Japanese culture

Excluding the few exceptions that come along with any judgment of a cultural group, I have to say that Japanese people have made an impression upon me as being very warm, attentive, and agreeable.  In America, many times people can feel like you are invading their personal space or privacy, or overstepping your bounds as a stranger if you come up to them to ask them something. Although it seems sometimes as though people here are in their own personal worlds, all it takes is one to first break the ice in order to receive a positive response. For instance, while unsuccessfully trying to find a certain restaurant in Kyoto, my friend and I finally stopped to ask for assistance from a man handing out tissues with advertisements. He kindly put down his box, and helped us for about 5 minutes, looking on the smart phone map and trying to figure out how to direct us, even using a little bit of the English he knew. Although we had interrupted his activities, he was willing to help complete strangers find a place that he had never himself been to.

                Relaxing outside one day, a couple kids walked by us holding a frog and a turtle. I wanted to take a picture, so I called out to them even though they had already walked a distance past us. They returned and showed us the animals, and we had a brief conversation (how old are you, etc); they even let me photograph them. I think that often in America kids might simply ignore a stranger calling out to them, but these Japanese boys were respectful and seemingly content with being interrupted on their way home. Observing the attentiveness of the Japanese towards those around them is obvious when walking into a store or restaurant, but this proves to be the case outside of those settings as well. At Kansai Gaidai one day I was trying to pull my bike out from the masses, and was having trouble, with the bikes next to it almost about to fall. A girl asked if I needed help, and even though I replied “It’s ok”, she still came over and helped me pick up the fallen bikes.

                These are simply a few specific instances of Japanese cooperation that I remember because of the impression they had on me. Part of the reason Japanese society operates so smoothly is because people cooperate with those around them, and are open to helping others. People are hard-working, and seem to possess a unique integrity that comes with others in turn having been honest towards them. It’s hard to imagine being ripped off by a Japanese shop owner, for instance; they do a good job with whatever service they are providing, get it done quickly, and designate a clear and fair price for the customer, and are often friendly all the while. In America, it is a common occurrence for one to be very wary of everything from being overcharged by your orthopedic surgeon to being duped into paying for extraneous or unnecessary repairs by your auto mechanic. I believe that for most Japanese people, the prospect of deceiving or cheating a customer is nearly unthinkable because their integrity prevents it.