Note: this blog post was written in Japan. The observations that the author posted here are limited to what she has seen in Gifu, Osaka, Kyoto and in some other parts of Japan.
When I got to Japan, people would always ask "Vernie, how's Japan?", "Is it snowing?", "Are Mangas (Japanese comics) cheap there?".
Well, here are the things that I've observed, noticed and felt about japan :)
Fasten your seat belts, and be ready for a ride!
FOOD
Well, I like some of their foods, the sukiyaki (rice topped with beef), okonomiyaki (japanese pancake), subuta (sweet and sour pork), gyudon (more or less same as sukiyaki) but i dont like sashimi (raw fish). I really dont like the taste of raw fish. I also like the nori (seaweed) :)
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| Sukiyaki |
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| Italian Spaghetti cooked by Okaasan |
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Shrimp, pork, chanhan (fried rice), soup and mango pudding
Available at Dragon Restaurant,
Universal Studios Japan, Osaka City |
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| Okonomiyaki (japanese pancake) |
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| Taiwan Ramen! hot noodles! daisuki! |
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| Curry, Tonkatsu (pork with bread crumbs) and rice |
FAMILY PLANNING
Japanese couples are advised to have one or two children only. Living in Japan is difficult because even though the employees here receive big salaries, all the necessities are expensive too.
In our country, there are no maximum number of children that a family can have. As long as you have the money to sustain your family's needs, you can have as many children as you want.
STREET LIGHTS
Our street lights are vertical while in Japan, their street lights are horizontal. I find their street lights convenient because our eyes are positioned horizontally so we could easily see horizontal things.
MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION
Each Japanese should have a bicycle or a car so that they could travel from one place to another during the winter season. If they don't have, they will be forced to walk and they have to endure the coldness.
In our country, you can find Jeepneys everywhere so transportation is never a problem.
TAXI FARES
The minimum fare for a taxi in Japan is around 650 yen, that's equivalent to 325 pesos!
In the Philippines, it's much cheaper. The minimum fare is PHP30 for a regular taxi, and for an airport taxi, it's PHP70.
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| Minimum fee for taxi in Japan |
THEY HAVE BUS LANES
They have bus lanes. It's separated from the lanes for the private transportation to prevent traffic jam.
We don't have bus lanes in Cebu yet. (Gullas is planning to put up a train station in Cebu Province but Congressman Tommy Osmena wants Bus Rapid Transit or BRT instead.)
ROADS
Even though their roads are smaller than ours, they still have bicycle lanes and sidewalks. Their sidewalks are not filled with vendors unlike ours. It is so sad that our streets are so crowded because of these vendors, yet we cant blame them because it is their primary, sometimes their ONLY, source of income.
TOILET
They have two kinds of toilets, the western inspired one and the Japanese traditional toilet. The western inspired one has many buttons, which when pressed, will automatically function.
BATH
Filipinos, the middle class and the lower class, usually takes a bath using a pail and a dipper.
In japan, they have a small tub with hot water. Water in the tub should not be drained because another person will use the tub again so you should take a shower first before dipping yourself in the tub.
WEATHER
It's so hot in the Philippines while in Japan, it's so cold. We have to wear two inner clothes and one jacket to feel warm. We have to take a bath in a small bath tub filled with hot water every night so that we could survive the coldness of the temperature. It isn't snowing yet, but it's so cold. A Japanese friend told me that the weather is unusually warm. Well, it was not warm for me. =D
SALARY
Japanese people receive high salary but their everything is expensive. According to my support parent, the Japanese senior citizens receive high pension, which could range from 100,000 yen and up monthly. That's equivalent to PHP50,000!
Filipino people receive low salary but all the goods are expensive. If it's hard to live in Japan, it's much harder to live in the Philippines because of this situation. Filipino senior citizens like my dad receive only a little pension every month.
POLLUTION
I could barely see smoke emissions in Japan, probably because I am staying at a province. I have not gone to Tokyo yet, and we are not going there, unfortunately so I cant really say that Japan is polluted or not. I have only seen white smokes coming out of a certain factory.
THERE ARE NO BAGGERS IN THEIR SHOPPING MALLS
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Free small plastic bags in department stores,
the big ones are for sale (profit napud) |
You have to bring your own bag and put all the goods that you bought inside it because there are no employees who will do that thing, unlike in the Philippines.
THEY RETURN THEIR UTENSILS BACK TO THE COUNTER AFTER EATING
Usually, in restaurants, esp. at the Universal Studios Japan, the customers return all their used utensils back to the counter after eating. Perhaps, the students in the University of San Carlos (my school), who usually eat in fast food chains could benchmark this practice so that they could lessen the work of the employees who are working there.
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| Return! return! return! |
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| I had to return the utensils that I used |
THERE IS A STRICT IMPLEMENTATION OF GARBAGE SEGREGATION
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| Trash bins |
While the Philippines has Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable as main classifications for garbage segregation, in Japan, they have trash bins for cans, for used papers, for combustibles, for water bottles, and others. I admire this trait. I hope we could benchmark this in Cebu.
THEY HAVE SMOKING AREAS/ROOMS
In the Philippines, smokers can smoke everywhere, which adds up to the increasing pollution. But in Japan, they have smoking rooms or areas where people could smoke. This could not only lessen the pollution. This could also lessen the cases of the secondhand smokers (people who directly inhale the smoke coming out of the cigarette of a smoker).
THE SHINKANSEN HAS FREE WIFI, and YOU CAN CHARGE YOUR LAPTOP FOR FREE!
In the school, we have to pay for the electricity whenever we want to charge the laptops that we are going to use. :)) But in Shinkansen, it's for free.There is also a free WIFI access.
THEY HAVE COIN LAUNDY SHOPS!
Inside these shops are automatic washing machines. There are no employees inside, just machines. You just have to put your clothes inside a washing machine, put 100 yen coins (according to the number of kilos), press a button, wait for ten minutes and, poooff! your laundry's done!
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| Coin Laundry |
BRAIL FOR THE BLIND IN ROADS, ELEVATORS, and CRs
In toilets and in elevators, the switches have brail letters that could guide the blind. Stairs in train stations also have indicators, which will help the them know where to stop and where they should fall in line. This is very good because this can lessen their burden.
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| location: inside the elevator |
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| the yellow lines, which has elevated and deep parts guide the blind |
Other lessons learned:
- Do not shout, speak with a soft voice when talking to a Japanese. They find it rude.
- Follow rules or else, you'll go to jail
- Cleanliness is very important for them. I think we should follow this practice too.
- The electricity and water that they are using are subsidized by the Japanese government. Isn't that lifestyle very convenient if that happens to the Philippines? How I wish it would, so that the Filipino people's lives would become easier. Yet, with the corruption and poverty happening here in the Philippines today, I don't know if that's possible.
- The architecture of some of their establishments are so good, especially the one in Kyoto station.
- I have noticed that their society is somehow patriarchal. Our support mother does all the household chores while the men in the house are relaxing.
- They don't celebrate Christmas the way we, Filipinos do. Perhaps, it's because they are not a Christian country. In fact, I only saw one Christian church during my stay in Japan.
- Japan is really a very silent country. I could barely see people outside. I had an assumption that it's because of the coldness outside that people are not going out of their houses.
- It is also a Japanese custom to stay silent inside the trains. (I cant stand staying so silent for hours, except when I'm sleeping)
- They are really organized. The arrangements of the things (like train stations, schools, resident houses) are well planned.
- There is no security guard in Nagoya University yet, I felt so secured when I entered this school. Perhaps, it's the environment where people are obeying laws that made me feel secured. They also have facilities that are high in quality. Each room has a TV, aircon, LCD Projector, and a wifi access! Each student is given a card which they can use to avail photocopying for free! (Can our school's administration also do that? =D I'd really be happy if that happens.)
- Like the Filipinos, they are very hospitable to their guests.
I really thank our scholarship, Plumeria Cebu Educational Association, Inc., for giving me an opportunity to travel to Japan and learn about their culture. I also want to thank my support parents who never gets tired of helping me.
All in all, Japan is really great! =D
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| Arigatou gozaimasu! =D |
