Why is Japan Unique? Interesting Cultural Facts about Japan

Japan is one of the most interesting and unique countries in the world and this statement is approved by every tourist who has been there. We advise everyone to get to know the culture of Japan before going there so they can enjoy their stay more. Even if you are not planning to go there, knowing these facts about Japan can still be interesting for you.

Bowing

All people around the world are familiar with the Bowing culture of Japan. Whether they have watched it in a movie, a video, or read about it. Bowing is an interesting part of Japanese culture and it has many rules. There are two types of bows, seated and standing, which in Japanese are called Seiza and Seiritsu. Also, the act of bowing is called Saikeirei.
Bows usually take place in situations as follows:

• Greeting or farewelling someone
• beginning or concluding a lesson, gathering, or ceremony
• Invoking gratitude
• Making remorse to someone
• Congratulatory remarks
• requesting a favor or someone's goodwill
• worship of a person or something

Of course, it is very understandable that foreigners would not know these rules, but it would be very appreciated if one has some knowledge regarding them.

Sleeping in public places and work areas!

Sleeping in public areas might be a little strange in many countries, but not in Japan. You might come to see many people sleeping in parks, stations, and even workplaces! In fact, sleeping out of tiredness in workplaces is praised and appreciated by managers and not punished. It is believed that the person has worked so hard that they just fell asleep in the middle of work. Of course, this mostly looks like a person who is sleeping on the desk, not a person sleeping on the ground floor of the workplace.

Anime

Of course, Anime is huge in Japan, it is even easy to say that anime is huge in the world! Japanese people are very close to anime and its characters and has turned anime a part of their daily life. But we do not mean that they only watch animes, but they also dress up as characters. It has become a common scene to see someone on the street wearing a costume of their favorite character. If this is something interesting for you, then go to Tokyo’s Harajuku street where you will probably meet a person in customs and you will visit many other attractions.

Hospitality and customer service

Customer support in Japan is performed in the soul of Omotenashi, which calls for giving service sincerely, without expecting anything in return, and without adopting a phony demeanor. That is the reason why Japanese customer service is so famous for its perfection. For sure too many rules can get somehow frustrating to follow but it creates courtesy, respect, and harmony in the daily life of people.
It is interesting that the great customer service of Japan is not only for services offered by people but also the machines. Machines in the store, shopping malls, metro stations, and also on the streets are all programmed to give you their service in the most convenient way. It is always interesting for people to travel to Japan and compare the customer service they receive there with the ones they receive in their home country.

Tipping

It is always a matter to think about how much to tip at restaurants, bars, and hotels. It can even get more complicated for tourists in new countries as they might tip lower than expected which is not going to create a good picture of them. However, in Japan, you can be free of all these hassles! Tipping in Japan is not common and no one expects you to do it, therefore there are no calculations required :) 
But keep in mind that Japan also has many big branches of worldwide restaurants and hotels where their work culture is closer to Europe and the USA. In this case, it is recommended to leave a tip for the workers of the place.

Making Noise While Eating Soup Noodles

As it is in most countries in the world, making chewing sounds while eating considers bad behavior and poor education, so it is in Japan. But there is an exception in Japan which is interesting. Here you get to slurp your soup and it is not considered bad behavior. In contrast, it actually shows others that you are enjoying your soup or noodle which is good!

Handling chopsticks

It is important to know some basic rules about what to do with the chopsticks and what not to do! Firstly, make sure you do not put your chopsticks upright into the rice or your food when you are not using them! Chopsticks must always be put in their special place beside the bowl or in a horizontal way on it. 
Also, if you want to give someone some of your food, use the back of your chopsticks and place the food on a plate for them instead of trying to give them from your chopstick to theirs!

Remove your shoes!

It is not common to enter people's houses with shoes in Japan so make sure to take them off before entering. Be sure that a Japanese household has enough sleepers for the guests to offer!
But beside houses, there are many restaurants and special places such as temples that you are not allowed to enter with your shoes on. So be prepared to take them off when asked!

Walking on the right side

Although, it is not only an etiquette in Japan but in many countries, its worth mentioning that people on the streets tend to walk from the left side of the sidewalk, especially during busy hours. This way people who are in a hurry get the chance to walk faster from the right side of the street. The same thing is also applicable to staircases where people keep the right side empty for people who would like to pass faster.

Eating Horse meat 

It might sound strange to some people but there are many countries that include horse meat in their meals and Japan is no exception. Although japan is not generally known for horse breeding, there are many farms specially made for this purpose and people consume the meat of the horse as usual as other meats.

Japan is definitely unique and can be very interesting for people from all around the world to visit!

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