MShades
Kyoto
Worth visiting!
No matter where you go, there’s always something else you simply have to see. There’s a famous cuisine in some village tucked in the mountains, or delicious restaurant in the middle of the city. It’s one of the nicest places to visit. Everyone I know who’s visited here has wanted to come back….
Romain Braga
São Paulo (state)
Well, I’m Romain and I’m 18 years old and I always wanted to visit this place : Japan… For me it’s a culture totally new, new way to think, to live well a new way to live. Please tell me more about the habit and mores.
(PS: I apologize for my english level…)
See ya!
MShades
Kyoto
No worries about your English – I’m an English teacher, and have seen and heard some really bad English – yours is fine.
So, Japan – “habit and mores.” Big topic…. People here are generally friendly and helpful – it’s not uncommon to ask someone for directions to, say, a temple and have them actually bring you there, telling you all about it on the way, and possibly offering to take you out to dinner as well. They’re very proud of their country, and are very happy when people show an interest in the language or the culture. People dislike conflict, and will usually do whatever they can to avoid it.
People can be a little shy, though – maybe because they just don’t know what is the best thing to say to get a conversation started with someone who isn’t Japanese. Privacy is also very important here, so people don’t want to interfere in other people’s business. Even small things, like the books people read on the subway, are considered very personal – although they’ll probably ask you for your age very early in the conversation.
Japan takes a lot of getting used to. I’ve been here for five years, and I’m not even close to knowing everything…. Any other questions?
Romain Braga
São Paulo (state)
First, thanks for answered ^^
Well, I have some other questions about this country, if I may:
- Did everybody speak english?
- Is japanese’s language is hard to learn and speak?
- I’ve heard that japanese are “richs” I mean they have a great (big) purchasing power, is that true?
(one little more ;))
- Is it true that children’s education is very strict?
Thanks for answering again (I do hope)..
See ya!
MShades
Kyoto
Some people speak English, but you can never tell who will or won’t. Everybody studies in high school, but they don’t study conversation, so they can’t speak very easily. Even if they can’t speak English, though, they’ll try very hard to figure out what you’re getting at…
Is Japanese difficult? Yes and no. It has a very unusual system of grammar, which can be kind of scary. Once you get the hang of it, though, you can get by pretty easily. Depends on how talkative you are naturally. The good news is that no matter how bad your Japanese is, if you try to speak it, people will tell you you’re a very good Japanese speaker. :)
Purchasing power…. I know almost nothing of economics, but I’d have to say that purchasing power here is pretty good. Not as good as it was 20 years ago, certainly, but good.
Children’s education is changing – it’s not as strict as it was (some schools used to have teachers patrol the local arcades after school hours and punish students for not studying), but it’s still pretty rigid. Students study very hard in elementary and junior high school so they can pass the high school exams. High school students study like crazy to pass the university exams. Unfortunately, students are guaranteed to advance every year, so students who aren’t interested in college quickly learn that they don’t have to study if they don’t want to.
Once in University, though, most students relax and have fun. It’s very difficult to get in, but very easy to graduate.
Romain Braga
São Paulo (state)
It’s may possible that I’m going to travel in Japan during july’s holidayds.
I’ll be with me family but we don’t know where to go, what do we have we visit? Can you give me somes tips for travelling there?
I’ll be there during two weeks only.
