In no other country have traditions, technologies and living conditions intertwined so bizarrely
Translation for – Sveta Gogol
For the European consciousness in the culture of Japan there is a lot of strange, and even completely incomprehensible. In no other country have traditions, technologies and living conditions intertwined so bizarrely. Samurai ideals coexist perfectly with the latest generation of computers, and centenarians born back in the 19th century with teenagers in Pokémon costumes. Despite the amazing development of everything related to technology, Japanese culture is one of the most conservative, closed and incomprehensible to foreigners.
Below you will find six of the strangest aspects of the culture of the "country rising sun».
hikikomori
Hikikomori are young people who do not want to communicate with the outside world. Of course, in every culture there are a small number of people who are called "hermits", but usually they are older or even elderly people, many of whom suffer from such mental disorders like depression or agoraphobia.
A feature of the Japanese "recluses" is age. These are either teenagers or young people in their early twenties, who are almost completely cut off from the outside world. There are several objective reasons for the emergence of a huge number of hikikomori: the first, of course, is the Internet, the second is a monstrous load in educational institutions, which few people can withstand, and, finally, loving parents who are ready to support their offspring until old age, so long as they do not fly out of the "nest".
Usually, the term hikikomori refers to young people who have sat in their room without work and communication for more than six months. Psychologists are already talking about “lost millions”.
Crime
Despite the legends about the yakuza, the crime rate in Japan is one of the lowest (lower only in Monaco). All weapons, from pistols to ceremonial swords, must be registered with the police.
However, if you have already ended up in the dock - write wasted. 99 percent of trials end in a guilty verdict. In addition, in Japan people are still sentenced to death, usually by hanging. 2-3 people are executed a year, and the condemned are notified of the upcoming execution in just a few hours. The family is informed of the execution that has already taken place.
Attitude to work
Everyone knows that the Japanese are one of the most disciplined and hardworking workers in the world. However, the image of an alcoholic businessman, a frequenter of karaoke bars, is also not far from the truth. The Japanese do drink a lot; at corporate parties, sake flows like water and junior employees try in vain to keep up with their bosses, hardened by long years of training.
But what is really amazing is that no matter how much the Japanese drink in the evening, in the morning he will be like a cucumber and will start work right on time. In addition, in Japanese culture, it is completely normal to take a short nap in the workplace, it is even encouraged. It is believed that a person who has laid his head on the desktop is working to exhaustion and is especially devoted to his work.
Kodokushi
The phenomenon of Kodokushi (lonely death) is the silhouette of the body of a deceased person. It is formed when the body for a long time remains undiscovered.
Workers who transport furniture say they often come across such "kodokushi". One private company estimates that about 300 out of 1,500 times they stumble upon these sad symbols of human loneliness.
traditional look Japanese family, when several generations got along under the same roof, is already outdated, and now the elderly are increasingly living alone.
This also happens to temporary workers or contract workers - many men and women in this category work force never get married and never get married. They die alone, and no one knows about their death.
Porn
Japanese customs have always been strict, including in relation to "adult films". And although there is no ban on filming hardcore porn in Japan, the genitals in the video must be blurred in order to comply with national ideas of morality.
This toned-down version of Japanese porn is complemented by so-called "bukkake" - the demonstration of the resulting fluid as evidence that an "act of love" really took place between the actors.
It is curious that a huge number of young Japanese do not show any interest in sex at all, especially guys. They are called "shoku danshi" or "vegetarians".
Yaeba
While the whole world spends a lot of money to get perfectly straight teeth, Japanese teenagers are passionate about the exact opposite. One of the rapidly spreading trends among Japanese youth is called "yaeba" (literally "double tooth"). This is a nozzle that gives the impression of a fang sticking out of the mouth. By the way, quite expensive pleasure.
In the Russian press, notes often appear with stories about the perversions of the Japanese. Some of them are true, some are highly embellished, and some are not true at all. How really?
Most likely, there is, and the truth, everything and for every taste. But of course it's illegal. And this is not considered the norm, it's just that the Japanese are more relaxed about this. Just like homosexuality. It does not legalize same-sex marriage, although some areas have passed laws, such as allowing you to rent an apartment together or visit a partner in the hospital. And there is absolutely no persecution of gays. There are a lot of them on TV, they have their own programs, which they host, their problems are discussed. The percentage of the homophobic population in Japan is very low.
The same tolerant attitude towards transsexuals and those who have changed gender. The reason for this attitude is perhaps in Buddhism. Because it does not prohibit sexuality in general, homosexuality in particular. Unlike Christianity and Islam. It was considered normal for the samurai to have a wife, a mistress, and a young lover friend.
I think that in other countries there are no less perverts than in Japan, they are simply hidden more, for the same reasons - taboo. I can think of a comparison with Holland, where soft drugs are legalized, but that doesn't mean that there are no drug addicts in other countries, many more than in Holland.
Japanese less crime on sexual grounds. There are many divorces, but they probably have more marriages of convenience. Often men marry for status and to advance in career ladder, because in some companies it is believed that if a person does not have a family, he cannot hold a high leadership position.
The most shocking thing for me so far: this is what is considered normal when a wife and children live in one city, and her husband works in another, and they practically do not see each other. This often happens when, after getting married or buying a house, a man is transferred to another department - to another city, he has nowhere to go, most often it is impossible to refuse. And a woman does not want to leave either because of the school of her children, or because of the established social circle, or because the house has already been taken on a mortgage, and more often for all reasons together. So they live separately for years.
As for the love of anime and young girls, they just popularize it very much. Such people (more often, of course, men, but there are girls among them) are called otaku. This word has a somewhat disparaging connotation ... There are otaku different types: some love anime and girl groups(the most popular AKV 48 - there are 129 girls in it, who, not all at once, of course, but in a huge crowd perform on stage and star in videos) - they are somehow socialized ... go to concerts, communicate with each other, even get to know each other interest girls.
And others are completely anti-social: they are fond of manga or anime, they talk to themselves and they are not interested in real girls at all, they are not good enough for them, they prefer virtual ones. There are such otaku (the first type) in other countries! Somehow they showed a story about two young Germans who specially came to Japan for a concert of those same AKV 48. They differed from their Japanese counterparts only in appearance. In other countries there are simply no such groups, there is no such popularization of this whole "Lolita phenomenon". This is from a number of taboos. And here they treat it condescendingly calmly.
Again, a maid cafe with girls in anime clothes... The Japanese have two definitions of attractiveness: kawaii and bijin. Kawaii is cute, pretty. A girl with protruding ears, crooked teeth and crooked legs can be kawaii and insanely popular. And bijin is such an impregnable, cold beauty ... models, for example. Kawaii also has a touch of accessibility, childish immediacy. The average Japanese is shy and indecisive... In general, I heard the opinion that a Japanese is confident and decisive only if he is very rich - then he will easily approach any beauty. And the rest prefer more affordable and easy kawaii...
In Japan, love hotels, hostesses and host bars are everywhere... Host bars are establishments where women pay host boys for communication. I don't know if there are similar bars in other countries.
Especially for Green Elephant– Irina Sato, Tokyo, Japan.
They sleep at meetings, call the interlocutor in the third person and put on special slippers when they go to the toilet. How else do Japanese customs differ from ours?
They use the barker
It is better not to go out on the shopping streets of Japan without earplugs. The owners of local shops and cafes are still very actively using cheap advertising power - barkers. Pretty girls and boys, standing at the entrance to the establishment, shout loudly and almost continuously: “Irrashyaimashe! Gorankudasaimaseeee!" which can be translated as "Welcome! Come visit us!" Unaccustomed to endure it is quite difficult, and foreigners, on the contrary, often scare away.
They don't understand what sin is
There is a culture of shame in Japan, but in religions (both in Shinto, the traditional Japanese religion, and in Buddhism), as such, the concept of sin does not exist. Of course, bad deeds are condemned, but only because of the fear of losing face, of being dishonored. In particular, foreigners from Christian countries are extremely surprised by the attitude of the Japanese towards suicide as a way of salvation, and not as a fall into sin, which is customary in Orthodoxy or Catholicism. By the way, in Japan the most high level suicide among developed countries.
They use special toilet slippers
In hotels and homes, the Japanese use separate plastic or rubber slippers for the toilet and bath. They usually stand at the entrance to the bathroom. When you go out, flip-flops should be removed and left in the same place. This strange tradition has two purposes: firstly, the Japanese believe that it is more hygienic, and secondly, it is immediately clear that the toilet is occupied. This rule often confuses foreigners, who, of course, always forget to change their shoes.
By the way, visiting street toilets is also often surprising. They look unusual in appearance, and inside they are equipped according to the first word of technology. For example, here you can turn on the music so that others certainly can’t hear what you are doing there. There is also a special button to call the security service in case the client becomes ill.
They sleep at work
Falling asleep during a meeting with colleagues or right at your workplace will not be considered embarrassing. Some Japanese practice inemuri, which can literally be translated as "to be present during sleep." The descendants of the samurai understand that for effective work a person needs sleep, and therefore they are not ashamed to devote half an hour or an hour of working time to a nap. At the same time, taking into account several important rules: you need to sleep directly at the table, resting your head on your hands or tabletop; if you fell asleep during the meeting, but you were addressed, you should wake up and answer; if you are new to the company and you are expected to be actively involved in the work process, then inemuri will be perceived as bad form.
They refer to each other in the third person
Don't be surprised if a Japanese asks you, "How's Vasily-san's family?" It is not customary to pronounce personal pronouns here, although in the local language there are 15 variants of the word “I” alone. Residents of the Land of the Rising Sun are used to addressing each other in the third person: by last name (in official communication) with the addition of politeness suffixes (-san, -sama) or by name (among friends) also with suffixes (-kun, -chan).
They consider tipping an insult
In Japan, tips are seen as an insult, a sign that the waiter is not doing his job and therefore needs a monetary incentive.
They decorate trucks
On the roads of Japan, you can see extravagant-looking trucks that look like Philip Kirkorov on the stage of the Kremlin Palace. They are always bright, often chrome-plated, with neon lighting and bright patterns throughout the body. Such trucks are called "decotor", they appeared after the release of the cult truck in the 1970s. Japanese series"Trucker". Drivers of such trucks organize meetings and exhibitions of their multi-ton friends.
An Epson employee says
There is a stereotype that it is good to work in Japan. This stereotype comes from our compatriots who work by invitation in foreign companies, where the Japanese try to adapt to the level and style of foreigners. Meanwhile, in the Land of the Rising Sun itself, the traditional working system is arranged in a very peculiar way, and it is rather difficult to exist in it. That is why there are not so many foreigners building a career in classic Japanese companies. Epson's Marina Matsumoto talks about what it's like to be the average office worker in Japan.
Dress code
Of course, the conditions depend on the specific company, but in principle the dress code in Japan is much stricter than in Russia. Failure to comply with its rules has serious consequences for the employee, up to instant dismissal.
In a traditional Japanese company, a mandatory black suit is worn regardless of the weather, even if it is +40 outside. The Japanese endure both heat and cold calmly, as they go through a very harsh school of hardening the body in childhood. Recently Released new law allowing you to wear short-sleeve shirts to work. This is due to the forced energy savings, in which even in extreme heat, air conditioners are not always used in offices.
In some companies, women are not allowed to wear fitted suits - they must be absolutely straight. The skirt must cover the knees.
Women's accessories are also prohibited. I have a big serious company, it is known internationally. But I work where mostly Japanese people work. At the workplace, I was allowed to wear only a cross - under my clothes so that it was not visible - and a wedding ring.
Makeup should be invisible. Japanese women love to make up brightly, blush their cheeks strongly, almost all of them have false eyelashes. But at work, a woman should be as less attractive to men as possible.
In some places, women are required to wear only short hair that does not cover their ears. Hair color is always black. If by nature you, for example, are blonde, you will have to dye your hair.
Men, except long hair, you can not wear a beard and mustache. It's an unspoken rule that everyone knows. The stable image of the Yakuza (this is a traditional form of organized crime in Japan) interferes.
Subordination
When I got a job, I signed a bunch of documents, where I assured that I would not discuss anything with clients and colleagues other than work: neither the weather, nor nature. I don't have the right to share my "personal data" at work - who is my husband, how I'm doing... At home, I don't have the right to talk about my work. I do not have a secret job, but it is accepted and specified in my contract.
Only work at work
On workplace they take only what is needed for work: for me, these are documents and a pen. I can’t take my bag, wallet and phone, it remains at the checkpoint.
There is a favorite proverb in Russia: if you've done your job, walk boldly. In the workplace in Russia, the main thing is that you fulfill the plan for today. In Japan, "plans for today" are of no interest to anyone. You came to work and you have to work on it.
How the Japanese slow down the workflow
In Russia we all know that wage depends on the results of your work. If you work hard, you get nothing. You work well - you get bonuses and promotions. You've done everything - you can leave early or ask for an additional task to earn more.
In Japan, they pay by the clock. Almost all Japanese take overtime. But often this results in the fact that they stretch one task that can be done in two hours - for a week. The deadlines set by the company also do not always correspond to the level of complexity of the work. The Japanese will poke around for hours, we think they work like sleepy flies, and they think they do the job "thoroughly". They incredibly slow down the workflow, so it’s hard for us to work with them.
And this, by the way, is one of the main reasons why their economy was not in best condition. With this system of payment by the hour, they have trapped themselves. Indeed, in fact, the work is not designed for quality, but for the number of hours spent in the office.
Long lengthy conversations
We all know that brevity is the sister of talent, but in Japan, brevity is the narrow-mindedness of the mind. The Japanese cannot speak briefly and to the point. They launch into long and lengthy explanations that are aimed at making even a narrow-minded person understand what they are talking about. Meetings can last an incredible number of hours. The Japanese believe that if they talk about the same thing for a long time and in excessive detail, then they respect the interlocutor.
Society stratification
It takes a lot of work and organization to grow rice. Therefore, historically, Japan has developed a system with a very narrow specialization of labor and a rigid stratification of society. Everyone has their own duties and their place in the life and production process.
Japanese communities have always been well organized. For example, a samurai never cooked his own food, he could easily die of hunger if the peasantry had not rescued him.
Due to this mentality, it is very difficult for any Japanese to accept independent decision, which is not inherent in his status. They cannot take on an elementary responsibility, at least somehow beyond the scope of their ordinary, habitual affairs. To put a comma or not to put it is a problem for half a day. The preparation of elementary documents is a series of endless, very slow consultations. Moreover, the necessity of such consultations is striking. If an employee nevertheless takes the liberty of making a decision not based on status, then everyone in the hierarchical chain associated with him will receive a reprimand. This is Eastern despotism in action: "I - small man, I am a simple peasant, and I have to do only the work assigned to me.
Again, everything is understandable: Japan is a small country with a large overpopulation, it needs rigid frameworks and rules. To survive in Japan, you need to clearly know: my border is here, and this is the border of another person, I must respect it. Nobody goes beyond their limits. If a Japanese marries them, he will literally be lost.
Russia has a huge territory, expanse, open spaces. We are not bound. We are free. A Russian person can do anything. And the Swiss, and the reaper, and the igretz on the pipe - this is primarily about us, Russians!
Same as everyone
Interestingly, in Japan you don't have to show your difference or superiority in mind. You can't show your uniqueness, specialness. This is not welcome. All must be the same. Since childhood, uniqueness has been burned out with a red-hot iron, so Japan will not give the world either Einstein or Mendeleev.
famous Japanese technology- myth. As a rule, these are ideas that are not created by the Japanese. What they are good at is deftly picking up and improving in time. And we, on the contrary, can ingeniously create and forget ...
To survive in Japanese society, you must be like everyone else. In Russia, the opposite is true: if you are the same as everyone else, you will get lost. New ideas are constantly needed to master and fill a large space.
Career
It takes a long time to build a career in a classic Japanese company. Career growth depends on age, not merit. A young specialist, even a very talented one, will occupy an insignificant position, work hard and for low wages, because he has just arrived. Because of this organization of the workflow, it is increasingly difficult for Japanese companies to compete in the international market. Yes, there is the concept of "Japanese quality", but this no longer saves them, because business is conducted in too Japanese a way.
Salary
The official salary in Japan is high. But with the deduction of all taxes, which amount to almost 30%, they receive an average of a thousand dollars in their hands. Young people get even less. At 60, the salary is already a very decent amount.
Vacation and weekends
There are no holidays in Japan. Weekends are Saturday or Sunday. And, depending on the company, you are entitled to a few extra days off per year. Let's say it's 10 days, but you can't take them all at once, but you need to break them up. It happens that you need to take one day off a week and go somewhere on business. In my company, I have to give a month's notice of this so that everyone can cooperate and replace me. In some companies, these terms are even longer. It is problematic to leave work for an unexpected incident.
If you get sick on Monday and think not to go to work, then you will not be understood. Everyone goes to work with a temperature.
Outlets can be holidays, Day of Remembrance of the Dead - Obon, in mid-August. But young specialist there is no such possibility, it will work for the first two years without extra days off.
On New Year given 1-3 days. If they fall on Saturday-Sunday, then no one, as in Russia, will transfer them to Monday-Tuesday.
There is also a "golden week" in May, when there are several state and religious holidays in a row. My husband worked all days, I had 3 days off.
Working day
Standard working day from 9 am to 7 pm. But the main thing you should keep in mind: if it is indicated that the working day is from nine, then you cannot come right to this time. Even if you arrive at 8:45 - it is considered that you are late. You need to come to work at least half an hour in advance, some come in an hour. It is believed that a person needs time to tune in to the working mood, to prepare for work.
The end of the official working day does not mean that you can go home. It is not customary to leave before your boss. If he is late at the office for two hours, then you are late, and this will not be considered overtime. Your personal circumstances are your personal problems, which, as I already mentioned, according to the contract I signed, are not discussed with colleagues.
Informal communication
In Japan, there is the concept of "nomikai" - "to drink together", reminiscent of a Russian corporate party. Somewhere "nomikai" takes place every day, in my company - twice a week. Of course, you can refuse, but they will look askance at you. Why drink? Because in Japan positive attitude to alcohol. Shinto involves offerings to certain gods in the form of alcohol. Japanese doctors believe that drinking alcohol daily is beneficial. Nobody talks about doses.
The Japanese do not know how to drink and, as a rule, get very drunk. The booze itself will cost you nothing, either the boss or the company always pays for it.
Now, to further encourage going to bars with colleagues, workers are even being paid for nomikai. This is the part Japanese culture- work together and drink together. It turns out that almost 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, you spend only with your work colleagues.
In addition to "nomikai", you need to drink with customers, with partners, with officials with whom the company is associated.
Yes, in Russia there is something similar, but it is incomparable with the Japanese alcohol scale. And then, in Russia, the attitude towards alcohol is much more negative.
Now you can imagine the whole picture. The Japanese leaves the house at 7 am. At work, he exists within the rigid framework of his status. After the end of the official working day, he takes extra hours because he has to feed his family. He then goes out drinking with colleagues and returns home at 2 am, most likely drunk. He works on Saturdays. He sees his family only on Sundays. And until the evening, he can either sleep or drink all day off, because he is under terrible stress from such a cruel regime.
In Japan, there is a special concept: "death by processing." This is a very common case when people die at their desks or, unable to withstand the load, commit suicide. For Japan, this is par for the course, an event to which there is little to no response. People will even resent if someone's suicide interfered with their work. Everyone thinks: "Why didn't you do it in a quiet, inconspicuous place, because of you I won't come to work on time!"
It must be understood that the Japanese did not sit and come up with these rules for themselves. Everything has evolved over the centuries due to the geographical and historical uniqueness of Japan. Probably everyone will agree that they had good reasons for such a mobilization of society, a constant readiness for something. A small territory, a lot of people, wars, earthquakes, tsunamis - at any moment everything can collapse. Therefore, the Japanese from childhood learn to work in a group, learn to survive on their piece of land. In essence, all Japanese education is not based on teaching a person something, developing him, but teaching him to be a real Japanese, to be competitive precisely in Japanese society. Not everyone can bear such a life, because it is really hard.
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Japan has always been famous for being one step ahead of the rest of the world in terms of technology. unfavorable geographical position and the unusual natural conditions of the Land of the Rising Sun made the Japanese an incredibly resourceful and efficient nation.
But sometimes their creativity and technological advances go too far, resulting in things that Westerners find strange and shocking. If you're planning to visit this amazing country, be sure to check out these 25 Crazy Curiosities that can only be found in Japan!
1. Artificial fangs.
Japanese women literally go crazy with pointed teeth, which in the Land of the Rising Sun are called “yabea”. Local women are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on beauty treatments to attach these mini fangs to their teeth.
2. Toilet slippers.
The Japanese are famous for their strict hygiene and sanitation habits, so it's no wonder they have toilet slippers that are used to minimize contact between an unclean bathroom floor and a clean floor in the rest of the house.
3. Unusual parking.
Over 126 million people live in Japan. Naturally, saving space has become one of the main problems for local residents and parking lots are no exception. If you arrive at the mall, you will surely stumble upon these unusual parking spaces.
Judging by the ingredients, Japanese mayonnaise is no different from ordinary mayonnaise, but it is its use that makes the Japanese strange. While the rest of the world usually uses mayonnaise on sandwiches and salads, the Japanese use traditional Kewpie mayonnaise on… ice cream, chips and even pancakes.
5. Super umbrella.
When it joins the downpour strong wind, an ordinary umbrella is useless. The Japanese solved this problem with their usual ingenuity.
6. Girls in elevators.
IN Western countries lifters are practically extinct. You won't find them in department stores and hotels - it's cheaper that way. But in Japan, this amazing service is still available.
7. Microwave puppy.
A super umbrella can protect you from the rain, but what will you do if it suddenly gets cold? Forget blankets! Japan came up with this wonderful puppy that will keep you warm. Just put it in the microwave and voila!
8. Sleep in the office.
If in Western world falling asleep in the office is considered unacceptable behavior, for which you can get reprimanded or worse, then Japanese business culture allows office workers who work so hard, the so-called "inemuri" - napping in the workplace. Some employees even imitate inemuri to make their bosses think they are working very hard.
9. Japanese whiskey.
Have you ever heard of Japanese whiskey? It's definitely worth a try. It is available almost everywhere and is rapidly gaining momentum due to its quality. Suntory's Hibiki has recently received several awards as "the best whiskey in the world".
10. Subway chin rest.
The Japanese work very hard, so it is not surprising that sometimes they fall asleep right on the subway. Some sleepy workaholics use this special device to support their heads.
11. Unusual additions to ice cream.
Japanese perverse taste is well known to everyone, but still some things amaze even those who have seen a lot. For example, would you like to try ice cream with horse meat, cactus, coal or octopus?
12. Ear examination device.
So, imagine that one day you realized that you urgently need to look into your own ears. The Japanese invention shown in the photo above will make your dream come true. Thanks to a special device, you can find out for sure where the largest lumps of sulfur are hiding in the auditory canals. Forward for ear treasures!
13. Vending machines.
At first glance, most Japanese machines do not differ much from those that can be seen in Europe or the United States. However, it is worth noting their ubiquity and strange content. After all, you can buy everything in Japanese vending machines - from cult objects near the ancient temples on Mount Fuji to fresh eggs, pancakes and batteries. And umbrellas and even worn underwear.
14. Mops kids.
Yes, you read everything correctly. Mops kids. Just let your little one clean the house while he crawls on the floor. This jumpsuit with a "built-in" mop is another crazy Japanese invention.
15. Endless bubbles.
So many people love to pop air bubbles on wrapping paper for fragile items. The Japanese took this popular entertainment to a new level and came up with ... endless bubbles that are constantly filled with air and that you can burst all the time!
16. The shortest escalator in the world.
It is located in the basement of the More's department store in the Japanese city of Kawasaki. He has only five steps, and the height is 83 cm. Who said that the laziest are the Americans?
17. Creepy forest for suicides.
For many, the forest is a place where it is pleasant to take a walk, watch the birds or relax with friends by the fire. But in Japan, even here it was not without oddities. The Japanese forest Aokigahara is officially called the "forest of suicides". It is located at the foot of Mount Fuji. The trees in this forest grow so densely that they block the wind, which makes it eerily quiet. That is why it has become a popular place for suicides. According to statistics, about 100 people die here every year.
18. Unusual tastes Kit Kat.
You've heard of the Kit Kat chocolate bar, haven't you? And you probably already understood that the Japanese love strange tastes and aromas. Well, they made it to Kit Kat. How do you like Kit Kat with baked potato flavor and soy sauce? Or maybe you want to try Wasabi-flavoured Kit Kat? By the way, these, God forgive me, chocolates are very popular in Japan.
19. Pillows for single men.
For those Japanese who do not have a wife or girlfriend, local companies make pillows like this. Well, at least this artificial girlfriend will never argue with you.
20. Pillows for single women.
Naturally, single women were not forgotten either.
21. Braille on beer cans.
When buying a can of beer in Japan, you can find such strange symbols on it. This is an inscription in Braille for the blind, who also deserve the joy of a cool beer. Here is such a touching and obligatory care for the visually impaired in Japan.
22. Bicycles, bicycles and more bicycles.
Due to overpopulation and lack of space, bicycles have long become one of the most convenient means of transportation in Japan. So such spectacles are not uncommon in the country, especially at railway stations, shopping centers and other crowded places.
23. Japanese toilets.
More precisely, "Japanese supertoilets". These are toilet seats with a water supply function that will wash ... buttocks and genitals. And although the Japanese have long been accustomed to such ... ahem ... care, such a load in the ass sometimes scares foreigners.
24. Island of gas masks.
To the southeast of Honshu is the island of Miyakejima with an active volcano Oyama. Since its last eruption in 2005, a constant leak of poisonous gas has begun, which is why all the inhabitants of the island are forced to wear gas masks ... all the time! If a sharp rise in sulfur content is noticed in the air, alarms are triggered.
25. capsule hotels.
This is probably the craziest invention of the Japanese in history, which was picked up by the whole world. Such "hotels" first appeared in Tokyo in 1979 and have since successfully served hundreds of thousands of customers - from busy businessmen to drunkards who are afraid to return home late at night.
1. Japanese phones have a built-in nationwide emergency alert system. When some kind of cataclysm occurs, a loud beep sounds on all phones (even if the sound was turned off) and a message appears explaining what happened and how to behave.
1. In Japan, on Valentine's Day, they show sympathy and give gifts to girls. I won’t tell you what this tradition is connected with, but today it performs an important social function: allows girls to say "yes" without waiting for a Japanese man to work up the courage to approach her.
2. In Japan, fish and meat are cheap, but fruits are very expensive. One apple costs two dollars, a bunch of bananas five. The most expensive fruit is melon, a variety like our "torpedo" will cost two hundred dollars in Tokyo.
3. In Japan, pornography is sold absolutely everywhere. In every combi (grocery store), on the counter with the press, there is always a separate shelf with hentai. In small bookstores, hentai makes up a third of the entire range, in large bookstores, 2-3 floors are allocated for printography.
4. Hentai is allowed to be sold freely to minors.
5. The two most popular sub-genres of hentai are violence and sex with minors.
6. Wrapped in a cover, hentai is calmly read on the subway.
7. The Japan Subway and JR have women-only carriages. They are attached in the morning so that no one harasses the girls during rush hour. The Japanese are voyeurs, and groping girls in crowded trains is something of a national sport.
8. At the same time, Japan has one of the lowest percentages of rapes in the world. Five times less than in Russia. It seemed to me important to note this, after all that I have said above.
9. Most Japanese characters consist of 2-4 syllables, but there are surprising exceptions. For example, the character 砉 reads like “hanetokawatogahanareruoto”, these are thirteen syllables! Describes the sound made when flesh is separated from bone.
10. The issue of honor still plays a central role in Japan, even in politics. Last prime minister Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned after failing to deliver on a campaign promise (sic!). Two of his predecessors too.
11. Japan is a small country, but there are a lot of big things here. Here is the most expensive amusement park in the world, Disney Sea, four of the ten highest roller coasters. Tokyo has the most developed subway system in the world, the largest railway hub and the largest mixed pedestrian crossing.
12. In Japan, it is customary to sculpt snowmen strictly from two balls, and not three, as in the rest of the world. And then the Japanese excelled.
13. Colonel Sanders is one of the main symbols of Christmas in Japan, like Coca-Cola in the USA. On Christmas Eve, the Japanese like to go to KFC with the whole family and eat a large portion of chicken wings.
14. In Japan, 30% of weddings still occur as a result of matchmaking and お見合い (omiai) arranged by parents.
15. In all the northern cities of Japan, where snow falls in winter, sidewalks and streets are heated. There is no ice, and the snow does not need to be removed. Very comfortably!
16. However, there is no central heating in Japan. Everyone heats the apartment as best they can.
17. The Japanese word 過労死 (Karoshi) means "death by overwork." On average, 10,000 people die each year with this diagnosis. Studio Ghibli director Yoshifumi Kondo, author of my beloved the whisper of the heart died with this diagnosis.
18. Japan has one of the most liberal tobacco laws. You can smoke everywhere except railway platforms and airports.
19. Japan - last country in the world, formally retaining the title of the Empire.
20. The Japanese imperial dynasty has never been interrupted. The reigning Emperor Akihito is a direct descendant of the first Emperor Jimmu, who founded Japan in 711 BC.
21. Japan turns 2671 this year.
22. The Japanese are constantly talking about food, and when they eat, they discuss how they like the treat. Having dinner without saying “oishii” (delicious) a few times is very impolite.
23. In general, the Japanese love repetition. When girls do it, it's considered kawaii.
24. The Japanese language uses three types of writing at the same time: Hiragana (a syllabary system for writing Japanese words), Katakana (a syllabary system for writing borrowed words) and Kanji (hieroglyphic writing). Crazy, yes.
25. There are no guest workers in Japan. It's been achieved simple law: minimum wage, which is allowed to hire a foreign worker in Japan exceeds the average salary of a Japanese worker. Thus, the way to the country remains open for highly paid specialists, and unskilled visiting labor does not dump the wages of local residents. Solomon's decision.
26. More than half railways private in Japan. Non-state carriers are responsible for 68% of the country's total rail traffic.
27. Hirohito was never removed from power, after the war he led the reformation and ruled until 1989. Hirohito's birthday National holiday and celebrated every April 29th.
28. Mount Fuji is privately owned. In the Shintaist temple of Hongyu Sengen, a donation from 1609 was preserved, with which the Shogun transferred the mountain into the possession of the temple. In 1974, the authenticity of the donation was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Japan, after which he had no other choice but to transfer the mountain to the property of the temple. Because property rights in Japan are inviolable.
29. The Japanese language consists of several levels of politeness: colloquial, respectful, polite, and very polite. Women almost always speak in a respectful form of the language, men in colloquial.
30. Seven percent of the male population of Japan is Hikkikomori. Seven!!!
31. In Japanese, months do not have names, instead they are indicated serial numbers. For example, September is 九月 (kugatsu), which means "ninth month".
32. Before Japan opened up to the west, the only word to describe romantic sympathy was 恋 (koi), literally meaning "irresistible attraction to something unattainable."
33. Japan is a mono-ethnic country, 98.4% of the total population are ethnic Japanese.
35. Dolphins are eaten in Japan. They make soup, cook kushiyaki (Japanese kebab), and even eat it raw. The dolphin has rather tasty meat, with a pronounced taste and completely unlike fish.
36. There are practically no personal pronouns in the Japanese language, and those words that are sometimes used as pronouns have at least one more meaning. In Russian, for example, the pronoun "I" does not mean anything but "I", and in Japanese 私 (vatashi, I) also means "private, personal"; 貴方 (anata, you) - "my master". It is polite to use “anata” only at the first meeting, then it is customary to address the interlocutor by name or position.
37. Tokyo is the safest metropolis in the world. Tokyo is so safe that six-year-olds take public transportation on their own. This is fantasy actually.
38. The Japanese consider the outside world very dangerous and are afraid to travel. So a Japanese woman friend once asked me if it would be too dangerous for her to stay alone in the Kensington Gardens area of London. most dangerous country they consider the USA.
39. The ninth article of the Japanese constitution forbids the country to have its own army and participate in wars.
40. In Japan academic year begins on the first of April and is divided into trimesters. Schoolchildren study from April to July, then September to December and from January to March.
41. There are no garbage cans in Japan, as all garbage is recycled. Waste is divided into four types: glass, incinerable, recyclable and non-incinerable garbage. Each type of waste is taken out on a specific day and it can be thrown away only on strictly allotted dates. There is a large fine for violating the procedure, in my house it is a hundred thousand yen (about a thousand dollars).
42. There are also no trash cans on the streets at all, only special bins for collecting bottles. Case in point what is clean where they do not crap.
43. Japan has very low pensions. The maximum social allowance for distressed old people is 30,000 yen, which is about three hundred dollars. There is also no compulsory pension insurance, it is assumed that every Japanese must take care of his old age himself.
44. Godzilla (Japanese for Gojira) is not an accidental name. This is a portmanteau of the words "Gorilla" and "Kujira" (whale). One can only guess how they interbred so that a reptile turned out.
45. Transport in Japan is very expensive, the cheapest subway ticket will cost 140 yen (50 rubles).
46. In Japan, men are always served first. In a restaurant, a man is the first to place an order, and the drink is brought to him first. In stores, they always greet the man first.
47. The Japanese drive big cars. City cars are impossible to meet even in close Tokyo, but there are a lot of jeeps.
48. For all the time in Japan, I have not seen a single toilet without heating the toilet seat and with less than 10 buttons. And recently I discovered that in my house the toilet can make the sound of running water to hide, uh, its own sounds.
49. Everyone in Japan knows that Hello Kitty comes from England.
50. Tipping is strictly not accepted in Japan. It is believed that as long as the client pays the appointed price for the service, he remains on an equal footing with the seller. If the buyer tries to leave extra money, he thereby devalues the service / product provided to him, reducing the equal exchange to handouts.
51. During the year of my life in Japan, I have never encountered manifestations of racism against myself. I think it's very cool.
52. Japan best country in the world.
53. Japanese MTV is on popular series Usavich, a cartoon about two birds with one stone, Putin and Kiriyenko, trying to survive in a police state.
54. The age of consent in Japan is 13.
55. Japan is three times the size of England. The area of Japan is 374,744 km², England 130,410 km².
56. Japan is often cited as an example of an overpopulated country. In fact, Japan's population density is only 360 people per square kilometer. This is less than in England, where there are 383 people per square kilometer.
57. In Japanese, the words "wrong" and "different" are denoted by the same word 違う (chigau).
58. Things have taken root in Japan that seemed to be the future twenty years ago, and today leave a strange retro-futuristic impression. Automatic doors in taxis, vending machines selling everything from fruit to soups to used underpants. Fantastically shaped trains and funny fashion. All this is very cool.
59. The Japanese word 御来光 (goraiko) describes the sunrise seen from Mount Fuji. There are many capacious words in Japanese.
60. Hitler admired the integrity of the Japanese nation and called them "honorary Aryans". In apartheid South Africa, the Japanese were the only ones who weren't disenfranchised because they were considered "honorary whites".
61. In Japan, on Valentine's Day, girls show sympathy and give gifts. I won’t tell you what this tradition is connected with, but today it performs an important social function: it allows girls to say “yes” without waiting until a Japanese man has the courage to approach her.
62. There is no looting in Japan. If you type “looting in japan” into Google, you will only find tens of thousands of surprised foreigners who cannot understand why empty houses are not robbed in Japan.
63. The Japanese hardly speak English, but they use a fantastic amount of anglicisms. Alex Case tried to make a list, counted over 5000 words and got tired of continuing (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) At the same time, their Japanese pronunciation distorts them so much that you can not hope to understand them, or that they will understand you if you pronounce the word with the original accent.
64. Few people know that the words “wata”, “pollock” and “washi” are borrowed from Japanese. About the "tsunami" and "typhoon", I think everyone knows.
65. Japanese also has borrowings from Russian. The words イクラ "ikura; caviar” and ノルマ “noruma; norm". There is also funny expression“ヴ・ナロード” “woo people; to the people”, it was inherited from Alexander II.
66. In Japan there is the death penalty. Eight criminals were executed in Japan last year. The last two executions were attended by the Minister of Justice of Japan.
67. In Japan, the most low level homicides and the lowest rate of violent crimes per 100,000 population among all analyzed countries. Here is the highest average duration life in the world.
68. Tokyo has one of the largest gay areas in the world, Shinjuku-Ni-Chome. It has the largest concentration of gay bars in the world.
69. Japanese and Chinese characters are the same. There are regional differences in Chinese characters more and in a simplified form they are written differently. But knowing Japanese, you can understand common sense Chinese signage.
70. Instead of a signature in Japan, they put a special nominal seal of hanko. Every Japanese has such a seal and it is used many, many times a day. You can also buy it at any store.
71. Japan is the only country in the world where the criterion for a train being late is a minute mark.
72. In Japan, it is considered impolite to open a gift in front of the giver. They thank him for it, after which they set aside to open it in private.
73. The Japanese believe that a person should be able to hide suffering behind a smile. There is even a saying 顔で笑って心で泣く (kao de waratte kokoro de naku; smile while you suffer inside).
74. The Japanese are a nation of very passionate people. If they do something, they strive for complete authenticity. So, in all French bakeries, Japanese inscriptions are duplicated in French. In the Italian gelateria, the ice cream will be signed in Italian, and in the Spanish restaurant, the menu will be in Spanish. In English, however, there will be nothing. Sometimes it seems that for them it is just “another European language”.
75. In Japan, property rights are strictly observed, so there are dozens of companies with more than a thousand years of history. For example, the Hoshi Ryokan Inn has been in continuous operation since 718. It has been run by the same family for 46 generations (sic!).
76. Tanuki - wayward Japanese werewolf animals that bring happiness and prosperity. Their eggs are a traditional symbol of good luck. The canonical happiest tanuki has an egg area of 8 tatami, which is 12 meters. In case of trouble, they bear retribution with them. Studio Ghibli has a wonderful Pom Poko cartoon about them, check it out.
77. Two-thirds of Japan is covered with forests. Japan bans commercial logging of its own forests, but it consumes 40% of all timber that comes from the rainforest.
78. For 10 years, from 1992 to 2002, Japan was the largest donor of international aid in the world. This is by the way to everyone who is now gloating over the Japanese misfortune.
79. When the conductor enters the next car high-speed train, he always takes off his hat and bows, and only then begins to check the tickets.
80. In Japan, the third way was successful, which we have been looking for for a long time and will never find. Here is a unique organization of society: on the one hand, a completely Western legal state, on the other, a distinctive culture that lives not only by traditions, but is constantly evolving. I don't understand why no one in Russia studies the Japanese experience.
