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8 Surprises about Japanese Culture!

Here are 8 representative cultures of Japan.

Here are some things about Japanese culture that may surprise you when you visit Japan.

This is useful information for those who are thinking of visiting Japan for travel or business, or for those who are thinking of moving to Japan.

Take off your shoes indoors.

This may be a pretty famous culture.
In Japanese houses and accommodations, you need to take off your shoes at the entrance.

The reason for this is to avoid contaminating the interior with outdoor sand and dirt.
Originally, Japanese houses were made of wood and "Tatami(畳)" were used for the floor. Since "Tatami" is made of woven plant fibers, it is breathable and comfortable, but at the same time, it is impossible to remove dirt and other contaminants from it.

Even today, when flooring, tiles, and concrete are used as materials, this custom still remains.
If you go indoors with your shoes on, you will get quite angry, so be careful.

Some accommodations allow you to enter the room with your shoes on.

The structure of the entrance can determine whether or not you can enter the room with your shoes on.
Most Japanese buildings have a step at the boundary between the entrance and the living space.

In this case, please take off your shoes at the lowered part of the steps.

If there are no steps at the entrance and a mat is laid out, take off your shoes on it.

If there are no steps or mats, please enter the room with your shoes on.
If you are worried, ask questions on the entrance.

When eating, hold the plate in hand and eat.

This is about the manner of eating in Japan.
Not many countries people to hold their plates in their hands when eating, so they are very surprised.

This is a practice that is often not appreciated outside of Japan, but there is a reason for this.

The first reason is that in Japan, people use chopsticks when eating, which makes it easier to drop food than spoons or forks.

To avoid wasting food by dropping it on the floor or table, they eat with a plate.

Another reason is to keep your posture straight when eating.

In Japan, you need to be aware of your posture when eating as well as your manners.

If you don't hold your plate in your hand, your back will be rounded when you eat.

It is easier to eat with a clean posture if the food is closer to the mouth than if the mouth is closer to the food.

The reason why we straighten our posture when we eat is to pay respect to the food.

To eat fruits and vegetables, we thank the growers.

To eat meat and fish, we give thanks for the lives of animals.

In order to eat with gratitude and respect, we need to pay attention to our posture.

For the same reason, it is not good manners to eat with your arms or elbows on the table.

Also, conversations during meals, while originally not allowed, have become more acceptable over time.

In modern Japan, you can enjoy your meal while having a conversation.

Many people wear masks.

In Japan, a very large number of people wear masks.

People who wear masks are generally thought of as sick people, but in Japan, even healthy people wear masks.

Please don't worry.

There are 3 reasons why healthy Japanese people wear masks.

【1】Embarrassed to have others look at my face when go out.

【2】Prevention of Infectious Diseases.

【3】To hide unshaven hair and makeup mistakes.

The most common reason is that they are embarrassed when others see their faces.

As you know, the Japanese are a shy people.

When we make eye contact with others, we get nervous.

Wearing a mask gives them a sense of security because half of their face is covered by the mask.

It's like a cat that feels at home in a small space.

Many people wear them to prevent infections.

In Japan, if take a day off from school or work because sick, teachers and bosses will be angry.

Especially at work, if take time off due to a cold, etc., coworkers will have to do work.

In addition to causing inconvenience to others, in some cases salary may be reduced.

In Japanese workplaces, taking care of health is judged to be responsibility. If get sick, it is judged as a result of inadequate self-management.

Therefore, it is necessary to prevent infections.

And if do get a cold, If have evidence that "wearing a mask to prevent a cold", will be less likely to be held accountable if get sick.

Incidentally, the reason why teachers get angry at if miss school because of a cold is to educate so that will not catch a cold and miss work when grow up.

Still a child, and the truth is that teachers are worried about his health. If you are thinking of moving to Japan with your child, don't worry.

The third reason is a simple one.

Some people wear masks to cover up the fact that they have left their beard unshaven or forgot to apply lipstick.

Lots of buttons on the toilet.

Toilets in Japan are amazingly multifunctional.

Multi-functional toilets are called "Washlet(ウォシュレット)" or "Shower Toilet(シャワートイレ)" and are sold by Japanese companies called TOTO and INAX.

TOTO's product name is "Washlet", and the one made by INAX is "Shower Toilet".

The following features are the main ones.

・Seat warming function

・Hot water washing function for buttocks

・Genital cleansing function (for women)

・Automatic equipment cleaning function

Higher-end models will have the following additional features.

・Automatic toilet bowl washing function (when get up from the toilet seat, the bowl is automatically washed)

・Deodorant function

It is equipped with a number of functions that allow to keep body hygienic after defecating and use the toilet comfortably.

Slurping noisily when eating noodles.

This is against etiquette in many countries, but in Japan it is not a problem.

When eating ramen, udon, or soba, Japanese are slurp up the noodles noisily and vigorously.

This helps prevent burns by vigorously sucking in the hot noodle dish along with the air.

Also, in the past, there was no lighting to make store signs stand out, so the sound of slurping noodles coming from stores serving noodle dishes attracted customers.

However, it is not a very elegant act and is nowadays shunned in Japan.

Free water provided at restaurants.

In Japanese restaurants, drinking water is provided free of charge when you enter the restaurant.

Some stores will also provide towels to wipe hands.

These towels are called "Oshibori(おしぼり)" and can be used to wipe and clean hands before a meal, or to wipe off any sauces or other contaminants on hands during a meal.

Sometimes they are not towels, but simple paper ones.

Paid food is served at an "izakaya(居酒屋)" when didn't ask for it.

An "izakaya(居酒屋)" is a place where people mainly enjoy drinking alcohol. Can enjoy a variety of dishes along with beer, sake or wine.

In English, it is sometimes translated as Japanese pub.

In an "izakaya", may be offered a small amount of food along with drinking water when you enter the restaurant.

There are some caveats regarding these.

The drinking water provided is free, but the food is charged for.

This dish is called "Oto-shi(お通し)" and is offered as a charge for seating.

Generally, the amount is a few hundred yen to one thousand yen.

It has two purposes, to charge for seats and to show appreciation for visit.

School entrance ceremony is held in April.

In Japan, the entrance ceremony is held in April.

The reason is that the Japanese government's fiscal year ends in March.

It is timed to coincide with the time when the Japanese government makes budget allocations and other decisions for the year.

This is because it also constitutes the budget for the tools and equipment used in the school.

So why is the end of the government's budget year in March?

In ancient times, Japan had a system where rice was paid to the government as a tax.

This system was created around the 7th century.

Since rice is harvested in October and November, it took a long time for the rice to be delivered to the government after harvesting and for the government to manage it.

For this reason, the division of the Japanese fiscal year was decided to be between March and April.

Even today, when taxes are managed with money, vestiges of those days remain, and they affect the timing of the entrance ceremony.

Useful Japanese phrases

You can learn useful and basic Japanese.

●玄関 [genkan]

　Meaning : Entrance

●お皿 [osara]

　Meaning : Dish

●怒る [okoru]

　Meaning : Angry
●麺 [men]

　Meaning : Noodle
●入学式 [nyuugakushiki]

　Meaning : School entrance ceremony

If there's any other Japanese you'd like to know, just ask in the comments or on Twitter（@The_ROJ）!