Japan expectations vs reality.
Hello again from Japan, where we have just had another typhoon rip across the country. The past few weeks have been complete turmoil weather wise with many typhoons causing a lot of damage, particularly in Osaka and most recently Okinawa. In New Zealand, we don't really get typhoons as such. Cyclones and hurricanes hit the Pacific Islands of Fiji, Rarotonga and Vanuatu fairly often, but by the time these reach New Zealand, they are fairly weak and don't do too much damage. My first experience of a typhoon here was a bit of a build-up, just a bit of wind and rain, nothing too major, but recently the typhoons here have been making headlines worldwide and have been some of the biggest storms to hit Japan in the past 20 years, so it is kind of worrying. Tokyo has gotten off very lightly so far, but who knows what these storms have in store. Typhoons weren't something I was expecting to experience so often when I first came to Japan, so this leads me to the topic of this post... Expectations about Japan versus the reality! I'll list a few things people typically expect when they come to Japan, and how these expectations stack up to how it really is. Let's get into it!
Expectation 1) Everything will be super high tech!
When people think of Japan, they think of robots that walk and talk and bullet trains, technology which a country like New Zealand could only dream of having access to. While Japan is superior to many other countries when it comes to the efficiency of the bullet train system and development of robots, there are other areas in which technology has not quite been taken up. An example is my workplace, where there is far more paperwork than necessary, and I swear the system we use to record student progress comes from the 90s. The concept of paywave is non-existent here, and internet banking is not all that well utilised by many banks here.
So I would say it's a partially correct statement to say Japan is high-tech, but definitely not in all areas!
Expectation 2) Everyone likes sumo wrestling!
The sport that probably comes to mind when you think of Japan is sumo wrestling, and it did used to be quite a popular sport back in the day, but now you'd be hard pushed to find people who say they go and watch a sumo wrestling match on a regular basis. By far the most popular sport here is baseball, which kind of surprised me, but many of my students will go and watch baseball games at Tokyo Dome on the weekends. So this is definitely not true!
Expectation 3) Everyone loves sushi!
This is one I would probably say is true for the majority of people here, they do love their raw fish, and I love it too! It is by far the most famous food from Japan, and there are sushi shops everywhere you turn. However, there are many other Japanese foods that are just as delicious that cannot be forgotten! A personal favourite of mine is okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake typically made with egg, flour, cabbage, prawns and pork topped with mayonnaise and an okonomiyaki sauce. It's delicious!! I'd also highly recommend ramen, katsudon, soba noodles, yakitori (chicken skewers), udon, tempura and I could go on and on! So don't limit your diet to sushi if you come to Japan, do branch out and try a few of the other local specialties as well. In terms of variety of authentic, traditional dishes, Japan has a huge selection. There's more to Japanese cuisine than sushi!
Expectation 4) Tokyo is expensive.
Tokyo rent can be pricy, I'll say that much, but look just outside the city centre and you'll find some reasonably priced apartments. I pay 62,000 yen per month, which converts to $823 NZD per month, or about $205 per week. Not too bad really when you look at the average rent for one room in a student flat in Auckland, which I think is at least $180 per week (correct me if I'm wrong). My power and gas bills are actually a lot cheaper than New Zealand, and I only pay a water bill once every 2 months. So the cost of living isn't actually that bad, and eating and drinking out here is definitely a lot cheaper than New Zealand!
Expectation 5) Everything is clean.
This one is definitely true! The trains and train stations are super clean, and you'll often see people picking up rubbish on the streets. In the shopping area under my station, I see people cleaning the railing you hold onto when you go up or down the escalator, that's the level of cleanliness they're on here. The only areas that are a bit dirty in my opinion are the designated smoking areas, with cigarette butts everywhere, but aside from that the streets are relatively clean and people don't litter despite a lack of rubbish bins on the streets.
Expectation 6) Everyone dresses like anime characters!
This is a myth, sorry to burst anyone's bubble! Of course, in areas like Harajuku or Akihabara, you see people dressed up, but definitely not everywhere around Tokyo and not everyone dresses like this on a day to day basis. Some of the fashion is very cutesy and very much like the anime, but not quite on the same level.
Expectation 7) Japan is safe.
Yes, yes, yes 100%. I have never felt unsafe since arriving here. There are areas I've been warned about going to on my own late at night, but on the whole I feel completely safe here. I've heard stories of people leaving wallets or phones behind and going back to find them exactly where they left them. In a lot of other countries, this would never happen, so I'd definitely place Japan high on the list for safety.
Expectation 8) You can't find a lot of Western or foreign foods.
I don't know if this is something everyone thinks when they come to Japan, but for me I thought it would be a lot more difficult to find Western food here. There are a lot of Italian, Mexican and Indian style restaurants to be found, and even though they aren't always the most authentic, they make a nice change from Japanese occasionally. The Korean and Chinese food here is also really good. As a side note, I was shocked at the number of Starbucks and McDonalds there are here! You'll never go without your favourite Western junk food chain foods. Way to go globalisation...
Expectation 9) The pharmacies (or drug stores) will have the same products as home.
While you can find some of the bigger chain beauty brands (L'Oreal, Maybelline etc) here, for things like toothpaste, deodorant and shampoos, the brands and actual product are actually quite different. For example, I recently discovered that the toothpastes here have no fluoride like our toothpastes do, and the deodorants here are not really all that effective for westerners thanks to differences in genetics. As a result, I've had deodorant sent to me from home! So don't expect the product to be the same.
Expectation 10) The shops will be open pretty much 24/7.
This one is more specific to Tokyo, but when I first arrived to the hotel here at about 8-8.30am and went looking for breakfast, I expected places to be open. However, it soon became apparent that a lot of cafes etc didn't open till 10. This was a bit of a shock coming from New Zealand where a lot of the cafes open super early, like 7am. I thought with Tokyo being the big city it is, there would be an abundance of options, even at that early hour, but I was wrong. This also applies to supermarkets and shopping malls, which often don't open till 10. This took a bit of adjusting to, so don't be surprised if you get to the supermarket early only to find it doesn't open till 10! Also don't forget there are convenience stores everywhere, which are actually open 24/7.
So there you have it, some expectations versus reality on life in Japan! Hope you all enjoyed this wee insight, and I'll be back soon with another update.
From Japan, with love,
Hannah. xx
Expectation 1) Everything will be super high tech!
When people think of Japan, they think of robots that walk and talk and bullet trains, technology which a country like New Zealand could only dream of having access to. While Japan is superior to many other countries when it comes to the efficiency of the bullet train system and development of robots, there are other areas in which technology has not quite been taken up. An example is my workplace, where there is far more paperwork than necessary, and I swear the system we use to record student progress comes from the 90s. The concept of paywave is non-existent here, and internet banking is not all that well utilised by many banks here.
So I would say it's a partially correct statement to say Japan is high-tech, but definitely not in all areas!
Expectation 2) Everyone likes sumo wrestling!
The sport that probably comes to mind when you think of Japan is sumo wrestling, and it did used to be quite a popular sport back in the day, but now you'd be hard pushed to find people who say they go and watch a sumo wrestling match on a regular basis. By far the most popular sport here is baseball, which kind of surprised me, but many of my students will go and watch baseball games at Tokyo Dome on the weekends. So this is definitely not true!
Expectation 3) Everyone loves sushi!
This is one I would probably say is true for the majority of people here, they do love their raw fish, and I love it too! It is by far the most famous food from Japan, and there are sushi shops everywhere you turn. However, there are many other Japanese foods that are just as delicious that cannot be forgotten! A personal favourite of mine is okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake typically made with egg, flour, cabbage, prawns and pork topped with mayonnaise and an okonomiyaki sauce. It's delicious!! I'd also highly recommend ramen, katsudon, soba noodles, yakitori (chicken skewers), udon, tempura and I could go on and on! So don't limit your diet to sushi if you come to Japan, do branch out and try a few of the other local specialties as well. In terms of variety of authentic, traditional dishes, Japan has a huge selection. There's more to Japanese cuisine than sushi!
Expectation 4) Tokyo is expensive.
Tokyo rent can be pricy, I'll say that much, but look just outside the city centre and you'll find some reasonably priced apartments. I pay 62,000 yen per month, which converts to $823 NZD per month, or about $205 per week. Not too bad really when you look at the average rent for one room in a student flat in Auckland, which I think is at least $180 per week (correct me if I'm wrong). My power and gas bills are actually a lot cheaper than New Zealand, and I only pay a water bill once every 2 months. So the cost of living isn't actually that bad, and eating and drinking out here is definitely a lot cheaper than New Zealand!
Expectation 5) Everything is clean.
This one is definitely true! The trains and train stations are super clean, and you'll often see people picking up rubbish on the streets. In the shopping area under my station, I see people cleaning the railing you hold onto when you go up or down the escalator, that's the level of cleanliness they're on here. The only areas that are a bit dirty in my opinion are the designated smoking areas, with cigarette butts everywhere, but aside from that the streets are relatively clean and people don't litter despite a lack of rubbish bins on the streets.
Expectation 6) Everyone dresses like anime characters!
This is a myth, sorry to burst anyone's bubble! Of course, in areas like Harajuku or Akihabara, you see people dressed up, but definitely not everywhere around Tokyo and not everyone dresses like this on a day to day basis. Some of the fashion is very cutesy and very much like the anime, but not quite on the same level.
Expectation 7) Japan is safe.
Yes, yes, yes 100%. I have never felt unsafe since arriving here. There are areas I've been warned about going to on my own late at night, but on the whole I feel completely safe here. I've heard stories of people leaving wallets or phones behind and going back to find them exactly where they left them. In a lot of other countries, this would never happen, so I'd definitely place Japan high on the list for safety.
Expectation 8) You can't find a lot of Western or foreign foods.
I don't know if this is something everyone thinks when they come to Japan, but for me I thought it would be a lot more difficult to find Western food here. There are a lot of Italian, Mexican and Indian style restaurants to be found, and even though they aren't always the most authentic, they make a nice change from Japanese occasionally. The Korean and Chinese food here is also really good. As a side note, I was shocked at the number of Starbucks and McDonalds there are here! You'll never go without your favourite Western junk food chain foods. Way to go globalisation...
Expectation 9) The pharmacies (or drug stores) will have the same products as home.
While you can find some of the bigger chain beauty brands (L'Oreal, Maybelline etc) here, for things like toothpaste, deodorant and shampoos, the brands and actual product are actually quite different. For example, I recently discovered that the toothpastes here have no fluoride like our toothpastes do, and the deodorants here are not really all that effective for westerners thanks to differences in genetics. As a result, I've had deodorant sent to me from home! So don't expect the product to be the same.
Expectation 10) The shops will be open pretty much 24/7.
This one is more specific to Tokyo, but when I first arrived to the hotel here at about 8-8.30am and went looking for breakfast, I expected places to be open. However, it soon became apparent that a lot of cafes etc didn't open till 10. This was a bit of a shock coming from New Zealand where a lot of the cafes open super early, like 7am. I thought with Tokyo being the big city it is, there would be an abundance of options, even at that early hour, but I was wrong. This also applies to supermarkets and shopping malls, which often don't open till 10. This took a bit of adjusting to, so don't be surprised if you get to the supermarket early only to find it doesn't open till 10! Also don't forget there are convenience stores everywhere, which are actually open 24/7.
So there you have it, some expectations versus reality on life in Japan! Hope you all enjoyed this wee insight, and I'll be back soon with another update.
From Japan, with love,
Hannah. xx
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