Job Discussion Forums

[Black_Beer_Man]

Was thinking this could be a good topic for a thread. If there's something about Japanese culture that you don't understand, please post it here.

If someone out there knows the rationale to your incomprehensible observation, please do write that here too.

I'll start...

Why is it that in densely populated residential areas Japanese people tolerate these young guys who modify their motorbikes to make their engines extremely noisy?

I live in such an area and heard some idiot starting and restarting his motorbike this morning. I was wondering why nobody calls the police?

In my country, there are noise laws and people are not allowed to modify their cars or motorbikes to make excessive noise. Yes, there is the odd jerk who drives a pimped up noisy car, but in Japan, these motorcycle idiots seem to be a lot more common.

And you notice that in almost every case, these guys drive small unimpressive motorbikes.

[Shonai Ben]

Why is eating something a news item?
Can't watch the news without someone declaring that any or all food is oishii!!......I just don't get it.

[2buckets]

M/C fuel tanks rarely have locks.

A visit by the sugar water fairy will soon solve the problem.Just be happy you don't have hundreds of mosques blasting the call to prayer at 4am.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=106627

[rxk22]

LOL at the sugar water.


For me; OT and the obsession to work tons of OT. It isn't healthy mentally, physically, nor for your family/marriage. Also, it doesn't do much, as it makes for a unproductive workforce.
Yet, most Japanese see the need to stay at work until 8pm, everyday.

[ssjup81]

Gender separation. It's still strange seeing this. Women hang with women and men hang with men. How does anyone manage getting into romantic relationships if they seem to act fearful if the other gender?

[mitsui]

I guess what I don`t get is that, for all the modern things in this country, in some ways it is still feudal, such as the way people eat with their chopsticks, the way people speak (keigo), the discrimination that women face, etc. It is a Confucian society that is not comfortable living in the 21st century. It is a developed country, but when it comes to its society, it is underdeveloped.

[steki47]

[Pitarou]

[rxk22]

[steki47]

[RM1983]

For me it's the dancing ban/lack of nightclubs. I dont see how people can say te nightlife here matches somewhere like London or even smaller size western cities when you struggle to go and get a wobble on. Im always itching to go somewhere loud, cheap and a bit chaotic and then end up being shuffled into the corner of some small bar!

Also a pet hate of mine is why are the gigs on early? From what ive seen they nearly always start at about 7. Surely theyd be selling a lot more tickets if they started them at 8:30/9:00? Most people are gonna miss em at 7

[Black_Beer_Man]

The fact that this society not only tolerates cigarette smoking, it caters to it. There are tobacco shops that sell nothing but tobacco. Many restaurants either allow smokers free reign of their place or create a smokers room. Wow!

Contrast that with many other industrialized countries where the number of smokers is plummeting and governments (with the pressure of fed-up non-smokers) have legislated that all public buildings be second-hand smoke free.

Japan appears to be living in the stone age.

Here in this country, you can pollute the air in public buildings, but don't you dare wear your "outside" shoes inside the building and bring dust and dried mud inside.

[RM1983]

Tobacco shops not common all over? Certainly there are quite a few in the UK for now.
Im a smoker and I actually think I prefer going to non smoking pubs and then going outside to smoke. It is depressing as hell to see kids in the smoking areas.

I guess here it would be trickier as you cant smoke on the street, in most cases. In the UK most places have a beer garden or at least a small area where you can smoke.

I think the restaurants and etc that have a well seperated smoking section probably have the right compromise. I dunno though with many places being rather small.

It is kind of a catch-22. If you banned it in all public places then a lot of Izakayas and so on would stand to go under, but at the same time you never know how many are kept away by the smoke. My guess is the people who drink the most also probably smoke too so bars probably prefer it as it is. Im happy to go outside but thinking of a lot places Ive been to/go to it wouldnt be just going outside itd be going outside and walking 5 mins to the smoking area an 5 mins back. I dont go out much at the moment but I cant imagine wanting to spend an evening doing that.

Im sure some compromise could be reached though

[rxk22]

[Pitarou]