Japans Own

Japan?!?!?

Doe any one live in Japan? From what all the media shows about japan, it looks very interesting. I am looking for poeple who lives or lived there. Hos is it there? whats the life style? How do people dress? what kind of food do they like the most? etc. just tell as much you can about japan from your experience.

Public Comments

1. They have great anime
2. nothing special, however you could say Japan is mixed western and oriental culture. You can purchase anything in Tokyo (if you have money ^o^) my foreign friends say Japanese stationery products are great, especially pencil and eraser.
3. Japan is like China and Korea in culture.The people are polite and usually wear western clothing.Life style is like any other 1st world country.Japanese love American food.Japan is a land of conjoined cultures and has a ton of things to do there.
4. I lived there for 12 years in total, so I could write pages...but to keep it short, I'll just go with what you asked. The lifestyle is pretty high-paced (well, for an Aussie like me it is). Even in the smaller cities, you always seem to be busy. Its a very convenient place, you can find convenience stores everywhere open 24hrs, and vending machines selling drinks are on almost every corner. They even sell hot drinks in the vending machines in winter! It can be an expensive place to live, depending on where in Japan you're located and the type of lifestyle you lead, although there are some very reasonably priced clothing and food shops around. People dress in western clothes mostly, and young people tend to follow fashion trends earnestly. Most Japanese people love brand-name clothing and items, so its not unusual to see teenage girls carrying Louis Vuitton or Prada bags, even though they cost a few thousand dollars a piece. Western food is very popular (like McDonalds and Wendys). Most young people eat meat daily. Japan is a culture which revolves around food. You know the Iron Chef? Well, that is just one of the heaps of cooking shows. But not just cooking; they have lots of shows where the host goes to popular or famous restaurants to try the food and tell the public how good it is. So you are basically watching at TV programme of someone eating. There's not one food that you can say all Japanese like, but most Japanese still love fish and seafood. Noodles are also really popular, and so is international cuisine (up until I left last year, Korean food was 'in'). What I loved about Japan was its history. I come from a country with a very short written history, and the history before white man isn't well known. Japan's history is so long and well-documented, and a lot of their culture is based on events in history that its extremely interesting. Its a novelty to stand out over there as a foreigner, but after a while it wears off; if you plan on living there for a long time, you just want to fit in and live your life without being on display (it does give you a bit of an insight into what life must be like for celebrities, though). Japanese people are just like Westerners in that they gossip, b*tch and can be very blunt, but they do seem to have a better sense of putting up a facade and behaving well in public. And what you may see on TV about the government and big business is not reflective of the public. I found that although the government is doing very little to help foreigners assimilate, and in some instances actively encourage the homogenous image of Japan, the average Joe on the street assumes that if you live in Japan long enough, you are Japanese, even if you do some things a bit different. Up until the day I left, my friends were shocked that I wasn't automatically made a Japanese citizen upon marrying my husband. Ultimately I loved my time over there, although I am happy to be home. Some things annoyed me, but that happens wherever you happen to be. And living over there really teaches you a lot about yourself.