I Just Got Back From Japan. Here’s What Shocked Me.
Totally unexpected!
I recently visited a destination that’s on most people’s ‘bucket lists’ — Japan.
After reading about it for years because Buzzfeed and YouTube have made it such a dream place to visit, I thought it was finally time to go.
Moreover, my husband and I love Japanese food. We’ve both travelled extensively across Europe and wanted to try out something new. So we booked our tickets and went away for two weeks.
However, here are a few things that shocked me.
This perspective comes from travelling to over 25 countries because I saw things I’d never seen before.
How Quiet Everyone Is
Nobody talks!
Not on the train, not in restaurants, not on the streets.
The only noise on the streets of Tokyo are buses that play music or ad boards that play videos.
We had to work so hard to be as soft as possible while speaking and were absolutely quiet in metros. Hell, there was no sound of even children screaming or talking, which is so common in India.
But this relates to my next observation…
How Alone People Look
This is mostly prevalent in Tokyo.
It’s not uncommon to see everyone eating alone — in McDonald’s, restaurants, or cafes. In fact, even when we went bar hopping, the two local Japanese women we met also came alone to sit and drink.
Before our train, we wanted to grab a bite before the long journey. My husband queued up to order while I looked for a table.
This place was vast, so as I went to the other side, it shocked me to see people sleeping in their seats! Lots of suited men just sleeping in early afternoon.
And it wasn’t shocking that nearly 95% of the tables were occupied by just one person per table.
In Kyoto, we saw more groups of people hanging out together. Unsuprisingly, more laughter too.
Lack of English (Read the First Paragraph Before You Judge Me)
Before you get furious, I don’t expect everyone in the world to know English. Locals take pride in their own language, and it’s annoying how tourists expect people across the world to know English just because they do.
I’ve visited most of Europe, and lots of people don’t speak English, which is okay. Most of this is in the smaller cities, barring Paris, where the locals will choose not to speak in English.
However, the image of Tokyo being so international, a business district, and a place that attracts tourists from across the world — it surprised me how lots of places didn’t even have English menus.
Staff at fine-dines knew the language a bit, but overall there’s barely any English at all.
Google Translate will be your best friend on your visit to Japan.
Over-The-Top Hospitality
Picture this.
We enter a cosy bar, and they obviously know we’re tourists.
We chat while I sip my wine, and my husband is already on his second beer. The owner wants us to see parts of Kyoto that he takes pride in, so he tells the young female bartender to explain to us in English.
She’s in university studying chemistry and admits she doesn’t enjoy it.
She takes out a piece of paper and neatly draws how to reach that place with English block letters for station names.
She even drew the train and bus, so we don’t get confused. Check it out:
So far, I’ve heard and experienced that Indian hospitality is another level. Whether you stay at a local’s house or a hotel. As Indians, it’s ingrained in us to give our guests an experience to remember.
There’s a literal saying in Sanskrit for this,
Atithi Devo Bhava
Which translates to,
“The guest is equivalent to God”
But in Japan, I experienced kindness I never had.
Even though we don’t know a common language, they’ll go out of their way to explain to you when you’re stuck and will try their best to make you feel warm and wanted.
Quick VAT Refund
In Australia, I didn’t get any refund because the line at the airport would’ve taken me nearly 90 minutes.
In Paris, we got only half of our refunds quickly.
It was at the airport we got to know that the shop staff didn’t include our card number in some bills, so we had to wait for 3 months to get our biggest refunds. It was annoying, and because the amount was steep, we’d just hoped to get it as soon as possible.
But Japan? It’s flawless.
You shop, show your passport, and they reduce the amount by 10% right there.
There’s no standing in lines or filling out our forms.
You directly pay the amount minus the tax.
What a seamless process, really.
Lastly
There are so many more things I want to write about around my experience, but for now, let’s end this one with ‘shocks’ instead of penning down my entire experience.
I hope you enjoyed reading this.
And I’m excited to write more in the coming days about my travels.