Hearted Youtube comments on Japan with Nao (@JapanwithNao) channel.
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One thing that many people appreciate about Japan is the attention to detail. For example, when shopping at a number of shops, clerks carefully and exquisitely wrap your purchases. Try shopping in Europe. You're lucky if staff aren't overtly hostile, and don't even imagine that staff will life a finger to make your life easier. Japanese trains are wonderfully clean. Compare that to often filthy, run-down trains in Europe (especially Germany and Denmark) or the US. What people often miss about Japan is that this attention to detail isn't always positive. Japanese people tend to put an incredible amount of work into avoiding problems. On one hand, this is why Japanese standards of behaviour tend to be so high. On the other hand, it's why it can be so incredibly hard to get through to Japanese people. They put on a mask and build a moat to avoid issues and complications. Ignoring you isn't an act of malice, but an effort to avoid confusing, awkward and uncomfortable situations. Visible foreigners feel this the most. The infamous gaijin seat is an infamous example of this. For the Japanese, potentially awkward and uncomfortable interactions are avoided. For the person on the receiving end, it's almost dehumanising. I should add that this isn't only xenophobic, either. Japanese people who 'fall short' of Japanese societal expectations are subjected to the same treatment. A sad reality of Japanese bullying is that there are actually relatively few active bullies in Japan. However, very, very few Japanese young people will actually take a stand when they see bullying and might even quietly go along with it to avoid becoming targets themselves.
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