27/7 Ian - Japanese culture watch (episode 2)

We’re on a Shinkansen again en route to the Hakone region of Japan, just west of Tokyo, hoping for a window in the weather to summit Fuji-san and witness the famous sunrise above the clouds, either overnight tonight or tomorrow night. After that, it’s back to Tokyo for a brief touchdown (and wash), then on to Narita airport. Singapore and Australia are beckoning. There’s a chance then that this will be my last instalment from Japan, so let’s continue from where we left off. If you recall, I was somewhat obsessed with young ladies legs, feet and their footwear. To be fair, I could be obsessed with far worse. Perhaps time to talk about something else though….

First up is the observation that a good proportion of the elders in the population are quite alarmingly bent double as they shuffle by, usually with the aid of a walking stick. Now this one got me thinking about both lifestyle – for example years in an uncomfortable, posture affecting job – and also diet. In the end, both Max and I both think mainly diet, leading to osteoporosis – the traditional Japanese diet, although healthy in other respects, is low in calcium. So the elders we see today demonstrate the results. The current generation take more dairy products, so will probably suffer different health problems as they age. I wonder if this observation is also polarised by actually seeing more elders out and about on the streets, linked to a safer society. You certainly see a more diverse demographic in Japan compared to the UK, unless of course you regularly frequent Gala Bingo.

Next, let’s consider sniffing and slurping. Compared to the quiet and reserved UK (in this respect at least) these are polar opposites, and a real challenge. In Japan, it’s considered more polite to sniff repeatedly (keeping your germs to yourself in public) than to blow your nose. If you have no choice you’d best do it discretely, or as Max says, a good parp will reduce younger Japanese to helpless giggles, while grandma will tsk tsks from behind. Considering slurping, bowls of noodles are noisily and appreciatively slurped down, both to show how delicious they are, and also to help cool them. This cultural behaviour is a real test of our own cultural conventions and tolerances - noodles are delicious, but being surrounded by slurping is most definitely not.

On a different note, the Japanese don’t really seem to wear shades. Once you realise this, it looks really odd on a sunny day! In a society where fashion and self-expression can be taken to real extremes, it’s weird that sunglasses are markedly absent, save for a scattering of Jackie O style goggles on a few young ladies. They’re there in the shops though, so I’m note sure what’s going on with this one. Maybe bright enough for shades for us is not yet bright enough for the Japanese? Or perhaps there’s something cultural about the politeness in being able to see people’s eyes? Either way, wearing mirrored lenses isn’t exactly uncomfortable, but does emphasise your foreignness, even more…!

Narcolepsy also appears to be ingrained, certainly amongst those who commute. We could have taken any number of photos to illustrate this point, but it seemed just a touch too cheeky. Japanese folk seem to be able to hop onto the subway or a bus, instantly fall asleep, then wake just in time to make their stop. It’s as if they have inbuilt hibernate timers. And if they’re not doing that, they’re doing whatever they do on their flip-top mobiles of preference.

Finally, a continuing source of gentle amusement is watching Japanese folk getting in each other’s way, and the subsequent results. Or more specifically, the complete lack of them. We’ve seen cyclists in cities sweeping in front of oncoming traffic without so much as a glance. We’ve also seen delivery wagons at cross roads facing off against each other. In the UK each instance seems to need to be reduced to the black and white duality of right and wrong. Someone is to blame, and this must be pointed out – often aggressively – and acknowledged. Not so in Japan. The result, in almost all occasions is a deliberately passive set of actions to negate the situation and move on. No angry gestures, no beeping of horns, and certainly no road rage. On one level it appears aloof and rude – someone in the way for example just looks in the opposite direction and continues. On another however, the situation is swiftly and easily diffused, and the parties simply move on.

We were sat in a Starbucks in Kyoto eating yet more New York cheesecake for supper (and why not – we’re on holiday after all….) when we were briefly befriended by a young Japanese English teacher waiting for his overnight bus home. I asked him about this behaviour. He seemed both amused that we had noticed it, yet unable to explain why. It kind of just is, I guess. Culturally embedded to the point of unquestioned acceptance, beyond explanation. So in the absence of a native perspective, I’m going to be bold and suggest it’s about the Japanese need to save face, and maybe even about honour. To admit that you are wrong and to apologise, or to aggressively point this out about someone else’s actions rubs so strongly against this pervasive cultural grain as to be unacceptable. Interesting. We could learn a lot from this behaviour, I think.

So I guess it’s time for a conclusion to round off all this culture watching. I’m not sure we’ve even begun to scratch the surface, and certainly we’ve only observed the predominantly conscious, externalised cultural manifestations made available to us. But a strong feeling I get is that in many ways, the Japanese are more similar to us – at least in terms of our ‘quintessential Englishness’ – than many of our closer European and American neighbours. The people are generally polite, courteous and reserved. They don’t display much physical affection in public. They are proud of their heritage, yet they are fascinated by Americanism and everything it brings, both good and bad. Ask for help and they will bend over backwards to assist you, yet go about your business and they will discretely observe you from a safe and courteous distance. Never is anyone in your face. Never do you feel that you are being hussled as a commodity. And if you are engaged with someone who can’t speak a word of English, they do exactly what we do with foreigners, or gaijin – speak Japanese words very s-l-o-w-l-y, over and over again, because obviously then we will understand. So despite the bewildering and unintelligible Kanji symbols, in many ways Japan makes remarkable cultural sense.