinese, but customers in Japan would not want to buy food that hasn’t been through dozens of dirty hands or licked to test the freshness. That seems to be normal in China–not a complaint, just an observation.
And, you’re right about smoking in public. I think a long distance bus is the worst place to smoke. I find it more interesting that everyone’s too polite to say anything.
Fruit is outrageously expensive because nearly all of it is imported from China or Southeast Asia. Japan doesn’t have enough ‘growing room’ for fruit — this room is normally devoted to crops deemed more important.
The point you made about towels is interesting. A tour guide friend of mine told me that Japanese travel with their own set of towels and will never use those provided in hotels, public places etc. Hotels staff often make the assumption that their Japanese guests are not bathing, but if you check the trash can, it will usually filled with several packs of used tissues. It’s not unusual for Japanese to pack up to 6 towels in a suitcase or use several boxes of kitchen rolls when travelling–just an observation.
Yes, I know it sucks. But it’s something most expats deal with and they ain’t no problems at all. Otherwise, get the fuck out.
Why the anger?
Another: If you’re bilingual the kids will hate on you for some reason
Being different/unique is not the greatest favor you can do for yourself many times in Japan.
fruit is imported
Except for mandarins, apples, watermelons, nashi, persimmons, melons, grapes, strawberries, peaches, and ume.
It is in the U.S. also. A long with vegetables.
i mean yeah but japan is an island. they also have a lot of laws surrounding imported goods. they also aren’t a very big country…..so they don’t grow much there at all. you cannot compare japan to US…..or a lot of countries. I think they do that because of size….they would rely too much on another country (if they imported all their food)
the romaji is Irasshaimase
いらっしゃいませ
IRA(tsu but mixed with she and ya is shhymase)
i-ra-shyi-mas-se with shhhhhyaiiii pulled out.
Why I personally kinda hate japan sometimes? In America we fight even if we are weak. Sometimes they are inspired to fight with their mind instead of fists if they are weak. Am I referring to some anime about magic. no. Basically, they use passive aggressive tactics and assume all humans smile brightly when they are angry. No thats your culture, Japan.
“Hello don’t you look nice today”
“Well I could never live up to the style of (insert nemesis name here)”
“Oh stop I am easily overshadowed in your presence”
-laughter of hatred-
It looks weird written that way. I prefer mine.
I love the post on squatty potties. Everytime I’m with my family at the train station and my kids have to go, we rush to the station bathroom and the only open one is the squatty potty, the other 6 western toilets are used by japanese. My 10 year even made a comment about it. Thanks so much for posting this. I needed to make sure I wasn’t insane, because people tell us it us. We are military and they seem to just tolerate us for our money
I love the squatty potty.
well, I agree, but isn’t this losing profit for japan?
Am I getting the profits?!
I hate Japanese language and TV show.
TV show are very boring, narration is annoying and noisy.
Japanese font are vulgar.
Yup, those subtitles can be quite off putting. Perhaps this should be one more addition to the list.
俺もそう思う。
Then don’t watch it anime girl
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nope.
Thanks for the list! It made me chuckle a bit too xD
Happy to hear you aren’t taking this as seriously as others on the internets.
In Japan, approximately 98% of them are lactose intolerant. That is why there’s not much cheese, or dairy at all..
Milk is actually quite popular in Japan. I think that’s dairy.
Huh? Not true!
They drink it every day in school for 9 years of their childhood.
what is wrong with you stop making fun of japan. whats america done, make cheeseburgers and create lame shows on the tv
They were not allowed to understand English because they were banned because they joined the Nazis on World War. Because of this there were no Imports and Exports ( like western literature ) making them not able to study English. Its basically understand our language by JP.
That was 60 years ago m8
True, I stumble upon the same in Taiwan. People learn English in cram school from age 5 and never are able to speak a whole sentence.
Then you fly to a 3rd world country like the philippines and every homeless is fluent. Many homogenous asian societies are just self-centered. (Take China, calling itself “Country of the middle/center”). Next thing is this blatant racism in Asia against darker skinned asians or darker skinned people in general. Last people to lecture westerners about racism…
I agree
*sigh*
Omg I have been on a holiday for 10 days in Japan and I cannot agree with you more on these issues you have listed out. I have 4 days remaining and I actually cannot wait to fly back. I am especially irked and grossed out by the lack of soaps in toilets. They can’t make everyone follow their unhygienic ways of not using soaps after using the toilet.
Lack of trash cans is probably something that we’ll have to get used to maybe? Since they are soooo strict with their recycling.
Although I agree with your Japanese signs post. Hahaha! “You dont say sign, that’s so interesting!”
Thanks for your post. It’s good to know I’m not the only one who has come to dislike Japan. 🙂
There used to be trash cans literally everywhere. But then Aum put their packages with the compounds to mix Sarin gas in trash cans on some subway platforms. Trash cans immediately disappeared from the subways and JR, and everyone else soon followed suit.
Based on what I know about Japan, this explanation could be entirely accurate.
Did you consider that most Japanese have their own personal soap?
Trash cans are for Americans since they recycle nothing and simply throw it away and buy another one.
It’s true. Americans love throwing away (and purchasing) trash cans.
I love the crossed arms when you ask for something, then you watch a Japanese person get exactly what you asked for.
I would like to share my opinion
Please, go on.
Why do people think japan is such a good country, anyone forgot what their government did in every war before ww2, thousands of war crimes.
hey dude!
【THERE ARE NO TRASH CANS】
because to save to protect it from terrorism.
In fact there was the trash box explosion in New Jersey right??
【THERE’S NO SOAP OR TOWELS】
「no soap」??
there is huh.
【EVERYTHING IS INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED】
Does somebody want to eat the corn who touched by dirty hand?
Of course 「NO!」
【WELCOME TO OUR STORE!】
it`s not 「いらっしゃいます」it`s 「いらっしゃいませ」!!!
Please write it properly if you do something like this. lol
In the first place,the meaning of 「いらっしゃいませ」 is…
>>>>WE WELCOME YOU ／ WE APPRECIATE YOU<<<<
【BREAD IS SILLY】
If you don`t like it go to bakery!!
It is Japanese culture!!
【CHEESE IS SCARCE】
「I love cheese. I will literally just take bites out of a block of cheese and call it a meal. Not a snack, a meal」・・・
WHO CARES YOUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!??????
They just scare to eat easly!!
If you want to eat blocked cheese go home!!!
You’re right about いらっしゃいませ – my bad. Fixed!
wtf is wrong with you — this guy is expressing things he doesn’t like, and very valid points too — the slices are way too thick, and don’t tell me the size of your bread is “culture”. Culture is the most backwards word I know anyway, and it does terrible things to people all over the world. Rather than using “IT’S CULTURE! GO BACK HOME!” as an excuse why don’t you admit that some things do suck in Japan — not every country is perfect — and that change is accepted? or oh no is it part of the culture to be closed-minded and dimwitted too?
Can I like this post 1,000 times you nailed, it and the lack on imagination isn’t from we Americans living in this country. I once needed a simple fuse replaced in my car, each auto hop pushed me to the dealership, they wanted to replace the entire ignition system. I left walked over to a DIY shop bought the fuse looked up the translation online changed it and drove the car off the lot.
Haha good one!!! I like your response!
Perfect example proving the poster right…haha.
lmfao this reminds me of “WELCOMEEEEEE EXCHANGE STUDENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OHHHHHHH WE ARE SO HAPPY!”
-day ends—
ahhh excuse me…which direc—–
*woman begins fake phone call* “oh your teacher should help i must go”
you were the teacher……………………………………………………………..