10: Western Life

I think this one is the best. Japanese people seem to have this sort of fascination with Western culture. Especially in Hokkaido, where so many people have never left Japan, this often leads to some interesting conversations.

It is interesting to me that none of my students want to learn English, but they love the idea of the West. They have random English on their shirts, their lunchboxes, their pencil cases, everything! 

My students, posing with me like a celebrity!

They also use western symbolism in their own fashion without knowing what it means. For example, the union jack and star spangled banner are everywhere, but basically nobody knows that these are actually the UK and American flags. The Canadian flag, sadly, is slightly less prevalent as a fashionable pattern.

I also use my country's symbol as fashion, but I know what it means!

Also, people seem to think Westerners aren’t human! I’ve been compared to a doll, complimented on my American features, and treated with everything from reverence to disgust; all without people even knowing my name. I’m just a human guys, don’t get too worked up about it!

And this concludes my 10 perplexing things about Japanese culture. Sorry it was so irregular, hope you enjoyed!

9: The Way the Japanese Deal with Illness

The way Japanese people deal with illness is different than anything else I’ve seen. I actually like it. Sometimes.

Basically, in Japan, if you are sick, you go to the doctor. It doesn’t matter what you are sick with. If it is a cold, you go to the doctor. If it is the flu, you go to the doctor. If you happen to have burned yourself by spilling hot chocolate all over your stomach in a fit of stupidity, you go to the doctor. (I didn’t actually go to the doctor for this, but they wanted me to).

The funny thing is, though, that even though EVERYONE goes to the doctor for EVERYTHING, they still seem to have enough space for everyone! It takes absolutely no time to get an appointment, even for a specialist.

While I’ve been in Japan, I’ve seen an eye doctor, two general practitioners, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, and a dentist. And it took pretty much no time to get these appointments. I just showed up and in we went. This is really great.

However, when you ARE sick, the medicine you are prescribed doesn’t seem to do much of anything. It is very week, but they prescribe so much of it! I don’t know what to make of this.

Finally, if you have a problem, you don’t go to see a GP then get a referral to a specialist. You just go see the specialist immediately. I woke up one day with pinkeye, and we went to an eye doctor. That wouldn’t happen back at home.

Healthcare in Japan is interesting. I kind of like it.