What do you think about Japan?

I got mail from a guy who plans to make a TV show about foreign people who have an interest in Japan. I'm trying to help him.

Could you give me comments about this? I really appreciate your help. What do you think about Japan and which part of Japan interests you the most? Where did you go in Japan or where do you want to go in Japan most? Tell me anything about Japan.

On comments or mail, both are fine.
Thanks!!

Comments

[Shari]

I like that the people have a thinking process which is quite different from those in the West, and I don't mean the way in which they speak indirectly. I mean that they are socialized in a manner which leads them down mentally different paths than Western folks so they reach different conclusions about situations than we do. It's fascinating to talk to Japanese people and discover how they think about things based on the assumptions and demands of their culture. Even the smallest situation can show a different pattern of thought (such as what they think if they see a lost wallet and what they'd do with it).

Of course, liking this isn't nearly as interesting for a T.V. show as focusing on all the superficial things about Japan which are likable like how things look or fashion trends. Most Western shows on Japan are like "Japanorama" and focus on cool and quirky and things which appeal to tourists.

[jamie]

I have studied Japanese for 8 years and lived here for 4 years. I like the vagueness of the Japanese language and the differences in communication between American culture and Japanese culture. I like "aimai" very much as well. Otherwise, I like the sound and rhythm of the Japanese language as such.

[Yuyi]

As an Asian that lived in Tokyo for more than 3.5 yrs in the late 70s. I've found that there is always new things to see. And new perspective in seeing what you've seen before. I went for a visit in the late 80's and Tokyo was the same but at the same time different.
It's the pace of innovation and change that's amazing but the basic culture seem to be relatively the same. What the Japanese take from other cultures they make it their own.
Now the influence that Japan has on pop culture around the world is amazing that it's being used from hollywood to a corner shop is some Asian country.

[Kathy]

I lived in Japan for over ten years in Tokyo, Kawasaki and Yokohama.

The best thing about Japan is, you don't realise how great it is until you're not there anymore!

The top twenty things I miss:
-メロンパン!
-コンビニ!
-温泉!(特に濁り湯)
-交通便!
-コタツと座椅子!
-吉祥寺!
-ファミリーレスのドリンクバー!
-チュウハイ!(特に梅チュウハイ）
-梅干!
-百均!（だいそうが大好き！）
-居酒屋!
-色んな味のkitkat!
-苺大福!
-パン屋さん!
-夏の花火!
-回転寿司!（かっぱ寿司とか安いところ）
-デパート!
-テレビ!（電波少年とかがもの凄く懐かしい）
-お祭り!
-炊飯器!

[billywest]

There's no other city like Tokyo in the world, is there? I mean, you just have to see Tokyo once and you can easily understand why foreigners are so drawn to it. A truly amazing place and I'm glad I live here.

[mari]

Hi there
thank you very very much for your comment. I should reply to each comments. but please forgive me to say thank you there to you all.
どうもありがとうございました。コメントを下さったみなさまに、心より感謝いたします。

[john]

I've lived in Tokyo for a couple of years now, and often visit my wife's family in Kumamoto.

For me the best part of Japan is its food and food culture. Sushi, ramen, okonomiyaki, udon/soba, izakaya, curry, tempura, champon, bento, tonkatsu, etc, all in specialized restaurants with their specific ways of serving food, and all in different ways outstandingly delicious. And cheap.

Then there is the practice of giving food as gifts, practically creating its own food economy, with $100 watermelons, regional dishes sold at every highway rest stop.

To say nothing of the endless, and constantly changing, varieties of snacks sold at combinis.

All of which suggests that Japanese people should be the most obese in the world. But they're the opposite.

But it's hard to have a program about food when the viewers can't smell or taste it.

[Gary Doi]

I am a 64 year old third generation Japanese American. Therefore I may be a bit biased about Japan. I have been there, mostly for vacations about 20 times since first visiting in 1974. I have seen Japan change in those years, some positively and some negatively.
It is my favorite place to visit because of the generous spirit of the people: their kindness and positive attitudes. I believe Japan's greatest accomplishment is to be able to accept modern changes while retaining its culture from the past. Although the country has weaknesses (such as accepting foreigners), the country has many more things to be proud of.

[Free Tibet]

If you visit the 1200 year old temples in Nara or Koyasan, Wakayama prefecture, where monks and ordinary lay people can practice their religion peacefully, you may get a sense of what other parts of Asia could be like. Japan has its faults and troubles, but deep within it is a vibrant culture with ancient roots, an inspiration to us all.

Even older shrines here are even more powerful. Enjoy.

[Deb]

I visited Japan for the first time last Spring and loved it. It was probably one of my all-time favourite trips. Mostly I wanted to visit for the food but to also experience the big cities (I come from a city with a population of maybe 4 million at the most so it was very eye opening to be in Tokyo where the population is almost as much as my country) as well as quieter places outside and to experience Cherry Blossom Season in Japan. Everywhere I visited I enjoyed - Tokyo, Nikko, Koyasan, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Magome, Tsumago and I want to return again and again (and maybe live there for a time) and keep seeing as much as I can. Highlights: the food was amazing everywhere I went (shōjin-ryōri was probably the fave as well as all wagashi and Aoki's macarons), the train system is THE best (my city could learn from that), people were very friendly and helpful and it made me want to learn Japanese for my next trip so I could talk more with people, the whole celebration of Spring is something else, JPop, game shows on television, the beauty & history of many of the temples, staying in ryokans, how safe it feels compared to some places in North America and how it is just a train ride away if you want to get out of the city and have more space.

[Roaf]

I came because of the robots, skyscrapers, video games, manga, and fashion. I love Japanese pop culture.

[JIFF]

私はメキシコ人です。２７歳
日本は大好きですよ
Well
I think that one of the many thing us foreigners find appealing about Japan is the way old traditions coexist with the cutting edge of technology, the way japanese adopt and adapt waht they like from other countries.
I think we find amazing the mixture os cultures and thing japanese only over there.
I like the train system which is fast and convenient, the food which is absolutely delicious (ok, nato is not included).
And of course who wouldn't like that almost omnipresent and fast internet and the girls which are gorgeous.
I've never been to japan in vacations but I've been in many places in Gunma, of course I've been to Tokyo and in my second trip I visited Kyoto and Nagano.

[Alex]

Some of us are simply drawn to Japan, because we have some kind of affinity for it that we cannot yet describe. I think many people in Japan understand this because intuition and mystery are more accepted than in the west, where you could easily sound naive.
As an architect, the country seems so much more alive with a concern for design than just about any other country on earth - far more in America. Not simply traditional architecture, but also modern design as well. I would call it a really refined sensitivity which is not at all exclusive to design - food, arts, relationships, all sorts of aspects the culture. The constant reinvention of tradition fascinates me. I see maid cafe's as a pop-culture reinvention of geishas for example. History seems so much more connected to the present than in just about any other place because it is still practiced through traditions. You'll agree if you're lucky enough to meet a national-treasure artist, which most foreigners don't get to do. And for me the spiritual traditions in Japan are incredibly powerful - perhaps not in modern culture - but certainly atop Koyasan or at Ryoanji or in Nara. I've only been five times, but I was able to stay for ~ 4months the first time and would highly recommend : Ise, Koyasan, Miyajima, Naoshima, Higashiyama area especially in Kyoto, Nara, Nikko, and then as much of Tokyo as you can handle-

[lauren]

I am a 21 year old girl from the UK and I have never been to Japan but I love your culture. Japanese guys are hot hot hot! They also seem so polite. I watched LOTS of Sailor Moon and read shoujo manga through school. When I was 17 or so I got in to Japanese music through the Internet. I have been learning Japanese for 4 years. I love learning kanji and find it so fascinating. Lately I have been learning a lot about Japanese cooking and feel the Japanese diet is really good. Its so healthy, and as I am a health nut, this also really appeals to me. It just seems like a lot of things about Japan are very appealing. I have had so much joy (maybe too much) learning about Japanese cxulture through my life, to the point where it feels like part of me.
I really hate to be classed as otaku, or Japanophile or whatever because I can see how I come across here, but actually I dont care. I really cant help these feelings so I wont try to pretend I dont like Japanese stuff just cos some people see it as a negative stereotype.
You know, a lot of people dont even know Japan has a music scene like it does? I have shown friends Japanese R&B and they cant believe it! The view of Japan in the UK is a bit outdated to most, so in every day life, people are quite amazed at my interest in Japan.
I love how Japan openly celebrates western culture along side its own. To me, the West is quite ignorant of other cultures. I feel glad I know how to celebrate other cultures, and if people think that is odd, the fault is theirs not mine. As opposed to me being a Japanophile, I think those westerners are Anglo-centric (I think I made that word up).

Anyway, on topic and to summarize, you will find
-most people in the west use anime as a gateway to Japanese culture or have an Asian influence somewhere in their life (Ie geographical location/friends/partners who are Asian - that also applies to me :))
- use the internet to feed anime habit, and inevitably get on to other things, eg. music, dorama..
- More open minded than the average Westerner, and those who will insist on pointing out Japan's flaws (yeah we all know you can buy school girls underpants in vending machines and what not but Japan has a VERY low crime rate. And dont kid yourself, there are pedophiles everywhere. Maybe Japan just accepts it and tries to give them a medium for their problem so it doesnt become manifested into something worse. No Im not condoning it.)

Sorry I went way off topic. Hope you can pick something useful out of that!

[Chris Kuan]

Ah, Japan.

A foreign culture to me, and therefore so interesting, I can see their fascination with modern technology and the exotic West, yet internally the cultural values are mostly still very traditional and conservative. Of course this causes tension and conflict when a Westerner like me attempts to conduct oneself according to sensibilities which disturb the "wa" (harmony).

I first became interested through watching shows like Ultraman in my youth, and later on anime.

My favourite time to visit Japan is Spring, during hanami when people seem to enjoy life more. I did visit in Summer 2005 for World Expo and last year for the World Science Fiction convention, and the heat and humidity were very tiring. To watch the sunset over the "floating" torii of the Itsukushima shrine on Miyajima or to stand in Kamakura as the sakura petals gently fall around you are beautiful experiences that I have had of Japan.

[Brian]

A short description of why I love Japan:

I can sit under a tori gate on the top of a mountain, without another person around me for miles, while one hour away Tokyo, the largest metropolis on earth, is glowing in neon and bustling with people.

[Heidi]

What do you think about Japan and which part you have interests the most of Japan?

I think Japan is a lot like the Midwest (both US/North America) used to be about 20-30 years ago. The sense of community comming first still seems to prevail. In Japan (in general) great value still seems placed on the traditional nuclear family, and prescribed social/gender roles are culturally expected and enforced. This still seems to be seen as the backbone of the country, even though there has been much social change in Japan, especially for women, over the past 20-30 years. Regardless of external appearances, I see more similarities than diffferences to what I grew up with, and have I have seen slowly disappear from my culture. It would be very sad if teh saem thing happens to Japan. When I was in Japan, only once, and only for two weeks, it felt like I had come home. I am currently trying to get back there.

Where did you go in Japan?

Narita Airport ;) Saitama (Urawa, Yoshikawa), shinkansen to Akita-ken (Oga Town on penninsula, Kakunodate) and Kusatsu onsen

Where do you want to go in Japan most?

Kansai region, Aomori-ken, Iwate-ken and Miyagi-ken. I have a great interset in more traditional Japan (historially and culturally) It would be fun to visit Tokyo, but would rather (if money and circumstances were no object) live in a more suburban setting. I really liked Urawa!

[Brenda]

Hi, Mari,

I lived in Tokyo recently, and I have to say that my interest in Japan was not about red lanterns, sushi, maiko, sumo, kimono, temples, what-have-you.

I knew before I moved to Tokyo that Tokyo is a big city with big city problems and that people there are not part of some historical nostalgia that Westerners overwhelmingly have about the country.

I will say that one of the things that interested me about Japan was the news about the falling birthrate. I wanted to know why Japanese women are/were refusing to be "baby factories." The real reasons are so much more interesting than the ones you hear on the news in the West...

[Peter]

Hi,

I have visited Japan 3 times and have always enjoyed it. I like the efficiency, cleanliness, courtesy and general order. Japan is also a very safe country. However I would not want to work in Japan as the salaryman seems like a slave to me. Japan is very influenced by the US which is strange to me and Japan certainly copies other countries ideas and perhaps improves upon them. Japanese women look very elegant and feminine indeed.

Deffo prefer West Japan for the friendly and funny people and cheap delicious food. Tokyo is something for itself, and you can get your grabs on anything that your heart desires..

Also interesting to mention that Japanese people are sometimes told that the behavioral characterist of the Japanese society resembles the UK, both being 'isolated' islands, both having had and still have(?) a distinctive regional influence.

Japan has ISSUES. People, overly influenced by the US, slowly forgetting their heritage - heck foreigners know more about historical Japan, weekly corruption scandals, schoolgirl prostitution just to mention a few dont surprise people anymore. Being no. 2 in the global market with the incapability to adapt and adopt non-Japanese (language and people), although it's understandable since Meiji only happened less than a century ago. Otherwise I agree with the others' views but cant deny the fact that they seem very 'tourist guide'-like.

[june]

Hi Mari:
My perspective of Japan is a little bit different because I am a third-generation Japanese-American. I did not grow up speaking Japanese, but studied it in college. I have visited Japan three times and find it a fascinating country. Although I can look like everyone else there, I know I am still an 'outsider'. People assume I speak and read Japanese fluently and then look confused when I don't understand. Sometimes they think I am Korean or another Asian race. I make the same social mistakes that non-Japanese people do, and can't help feeling that I should 'know better'.
What I love about Japan is the great food. Of course I did grow up eating the basic Japanese foods - rice, tofu, shoyu, etc. but to eat the variety of foods over there is truly amazing, like the first meal I had in a ryokan, or the department store basements, which are totally overwhelming. Not to mention eki-ben, ramen carts, bakeries, etc.
I also love the onsen and staying at ryokans, the efficiency and cleanliness not only with the rail system but the whole country in general. I think the quirky juxtaposition of east and west in so many aspects of the culture adds to the uniqueness.
I have traveled to many places in the world, but the one country I would not hesitate to return to over and over is Japan.

[Martin F]

Hot springs outdoor in winter, some snow on the pine trees... Steamy hot and a view of the Japanese Alps... Maybe late in the evening, as it gets even colder, and then relax with hot rice wine in a tiny cup...

[Ray]

Hi,

I don't agree, but many people in the West misunderstand Japan. In America, there are several negative stereotypes, ranging from Japanese peoples' lack of originality and copying of Western culture to the abundance of perverted pornography. Please make sure they are being fair.

The aspect of Japan I like the most is the importance of a harmonious society. Americans often believe this stifles the individual, but I think it's
a great way to maintain a stable and peaceful lifestyle.