Culture Shock: Early Impressions of Japan

I don’t consider myself to be a stranger to Japan.  My father is a Japanese Literature Professor, so he’s taken me to Japan countless times as a student.  My father always told me how when he comes to Japan, he feels like a citizen, not a foreigner.  While preparing for this exchange, I thought I would be able to easily relate to this feeling, but was slapped in the face the moment I hopped into the taxi headed for Kyoto. 

I know about the love hotels, pachinko stadiums and ferris wheels on top of 5 story department stores.  What I forgot, was the feeling of mental obliteration, pure shock of seeing all these unimaginable architects squished together side by side. However I soon realized this feeling of shock from seeing, is just stage one of culture shock.

 

I lived in Kyoto two weeks prior to coming to Hirakatashi and had plenty of time to adventure and explore the area.  Interestingly enough, I was most shocked when it came to lunch time. I was craving udon one day, so I walked into a small udon shop on the main streets of Kawaramachi.  To my surprise, the whole isle was filled with office ladies facing the wall, eating alone.  Because I was shopping alone, I naturally sat down at one of the isle seat and for the first time ever, felt this unbearable loneliness. It was such an interesting feeling, something I’ve never felt back home in Canada, even when I’m eating alone.  I started to question how these office ladies bear doing this every day, something that seemed like a norm to them.

After asking my Japanese friends, I learned of the word, “Ohitorisama,” meaning “one person”, usually used to describe a someone who can handle everything in life by her/himself.  TBS, a media company in Japan even made a television show titled “Ohitorisama”, a story of a strong willed women capable of handling any work by herself.  This send out a positive message to the female working class, but is clearly not as glorious and rewarding in real life. As a foreigner, upon hearing this word I immediately felt sad  because I could never be able to enjoy life without companions. It gave me the impression that Japanese people are overly independent. I asked another Japanese friend for his view on the word, and was surprised when he said a lifestyle like that is neither good or bad. Clearly the lifestyle has grown to become somewhat of a norm, but will remain forever foreign to me.

Although these encounters are unimaginable in my mind, I look forward to continually discovering and experiencing these cultural differences. 

Reference:

Drama “Ohitorisama”

http://www.tbs.co.jp/ohitorisama2009/