Changing Impressions of 日本

Over the past 4 months, I have learned more about Japanese culture and cultures in general than I ever expected. My classmates come from numerous different countries on every continent of the world except Antarctica, and I have spoken to many of them about their lives in their own countries and Japan. 

River in Kyoto

Throughout this time, I have done my best to get to know people and learn about Japanese culture, but I feel like I have more to learn now than I did when I first arrived in Japan. There are so many things that I want to know, so much information that I know I'm missing because I never found the right person to ask.

What's the story behind the picture on this manhole cover in Otsu?

Japan is a lot like the US in some ways, and I have encountered some aspects of Japanese culture before in my Japanese American friends, but the majority of Japanese culture is very different from what I would have guessed before coming here. People take for granted that what their family members do affects their reputation and carefully consider how their actions will affect their family's reputation. In the US, while it is true that people are often judged by their families, it is not something that we really think about, and many Americans try to pretend that their families do not affect them in any way, whether or not this is actually true.

Strange English signs in Hirakata

 While I have been in Hirakata, I have found many ways in which Japanese culture here is not the same as the Japanese culture American media portrays. One major difference is Japanese people's willingness to communicate how they feel. I admit it is harder to find out how Japanese people feel than it is to find out how Americans feel since Americans often like to talk about themselves, but my Japanese friends definitely do talk about themselves as well and share things with me that I never expected to learn from them. It is true that my American friends are more likely to tell me how they feel, but the longer I stay here the more ways I find to tell how my Japanese friends feel even when they don't come out and tell me.
As I think about returning to the US, it is strange to realize how much my time here has affected how I see my own country as well as how I see Japan. Before coming to Japan, I never had anything to compare American culture to, and I took many things for granted that I now realize are actually unique to the US. It will be interesting to see in what ways I have learned to appreciate my own country, and in what ways I can now see fault with my culture that I was previously unable to see. In any case, Hirakata has begun to feel like home to me and I will miss living here.

Kansai Gaidai in the snow

Kansai Gaidai courtyard

Fallen Sakura petals

Kansai Gaidai Japanese Garden in the rain

My host family's cat, Rina

Kodomo no hi decorations at my host family's house

Temple in Otsu

Okonomiyaki that accidentally looked like Fujisan

Inari shrine in Tokyo area

Japanese style bathroom

Hikonejo garden with Hikonejo in background

Hikonejo moat

Newly planted rice

Hikonejo castle Museum