Just returned from Japan. Ask me anything.

[smirkymonkey]

17. Thank you for your thoughtful responses!

I am so fascinated by the differences in cultures between all countries. I am definitely not one of those people who thinks that the US has a superior culture - far from it! There is so much we can learn and adopt from other cultures that would make ours a better place to live, but there are things we are used to and it can be strange getting used to something different, even if it is better or just neutral, but just what we aren't used to.

I have mostly only been to Europe and even studied there in college, which was a great experience. The key is to keep an open mind. I loved every minute of my travels. I was never intimidated or put out by the things I had to adjust to. It was all part of the learning experience of travel. That being said, there are still some very funny things to be found in other cultures, such as the TV shows you mentioned (I thought there were some hilarious, really bad shows in Europe, but they were so bad they were good).

Some very friendly people - Ireland, rural England, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, rural Austria, German, Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Hungary, etc. And also some not so friendly people, mostly found in urban areas, just like here.

The food is always interesting and mostly delightful. I enjoyed trying new things and was rarely disappointed. There really wasn't much I missed from the US, except I was a big Diet Coke fan during certain periods of my travel and it was almost impossible to find in most places. I have since given up that habit and am glad I did.

I was surprised to hear about the Japanese being bundled up in hot weather! How do they stand it? I love cool weather and hate the heat. I find that most countries aren't as big on shorts as Americans, especially in certain places as they find wearing them irreverant.

The one thing I would like about Japan is the breakfast food. I am not a big breakfast eater at all. In fact breakfast for me is usually an iced tea (used to be coffee until I gave that up), but if I were to eat breakfast, I would prefer soup to almost anything we would consider breakfast food. I love soup! Not a huge fan of traditional western breakfast foods.

The cleanliness sounds wonderful too! I have to admit, you don't find that very often over here. You do in certain European countries, but some are better than others. The northern European countries tend to be much better at this.

All in all, it sounds like a very efficient, orderly, well-run society, which is amazing considering how densely populated it is. However, I am a little surprised at the "racism" against non-Japanese (as evidenced by your experience at certain restaurants, and what I have heard from other people). I know they aren't all like that, but it still seems like it is something that is culturally accepted.

The bottom line is that you find wonderful people everywhere and not such wonderful people everywhere. You can't really stereotype the people, because everyone is an individual, but it is interesting to notice certain cultural tendencies so that you can be better prepared as a tourist.

Thank you again for sharing your experience with us! It was really fascinating listening to your stories!