#yubikobe

[yubi-kobe-love]

I did a post a while back about how eco-friendly Japan as a nation was, so I decided I wanted to touch on that topic once again.  The thing that I had to adjust to almost immediately once moving to Japan was the fact that simple things such as throwing out household trash was actually quite rigid and structured in Japan.  Where to begin.  To start off, you cannot use any type of trash bag to throw your garbage away.  Typically in the US, I would always just toss trash away in an old grocery bag or shopping bag.  But in Japan, you actually must purchase designated bags and use those bags to throw out your trash.  On top of that, there are four different varieties of these bags that you must purchase and you must organize and divide your trash according to these varieties.  There is a trash bag for burnable trash, so that would be paper, tissue, food, and so on.  Then there is a trash bag for non-burnable trash, which would include aerosol cans, metals, and other non-recyclable items.  The third type of trash bag you must purchase is for cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles.  The fourth type of trash bag you must purchase is for recyclable items.  Now this is what confused me the absolute most.  In the US, cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles would be considered recyclable items, but Japan takes it one step further than the US.  So take a plastic soda bottle for example.  Usually those types of bottles will have a cap of some sort and a wrapper with the company information or type of drink that you purchased.  Well, these two items would go into the recyclable trash bag and the bottle itself will go into the cans/bottles trash bag.  So you would essentially have to deconstruct the bottle and take it apart.  I honestly, love and appreciate the effort the Japanese society as a whole puts into being eco-aware and think other countries could learn from their example.

[yubi-kobe-love]

I want to continue discussing the unspoken rules that I have found in Japan to be quite unique and interesting.  Another thing that I have noticed is that whenever entering someones’s home, everyone always takes their shoes off.  This is a common place thing in most of Asia, but quite predominant in Japan.  Moreover, guests will normally be given slippers to wear while in the home.  Finally, there is etiquette to how and which way you place your shoes.  Shoes are normally placed in the manner at which it is easiest to put on before leaving.  So, the heels of the shoes will be facing inward so you can easily put them on when leaving.  In addition, they should always be lined up and not casually put down.  

Another thing that I found interesting that’s quite unique to Japan is that smoking is allowed in most restaurants.  This is actually completely opposite to the rules in America.  In the US, restaurants do not allow smoking by law, so if you do want to smoke, you will most likely have to go outside.  Only bars or clubs where alcohol is served will smoking be commonplace.  While in Japan, you can actually smoke in almost any restaurant.  It will be commonplace to go to a barbecue place or an izakaya and there will be someone having a cigarette in the table next to you.  Moreover, on the street or at train stations there will always be designated smoking areas where people will be allowed to smoke.  In most cases, people will not smoke while walking, but it won’t be uncommon seeing someone having a cigarette while walking on the street.   

[yubi-kobe-love]

Living in Japan, I have discovered that the society as a whole is quite layered and complex.  There are about a million unspoken rules that people living in Japan live by and that they aren’t written anywhere, they are simply unspoken rules.  I suppose if you grew up in Japan, you would have been taught these rules by your parents or possibly teachers or even your peers, but for a foreigner coming to Japan, it might be difficult to pick up these rules without really putting some effort into it.  

Some of the things that I have noticed are courtesies that Westerners would never even notice.  For example, Japanese people never speak on their phones on public transportation.  In fact, it's viewed as quite rude.  You will rarely see someone talk on their phones on trains, buses, or elevators.  If they do, they will make certain to go to the front, back, or corner of the train to not disturb others.  In addition, you never see Japanese eat or drink on public transportation.  Something else that is a small thing, but Japanese also rarely eat or drink while walking.  They will often find a public area to sit down and finish their meal or drink before walking.

Another thing that I have learned is the there’s a specific place to walk on the side of the street.  In addition, on the escalator there are also specific rules.  I live in Kobe and if you ride an escalator you must stay on the right side, if you want to walk up the escalator you walk using the left side.  This is opposite in areas such as Tokyo, where you walk up the right side and stand on the left side.  There are countless other unspoken rules that are ingrained within the society that would seem rude if not followed.  

[yubi-kobe-love]

First, I’d like to provide some background on the actual Japanese term for an apartment.  The Japanese term for apartment is MANSION, which for a native English speaker is quite ironic.  For native English speakers, when we hear the word Mansion, we instantly think of something like the White House in Washington DC.  Like a huge and luxurious multi-bedroom, multi-bathroom, wide front yard/backyard house. Where in Japan, a mansion is basically any form of an apartment.  

So, since I have moved to Japan, I have often battled with the idea of space.  Japan is such a small country that they must utilize every single piece of land that they can.  In most cases, when they run out of space, they start building upwards.  Living in Los Angeles, there is undoubtedly a ton of space.  Houses have driveways, garages, pools and so on.  Most apartments and houses have multiple rooms, aside from the occasional studio apartments or lofts that you see in more urban areas.  Everyone needs a car, cause everywhere is just so far.

  When I first started living in Japan, the space was probably the largest culture shock that I had to deal with.  Initially, I of course had no apartment and I was basically living out of my suitcase.  I would constantly just book the cheapest hotel/motel that I could find while I would go through the process of finding a place to live.  I visited various apartments with a realtor, in total around 10-12 apartments.  The main thing that stuck out to me about mansions in Japan is that they are incredibly tiny, by US standards.  Essentially, most that I saw were around 20 square meters, which is roughly around 200 square feet.  When I think of 200 square feet, I literally think thats like one bedroom in an apartment, not the entire apartment itself.  Space is essentially not wasted and you can’t have too many unnecessary things in your apartment for lack of space.  

[yubi-kobe-love]

So, I previously talked about baseball games in Japan vs baseball games in Los Angeles, but I only touched on the differences in pricing.  This time, I want to touch on the actual experience at the games.  Firstly, baseball games in LA do have a grand appeal to them.  Dodger Stadium itself is gorgeous and uniquely located in that its perched on the very top of a mountain and completely isolated.  That in itself is quite amazing.  The next thing that jumps out at you is just how massive the stadium is.  If I were to compare the stadium seating at Dodger Stadium to that of the Koshien Stadium, I would have to say Dodger Stadium could probably fit almost double the amount of attendees.  The actual experience at the games is quite different as well.  In America, the catch phrase for baseball is that ‘baseball is America’s favorite pastime’.  I would say that accurately portrays the difference in the fans watching.  In US, people attend games to chat with friends, drink, eat and that watching the games for most comes second.  Of course when there is a nice defensive play made, a strike out, or home run, people will get involved and cheer, but the experience overall is quite different from a Japanese game.

I have attended several Hanshin Tiger games and I would vehemently say that the fans are intense and that they are really there to support their team.  Every single player on the team has their own special chant that fans will use to cheer in unity while the batter comes up to bat.  That was a huge culture shock for me and really something worth seeing even if you’re not a baseball fan.  On top of that, fans in the stadium always purchase these specialized Hanshin Tiger balloons that they blow up and release at the same time during the 7th inning stretch.  They’ll sing a song in unison and pump the balloons up and down to the beat until finally they release the balloons altogether.  The fans will also do this at the end of the games if the Hanshin Tigers end up winning.  Moreover, after wins, avid fans will be outside the stadium gathering together and chanting the players support songs in unison and they will go through the entire batting line-up that played to show their appreciation for the players winning.  The support and unity of the fans that they show to the team is really amazing and quite different from the US.

[yubi-kobe-love]

I have attended quite a few weddings this year, both in the US and Japan. There are quite a few differences that I noticed between weddings from both　countries.  First off, Japanese weddings are steeped in tradition.  The feeling and atmosphere to me is that of reverence and tradition.  Everything is quite formal if you compare them to American style weddings.  The celebration is definitely more tamed, more like a formal banquet. The bride and groom will have their moment where they introduce themselves to the family.  Then family members go across the room introducing themselves and their relation to the bride and groom.  The ceremony continues and then the banquet commences.  Nothing gets to rowdy or crazy, just a nice formal meal.

 If you attend an American style wedding, there is definitely a formal portion to the celebration.  The ceremony itself is quite formal.  You`ll have the bride walk down the aisle with her father, then the father ceremonial hands his daughter to the groom, and so on.  But once the actually wedding ceremony is over, the actually party begins.  There`s always a dance floor at almost every single wedding, it`s tradition actually.  The father dances with his daughter, then the bride and groom will share their first dance as a married couple.  Then after that everyone joins in and starts dancing and having fun themselves.  This is the point when people get more loose and wild.  It`s really quite amazing noticing the differences in the cultures and celebrations.    

[yubi-kobe-love]

One thing that I have noticed about Japan and Japanese people since moving here from the US is that Japanese people are very environmentally conscious.  For example, I have many business trips that I normally have to go on and because of that fact I constantly have to go to the airport.  Well, I always take the public bus to the airport.  One of the small things I have noticed is that they will allow you to board the bus before the actually departure time, but the bus driver is very conscious not to start the engine or turn on the air conditioning until literally right before the departure time.  

This greatly differs from the US because of the fact that people are never that conscious of turning on their cars only right before you are meant to leave.  I remember when I was young during the winter times, I would go outside and turn on the engine of my parents car 10 minutes before leaving and turn on the heater so that the car would be nice and warm by the time we were ready to leave.  I was more concerned with my comfort rather than the effect on the environment.  This mindset is the same with almost all Americans.

[yubi-kobe-love]

Since moving to Japan， I have experienced a variety of things, new culture, different way of life, different types of food.  Probably one of the most amazing things is mother nature.  Living in Sunny California, I would never really think about the weather too much.  Almost everyday is guaranteed to be bright and warm (bordering on too hot at times).  But, since moving to Japan, there have been large earthquakes and countless typhoons.  Up until a year and a half ago, my only experience with typhoons has been hearing about them in the news.  I would see families get displaced from homes because of flooding or landslides, but I never really understood the gravity of the situation and how serious typhoons could actually be.  Now that I am living in a country where in a single year there are 20-30 typhoons, I have a much better understanding of the situation.  Experiencing it firsthand is quite amazing and scary at the same time.  The one thing that comes to mind is that you never try to mess with mother nature.  I have seen semi-trucks get tipped over and dragged like rag dolls.  Stop to think for a second and imagine what that could do to an actual person.  People say that ignorance is bliss.  In this case, it really is true, had I never experienced a typhoon I would go on living my life ignorantly and blissfully.