So what are your thoughts about Japan? Have you bought into any myths or stereotypes? I don't care how "open-minded" or "non-prejudiced" you might tell yourself you are, if you're an American, there are probably some pre-conceived notions in your mind about the "land of the rising sun" that have yet to be addressed. So consider this post my way of getting straight to the point about some of the stereotypes that happen to hold water, along with the ones that are completely wrong and some of the things that you will probably never see coming.
Okay, time to play . . . FACT, MYTH or WILDCARD?
These people eat a lot of rice.
Actually, I covered this in my last post. Yes, rice is it's own food group in Japan. These people eat rice like it's going out of style. Onto the next subject, already! I'm sick of even talking about rice.
Verdict? FACT
Japanese people, specifically women, are submissive, docile and quiet.
Some people may debate me on this, but in my experiences I have not been in contact with a bunch of docile women. If anything, I can't even walk down the street without hearing a loud "Hello" and turning to see a random Japanese woman attempting to make conversation with me. This is especially common amongst the teenaged girls. One can argue that it's a young person thing, but even the older women that I've seen are talkers who seem to get straight to the point. My Japanese coworkers (who are all women) are very "straight up" and each bring their own brand of "sass" to the table. I love it!
Verdict? MYTH
Japanese neighborhoods look . . . well, Japanese, of course!
First off, define a "Japanese" environment. If you're envisioning a bunch of bonzai trees and open fields with majestic, solitary temples then you're sadly mistaken (unless you seek out the historical places). The majority of Japan does not look like a scene out of "Memoirs of a Geisha." You will rarely see people walking around in traditional Japanese garb. The days of the "Samurai" are long gone. Yes, the architecture is traditional Japanese architecture/most of the buildings have those cool, shell-looking rooftops and my neighborhood has a historic district that looks very . . . well, very historical. It's beautiful . . . but it's not the norm. The majority of my neighborhood has a very industrial look to it. A lot of department stores, little restaurants, businesses, and apartment complexes. It cracks me up how surprised everyone in my family was when I skyped them some video of my neighborhood. They were like, "That doesn't look like Japan!"
Verdict? MYTH
Things are cheaper in Japan.
The American dollar is slipping into nothingness and, sadly, the only people who don't realize it are the American people. I'll just make this simple. There's not even a dollar yen menu at McDonald's. Everything is expensive, and let's not even talk about the fact that at one point, $10 used to translate to about 1000 yen so all you had to do was move the decimal point over two times. But now, 1000 yen is like 1000 U.S. dollars. I'm exaggerating . . . maybe it's around $13 dollars? Either way, I had to buy a decent pocketbook and the cheapest one that I came across was about 4800 yen. For a split second, I thought about getting some cheap stuff shipped over so I could start selling it and make a fortune. So yeah, if you're looking to save money . . . go to Thailand (or just go back to America) because things in Japan are expensive.
Verdict? BIG MYTH
The Majority of Japanese People Are Really Short
For the most part yes. I'm 5'8 and at any given time, odds are I'm taller than everyone in the room . . . including the men. When I get down about it, I tell myself that Supermodels are often the tallest women in the room . . . soooo, yeah. But there are some exceptions of course, and it's always refreshing to see a fellow tall person. And it's funny, because they kind of acknowledge you a little . . . kind of like the "Black person nod" (yes, we have a nod). They'll give you the "knowing glance."
Verdict? FACT
Japan is the technology capital of the world.
Maybe . . . but I haven't really gotten to see it. I know that finding wifi out here was nearly impossible. Oh! . . . and when I got here (3 weeks ago) every time I pulled out my Ipad, the Japanese people would gasp in amazement. I remember shaking my head and thinking "technology capital of the world, huh?" half a dozen times. But to be fair, from what I've heard, the Japanese put a lot of their technological innovations into their phones. I've been told that my phone is capable of doing all kinds of awesome things. If I can figure out how to use it (and read kanji), I'm sure I would be able to verify that.
Verdict? WILDCARD
Japanese people work really hard.
They do. Ever hear of karoshi? These people actually have a word for working oneself to death. They have a word for it!!!
Verdict? FACT
Japanese children are very disciplined, serious minded and well-behaved.
These kids are just like any other kids. They are emotional, whine, cry, complain, get tired, act a fool, eat their own boogers and fail math tests. There is absolutely nothing different about these kids EXCEPT the fact that they do waaay more hours of school in one year than any American child will ever do in their lifetime. I don't know how these poor kids do it and yeah, maybe American people should value education a whole lot little more . . . but I still don't think it's healthy for an 8 year old child to be sitting in a classroom looking half-dead at 8:45pm when they should be at home digesting their dinner and getting ready for bed. A lot of these kids are miserable and cantankerous. Sometimes I feel sorry for them, but then I have to wonder to myself if maybe the Japanese people feel sorry for the American children who are currently getting cheated out of a good education.
So the Verdict? MYTH
Japan is full of bad drivers.
I almost died within 10 minutes of being driven to my apartment.
Verdict? FACT
and last but certainly not least . . .
All Japanese People Look Alike
So while at the train station a couple of days ago, I saw a bald man with a goatee walking down the stairs. He was kind of a stocky guy with a football player's build and was wearing some really stylish glasses, white jeans and a button down shirt. The thing that caught my eye about him was that he had a certain kind of swagger that looked really familiar and I couldn't stop glancing over at him. Long story short, I could have sworn this man was my cousin "Bookie." Even though I was in Japan, thousands of miles away from America, and this man was obviously Japanese, I had to literally stare at him to convince my brain that I wasn't looking at family. So my point is . . . ALL humans look alike. These people have the same faces that you see every day in America and every other country. Yes, the majority of Japanese people have naturally dark hair (just like the majority of Black folks have naturally dark hair) but at the end of the day, they all have differences that distinguish them from each other. I have not mixed up any two people yet. There are so many different "looks" in this country and yes, some people are going to share the same look but it's just like anywhere else. You're going to see people who remind you of someone else, but at the end of the day these folks come in very different packages just like the rest of the world.
Verdict? I cannot express enough how much this is a MYTH
And that's all I got for now. Goodnite Folks! (Or Good Morning!)
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