It depends, for example, here in Brazil it is normal to talk loudly anywere, but we find it rude to lift your plate from the table and make noise while eating like the Japanese do
Not just being decent... but understanding Japanese culture. For example... offering money to homeless Japanese people may be perceived as an act of kindness by foreigners...but doung so may actually offend in Japan. Tipping in restaurants is considered polite in Western countries... but is considered offensive in Japan. Making eye contact with strangers you talk to is considered polite in Western countries... but is considered impolite and aggressive in Japan.
The thing about foreigners saying hello in a store.. like, I've lived in Japan for 3 months now and I still say "hello" or "konnichiwa" when the staff says "irrashaimase". I feel really rude if I dont say anything back, or at least give a smile to the person who greeted me. That could be part of the culture I come from that you always have to greet back if you're being greeted. Like, I feel really uncomfertable in the store if I havent like made sure that I've heard or seen the store personal (if they've greeted me of course).
iGNONERA I've always found it really rude when people don't say hello, or at least smile and nod when I say hello to them. They might not realize that it seems very dismissive and disrespectful. Like they aren't recognizing your presence. It doesn't have to even be in a store or anything, although I'm sure some people could care less about how they treat the staff.
iGNONERA As someone who works in a convenience store, I ALWAYS say hello when a customer comes in (I'm Asian-Canadian between)... but then one day I realized "Wait, why am I never greeted when I go into other convenience store?" Anyway, most customers will reply back (since they are regulars from the neighbourhood), thank god. Or else, as you say, it is kind of rude.
iGNONERA I couldn't agree more. I lived in Japan for almost two years, and while Japanese people are generally very polite, and was always struck and startled by how they treated komibini or store clerks. They never acknowledge the clerks when they are greeted upon entering, never acknoweldge the cashier, and don't thank the cashier after the transaction is completed and have received their change and product. I always find it very rude. Would a simple "arigatou" or smile upon being handed your change hurt you? I always feel bad if I don't say konnichiwa or arigatou to the clerks who serve me at the store.
iGNONERA I thought it was weird too, but then I noticed that literally nobody else does it. I don't think I've ever seen a Japanese person greet a shop keeper once in the 5 years I've been here. So then, doing it also made me feel weird. I think eventually, I found a balance in not saying anything, but smiling (or at least making eye contact) and bowing when greeted in a shop. I also noticed, as someone else commented, that most people don't thank the shop keeper once they've been helped. It might not be what everyone else does, but I can't forego that. I really do appreciate being helped in a quick and thoughtful manner, so I can't not thank them.
Donald Trump, too. At least I think so. His 2017 visit to Japan didn't cause anywhere near as much of an outcry as that of Logan Paul, but it still made me think "Where are his manners?"
Wow, I always considered this common sense xD. But you know, who are the true heroes? Imagine this situation: you are at the supermarket and you don't really buy a lot, maybe just eggs. And when you want to pay the person in front of you has bought enough to feed their family for an entire week, so you would have to wait extraordinarily long in order to pay for your that item you want to buy. And that person in front of you just asks you if you might want to get in front of them so you don't have to wait that long. These persons are the true heroes.
It's absolutely common in my country, happens everyday, everywhere. Although noboby would feel much hero-like because of that here. People generaly tend to use other words for germans 😉
This situation never happened to me.. I never bought really much for monthly shopping. Often, there are family who brought lots of things to fulfill one trolley. I often have to wait for them. 😅
As an interior designer, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THOUGHT WE PUT INTO TRAFFIC FLOW GOD IT'S ANNOYING TO PREDICT HOW HUMANS BEHAVE IN A SPACE THAT DOESN'T EXIST YET! EDIT: ahem... sorry about that. It's annoying, tis all.
America too, at least for me. I waited in like for half an hour for my college books and these two jerks skipped the whole line! Everyone in line with me was extremely pissed.
+FatPanda You could also interpret this as her not making way for others. Some people think the other person on the street is supposed to dodge them all the time and will not change course. Then it's your fault for bumping into them.
+Natasha Burdette Maybe they are trying to dodge her too and they both dodge in the same direction? If they bump into each other both sides have failed to dodge.
Correct me if I'm wrong but part of the reason why anime characters are so rude is because it is a "safe" way to experience, being loud, queue jumping etc. without offending others as many of the interviewees talk about how certain actions cause troubles or offenses to others.
Yes. This makes the anime characters "relatable" to insolent youth. Just like in America, often the most popular characters in cartoons are the rudest characters.
@Picogram I'm from the Netherlands, I've seen a lot of people trying to jump queues, in Amsterdam or at cons, with everyone else calling out at them immediately. Needless to say people jumping queues is a rare sight in every other case :D
I live in Japan since 2011 and yes, I don't think japanese people are so perfectly well mannered.. They have rules but not always following them. They don't always give their seat in the train, a lot of them pretend to sleep than giving their seat ! They also push others in order to have a seat ! I usually get pushed by old ladies or salarymen lol They talk loudly sometimes in the restaurant, and they laugh with food in the mouth lol especially young men.. it's not well seen to blow your nose in public, but take off and play with your boogers apparently is accepted lol This is the hobby of a lot of ojisan in the train/bus... They bump into you in the street because they always watch their phone !!! And if they don't they still bump in to you because it looks like they are thinking about something so deeply and they don't really care of people around and sometimes I even feel they WANT to push you for whatever reason ( those people are especially salary men or old men ) The most ANNOYING for me is when they are packed in the street walking slowly or watching something around them and not leaving a single place to other people to pass until you shout to them "sumimasen"... And the people riding a bicycle think they are the kings of the streets, really --' they never ring their bell so you have no idea they are coming or they ride so fast how many times I was afraid to get kicked by them ! In Europe, we hold the doors to people, in Japan they don't ! Or they are not waiting you for the elevator ! It's like they don't want someone to be with them in the elevator so they just ignore you and rape-push the closing button lol how many times this happend to me or my friends xD So Yes, japanese have good manners in general, and foreign people find them polite compared to our people or rules in our own countries but japanese can be bad mannered too !
Tina Zlata Thanks for your comment ! I only went to Tokyo last year but its so true ! i cant believe japanese people always bump into me and never apologize. and they never leave the place for other people to pass... sometimes even "sumimasen" isnt enough !
Tina Zlata can't we just agree that japanese people are just like everyone else in the world, where if they can't be bothered to follow a rule, they won't :P
+Tina Zlata I only live here for two months now and experienced everything you stated above lol!!! When I came to Japan in 2010, people would at least offer their seats to older or pregnant people. I always do, getting even a strange look from people my age who didn't offer...it's confusing. Also, I think a big problem here is, that you never know on which side you are supposed to walk. In Europe you always walk on the right side, leaving space for people coming from the opposite direction, who also walk on their right side - no problem at all. But here..nope! Even the direction arrows at the staircases aren't consistent. One time a girl stood on my foot for a good 10 minutes or more at an event..I tried to "sumimasen" her, tapped on her shoulder, nothing..she even looked down, noticing it..but since it was her let's say "zone" (appr. 1m²), she secured for herself to get a better view, she she wouldn't move or apologize. After 10 PM in crowded areas people (especially olderly men) piss whereever they feel to. That's grossing me out so much. You could at least make sure to do it at a place where noone can see you - or use one of the 345763 free puplic toilets around..they're everywhere. But then again, I do think that because most of the people follow the manners, the ones who don't stick out even more. Nevertheless I feel that for e.g. if a lot of people ignore other who try to get through, like you said, even more will do in the future. That's the thing here, they just follow the majority....good manner or bad :/
One thing comes to mind about Sweden that is similar to Japan. You should take off your shoes if you are visiting someones home. In some cases, for one reason or another, the host might say that it's okay to keep your shoes on (especially if it's only a brief visit), but you should always be prepared to take them off.
Miranda Constable I don't think so. Many Americans apparently don't take off their shoes indoors. And I'm not sure about the overall tendency, but every time I've been to Britain it seems that taking off your shoes indoors is not a big thing there either.
In the UK, standing on the left side of the London Underground escalators is seen as really rude! If you don't want to walk up the escalator, stand on the right hand side and make sure any luggage is kept on the right hand side. It's frustrating for people trying to get to a train when their way is blocked by people standing on the left.
+Max Sidhu In Japan is the opposite. You stand on the left, and people in a hurry walk on the right. But a few weeks ago they have started recommending not to walk at all while you are on the escalators (to prevent accidents, they say).
+Roberto It's right for almost all Japan, but if you go to Osaka for example, it's the opposite :p People would stand on the right. It's quite funny 'cause you can distinct the Japanese tourists from the Osakajin on the escalators x)
jolizelle Yes, it seems to be that way in some (or maybe most) parts of the Kansai area like Osaka, Wakayama, and Hyogo. I wonder if there are other things and customs that different in Kansai from the rest of Japan...
+Roberto I don't know about the rest of Kansai, but in Osaka, people speak a weird Japanese (＾ー＾) They have some words or expressions that most of people don't use. One of my Japanese friends from Osaka talked to me with an Osaka accent and it was so weird, I couldn't understand anything xD
In America (at least where i live in America) It is really important to hold your things close to you. Not just because of stealing, but because of giving room to other people. Whenever you sit at a bench or on a bus or train, you need to keep your things either behind your legs or on your lap. i see people put things (like their backpacks) on the seat next to them so that no one will sit with them, even though the bus is packed and people are standing. Nothing is more rude then making people wait/be uncomfortable because of your ignorance.
In Germany I am mostly annoyed by strangers who use the informal form of address immediately without agreeing with me on it first. And manners on the subway often leave much to be desired. People try to get on the train while there are still people wanting to get off. People not offering their seat to the elderly or even blocking the seat right next to them with their bag so nobody can sit there. Or people trying to get into the first or last car on the train so they have to walk less even if these are already quite full and thereby making the entering/exiting process take much longer. Fortunately I only seldomly witness these kinds of behaviours. That last one is by far the most common though with conductors having to make announcements about it.
woolver42 I have lived for a year in Berlin. I swear to god 75% of the people use the informal way of saying "you". It drove me crazy, I hate that, it shows so little respect. I just use the formal way of adressing someone anyway, so that they realize that I don't find that cool. Usually they don't care, though :D
I'm from rural Bavaria. We are still quite old fashioned when it comes to manners and everything else. Berliners however are almost infamous for their cheeky dialect and disregard of social status. Which maybe helped them to cope with the difficult history the city had to endure.
Coming from a city in the Netherrhine region, I am at least used to a bit of formality with strangers. I don't know about the history part. I think it is about living in a big city, you can see that all over the world: The bigger the city, the less politeness.
ThatJapaneseManYuta I think English is really the exception within European languages as they have abandoned the informal address ("thou"). Every other language that I had some brief contact with still differentiates between informal and formal ("tú" & "vos", "tu" & "vous", "Du" & "Sie"). Only Swedish has abandoned the formal address.
Japanese people have always been very polite. My brother went to Japan for training with his work and he said that he loved working with them probably more than other nationalities even other Americans.
+Cassie Pena I don't meet many Japanese people, but when I was in a hotel in Paris, there was also a Japanese man that booked a room as well. To me, he was very friendly. The first morning there was just a greeting, because we were new to eachother. The morning that follows, we had long conversations, until one of us had to depart.
+Hans Kamp It's interesting that you mentioned Paris in particular. There is actually a situation referred to as 'Paris syndrome' that primarily afflicts Japanese tourists to Paris. Because the culture in Paris is very often very rude to tourists, it causes a great deal of distress to Japanese tourists who are not expecting it. To the point that many tourists have ended up having breakdowns and needing to be hospitalized for awhile (enough that they actually recognized and named the condition, obviously). Did the man you met ever mention to you being bothered by the rudeness of Parisian culture? I believe I've also read that many times it is a matter of Paris having a very innaccurate image in Japan, and many tourists go there without a terribly large amount of research and the culture shock combined with the huge dissonance between what they expected and reality really knocks them for a loop.
+Dustin Rodriguez It's pretty ironic that Parisians are such terrible hosts while Paris is known as a "romantic city" world wide. Which i do not think it is. The historic city center is okay but the rest is almost as bad as the Brazilian favela. Though tourist spots world wide are overcrowded, full of criminals and very very expensive in general. I'm Dutch and i avoid Amsterdam as much as i can. It's completely different from the rest of the country in a bad way. At least, that's my personal opinion.
+Hatagashira Wow yes you're totally right. I'm French and i agree 100%. Paris changed a lot in the past decades, in a bad manner. Better not trying to go in the North suburbs, which are the host of high criminality and... even terrorists by now. If people want to discover the real and peaceful France, they should better go in the rural areas with plenty of small, beautiful villages.
I am from Germany and many, MANY rules are very similar to Japan. You don't walk over red lights in Germany. If the police catch you, you will have to pay around 50 Euros, which is around 7000 Yen. People who bump into you in the streets and not walk away are considered very rude (but this is the same in any country I have visited). One thing that is different, is that pointing out faults and flaws to other people is considered good manners, because they may not be knowing they are making a mistake. If you tell them their mistake, they can change. Mistakes are considered part of learning, making mistakes is no sign of shame here. You can only learn if you make mistakes. Please, if a German person is showing bad manners in Japan, also have a little bad manners and tell them their mistake. They will apologize and change their behaviour. Also, not giving up your seat to elderly and pregnant women is bad manners here too, but ONLY if there are no other free seats. And also they have to ask for your seat. A German will never give you anything unless you specifically ASK him/her to give you that thing. Especially elderly people here are rude sometimes, because they do not ask you to stand up and just stare at you until you ask if they want your seat. Bowing to show your gratitude is not a thing in Germany, but we have a similar thing. Firmly shake their hand, look into their eyes and say thank you. In Germany, when you shake hands, do not be afraid to really, REALLY squeeze the other person's hand. It is considered a sign of weakness if you don't and if your handshake is very soft. And don't look away when shakling hands, that is considered impolite. Look into their eyes. Talking on a train is completely fine, but it is considered an "inside place", so you need to use your "inside voice", which basically means don't talk too loud. Shouting is only acceptable when outside or if you are really, REALLY angry at a person. Putting your elbows on the table is also considered bad manners. Greeting properly is also very important here. For example, if someone has a title, like Dr., you will always address them with their title. And if you meet someone you know on the streets, it is very impolite to not greet them. Another very similar thing is that Germans also like their rules. If you don't follow the rules, you will be scolded, disliked, fined and/or possibly jailed, depending on what rule you broke. I also like your videos, Yuuta. I want to go to Japan one day and your videos help me to learn more about japanese culture and language. Please keep up your good work! You are showing japanese culture to outsiders, which helps to make Japan and the rest of the world a better place.
+Neopterix Frosti Oh well, I guess I made some shitties impressions to Germans. My friend and I always crossed the streets even when there was the red light, just caring if there were cars or not. And, in fact I was wondering why everyone was staying in lane. They watched us particularly badly, after your comment I understand. And in the train I spoke loud but that's my nature, I'm Italian.
+Neopterix Frosti :) I have turkish origins but was born in Germany. I can completely approve what you (like "Sie" ) wrote here about Germany. :) It interesting to compare Turkey with Germany. In Turkey it is the other way round, people will ask you if you want something from them as soon as they detected that you are looking for something or behave "strange" :) But basic rules are similar to germany the only thing is the way people talk to elderly no matter if it is a family member or not and hospitality. We consider germans as cold, although they are not they are just more formal and careful withing interactions with people outside the family- or friends-circle. But I like both sides of the informal laws :) Because both sides somehow allow to be yourself while in Japan this is very difficult. I like it that I can laugh and move almost how I want as long as I care not offending people somehow (bumping into them, being toooo loud or using curses or annoying people in a crowded place) and that there is the option to switch into the formal and informal state within the society. Germany has changed over the years due to foreigners and the interactions. Germany has become more open to the way how other people live, what they appreciate or value and especially sharing. Yup as you stated a german person wants to be asked about everything but the new generation has learned many thing from their foreign friends so they act in "sharing" situations like them. Thats very cool. As long as Germany and Turkey doesn´t become USA 2.0 I will be fine with living in one of these countries. Most important: Saying, please, thank you, you are welcome and acting generally in a polite way.
Neopterix Frosti I don't mean to sound derogatory here, but would you mind elaborating a little what good things the Turkish immigrants brought us (besides the Döner of course, it's one of my favorite dishes, too, by the way)? Because I actually doubt that we Germans became warmer and more open solely because of having people from other cultures in our country. It's just my personal opinion, but I prefer Iranian culture over Turkish culture. Rest assured, however, that I'm not loath to getting to know other cultures.
Hi there :) Thanks for uploading all those interesting videos. I’ve seen a few so far and I’ll subscribe right after posting this comment. To answer your question: I’m Polish and some of the things you should do when in Poland are as follows: - say ‘Good morning/afternoon/evening’ and ‘Goodbye’ to your neighbours, acquaintances, co-workers or when entering a store; - say ‘Bless you’ when you hear someone (even a stranger) sneeze [we don’t actually make a religious reference, but we wish someone health or hope that they will live 100 years]; - give up a seat for a pregnant woman or the elderly; - let a pregnant woman pass to the front of the queue in a store; - allow women and the elderly to pass first through the door; - take off your shoes when coming home/entering someone else’s apartment/house [we put on slippers]. Some of the things you shouldn’t do include: - being loud in a public place; - listening to music on your phone without using headphones (in public places, particularly on busses & trams); - burping; - picking your nose; - farting; - slurping while eating or drinking; - trying to get on a bus/tram/train while other people are getting off; - walking on the left side of the sidewalk (we have right-hand traffic, sidewalks included) or blocking the way to chat with someone else/tie your shoelace; - eating with your mouth open; - not covering your mouth when sneezing or coughing; - visiting someone unannounced; - making out in a public place like you’re about to have sex; - talking on the phone while on a bus/tram/train; - honking; - not wiping your shoes on a doormat. I’m sure there are more things you should/shouldn’t do while in Poland, but that’s all that comes to my mind right now :)
well I have also seen Japanese people doing those things, being loud on trains, even insulting people, etc. It is not good to speak for everyone. However, if a group of foreigners is being a bit loud on a train, I think it is possible to understand their excitement over being on such a fantastic trip instead of assuming they are just plain rude.
I feel weird about this, I think that in general in my country(Chile-Latin America) people is very polite, but at the same time we don't care much about this stuff, even if you encounter someone that does something umcomfortable to you you don't judge them(maybe you get angry but it won't last), we are relaxed I think compared to some countries, but at the same time we have good manners
DiegoOruga I'm from Chile, too, and you are so right in some points. I also found interesting that here, we always greet back to the people in stores and taxi drivers, and thank them when we leave. Is what we found polite. In my own perspective, when I'm working and someone enter the store and don't reply when I greet, that person is rude. (Sorry about my bad English, I'm writing this way so other people can read).
As a New Yorker, so many of these are relevant - Standing in the train door while people are trying to get off, not keeping to the right on the sidewalk, tourists congregating at street crossings or doorways, smoking while walking. Sounds like I'd be at home in Tokyo!
When I was in Japan, my Japanese teacher was visiting as well. When we were on the train she said it was okay to sit in the "priority seats" if no one needed them, and only get up and offer if someone of age or disability needed a seat. Is this correct?
Please teach this to New Yorkers because holy shit too many do a lot ofthe things that are considered to be bad manners and even I find it annoying. Even if there is a cultural difference people should be doing this naturally. Its callrd being a decent human being.
Japan is usually like this and most Oriental countries as well. In those countries, being respectful is part of culture and tradition and general way of life for all social classes. In other countries, being respectful was only meant for very formal affairs or the upper class and most people were vulgar outside these affairs.
I dint know about the whole population but Tokyo certainly. I've been to Japan as a holiday for more than 6 years and I've never seen someone give their seats to someone else. Even if an disabled person walks in, nothing happens. I saw an elderly man giving up his seat for a blind person once. Everyone is just on their phones or they just seem to not care at all.
I always did so when on trains in Tokyo. I think it shocked many people that foreigners were polite enough to do this... I agree that I rarely saw younger Japanese people doing this...
sueb262 Just to know what japanese ppl currently think, i know that a lot of japanase who studies chinese in shanghai and last time i went to japan i saw a lot of chinese sightseeing and working lel
+work1907 the same goes for Koreans, and imagine if he made a video asking them ''What do you think of the attitude of some politicians who don't accept Japanese war crimes? Do you recognize them?'' Ouch, touchy subject for a nation that doesn't like speaking their mind and considers honor to be too important.
To the bit about breaking off cherry blossom branches - I'm pretty sure that destruction of property isn't just rude in most countries around the world, it's illegal.
Incheon airport in Seoul, Korea... I've seen people remove the ropes and cross entire lanes when waiting for security. In America, at least in my experience, there generally aren't queues because people do not line up. They just make a free-form blob.
Keigo! That's one of the hardest parts of learning Japanese for me, haha. I really want to learn it though, since one of my pet peeves in my own country is when complete strangers address me casually ("buddy," "man," and the worst one: "bro,"). I don't expect people to call me "sir," but some people are so casual that they come off as arrogant.
though im not japanese and i dont live in japan, when people i dont know are nice who hold the door or let me pass i tend to bow slightly for no reason lol maybe because im really quiet so i dont say thankyou loud enough
BECCA OTAKU I’m from Kansas and we still have the “old west” kind of manners where we touch our hat brim or dip our heads, the army tried to break me of it saying “we aren’t in the orient “ 🙄 but yeah a lot of Americans still bow 😁
This is kind of an observation I made when I was in Japan; Japanese people love to drink as much as Aussies (I think), and they even have events like 花見 to drink with family, friends, and work colleagues in public too! However, the drinking attitude in Japan is more respectable than Aussies. Even when drunk, Japanese people just laugh a lot, mind their own business (mostly) and all that. But Aussies, especially the male demographic, when drunk, instigates nonsensical fights. I have never seen anyone getting fatally injured or dying from a drunken brawl in Japan, but in Australia, there's at least one or two coverage of that in the news. I guess even in their drunken state, respect and good manners are the norm in Japan. That's one thing that bothered me about where I live, and one thing I really liked about Japan.
Also just adding to my culture (I have two)... since I spent half of my life in the Philippines, I can safely say that we're naturally loud. I don't think it's a bad thing but I can understand why people can be put off by it. 本当にごめなさい!
I'm aussie and everyone I know just talk louder and laugh too much when they're drunk XD I have heard so many instances of drunken aussies getting into stupid fights and doing stupid things, but I've never actually experienced it myself. I guess I chose the right Aussies to hang out with XD
+Kaitlyn -San I guess I should have said a generalised culture in Australia. I don't hang out with those types of people either so I THINK we chose well (although I could be subjective :P)
snake046 Oh and how exactly did you guess that? Your comment is the absolute embodiment of absurdity. What you are basically saying is that in order to be polite, one has to conform to random standards that originate from racism and prejudice. Being homophobic actually does equal being impolite, since this type of behavior is negatively affecting the lives of other people who have done nothing wrong to you, or anybody else (unless you think people can be homophobic without displaying homophobic behavior, which is highly unlikely). Honestly, the fact that you think that people who do not accept or give in to impoliteness are actually the ones who are impolite blows my mind.
20419943002 "What you are basically saying is that in order to be polite, one has to conform to random standards that originate from racism and prejudice." The standards are not random. And not respecting racist people is precisely how you encourage racism. My guess is that you don't understand that, and you think that being hostile towards people that disagree with you is how you're going to make them agree with you. And when I put it in these terms, you probably think "what, no, I'm reasonable, I'm not trying to fix people with hostility"... but the truth is, you are... you're just too egotistical to see it. "Being homophobic actually does equal being impolite" See, this is astounding. If someone is homophobic, but never expresses any homophobic thoughts, how is he being impolite ? You can have fantasies about children for all I care, as long as you're keeping them deep inside you and don't act on it, it's not a problem. "[...] this type of behavior is negatively affecting the lives of other people " You believe that being homophobic negatively affects the lives of homosexuals. But you can't believe that displaying homosexuality to an homophobic persons negatively affects the homophobic person. Interesting. If you truly believe in what you say, why don't you take of all your clothes, go out in the middle of town and start touching the asses of other men and women. See how it goes.
This is one of many reasons why I would love to visit Japan. I like the saying "Treat others how you want to be treated" It just goes against my way to be rude.
Hey, 6 or 7 years later, how was your trip? Did you end up going? I'm trying to re-learn Japanese from my high school days, been about 3 weeks now. I really want to go over there for this aspect of their culture. How was it? Sorry for all the questions!
Now that I'm visiting Japan I understand this so clear. Thanks for the video, I would recommend to watch it before travelling to Japan because actually, most of the things we do as foreigners, we don't realise that are bad manners here.
The part of the people talking high on the trains is a big true for spanish, on my first travel to japan i was all the day asking my friends to talk in a low voice haha here in spain i found the normal daily even for older people have noisy conversations on the train, i found this annoying especially during mornings when im on my way to the office :) but when i was on japan is easy to me know when there was a spanish tourist group near because the noise , i the end, i think this is a cultural fact and not about education. Your videos are really good, i'm a japanese student and i found that this is an amazing way of learning both the languaje and the culture in just one video, many thanks! you have a new fan :)
well in America... it is rude not to let the elderly or pregnant have the front seats, it is rude not to tip, it is rude to slurp, rude not to open the door to people, rude to be on cell phone in class, movie, or seminar type situation... or rude not to commence in small talk, but that may be because I'm from the south... I've heard that's not a big deal up north...
+Analeigh Rose I've lived all over the west half of the states. I agree with everything you said except the slurping. And I can tell you from experience, the farther south, the worse the manners, but the better the show.
+Analeigh Rose Here in Oregon, small talk is a mixed bag. People (at least what I have observed) tend to keep to themselves. But, I've also noticed that if you comment in a kind manner and wait for them to get over the shock of you invading their universe, it usually isn't a problem. It is different from person to person, but can be rewarding. Downtown Portland is another matter. NEver sure WHAT you'll find there. ;D
+FluffyPuff138 Not making small talks is considered rude? Wouldn't it appear fake and pretentious to try make small talks even if you have nothing to say? I am quite a reserved person, I think I would be very stress to always try to think of something to say in that kind of environment where small talk is expected.
+darrendelong we have lots of stock phrases for small talk, it sort of becomes automatic after a while. You don't need to make small talk with every person you see, but if someone engages you in small talk, it's polite to answer. Foreigners sometimes come off as standoffish or rude if they don't respond or brush off the person talking to them. Smiling is also important! Otherwise, people think that you're mad/upset AT THEM. It takes some practice if you're not used to it. And unfortunately this is one aspect of American culture that doesn't show up in movies or TV because small talk just eats up time and is kind of boring XD
great video as always, i really like your interviews, they are very interesting and ressourcefull hope you keep that going in the future. Ill be going to Japan in 3 months for one year and i hope, i´ve got the right "japanese" manners till then so that people wont think that im rude :)
This was briefly covered by one of the people interviewed, but in the U.S. it's considered admirable to acknowledge strangers with a small gestures. Such as smiling to someone walking your direction, or nodding politely to someone next to you at the bus stop. Anything that lets the other person know that you acknowledge them really. Ohh, and really dig the video!
Actually, a lot of good manners are HIGHLY culturally dependant, and cannot be intuitively understood by newcomers. For example, should you use your chopsticks to cut your food. Is that good, bad or neutral? How about putting your chopsticks into your bowl of rice? Should you hold your bowl of food or leave it on the table while eating? How deep of a bow should you give a person? Do you need to bow back at the service staff who bow at you? When you go out with co-workers, should everyone split the bill evenly or should it depend on what you personally ordered? Is "ladies first" complimentary or insulting? Should you tell your honest opinions or hide them? What about eating noodles, should you make a sound while eating them or stay silent? Should you eat everything given to you or leave a little food behind?
"People who don't put their elbows on the table when eating" haha was that right? because if doing that, it would be really rude and showing bad manors at a dinner here in Sweden.
I have been told that, in some countries, I should not say "Thank You" to a waiter or a bus driver, because they are doing their job and they do not want to be thanked for it. Can anyone tell me if such a thing is considered inappropriate where they live?
Breaking branches off the trees? That's just plain terrible. The rest is all little things, things I would have to think about in order to keep from messing up. But breaking branches off of trees is more than just 'bad manners'. They should've been fined for it, or something.
Shamaninja14 I might expect children to do that because they are curious about everything and like to dissect any object they can get their hands on, but adults? The way I look at it, is that the trees are there for everyone to enjoy, so if people were to just rip off twigs and branches, they wouldn't look very nice anymore, and it's disrespectful to the people that work to keep them looking nice.
aside from it being incredibly disrespectful, what did they think they were going to do with it? Customs isn't going to let you take plant samples out of the country, or into yours.
I'm in shock that people would be so rude. When little kids pull on the branches of my trees, I yell at them. Who really thinks it's ok to break twigs off trees? They should just take a picture!!!!
People forget the basics sometimes. Thanks for making these great videos. I'd like to share this with everyone in NY so they can start acting properly. Www!
I find it very awesome that the responses were on bad manners and not groups of people that have those manners. If you did this in USA you would have gotten responses about groups of people not the manners themselves.
i agree on most of it, but the part about dresing according to what others think, and not what you like, i couldnt disagree more! i belive people should be free to look and dress as they please - as long as they ARE dressed! ^^ because how you dress is not important, its personality and how you treat people that is important ^^
+Eva Lise Højen Jensen Well, you could say that the way you dress is part of how you treat people. You're imposing your looks on them, so it wouldn't be polite to present yourself in an inappropriate attire. For instance, if everyone is dressed in a way, and you're dressed "special", you're (intentionally or not) hogging the attention, and that's not polite at all.
wow, i really dont see it that way! unless a person is wearing nothing but underwear pretty much, i dont see a problem... judging a person on their looks is so superficial, instead of judging the person on how they act! a lot of the reason people dress to get attention is because they feel bad about themselfs - and that can be because of 1000s of reasons... - and if they need that extra attention to feel better, so what? try to look at the person, and think about there might be a reason they wear what they do, and its not just because they love themselfs and are attention whores... and stop feeling better than people just because they wear what they want to, just because you dont like what they wear...
Eva Lise Højen Jensen I don't give two shits about what I wear. You said it yourself, personality is what matters. "judging a person on their looks is so superficial, instead of judging the person on how they act!" Your two proposals are contradictory. Wearing clothes *is* an act. If you decided to go out of your way to look different, you *did* something. And if you decided not to look different, you did something as well. Both things will be judged. "a lot of the reason people dress to get attention is because they feel bad about themselves [...] if they need that extra attention to feel better, so what?" Because it's not helping them. Getting the attention they want isn't going to help them, especially if that attention isn't positive. An individual like that needs to learn not to need the approval of others to love himself. "try to look at the person, and think about there might be a reason they wear what they do" Oh I definitely do that. For everyone, the first reason about why they wear different stuff is that they think they're different, which already tells a lot about a person. That very often means they can't read people well, and that is typical of persons who mainly think about themselves (not that they can't be generous or pleasant to be around : just that they're main issue in life is themselves).
lol... sorry but i can do nothing but laugh at all that... dressing different have nothing to do with feeling different... it have something to do with liking other things than other people.. and honestly, i rather be in the company of 100 people who dress weird, because they like how it looks, than 1 who looks down on them!
Eva Lise Højen Jensen "and honestly, i rather be in the company of 100 people who dress weird, because they like how it looks, than 1 who looks down on them! " Well, I don't look down on these people. But all those people, because they dress differently, do look down on everyone else. They think they're special. They aren't.
***** I have lived here for 5 years and this is my take on it. Traditionally, they wouldnt look directly into your eyes of their superiors. To the opposite sex it was ok, though women would tend to glance away because they saw men as superior. When lords and samurai would come to a town people would kneel on the ground a bow, obviously not looking and submitting. A direct stare and eye contact could have been taken as a challenge. All that being said...this is basically non existent anymore. People enjoy eye contact here now, for the same reasons we do, it lets you know the conversation is engaging.
1:48 honestly she is being kind of an hypocrite. so people who don't move out of the way are rude. and she complains about people who bump into her , but isn't she just as rude since she doesn't bother to move either and just expectes others to move out of her way? and how is it rude if someone bumps into you when you both coincidentally moved in the same direction. i don't get her lol
I have to agree with this. In my experience it seems that if a group of people is larger than your group, then you're expected to move out of the way just because the other group is larger, and honestly that ticks me off.
Caramel Victim She's talking about a very curious group of people. I meet them time and time again here in Japan. Since I do not live here, when I visit I often travel with big luggage. Larger train stations are very crowded most of the day. Now, most of the time you manage just fine, but sometimes there are these people, who just walk towards you, they look at you, they see you are handling several pieces of luggage, but they will not leave the line they'e walking along for as much as a millimeter and they always just bump into you as they sweep by, practically pushing you out of their way. It can also happen when for some reason you can't make way, but even when the other party could they won't try to avoid bumping you. It's seriously so annoying when that happens, so when that girl said that, I thought "Ah, so other Japanese people do think of this as rude too, it's not my foreign mind that doesn't understand this".
@Robert Wilson III - well it's simple logic really, the smaller group moving out of the way inconveniences a smaller total number of people :P At least that's how I've always thought of it, it doesn't tick me off at all because of that.
I'm in America and instead of saying thank you I sometimes like nod/bow my head and I don't know why I've always done that I always get really confused
In Argentina the louder u are the cooler u are.. I feel like I don't belong to my own country because I'm very quiet and thoughtful instead of talkative.
I've been living in Tokyo for a month and a half and I've witnessed most of the wrongdoings mentioned in this video being done namely by the Japanese, haha! They often don't walk on the left side in the street (on the subway this happens less frequently). They are not watching where they are going (absorbed with their smartphone) while crossing the overcrowded street, bump with their forehead into me and give me that look saying 'wtf you are doing on my way?!'. Nobody (!!!) has ever apologized to me after stepping on my feet. It's mostly Japanese people who tend to stop and start talking with each other in the middle of the sidewalk blocking it. During the rush hour on the subway they are pushing and queue jumping at the turnstile or while getting on the train. Young people are often laughing and speaking loudly on the train ( if it's not the rush hour and the train isn't overcrowded, so they feel more comfortable). I've seen once as an elderly lady was standing and sleeping (!!!) leaning against her hand which was up holding the handrail and young people sitting in front of her didn't attempt to give up their seat to her ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Of course such things don't happen in each and every situation. But I see this here more often than in London or in Germany. Who knows, maybe I have just been extremely unlucky so far. Anyway 2 years ago when I spent a vacation here, people seemed to be less pushy and inattentive for some reason. My husband has noticed that there's a special species of Japanese girls on the subway - dressed up diva-like chics with a sassy face and a voluminous bag which they carry on the bent elbow and inexorably move through the crowd like a tank. So a huge bag on the bent elbow - that's a kind of very vivid adequacy test, haha!
You are not alone. I have seen puke on trains as well, a lot of Japanese have bad behavior it is all age groups. And don't even get me started on cyclists.
I totally agree with this video in pretty much every way. This makes me so proud to live in Japan. I have lived here nearly 5 years and totally agree they are the most polite people in the sense of society standards of respect and consideration.
Refusing home-made food is kinda disrespectful in my country, or, atleast in my culture. It's like, you don't appreciate the fact that someone tried their best to make something or that you don't like how it looks or something. I don't really know how to say it in words properly but it's something like that.
What i hate most in Europe is how people act in train or bus. They are loud, they bring food in, claim more place than they need, often they smell terrible. That's why i am trying not to use public transport more often than i need.
agree as well i ride with the train every morning some workers even drinkt their beer in the train infront of school kids.And when soccer games are on most of the time the train or the whole station is full with cops eat least in my country.
I agree that you should be respectful when using public transportation - but that goes both ways - you can't be a fucking prude about it either or you are just as bad (not aimed at anyone here btw, just an observation I find important to the discussion)
In general, anywhere you go, you should learn or be willing to learn the native language instead of expecting them to cater to you. In the US it's gotten to the point that English speakers are encouraged to learn Spanish just to cater to the people who seemingly refuse to learn English
Aruka Kirigiri when i went to japan in 2013 (going again on the 23rd) i had absolutely 0 knowledge of any of this. If you act normally in japan, you will come off as offensive lol
I visited America several times and I find that different part of the country have different manner In most places I've been though the people are friendly and well mannered,
ゆたさん I just found this channel and so far im loving it. great topics covered and the people are so honest and entertaining in their answers. Love it. I see all the examples of peoples experiences in their own countries and I have to admit NY is a mixed bag depending on where you are. For the most part though you don't generally want to say hello to people who you don't know or look at people straight in the eye lol. Unfortunately people in NYC are very mistrusting and again depending on where you grew up there is a reason for it and the abrasiveness we are so well known for. Me, ive always felt like that should change but again ive always been open to different cultures and actually spent more than 5 years working with Koreans and made some good friends and found a lot in that culture similar to Japanese culture that I think Americans in general not just NYkers could learn from. The respect aspect of life in general when dealing with people older than you and also for your bosses is important and I think we lack a lot of that here. Our youth nowadays is too interested in nonsense and lack a lot in the way of respect. I would love to visit Japan one day but unfortunately I do not think that would ever come to pass. So videos like these and others ive found are very refreshing. すべての偉大なビデオに。ありがとうございます。
I'm assuming "queue jumping" is the same as the North American "butting/cutting in line", right? I hate when people do that. And I hate when people start smoking in front of others. That said, most of the things mentioned in this video are the same in Canada. I think good manners are pretty much the same everywhere; just be considerate and respect others and the environment.
ThatJapaneseManYuta "People like me have a very different mindset from the ones in the video." Yuta, I think it would also be cool if you shared your opinions about what you consider too much strict and what you consider good manner based on what people spoke on the video. Tchau tchau! :)
Hi, I have been to Japan multiple times and noticed that no one hold the door open for the next person. Why is that? When I hold the door, people seem really surprised. Jus my observation...
There is something I think is completely paradoxical about Japanese people : they always have in mind that they shouldn't disturb people but honestly I've never seen people who pay that less attention to what happen around them ! I've been in Tokyo for ten months now and I know that in Shibuya for example you cannot apologize to all the people you bump into but the reason you bump into that many people is because they don't pay attention to others. Same in narrow stores, sometimes if you want to pass but someone is in your way, even if you politely say "sumimasen" and bow and everything, they don't even look at you and don't move. And how many times have I seen people rushing into the train to a seat..... I love Japanese people but sometimes I'm tired x)
In Scotland, we have generally a lot of similar rules for manners and honestly seem to have more differences with America than Japan, for instance in Scotland we don't tend to tip unless we feel that the service provided warrants one or if for instance a taxi ride is £9.20 and we only have a tenner, we're likely to "tip" in the form of not taking change back from the tenner.
to be honest, except maybe for talking with cellphones on trains, I find all of those mentioned traits apply everywhere in the civilized world and are not really specific to Japan...
Yes, but most people outside Japan, or maybe Asia in general, don't really care about those things that should be common. What was mentioned in the video by the interviewed people as good behavior is basically the opposite of how the average western person comports him- or herself. (Sorry btw if this reply surprises you, given that you wrote your comment six years ago. I don't know if you'll even read this, just came across your comment ^^).
Curious question, if you are walking around in public and listening to music at the same time, is this also considered rude in Japan? Is it basically the same thing as talking on the phone in public places?
Japanese and British manners are very similar though so Japanese tourists shouldn't have too many problems. Taking photos while in a big crowd is a problem though.
+Kuro Shinko Only in public with respect to keeping the peace For example, not trying to force your favorite choice of restaurant/activity when deciding where to eat/what to do with people (who you are usually not informal with) who do not like or are not very fond of that restaurant/activity Instead, you'd compromise and offer something you know they might enjoy (and you would most enjoy from the options available) I completely agree that it would be extremely stifling if that needed to be done in every situation, but the amount of consideration/self-sacrifice truly depends upon how close/formal you are with the people you're with, and consequentially how much respect you need deem them with regards to their interests over your own. It's the same type of understandable politeness of giving up your seat, except h'ere you're giving up your most desired situation for a lesser desireable situation. The catch is that that "less desireable" situation may still be desireable in the grand scheme of things. But again, above all, maintaining a "pleasant experience" with the people you're with
Well done Yuta. You seem to put a lot of effort into making these videos - on interesting topics which help us (gaijins) to understand more about Japan.
dissapointing how hyper critical the older couple was honestly for almost all their answers were almost always a bit nit picky, although the foreigner one i can understand but even then some of their answers had a bit of a resentment/ignorant undertone but maybe that's just my interpretation of their answers lol.
I don't think they are hyper-critical; for me, it read as matter-of-fact and a bit dismayed. Of course, they have great esteem for their traditions, and I could say they were really disheartened/a bit outraged/offended when other people (even if they are foreigners) disrespect those traditions. Of course, they would harbor a little bit negative feelings as well - such is their sense of national pride and nationalism.
Do close buttons in Japanese elevators actually do anything? In American elevators in normal operating mode, the close button does nothing, the Americans with Disabilities act prevents any shortening of the time that doors are open to allow those with disabilities who are slow to board time to get on. The only time the close button actually does anything is when it's in "locked down" mode (usually used by firefighters and sometimes when residents are moving in/out of an apartment).
I visited America several time and my experience find that most American especially the middle class have good manner and friendly............I found also some who are not, but only a few
So basically be a decent human being and you'll be good.
im doin' my best to be that guy. ^_^
im doin' my best to be that guy. ^_^
I'm that guy. But I'm usually an outcast
It depends, for example, here in Brazil it is normal to talk loudly anywere, but we find it rude to lift your plate from the table and make noise while eating like the Japanese do
Not just being decent... but understanding Japanese culture.
For example... offering money to homeless Japanese people may be perceived as an act of kindness by foreigners...but doung so may actually offend in Japan. Tipping in restaurants is considered polite in Western countries... but is considered offensive in Japan.
Making eye contact with strangers you talk to is considered polite in Western countries... but is considered impolite and aggressive in Japan.
The thing about foreigners saying hello in a store.. like, I've lived in Japan for 3 months now and I still say "hello" or "konnichiwa" when the staff says "irrashaimase". I feel really rude if I dont say anything back, or at least give a smile to the person who greeted me. That could be part of the culture I come from that you always have to greet back if you're being greeted. Like, I feel really uncomfertable in the store if I havent like made sure that I've heard or seen the store personal (if they've greeted me of course).
iGNONERA I've always found it really rude when people don't say hello, or at least smile and nod when I say hello to them. They might not realize that it seems very dismissive and disrespectful. Like they aren't recognizing your presence. It doesn't have to even be in a store or anything, although I'm sure some people could care less about how they treat the staff.
iGNONERA As someone who works in a convenience store, I ALWAYS say hello when a customer comes in (I'm Asian-Canadian between)... but then one day I realized "Wait, why am I never greeted when I go into other convenience store?" Anyway, most customers will reply back (since they are regulars from the neighbourhood), thank god. Or else, as you say, it is kind of rude.
iGNONERA I couldn't agree more. I lived in Japan for almost two years, and while Japanese people are generally very polite, and was always struck and startled by how they treated komibini or store clerks.
They never acknowledge the clerks when they are greeted upon entering, never acknoweldge the cashier, and don't thank the cashier after the transaction is completed and have received their change and product. I always find it very rude. Would a simple "arigatou" or smile upon being handed your change hurt you?
I always feel bad if I don't say konnichiwa or arigatou to the clerks who serve me at the store.
***** I wouldn't mind even if people didn't reply back everyone is different
iGNONERA I thought it was weird too, but then I noticed that literally nobody else does it. I don't think I've ever seen a Japanese person greet a shop keeper once in the 5 years I've been here. So then, doing it also made me feel weird. I think eventually, I found a balance in not saying anything, but smiling (or at least making eye contact) and bowing when greeted in a shop. I also noticed, as someone else commented, that most people don't thank the shop keeper once they've been helped. It might not be what everyone else does, but I can't forego that. I really do appreciate being helped in a quick and thoughtful manner, so I can't not thank them.
Yuta: What kind of people have bad manners?
Me: Logan Paul
Donald Trump, too. At least I think so.
His 2017 visit to Japan didn't cause anywhere near as much of an outcry as that of Logan Paul, but it still made me think "Where are his manners?"
Wow, I always considered this common sense xD. But you know, who are the true heroes?
Imagine this situation: you are at the supermarket and you don't really buy a lot, maybe just eggs. And when you want to pay the person in front of you has bought enough to feed their family for an entire week, so you would have to wait extraordinarily long in order to pay for your that item you want to buy. And that person in front of you just asks you if you might want to get in front of them so you don't have to wait that long.
These persons are the true heroes.
Graup I m that hero yaay. Or just when someone old comes around with not much on him/her, dont mind letting them pass aswell
Hello. I have come 1 year later to tell you that it's people, not "persons".
Graup Relax.
It's absolutely common in my country, happens everyday, everywhere. Although noboby would feel much hero-like because of that here. People generaly tend to use other words for germans 😉
This situation never happened to me.. I never bought really much for monthly shopping. Often, there are family who brought lots of things to fulfill one trolley. I often have to wait for them. 😅
I find it interesting how much of this is related to keeping traffic moving smoothly.
As an interior designer, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THOUGHT WE PUT INTO TRAFFIC FLOW GOD IT'S ANNOYING TO PREDICT HOW HUMANS BEHAVE IN A SPACE THAT DOESN'T EXIST YET!
EDIT: ahem... sorry about that. It's annoying, tis all.
I live in America. One thing I have noticed within the last few years, people playing music on their cell phones but are not wearing headphones.
Young people in Japan do this too.
Also happens in Brazil.
Relatable
Why do people do this? It seems odd.
If a Japanese man comes to South East Asia, he is going to have a heart attack.
He'll have a heart attack if he's in a taxi driving through the cities in the Philippines...
It depends on the country and culture
And he'll have his heart broken from getting rejected by taxi drivers in Thailand
zeinq I'm a living testament to that statement.
Putang ina mo haha
I can relate to the queue thing in Britain too. Everyone hates queue jumpers. We take lining up very seriously lol. Us Brits love a good queue.
America too, at least for me. I waited in like for half an hour for my college books and these two jerks skipped the whole line! Everyone in line with me was extremely pissed.
I think that's a universal thing, line cutters get stitches.
You skip a queue, you're through
Especially on the escalator :p
The whole queue thing in the UK is a HUGE stereotype. The Brits are definitely not better than the Italians.
'Some people look straight towards me and still bump into me.' Wow.
+FatPanda You could also interpret this as her not making way for others. Some people think the other person on the street is supposed to dodge them all the time and will not change course. Then it's your fault for bumping into them.
YuSooKey Yes indeed, I was in fact highlighting the stupidity of that comment.
+YuSooKey she specifically said right after that "i try to dodge them but they still manage to bump into me anyways"
+Natasha Burdette Maybe they are trying to dodge her too and they both dodge in the same direction? If they bump into each other both sides have failed to dodge.
In Europe and Australia, do pedestrians pass one another on the right or the left?
So basically, all anime characters are rude, you know, since they talk loudly all the time. XD
I guess Eren Yeager is the rudest then XD
lmaooo he's the first one that came to my mind when I read the comment!
Correct me if I'm wrong but part of the reason why anime characters are so rude is because it is a "safe" way to experience, being loud, queue jumping etc. without offending others as many of the interviewees talk about how certain actions cause troubles or offenses to others.
FlowerTrollSan and rarely dress appropriately. Usually they have their own style.
Yes. This makes the anime characters "relatable" to insolent youth. Just like in America, often the most popular characters in cartoons are the rudest characters.
If you jump the queue in Britain there's a 90% chance you wont even get served when you get to the front.
Justice. Nice.
@Picogram I'm from the Netherlands, I've seen a lot of people trying to jump queues, in Amsterdam or at cons, with everyone else calling out at them immediately. Needless to say people jumping queues is a rare sight in every other case :D
Son Gohan Think again.
So 10% chance that I will
I've legit never seen anyone cut inline outside of school. Do you really see this when you go out to eat?
One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone does not use his/her signal when driving.
@blueC I agree with you there.
Yeah, my dad said it's the cause of multiple crashes/accidents
I live in Japan since 2011 and yes, I don't think japanese people are so perfectly well mannered..
They have rules but not always following them.
They don't always give their seat in the train, a lot of them pretend to sleep than giving their seat ! They also push others in order to have a seat ! I usually get pushed by old ladies or salarymen lol
They talk loudly sometimes in the restaurant, and they laugh with food in the mouth lol especially young men..
it's not well seen to blow your nose in public, but take off and play with your boogers apparently is accepted lol This is the hobby of a lot of ojisan in the train/bus...
They bump into you in the street because they always watch their phone !!! And if they don't they still bump in to you because it looks like they are thinking about something so deeply and they don't really care of people around and sometimes I even feel they WANT to push you for whatever reason ( those people are especially salary men or old men )
The most ANNOYING for me is when they are packed in the street walking slowly or watching something around them and not leaving a single place to other people to pass until you shout to them "sumimasen"...
And the people riding a bicycle think they are the kings of the streets, really --' they never ring their bell so you have no idea they are coming or they ride so fast how many times I was afraid to get kicked by them !
In Europe, we hold the doors to people, in Japan they don't ! Or they are not waiting you for the elevator ! It's like they don't want someone to be with them in the elevator so they just ignore you and rape-push the closing button lol how many times this happend to me or my friends xD
So Yes, japanese have good manners in general, and foreign people find them polite compared to our people or rules in our own countries but japanese can be bad mannered too !
Tina Zlata Thanks for your comment ! I only went to Tokyo last year but its so true ! i cant believe japanese people always bump into me and never apologize. and they never leave the place for other people to pass... sometimes even "sumimasen" isnt enough !
Tina Zlata Where do you live? I believe that it would make a huge difference if you live in a major city or out in the countryside.
Tina Zlata can't we just agree that japanese people are just like everyone else in the world, where if they can't be bothered to follow a rule, they won't :P
+Tina Zlata I only live here for two months now and experienced everything you stated above lol!!!
When I came to Japan in 2010, people would at least offer their seats to older or pregnant people. I always do, getting even a strange look from people my age who didn't offer...it's confusing.
Also, I think a big problem here is, that you never know on which side you are supposed to walk. In Europe you always walk on the right side, leaving space for people coming from the opposite direction, who also walk on their right side - no problem at all. But here..nope! Even the direction arrows at the staircases aren't consistent.
One time a girl stood on my foot for a good 10 minutes or more at an event..I tried to "sumimasen" her, tapped on her shoulder, nothing..she even looked down, noticing it..but since it was her let's say "zone" (appr. 1m²), she secured for herself to get a better view, she she wouldn't move or apologize.
After 10 PM in crowded areas people (especially olderly men) piss whereever they feel to. That's grossing me out so much. You could at least make sure to do it at a place where noone can see you - or use one of the 345763 free puplic toilets around..they're everywhere.
But then again, I do think that because most of the people follow the manners, the ones who don't stick out even more. Nevertheless I feel that for e.g. if a lot of people ignore other who try to get through, like you said, even more will do in the future. That's the thing here, they just follow the majority....good manner or bad :/
+Pisaroto I've experiencied the "Chaotic sidewalk" geez I don't get the way they walk...
One thing comes to mind about Sweden that is similar to Japan.
You should take off your shoes if you are visiting someones home. In some cases, for one reason or another, the host might say that it's okay to keep your shoes on (especially if it's only a brief visit), but you should always be prepared to take them off.
Johan Gustafsson Let's not forget that we really don't like people getting ANYWHERE near our personal space.
Johan Gustafsson Do the average Swedes wear shoes around their house?
KSH2006 I can't speak for every Swede, but the majority of us do not wear shoes indoors.
I was born and raised in the US. It boggles my mind that many Americans wear shoes indoors.
Miranda Constable I don't think so. Many Americans apparently don't take off their shoes indoors. And I'm not sure about the overall tendency, but every time I've been to Britain it seems that taking off your shoes indoors is not a big thing there either.
In the UK, standing on the left side of the London Underground escalators is seen as really rude! If you don't want to walk up the escalator, stand on the right hand side and make sure any luggage is kept on the right hand side. It's frustrating for people trying to get to a train when their way is blocked by people standing on the left.
+Max Sidhu In Japan is the opposite. You stand on the left, and people in a hurry walk on the right. But a few weeks ago they have started recommending not to walk at all while you are on the escalators (to prevent accidents, they say).
+Roberto It's right for almost all Japan, but if you go to Osaka for example, it's the opposite :p People would stand on the right. It's quite funny 'cause you can distinct the Japanese tourists from the Osakajin on the escalators x)
jolizelle Yes, it seems to be that way in some (or maybe most) parts of the Kansai area like Osaka, Wakayama, and Hyogo. I wonder if there are other things and customs that different in Kansai from the rest of Japan...
+Roberto I don't know about the rest of Kansai, but in Osaka, people speak a weird Japanese (＾ー＾) They have some words or expressions that most of people don't use. One of my Japanese friends from Osaka talked to me with an Osaka accent and it was so weird, I couldn't understand anything xD
+Max Sidhu In Brazil, mostly São Paulo, you stand on the right side. Escalators most of the time have a sign which says "leave left side free".
In America (at least where i live in America) It is really important to hold your things close to you. Not just because of stealing, but because of giving room to other people.
Whenever you sit at a bench or on a bus or train, you need to keep your things either behind your legs or on your lap. i see people put things (like their backpacks) on the seat next to them so that no one will sit with them, even though the bus is packed and people are standing. Nothing is more rude then making people wait/be uncomfortable because of your ignorance.
In Germany I am mostly annoyed by strangers who use the informal form of address immediately without agreeing with me on it first.
And manners on the subway often leave much to be desired. People try to get on the train while there are still people wanting to get off. People not offering their seat to the elderly or even blocking the seat right next to them with their bag so nobody can sit there. Or people trying to get into the first or last car on the train so they have to walk less even if these are already quite full and thereby making the entering/exiting process take much longer.
Fortunately I only seldomly witness these kinds of behaviours. That last one is by far the most common though with conductors having to make announcements about it.
woolver42 I have lived for a year in Berlin. I swear to god 75% of the people use the informal way of saying "you". It drove me crazy, I hate that, it shows so little respect. I just use the formal way of adressing someone anyway, so that they realize that I don't find that cool. Usually they don't care, though :D
KlassikerReview I find this conversation about the German language very interesting.
I'm from rural Bavaria. We are still quite old fashioned when it comes to manners and everything else.
Berliners however are almost infamous for their cheeky dialect and disregard of social status. Which maybe helped them to cope with the difficult history the city had to endure.
Coming from a city in the Netherrhine region, I am at least used to a bit of formality with strangers.
I don't know about the history part. I think it is about living in a big city, you can see that all over the world: The bigger the city, the less politeness.
ThatJapaneseManYuta I think English is really the exception within European languages as they have abandoned the informal address ("thou"). Every other language that I had some brief contact with still differentiates between informal and formal ("tú" & "vos", "tu" & "vous", "Du" & "Sie"). Only Swedish has abandoned the formal address.
shouldn't this just be common sense for everyone
We should just eat the rude
RedMad hahaha YES
Hell yes
Elyssae Exactly.
I'm confused by the not talking on the phone in trains rule... Can somebody explain why?
Japanese people have always been very polite. My brother went to Japan for training with his work and he said that he loved working with them probably more than other nationalities even other Americans.
All the things they said are common decency.
+Cassie Pena I don't meet many Japanese people, but when I was in a hotel in Paris, there was also a Japanese man that booked a room as well. To me, he was very friendly. The first morning there was just a greeting, because we were new to eachother. The morning that follows, we had long conversations, until one of us had to depart.
+Hans Kamp It's interesting that you mentioned Paris in particular. There is actually a situation referred to as 'Paris syndrome' that primarily afflicts Japanese tourists to Paris. Because the culture in Paris is very often very rude to tourists, it causes a great deal of distress to Japanese tourists who are not expecting it. To the point that many tourists have ended up having breakdowns and needing to be hospitalized for awhile (enough that they actually recognized and named the condition, obviously). Did the man you met ever mention to you being bothered by the rudeness of Parisian culture? I believe I've also read that many times it is a matter of Paris having a very innaccurate image in Japan, and many tourists go there without a terribly large amount of research and the culture shock combined with the huge dissonance between what they expected and reality really knocks them for a loop.
+Dustin Rodriguez It's pretty ironic that Parisians are such terrible hosts while Paris is known as a "romantic city" world wide. Which i do not think it is. The historic city center is okay but the rest is almost as bad as the Brazilian favela.
Though tourist spots world wide are overcrowded, full of criminals and very very expensive in general. I'm Dutch and i avoid Amsterdam as much as i can. It's completely different from the rest of the country in a bad way. At least, that's my personal opinion.
+Hatagashira Wow yes you're totally right. I'm French and i agree 100%. Paris changed a lot in the past decades, in a bad manner. Better not trying to go in the North suburbs, which are the host of high criminality and... even terrorists by now.
If people want to discover the real and peaceful France, they should better go in the rural areas with plenty of small, beautiful villages.
Yuta, your interview series is such an invaluable resource for listening practice. Thanks for the upload!
5:28 are you sure?
+freedm7.62 XD thats a 50 50 street man. Also, depends on their background Japan VS America VS idk....Russia idk man D"X
Lukas Mihara somehow i agree, from a chinese perspective :(
I cant stop watching these yuta man videos.
I am from Germany and many, MANY rules are very similar to Japan.
You don't walk over red lights in Germany. If the police catch you, you will have to pay around 50 Euros, which is around 7000 Yen.
People who bump into you in the streets and not walk away are considered very rude (but this is the same in any country I have visited).
One thing that is different, is that pointing out faults and flaws to other people is considered good manners, because they may not be knowing they are making a mistake. If you tell them their mistake, they can change. Mistakes are considered part of learning, making mistakes is no sign of shame here. You can only learn if you make mistakes.
Please, if a German person is showing bad manners in Japan, also have a little bad manners and tell them their mistake. They will apologize and change their behaviour.
Also, not giving up your seat to elderly and pregnant women is bad manners here too, but ONLY if there are no other free seats. And also they have to ask for your seat. A German will never give you anything unless you specifically ASK him/her to give you that thing. Especially elderly people here are rude sometimes, because they do not ask you to stand up and just stare at you until you ask if they want your seat.
Bowing to show your gratitude is not a thing in Germany, but we have a similar thing. Firmly shake their hand, look into their eyes and say thank you.
In Germany, when you shake hands, do not be afraid to really, REALLY squeeze the other person's hand. It is considered a sign of weakness if you don't and if your handshake is very soft. And don't look away when shakling hands, that is considered impolite. Look into their eyes.
Talking on a train is completely fine, but it is considered an "inside place", so you need to use your "inside voice", which basically means don't talk too loud. Shouting is only acceptable when outside or if you are really, REALLY angry at a person.
Putting your elbows on the table is also considered bad manners.
Greeting properly is also very important here. For example, if someone has a title, like Dr., you will always address them with their title. And if you meet someone you know on the streets, it is very impolite to not greet them.
Another very similar thing is that Germans also like their rules. If you don't follow the rules, you will be scolded, disliked, fined and/or possibly jailed, depending on what rule you broke.
I also like your videos, Yuuta. I want to go to Japan one day and your videos help me to learn more about japanese culture and language. Please keep up your good work! You are showing japanese culture to outsiders, which helps to make Japan and the rest of the world a better place.
+Neopterix Frosti Ich muss sagen, das hast du gut zusammengefasst, mein Freund. ;)
+Neopterix Frosti great, now i dont have to say any more XD gut gemacht. and goodness gracious was that girl with glasses cute
+Neopterix Frosti Oh well, I guess I made some shitties impressions to Germans. My friend and I always crossed the streets even when there was the red light, just caring if there were cars or not. And, in fact I was wondering why everyone was staying in lane. They watched us particularly badly, after your comment I understand. And in the train I spoke loud but that's my nature, I'm Italian.
+Neopterix Frosti :) I have turkish origins but was born in Germany. I can completely approve what you (like "Sie" ) wrote here about Germany.
:) It interesting to compare Turkey with Germany. In Turkey it is the other way round, people will ask you if you want something from them as soon as they detected that you are looking for something or behave "strange" :)
But basic rules are similar to germany the only thing is the way people talk to elderly no matter if it is a family member or not and hospitality. We consider germans as cold, although they are not they are just more formal and careful withing interactions with people outside the family- or friends-circle.
But I like both sides of the informal laws :) Because both sides somehow allow to be yourself while in Japan this is very difficult.
I like it that I can laugh and move almost how I want as long as I care not offending people somehow (bumping into them, being toooo loud or using curses or annoying people in a crowded place) and that there is the option to switch into the formal and informal state within the society.
Germany has changed over the years due to foreigners and the interactions. Germany has become more open to the way how other people live, what they appreciate or value and especially sharing. Yup as you stated a german person wants to be asked about everything but the new generation has learned many thing from their foreign friends so they act in "sharing" situations like them. Thats very cool.
As long as Germany and Turkey doesn´t become USA 2.0 I will be fine with living in one of these countries.
Most important: Saying, please, thank you, you are welcome and acting generally in a polite way.
Neopterix Frosti I don't mean to sound derogatory here, but would you mind elaborating a little what good things the Turkish immigrants brought us (besides the Döner of course, it's one of my favorite dishes, too, by the way)? Because I actually doubt that we Germans became warmer and more open solely because of having people from other cultures in our country.
It's just my personal opinion, but I prefer Iranian culture over Turkish culture. Rest assured, however, that I'm not loath to getting to know other cultures.
Hi there :) Thanks for uploading all those interesting videos. I’ve seen a few so far and I’ll subscribe right after posting this comment.
To answer your question: I’m Polish and some of the things you should do when in Poland are as follows:
- say ‘Good morning/afternoon/evening’ and ‘Goodbye’ to your neighbours, acquaintances, co-workers or when entering a store;
- say ‘Bless you’ when you hear someone (even a stranger) sneeze [we don’t actually make a religious reference, but we wish someone health or hope that they will live 100 years];
- give up a seat for a pregnant woman or the elderly;
- let a pregnant woman pass to the front of the queue in a store;
- allow women and the elderly to pass first through the door;
- take off your shoes when coming home/entering someone else’s apartment/house [we put on slippers].
Some of the things you shouldn’t do include:
- being loud in a public place;
- listening to music on your phone without using headphones (in public places, particularly on busses & trams);
- burping;
- picking your nose;
- farting;
- slurping while eating or drinking;
- trying to get on a bus/tram/train while other people are getting off;
- walking on the left side of the sidewalk (we have right-hand traffic, sidewalks included) or blocking the way to chat with someone else/tie your shoelace;
- eating with your mouth open;
- not covering your mouth when sneezing or coughing;
- visiting someone unannounced;
- making out in a public place like you’re about to have sex;
- talking on the phone while on a bus/tram/train;
- honking;
- not wiping your shoes on a doormat.
I’m sure there are more things you should/shouldn’t do while in Poland, but that’s all that comes to my mind right now :)
5:32 "bang your shit stick"
+wesley Hempoli spit my tea all over my desk, thank you lol
how did you even process that 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I don't question it... I just bang my shit stick
Hahaha, you made my day. I laughed and replayed for a solid 2 minutes
well I have also seen Japanese people doing those things, being loud on trains, even insulting people, etc. It is not good to speak for everyone. However, if a group of foreigners is being a bit loud on a train, I think it is possible to understand their excitement over being on such a fantastic trip instead of assuming they are just plain rude.
I've visited many countries and Japan by far is the most outstanding in terms of politeness. They're on a completely different level.
that is most of the things we do everyday and not think about it love how polite Japan is and can't wait to get there
3:47 Wait, I thought that making eye contact was considered rude/hostile in Japan. Can someone explain please?
I tjink that is what he was trying to say...
I thought that Japanese people are polite, obedient and punctual. One of the best people of the world. I do have so much respect to them.
I feel weird about this, I think that in general in my country(Chile-Latin America) people is very polite, but at the same time we don't care much about this stuff, even if you encounter someone that does something umcomfortable to you you don't judge them(maybe you get angry but it won't last), we are relaxed I think compared to some countries, but at the same time we have good manners
DiegoOruga I'm from Chile, too, and you are so right in some points. I also found interesting that here, we always greet back to the people in stores and taxi drivers, and thank them when we leave. Is what we found polite. In my own perspective, when I'm working and someone enter the store and don't reply when I greet, that person is rude.
(Sorry about my bad English, I'm writing this way so other people can read).
@@NyuLucy09 your English is just fine, in my opinion.
@@jennyknopps1291 Thank you!! 😊
@@NyuLucy09 no problem
Love this video!! Very informative.
I love the way courteous Japanese people think too.
I love that in japan people stand to one side of an escalator and let the other side open for those in a hurry. I wish that would be universal.
As a New Yorker, so many of these are relevant - Standing in the train door while people are trying to get off, not keeping to the right on the sidewalk, tourists congregating at street crossings or doorways, smoking while walking. Sounds like I'd be at home in Tokyo!
Awesome channel :). Too many blogs but not enough interview channels.
When I was in Japan, my Japanese teacher was visiting as well. When we were on the train she said it was okay to sit in the "priority seats" if no one needed them, and only get up and offer if someone of age or disability needed a seat. Is this correct?
+Skylar スカイラー (Living Spontaneously) Yes.
Please teach this to New Yorkers because holy shit too many do a lot ofthe things that are considered to be bad manners and even I find it annoying. Even if there is a cultural difference people should be doing this naturally. Its callrd being a decent human being.
Japan is usually like this and most Oriental countries as well. In those countries, being respectful is part of culture and tradition and general way of life for all social classes. In other countries, being respectful was only meant for very formal affairs or the upper class and most people were vulgar outside these affairs.
YES THEY ARE SO CONSTRUCTIVE WHEN THEY ANSWER!! I FINALLY GET IT!!! AND I LOVE IT..
"People who don't give up their seat to elderly people". 99% of the japanese population.
I dint know about the whole population but Tokyo certainly. I've been to Japan as a holiday for more than 6 years and I've never seen someone give their seats to someone else. Even if an disabled person walks in, nothing happens. I saw an elderly man giving up his seat for a blind person once. Everyone is just on their phones or they just seem to not care at all.
99% of Japanese population are elderly people.
@@evzenvarga9707 In the future it would be if the birth rate stays low
I always did so when on trains in Tokyo. I think it shocked many people that foreigners were polite enough to do this... I agree that I rarely saw younger Japanese people doing this...
Essentially, Japanese etiquette is about not drawing attention to yourself or making others uncomfortable.
Can you make a video asking japanese people what do they think about chinese people? Thanks.
Liang LiFeeder What in the world for?? Just to stir up hard feelings?
sueb262 Just to know what japanese ppl currently think, i know that a lot of japanase who studies chinese in shanghai and last time i went to japan i saw a lot of chinese sightseeing and working lel
Believe me you don't want to know that, or even if he made the video I don't think they will give you an honest opinion.
+work1907 the same goes for Koreans, and imagine if he made a video asking them ''What do you think of the attitude of some politicians who don't accept Japanese war crimes? Do you recognize them?'' Ouch, touchy subject for a nation that doesn't like speaking their mind and considers honor to be too important.
To the bit about breaking off cherry blossom branches - I'm pretty sure that destruction of property isn't just rude in most countries around the world, it's illegal.
I wish my family was this polite.
Off-topic, but I couldn't help but notice how well-dressed Japanese people are. Every person in every video is dressed in a pleasant fashion. So neat.
Do queue jumpers even exist? I have never seen or experienced one
Come to Britain lad, have a heart attack with that shit.
JMT alrighty
china might be a good place for you to experience it
+Cochran Consider yourself lucky then.
Incheon airport in Seoul, Korea... I've seen people remove the ropes and cross entire lanes when waiting for security. In America, at least in my experience, there generally aren't queues because people do not line up. They just make a free-form blob.
Keigo! That's one of the hardest parts of learning Japanese for me, haha. I really want to learn it though, since one of my pet peeves in my own country is when complete strangers address me casually ("buddy," "man," and the worst one: "bro,"). I don't expect people to call me "sir," but some people are so casual that they come off as arrogant.
though im not japanese and i dont live in japan, when people i dont know are nice who hold the door or let me pass i tend to bow slightly for no reason lol maybe because im really quiet so i dont say thankyou loud enough
BECCA OTAKU I’m from Kansas and we still have the “old west” kind of manners where we touch our hat brim or dip our heads, the army tried to break me of it saying “we aren’t in the orient “ 🙄 but yeah a lot of Americans still bow 😁
3:38 in the background, it's written "marché floral"... I'm French and I don't even know what kind of store it is ... xD
ran ran Alors faisons la queue chez Ladurée ! Tout ça pour des macarons ! (et des fleurs x) )
Un fleuriste peut-être? x).
This is kind of an observation I made when I was in Japan; Japanese people love to drink as much as Aussies (I think), and they even have events like 花見 to drink with family, friends, and work colleagues in public too! However, the drinking attitude in Japan is more respectable than Aussies. Even when drunk, Japanese people just laugh a lot, mind their own business (mostly) and all that. But Aussies, especially the male demographic, when drunk, instigates nonsensical fights. I have never seen anyone getting fatally injured or dying from a drunken brawl in Japan, but in Australia, there's at least one or two coverage of that in the news. I guess even in their drunken state, respect and good manners are the norm in Japan. That's one thing that bothered me about where I live, and one thing I really liked about Japan.
Also just adding to my culture (I have two)... since I spent half of my life in the Philippines, I can safely say that we're naturally loud. I don't think it's a bad thing but I can understand why people can be put off by it. 本当にごめなさい!
I'm aussie and everyone I know just talk louder and laugh too much when they're drunk XD I have heard so many instances of drunken aussies getting into stupid fights and doing stupid things, but I've never actually experienced it myself. I guess I chose the right Aussies to hang out with XD
+Kaitlyn -San I guess I should have said a generalised culture in Australia. I don't hang out with those types of people either so I THINK we chose well (although I could be subjective :P)
+Kaitlyn -San I do have to say I think I'm loud because of my Philippine and Aussie background/upbringing 😂
EcchiSamurai I've literally called myself "Aussie" and everyone else from Australia. Aussie/Australian are interchangeable.
In England you don't usually wait for the crossing light to go green, you just go when the roads clear, instead of waiting for ages
"People who can make choices based on what other people think, rather what they want"
Are you fucking kidding me??
+20419943002 Well, no. That's pretty much what being polite means.
snake046 So I'm impolite if I choose to be in a gay relationship because some people don't like it? How does that make any sense?
snake046 Oh and how exactly did you guess that?
Your comment is the absolute embodiment of absurdity. What you are basically saying is that in order to be polite, one has to conform to random standards that originate from racism and prejudice. Being homophobic actually does equal being impolite, since this type of behavior is negatively affecting the lives of other people who have done nothing wrong to you, or anybody else (unless you think people can be homophobic without displaying homophobic behavior, which is highly unlikely).
Honestly, the fact that you think that people who do not accept or give in to impoliteness are actually the ones who are impolite blows my mind.
20419943002 "What you are basically saying is that in order to be polite, one has to conform to random standards that originate from racism and prejudice."
The standards are not random.
And not respecting racist people is precisely how you encourage racism. My guess is that you don't understand that, and you think that being hostile towards people that disagree with you is how you're going to make them agree with you.
And when I put it in these terms, you probably think "what, no, I'm reasonable, I'm not trying to fix people with hostility"... but the truth is, you are... you're just too egotistical to see it.
"Being homophobic actually does equal being impolite"
See, this is astounding. If someone is homophobic, but never expresses any homophobic thoughts, how is he being impolite ?
You can have fantasies about children for all I care, as long as you're keeping them deep inside you and don't act on it, it's not a problem.
"[...] this type of behavior is negatively affecting the lives of other people "
You believe that being homophobic negatively affects the lives of homosexuals.
But you can't believe that displaying homosexuality to an homophobic persons negatively affects the homophobic person.
Interesting.
If you truly believe in what you say, why don't you take of all your clothes, go out in the middle of town and start touching the asses of other men and women. See how it goes.
snake046 Ok now you crossed the line. This conversation is over.
This is one of many reasons why I would love to visit Japan. I like the saying "Treat others how you want to be treated" It just goes against my way to be rude.
I am so exited to go to Japan ! I really feel like I can do this. (Learning Japanese and having proper manners)
Hey, 6 or 7 years later, how was your trip? Did you end up going? I'm trying to re-learn Japanese from my high school days, been about 3 weeks now. I really want to go over there for this aspect of their culture. How was it? Sorry for all the questions!
@@PatstarDeluxe Would be interesting to know
Now that I'm visiting Japan I understand this so clear. Thanks for the video, I would recommend to watch it before travelling to Japan because actually, most of the things we do as foreigners, we don't realise that are bad manners here.
I wonder how the Japanese would react to Lion King Broadway cast sings Circle of Life in New York subway
The part of the people talking high on the trains is a big true for spanish, on my first travel to japan i was all the day asking my friends to talk in a low voice haha here in spain i found the normal daily even for older people have noisy conversations on the train, i found this annoying especially during mornings when im on my way to the office :) but when i was on japan is easy to me know when there was a spanish tourist group near because the noise , i the end, i think this is a cultural fact and not about education.
Your videos are really good, i'm a japanese student and i found that this is an amazing way of learning both the languaje and the culture in just one video, many thanks! you have a new fan :)
well in America... it is rude not to let the elderly or pregnant have the front seats, it is rude not to tip, it is rude to slurp, rude not to open the door to people, rude to be on cell phone in class, movie, or seminar type situation... or rude not to commence in small talk, but that may be because I'm from the south... I've heard that's not a big deal up north...
I grew up in California, lived in Hawaii and Texas for a while and now live in Utah. Respect is not that common in the states.
+Analeigh Rose I've lived all over the west half of the states. I agree with everything you said except the slurping. And I can tell you from experience, the farther south, the worse the manners, but the better the show.
+Analeigh Rose Here in Oregon, small talk is a mixed bag. People (at least what I have observed) tend to keep to themselves. But, I've also noticed that if you comment in a kind manner and wait for them to get over the shock of you invading their universe, it usually isn't a problem. It is different from person to person, but can be rewarding. Downtown Portland is another matter. NEver sure WHAT you'll find there. ;D
+FluffyPuff138 Not making small talks is considered rude? Wouldn't it appear fake and pretentious to try make small talks even if you have nothing to say? I am quite a reserved person, I think I would be very stress to always try to think of something to say in that kind of environment where small talk is expected.
+darrendelong we have lots of stock phrases for small talk, it sort of becomes automatic after a while. You don't need to make small talk with every person you see, but if someone engages you in small talk, it's
polite to answer. Foreigners sometimes come off as standoffish or rude if they don't respond or brush off the person talking to them. Smiling is also important! Otherwise, people think that you're mad/upset AT
THEM.
It takes some practice if you're not used to it. And unfortunately this is one aspect of American culture that doesn't show up in movies or TV because small talk just eats up time and is kind of boring XD
great video as always, i really like your interviews, they are very interesting and ressourcefull hope you keep that going in the future.
Ill be going to Japan in 3 months for one year and i hope, i´ve got the right "japanese" manners till then so that people wont think that im rude :)
Great video with great information again. Cultural differences are always interesting.
This was briefly covered by one of the people interviewed, but in the U.S. it's considered admirable to acknowledge strangers with a small gestures. Such as smiling to someone walking your direction, or nodding politely to someone next to you at the bus stop. Anything that lets the other person know that you acknowledge them really.
Ohh, and really dig the video!
I think good manners are universal. Where thety are not practiced its not a case of different cultures, its a case of lack of consideration
Actually, a lot of good manners are HIGHLY culturally dependant, and cannot be intuitively understood by newcomers. For example, should you use your chopsticks to cut your food. Is that good, bad or neutral? How about putting your chopsticks into your bowl of rice? Should you hold your bowl of food or leave it on the table while eating? How deep of a bow should you give a person? Do you need to bow back at the service staff who bow at you? When you go out with co-workers, should everyone split the bill evenly or should it depend on what you personally ordered? Is "ladies first" complimentary or insulting? Should you tell your honest opinions or hide them? What about eating noodles, should you make a sound while eating them or stay silent? Should you eat everything given to you or leave a little food behind?
Is 3:18 a translation error? Or is putting one's elbows on the table considered the proper and polite thing to do when dining in Japan?
4 months late but I will explain
He is talking about good manners, his previous sentence was about walking between the road and the woman
"People who don't put their elbows on the table when eating" haha was that right? because if doing that, it would be really rude and showing bad manors at a dinner here in Sweden.
I have been told that, in some countries, I should not say "Thank You" to a waiter or a bus driver, because they are doing their job and they do not want to be thanked for it. Can anyone tell me if such a thing is considered inappropriate where they live?
Breaking branches off the trees? That's just plain terrible. The rest is all little things, things I would have to think about in order to keep from messing up. But breaking branches off of trees is more than just 'bad manners'. They should've been fined for it, or something.
***** That's a very good point. I just mechanically translated it, but come to think about it, it was probably just a 'twig'.
Shamaninja14 They do it in England too and it's not allowed here either
Shamaninja14 I might expect children to do that because they are curious about everything and like to dissect any object they can get their hands on, but adults? The way I look at it, is that the trees are there for everyone to enjoy, so if people were to just rip off twigs and branches, they wouldn't look very nice anymore, and it's disrespectful to the people that work to keep them looking nice.
aside from it being incredibly disrespectful, what did they think they were going to do with it? Customs isn't going to let you take plant samples out of the country, or into yours.
I'm in shock that people would be so rude. When little kids pull on the branches of my trees, I yell at them. Who really thinks it's ok to break twigs off trees? They should just take a picture!!!!
People forget the basics sometimes. Thanks for making these great videos. I'd like to share this with everyone in NY so they can start acting properly. Www!
I think it's nice to learn a little more about the culture manners before going in a different country!
I find it very awesome that the responses were on bad manners and not groups of people that have those manners. If you did this in USA you would have gotten responses about groups of people not the manners themselves.
i agree on most of it, but the part about dresing according to what others think, and not what you like, i couldnt disagree more! i belive people should be free to look and dress as they please - as long as they ARE dressed! ^^ because how you dress is not important, its personality and how you treat people that is important ^^
+Eva Lise Højen Jensen Well, you could say that the way you dress is part of how you treat people. You're imposing your looks on them, so it wouldn't be polite to present yourself in an inappropriate attire. For instance, if everyone is dressed in a way, and you're dressed "special", you're (intentionally or not) hogging the attention, and that's not polite at all.
wow, i really dont see it that way!
unless a person is wearing nothing but underwear pretty much, i dont see a problem... judging a person on their looks is so superficial, instead of judging the person on how they act!
a lot of the reason people dress to get attention is because they feel bad about themselfs - and that can be because of 1000s of reasons... - and if they need that extra attention to feel better, so what?
try to look at the person, and think about there might be a reason they wear what they do, and its not just because they love themselfs and are attention whores...
and stop feeling better than people just because they wear what they want to, just because you dont like what they wear...
Eva Lise Højen Jensen I don't give two shits about what I wear. You said it yourself, personality is what matters.
"judging a person on their looks is so superficial, instead of judging the person on how they act!"
Your two proposals are contradictory. Wearing clothes *is* an act. If you decided to go out of your way to look different, you *did* something. And if you decided not to look different, you did something as well. Both things will be judged.
"a lot of the reason people dress to get attention is because they feel bad about themselves [...] if they need that extra attention to feel better, so what?"
Because it's not helping them. Getting the attention they want isn't going to help them, especially if that attention isn't positive.
An individual like that needs to learn not to need the approval of others to love himself.
"try to look at the person, and think about there might be a reason they wear what they do"
Oh I definitely do that. For everyone, the first reason about why they wear different stuff is that they think they're different, which already tells a lot about a person. That very often means they can't read people well, and that is typical of persons who mainly think about themselves (not that they can't be generous or pleasant to be around : just that they're main issue in life is themselves).
lol... sorry but i can do nothing but laugh at all that...
dressing different have nothing to do with feeling different... it have something to do with liking other things than other people..
and honestly, i rather be in the company of 100 people who dress weird, because they like how it looks, than 1 who looks down on them!
Eva Lise Højen Jensen
"and honestly, i rather be in the company of 100 people who dress weird, because they like how it looks, than 1 who looks down on them! "
Well, I don't look down on these people.
But all those people, because they dress differently, do look down on everyone else. They think they're special. They aren't.
3:47 why did she say "making eye contact while talking"? I thought that was rude or a sign of aggression?
***** Me too, I thought Japanese people didn´t like eye contact. One girl told me it was rude...so now I am confused.
***** Me too, I thought Japanese people didn´t like eye contact. One girl told me it was rude...so now I am confused.
*****
True
***** I have lived here for 5 years and this is my take on it. Traditionally, they wouldnt look directly into your eyes of their superiors. To the opposite sex it was ok, though women would tend to glance away because they saw men as superior. When lords and samurai would come to a town people would kneel on the ground a bow, obviously not looking and submitting. A direct stare and eye contact could have been taken as a challenge. All that being said...this is basically non existent anymore. People enjoy eye contact here now, for the same reasons we do, it lets you know the conversation is engaging.
Fulcrum Starbinder
Thank you for the interesting history and clearing things up. What else are their thats no existent anymore?
1:48 honestly she is being kind of an hypocrite. so people who don't move out of the way are rude. and she complains about people who bump into her , but isn't she just as rude since she doesn't bother to move either and just expectes others to move out of her way? and how is it rude if someone bumps into you when you both coincidentally moved in the same direction. i don't get her lol
I have to agree with this. In my experience it seems that if a group of people is larger than your group, then you're expected to move out of the way just because the other group is larger, and honestly that ticks me off.
Caramel Victim She's talking about a very curious group of people. I meet them time and time again here in Japan. Since I do not live here, when I visit I often travel with big luggage. Larger train stations are very crowded most of the day. Now, most of the time you manage just fine, but sometimes there are these people, who just walk towards you, they look at you, they see you are handling several pieces of luggage, but they will not leave the line they'e walking along for as much as a millimeter and they always just bump into you as they sweep by, practically pushing you out of their way. It can also happen when for some reason you can't make way, but even when the other party could they won't try to avoid bumping you. It's seriously so annoying when that happens, so when that girl said that, I thought "Ah, so other Japanese people do think of this as rude too, it's not my foreign mind that doesn't understand this".
@Robert Wilson III - well it's simple logic really, the smaller group moving out of the way inconveniences a smaller total number of people :P At least that's how I've always thought of it, it doesn't tick me off at all because of that.
I'm in America and instead of saying thank you I sometimes like nod/bow my head and I don't know why I've always done that I always get really confused
In Argentina the louder u are the cooler u are.. I feel like I don't belong to my own country because I'm very quiet and thoughtful instead of talkative.
I truly admire Japanese people and culture. I am planning to study abroad there...I hope to visit that beautiful country someday.
I've been living in Tokyo for a month and a half and I've witnessed most of the wrongdoings mentioned in this video being done namely by the Japanese, haha! They often don't walk on the left side in the street (on the subway this happens less frequently). They are not watching where they are going (absorbed with their smartphone) while crossing the overcrowded street, bump with their forehead into me and give me that look saying 'wtf you are doing on my way?!'. Nobody (!!!) has ever apologized to me after stepping on my feet. It's mostly Japanese people who tend to stop and start talking with each other in the middle of the sidewalk blocking it. During the rush hour on the subway they are pushing and queue jumping at the turnstile or while getting on the train. Young people are often laughing and speaking loudly on the train ( if it's not the rush hour and the train isn't overcrowded, so they feel more comfortable). I've seen once as an elderly lady was standing and sleeping (!!!) leaning against her hand which was up holding the handrail and young people sitting in front of her didn't attempt to give up their seat to her ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Of course such things don't happen in each and every situation. But I see this here more often than in London or in Germany. Who knows, maybe I have just been extremely unlucky so far. Anyway 2 years ago when I spent a vacation here, people seemed to be less pushy and inattentive for some reason.
My husband has noticed that there's a special species of Japanese girls on the subway - dressed up diva-like chics with a sassy face and a voluminous bag which they carry on the bent elbow and inexorably move through the crowd like a tank. So a huge bag on the bent elbow - that's a kind of very vivid adequacy test, haha!
You are not alone. I have seen puke on trains as well, a lot of Japanese have bad behavior it is all age groups. And don't even get me started on cyclists.
I totally agree with this video in pretty much every way. This makes me so proud to live in Japan. I have lived here nearly 5 years and totally agree they are the most polite people in the sense of society standards of respect and consideration.
Refusing home-made food is kinda disrespectful in my country, or, atleast in my culture. It's like, you don't appreciate the fact that someone tried their best to make something or that you don't like how it looks or something. I don't really know how to say it in words properly but it's something like that.
The place you interviewed these people at was really colourful, warm and bright. :) It looks really nice.
What i hate most in Europe is how people act in train or bus. They are loud, they bring food in, claim more place than they need, often they smell terrible. That's why i am trying not to use public transport more often than i need.
i agree and if there is more of them and they laugh loud
agree as well i ride with the train every morning some workers even drinkt their beer in the train infront of school kids.And when soccer games are on most of the time the train or the whole station is full with cops eat least in my country.
I agree that you should be respectful when using public transportation - but that goes both ways - you can't be a fucking prude about it either or you are just as bad (not aimed at anyone here btw, just an observation I find important to the discussion)
Novess PL ehhh!?? I have been living there for 10 years , they all are quite in busses and trains. And mind their own business
In general, anywhere you go, you should learn or be willing to learn the native language instead of expecting them to cater to you. In the US it's gotten to the point that English speakers are encouraged to learn Spanish just to cater to the people who seemingly refuse to learn English
So basically, don't be an American in Japan.
Aruka Kirigiri when i went to japan in 2013 (going again on the 23rd) i had absolutely 0 knowledge of any of this. If you act normally in japan, you will come off as offensive lol
I visited America several times and I find that different part of the country have different manner
In most places I've been though the people are friendly and well mannered,
ゆたさん I just found this channel and so far im loving it. great topics covered and the people are so honest and entertaining in their answers. Love it. I see all the examples of peoples experiences in their own countries and I have to admit NY is a mixed bag depending on where you are. For the most part though you don't generally want to say hello to people who you don't know or look at people straight in the eye lol. Unfortunately people in NYC are very mistrusting and again depending on where you grew up there is a reason for it and the abrasiveness we are so well known for. Me, ive always felt like that should change but again ive always been open to different cultures and actually spent more than 5 years working with Koreans and made some good friends and found a lot in that culture similar to Japanese culture that I think Americans in general not just NYkers could learn from. The respect aspect of life in general when dealing with people older than you and also for your bosses is important and I think we lack a lot of that here. Our youth nowadays is too interested in nonsense and lack a lot in the way of respect. I would love to visit Japan one day but unfortunately I do not think that would ever come to pass. So videos like these and others ive found are very refreshing. すべての偉大なビデオに。ありがとうございます。
I'm assuming "queue jumping" is the same as the North American "butting/cutting in line", right? I hate when people do that. And I hate when people start smoking in front of others. That said, most of the things mentioned in this video are the same in Canada. I think good manners are pretty much the same everywhere; just be considerate and respect others and the environment.
I do believe that japanese people have a true culture of good maners in a general way. they are respectful and no trouble makers.....
ThatJapaneseManYuta "People like me have a very different mindset from the ones in the video."
Yuta, I think it would also be cool if you shared your opinions about what you consider too much strict and what you consider good manner based on what people spoke on the video.
Tchau tchau! :)
Hi, I have been to Japan multiple times and noticed that no one hold the door open for the next person. Why is that? When I hold the door, people seem really surprised. Jus my observation...
There is something I think is completely paradoxical about Japanese people : they always have in mind that they shouldn't disturb people but honestly I've never seen people who pay that less attention to what happen around them ! I've been in Tokyo for ten months now and I know that in Shibuya for example you cannot apologize to all the people you bump into but the reason you bump into that many people is because they don't pay attention to others. Same in narrow stores, sometimes if you want to pass but someone is in your way, even if you politely say "sumimasen" and bow and everything, they don't even look at you and don't move. And how many times have I seen people rushing into the train to a seat..... I love Japanese people but sometimes I'm tired x)
Corine B.
Probably because there are so many people, they're just de-sensitized to being crammed together and pushed around. Just a guess.
Corine B. They are all talk
@@LittleLulubee
I thought exactly the same
In Scotland, we have generally a lot of similar rules for manners and honestly seem to have more differences with America than Japan, for instance in Scotland we don't tend to tip unless we feel that the service provided warrants one or if for instance a taxi ride is £9.20 and we only have a tenner, we're likely to "tip" in the form of not taking change back from the tenner.
to be honest, except maybe for talking with cellphones on trains, I find all of those mentioned traits apply everywhere in the civilized world and are not really specific to Japan...
Yes, but most people outside Japan, or maybe Asia in general, don't really care about those things that should be common. What was mentioned in the video by the interviewed people as good behavior is basically the opposite of how the average western person comports him- or herself. (Sorry btw if this reply surprises you, given that you wrote your comment six years ago. I don't know if you'll even read this, just came across your comment ^^).
Curious question, if you are walking around in public and listening to music at the same time, is this also considered rude in Japan? Is it basically the same thing as talking on the phone in public places?
Not okay to make phone calls on the train is just utterly ridiculous and unnecessary.
3:47 i heard making eye contact counts as rude in japan and the ppl are looking between your eyes instead. Can anyone explain me that?
But how can you say if someone is looking at your eye/eyes or at part of your nose that is between?
Japanese and British manners are very similar though so Japanese tourists shouldn't have too many problems. Taking photos while in a big crowd is a problem though.
Thank you for the informative video
Wait, so making choices basing what YOU want is a bad thing? That's pretty stifling.
+Kuro Shinko
Only in public with respect to keeping the peace
For example, not trying to force your favorite choice of restaurant/activity when deciding where to eat/what to do with people (who you are usually not informal with) who do not like or are not very fond of that restaurant/activity
Instead, you'd compromise and offer something you know they might enjoy (and you would most enjoy from the options available)
I completely agree that it would be extremely stifling if that needed to be done in every situation, but the amount of consideration/self-sacrifice truly depends upon how close/formal you are with the people you're with, and consequentially how much respect you need deem them with regards to their interests over your own.
It's the same type of understandable politeness of giving up your seat, except h'ere you're giving up your most desired situation for a lesser desireable situation. The catch is that that "less desireable" situation may still be desireable in the grand scheme of things.
But again, above all, maintaining a "pleasant experience" with the people you're with
Well done Yuta. You seem to put a lot of effort into making these videos - on interesting topics which help us (gaijins) to understand more about Japan.
dissapointing how hyper critical the older couple was honestly for almost all their answers were almost always a bit nit picky, although the foreigner one i can understand but even then some of their answers had a bit of a resentment/ignorant undertone but maybe that's just my interpretation of their answers lol.
+mahoushoujoe I agree with you, I also had that feeling when watching the video...
I don't think they are hyper-critical; for me, it read as matter-of-fact and a bit dismayed. Of course, they have great esteem for their traditions, and I could say they were really disheartened/a bit outraged/offended when other people (even if they are foreigners) disrespect those traditions. Of course, they would harbor a little bit negative feelings as well - such is their sense of national pride and nationalism.
Do close buttons in Japanese elevators actually do anything? In American elevators in normal operating mode, the close button does nothing, the Americans with Disabilities act prevents any shortening of the time that doors are open to allow those with disabilities who are slow to board time to get on. The only time the close button actually does anything is when it's in "locked down" mode (usually used by firefighters and sometimes when residents are moving in/out of an apartment).
Here in America, I would daresay that the vast majority of people have poor manners. XD
I visited America several time and my experience find that most American especially the middle class have good manner and
friendly............I found also some who are not, but only a few
It all depends on where you live
Wait if this is Japan why is there a French flower shop at 1:40 in the background?