I’ve come to Japan to have a once-in-a-life (for now) experience I have been looking forward since some years ago.
I’ve been here just a few weeks but I’ve came to realize some facts that on my opinion are very interesting.
– Japan is expensive: FALSE. It’s probably the cheapest developped country I’ve been to in my life. I’ve heard this hasn’t been always the case, but nowadays the yen is very devaluated. Regarding places to stay, while you can certainly find very expensive hotels (just as anywhere else in the world) you can also find very affordable and high quality alternatives that are totally great. 2 stars hotels here can be as good or even better than 4 stars hotels in the USA. Moreover it is awesome that you can go to cheap restaurants that elsewhere would be considered of the most luxurious class, and pay as low as the equivalent to 20 or 40 usd per person. Also no tipping anywhere which is great to say the least. You can find many good quality and cheap goods in large stores such as Don Quijote.
– Japanese people do not smell bad: FALSE (sometimes). i’ve heard before all kinds of arguments for this, including not only cultural reasons but even genotype. First of all they don’t wear perfumes such as European or American, and that the deodorants you can find in the stores usually are fragance free. If you scent perfume in the street it is usually a foreigner.
It is truth that often Japanese do not smell bad as they do take regular showers, BUT there’s a catch. Japanese society kind of loves curry, which makes the smell of a considerable amount of people unbearable to say the least. So it’s not uncommon to scent this very aweful smell ifyou are sleeping in a capsule place (which on my experience even made me wake up many times) or at any public place.
– Japanese have a highly developped fashion sense: TRUE. Most people wear very nice clothes. Women use long skirts. Usually black, white, blue or brown. They love square motiffs. Jeans are not very common (maybe due to the season?)and short jeans every western woman use are as far as I understand considered trashy. It’s absolutely common to find high end French and italian boutiques even in the train stations which can be by the way very fancy too. What’s funny is that even Don Quijote (which look like and Asian 70’s market with very low ceillings that you feel crushed while you walk around) do sell Prada, LV, or even very fancy watches such as Rolex or Omega.
– the Japanese are kind of scared/curious of western people. TRUE. They sometimes “secretly” stare at you out of curiosity. And if you look back at them they will react in a funny scared way. I’m by far not the most handsome person but they think I’m kind of a sensation. However they are very proud of who they are as a society so don’t even think on looking down at them.
8 comments
I find the last one to be quite inaccurate and really weirdly written, especially to consider yourself a sensation. Japanese people know what other ethnicities look like.
I suppose Japan being “expensive” could be due to the perspective relative size/portion; for example, it is a lot harder to find accommodations in metro areas like Tokyo that have size similar to the US.
Also the wages (in absolute value) can be lower compared to other developed countries.
But I agree, it is very easy to eat cheap (even dining out) in Japan, vegetables and fruits can be pricey tho.
Japan’s reputation for being expensive is a reputation from the 80s and 90s. There’s been basically zero inflation from then.
In the 1980s, a good bowl of ramen would have cost about 1000 yen. In 2023, a good bowl of ramen costs about 1000 yen.
Exchange rate has remained relatively stable over that time. So in 1986, $8 for a bowl of ramen would be expensive. In 2023 $8 for a bowl of ramen is a steal
Not sure what the last comment is about. I was approached and helped by a stranger when I was clearly confused reading a subway map, had conversations with retail staff (that they initiated), and randomly approached and interviewed by a few different groups of school kids whose assignment was to interview a western person. They are weird about staring because it’s impolite to stare, which I don’t know why isn’t a universal thing everywhere.
depends on the country of origin, if OP is American. yes he/she can perceive Japan is cheap. But, if person from Third World or poor countries. they can perceive that Japan is expensive.
The yen and Aussie dollars aren’t really the $1 = 100 yen (but better than before, used to be like $1 = 60 yen but now more like $1 = 80 yen).
So yeah I will say the yen is shit but I will equally say the Aussie dollar is just as shit, otherwise I would consider Japan in trouble if they have a aud$1 = 100 yen thing
TLDR: You made this post to soon. Making your opinions moot.
You are too inexperienced to be making a post like this IMO. This is something that should be made after you have lived here for a year or more. But let’s go over them. Based on my experiences after having visited Japan 4 times before and have been living here 18 months.
1) Japan is extremely expensive. You can simply just read a newspaper and see people panicking because of inflation and how wages have not gone up. Even before Covid it was expensive. Now that tourism is back, prices have gone up to try to make back lost profits and capitalize on the weak yen, but for those of us living here… big problem.
2) Japanese people do smell bad, but it’s not just because of curry. I think it’s a mix of several foods, stress, overwork, and not showering because they are too busy from overwork. Not to mention packed trains In this crazy humidity. Yea. Smelly people just like everyone else.
3) This is extremely opinionated because I find their fashion not interesting at all. Even younger people’s clothes are just meh. Maybe they biggest problem with the fashion for me is it’s not unique, and women aren’t trying to be sexy. Cute is their goal.
4) They are not scared of you at all. They just have their stereotypes, and most rather just not find out if they are true or not. Or they want to test their English and might randomly talk to you. And everyone knows that is you are a 3 or 4 back home, and come to Asia, it can go up to a 6 or 7. if you are white it can go up to an 8-9. Don’t let it go to your head though.
It sounds like they have my taste in fashion. I hate jeans and will wear skirts and dresses any day.