Japan Culture

When people say that Japan is on the other side of the world, they are not just referring to its location but its fascinating and beautiful culture. Although Japan is very globalized concerning its economic status and thirst for foreign brands it still maintains a very unique perspective.

One of the first things I noticed when I came to Japan were people's mannerisms. When I first started studying Japanese in the U.S. I thought I would just need to learn vocabulary and grammer...that is completely wrong. Japanese people use hand signals every day to convey various meanings. This can be very confusing for a foreigner. At a restaurant you will see customers crossing their two pointer fingers, signaling for the check. Maybe when you give your seat to an elderly person on the train they will raise one hand perpendicular to their chest saying "thank you,"and the American, "OK" hand signal on its side means, "money." As expected you will see Japanese people constantly bowing to their friends, co-workers, customers, bosses, or any other acquaintances. (After being here for five months I have picked up on these mannerisms and I think I will subconsciously use these when I return home.)