Review of the expected differences in Japan

A month before I left to Japan I wrote a story about the different which I was going to expect. I’m in Japan now for more than 3 months, time for a review of this story.

The difference in population is not really noticable in the part of Osaka where I am living. However when you go the inner city you see hundreds or maybe thousands of people. Once you enter few houses, the first thing you’ll notice that they are really small in comparison with an average Dutch house. Most houses don’t have gardens and there are no central heating systems at all. In some houses the doorposts are lower, so watch your head in Japan if you’re tall. Especially in trains. I’m used to it by now, but I had to hit my head several times for it. The houses are so small because of the huge population in a rather small area.

The social environment I was talking about is really different from the Dutch. The culture is different, the language is different, and even the food is different. I could adapt to this new environment really quick. It took me about a week to get used to the most important things. Of course I’m still learning new, more detailed, things all the time. But these are not essential to survive in Japan.

As expected, most of the Japanese people I met are really kind in comparison with the average Dutch person. People respect each other better. But even in Japan there is a clear difference between city people and people from small villages.

Getting lost in a big city like Osaka is pretty easy. A few times I asked a police officer where I could find that shop, that station or whatever. English is useless in when talking to people here, unless you’re lucky. So even the police officers can’t understand English. If you don’t understand them, they’ll even walk with you to the place you are searching.

The weather in Osaka is pretty stable till now. In the autumn it is hot and in winter it is about 3–8 degrees all the time. Every few weeks it rains for just one day. I still have to encounter spring and summer though. There were several typhoons in or near Japan while I was here. But none in Osaka. I still there will be one next year. One thing I certainly expected were earthquakes. But I didn’t felt one at all yet. Most earthquakes are so small that you don’t notice them.

I was worried about Japanese food before I came to Japan. There’s a lot of seafood and fish, which were not my favourite food in the Netherlands. Now I am here I can’t stay away from food, trying new stuff is one of my new hobbies :). I go to restaurants really often, restaurants are not so expensive and the food is delicious.

In short, most expections seemed to be true. You can never “prepare” for them. It is so different, but still easy to live with. Not all people can get used to the Japanese culture though, a few of them are my fellow students in OUSSEP.