Brazilian who lived in Japan tells 22 facts about the country that normally only “locals” know

Curiosities about Japan tend to attract the attention of people from all corners of the world. Formed by 6,852 islands, the country stands out for its ancient culture, super-advanced technology, gastronomy, enchanting landscapes and disciplinary education. It’s like being in the future with so many innovations. The culture of the “Land of the Rising Sun”, however, goes far beyond what we find in tourist magazines — and there are certain things that only those who have lived in the country can tell.

Today the awesome.club, will hand over to Massa Taniguchi, a Brazilian who lived in Japan for almost three years through a temporary work program for descendants called Arubaito and discovered some very curious facts about the country. Come be surprised!

I went to Japan in December 2014, through a temporary work program for descendants, called Arubaito, focused on factories. Vacancies are opened at the end of the year to meet the high demand for work and the low supply of labor in Japan. Generally, university students apply, as the period coincides with college vacations and the contract lasts about three months. That year, I was going through a period of readjustment to Brazil, after returning from an exchange period in which I lived in Australia. As a result, I was unable to return to the job market.

As a friend commented that he was going to Japan to do Arubaito and I had nothing to lose, I applied too. Since high school, I always wanted to live in Japan and learn a little about my origins and the culture of the country. I took the opportunity to acquire more fluency in the Japanese language. As I had already graduated from college at that time, I was able to extend my contract indefinitely. In the end, I lived there for two years and nine months. Of the 47 provinces that make up the country, I managed to visit 38 during that time and now I’m going to tell you some curiosities I found along the way.

The Japanese use the block system, consisting of a few blocks. Each block has a number that identifies approximately where the house is located. In my case, I had to indicate: province, city, neighborhood, block, building name and apartment number. It is very confusing for us Brazilians.

The inkan is a stamp containing the kanji ideograms of the Japanese surname. They are always produced by hand to avoid the risk of having two identical stamps. Works like a signature on official documents such as contracts.

If it is written that the train will pass at 3:23 pm, it really does at that time. Luckily the trains are synchronized; the departure of one takes place a few minutes after the other arrives, when most of the passengers need to transfer. The problem is when you get off the highway bus and you have to catch the last train. The displacement within the stations takes around two to four minutes. For this reason, even running inside the stations, we are not always able to board, as the transport does not really wait. If you have to take a taxi, it is much more expensive.

Inside the train, Japanese people are very respectful of the comfort of the people around them. There is a pleasant silence in these environments. Passengers are immersed in the smartphone and use headphones. Making phone calls is considered disrespectful. And, if they talk, they do so in a low voice so as not to disturb other people. Speaking loudly will certainly get you stares from everyone.

The most disputed stores are those of branded clothes and generally, the best Lucky Bags sell out in the first three days of the year. I was never able to go shopping during that period, as I always had to work; then on the fourth and fifth day, there was almost nothing interesting left. I believe that, in these mega sales, the population is very polite and respects the queues. The Japanese would hardly create a turmoil to dispute the bags that, by the way, are all standardized: red and with the inscription Fukubukuro (literally “lucky bag”).

If you get hungry at 3 am, you can go there without worrying that it will be open. The largest konbini chain in Japan is 7-Eleven, which is also present in other countries. In big cities, there are practically one on every corner.

As in Japan one of the major problems is the lack of space, the streets are, in general, very narrow, often holding only one car at a time. Therefore, the roads do not have space for sidewalks, which are at the same level as the street. In fact, practically all of them have tactile floors to allow the independence of blind people.

One thing that is extremely difficult to find on the street are public trash cans. You need to buy the right garbage bag in the market and each city hall has a specific standard for these bags. Many Japanese have the custom of carrying garbage with them in a plastic bag until they find a dump. Others take it home to play.

It is part of the country’s education to take care of the collective heritage; they learn this from their first school years, cleaning the school itself. Usually the most accessible trash cans are those close to the aforementioned convenience stores — konbini.

If the light is red for pedestrians, even if the street is deserted, the Japanese usually wait for the light to turn green before crossing. At intersections where there are traffic lights, when the signs show that pedestrians are allowed to pass, a sound is emitted to help the visually impaired. And, depending on the north-south or east-west direction, the sound is either cuckoo or chirping.

If the police catch someone breaking these rules, the person is likely to be fined. But there are hardly any police on the streets. And that for moral reasons of the people, really. The Japanese are used to inspecting each other, for everyone to do what is right; people’s biggest concern is not to disrespect people. The question of fines or police repression is in the background. The important thing is the community.

At home, you have to make do with the two-burner mini cooktop due to lack of space. By the way, buying a house or land is extremely expensive; therefore, it may happen that two generations of the same family have to keep paying to pay off the property. Generally, the houses are very compact and cramped. In my case, I shared a four-room apartment with six people. There were only two rooms, the kitchen was integrated with the living room. The other room was where we left the bags, because the room only fit the futon (mats). WC? Just one for everyone.

Some toilets are so modern that, in addition to having buttons for heating the seat and, obviously, for flushing, they also have buttons for a “bidet”, drying and even music to disguise the embarrassing sounds. The apex of what I saw was the sound of applause. There, there are still two types of toilets: traditional and western.

Generally, near the residences, there is always a garbage collection point. Residents of the region are responsible for throwing the material in the right containers. After all, in front of houses, there is usually no space to leave garbage. The material is basically separated into two groups: burnable and non-burnable. The collection truck only collects what is in the containers, at the specific place for disposal.

As it is very different from Brazil, at first I had many doubts to know what was burnable or not. I had to go to that location and “study” what each container received; there was only one with boxes like Tetra Pak; another was for newspapers and magazines; yet another for light bulbs and so on: for batteries, for cardboard, for PET bottles, for styrofoam, for glass, for plastics and, finally, containers for burnable (organic) and non-burnable waste. That is, that is, everything that did not fit into the other deposits.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone would throw their garbage outside the collection sites. You force yourself, too, to play in the right place. I don’t know what happens, but it is likely that if a Japanese person disposes of garbage in an improper place, he will be verbally warned by his neighbor.

That’s why restaurants in Japan often offer free water. Water and sewage treatment must be very efficient as all the rivers I have seen are clean and fishy, ​​even in Tokyo.

Most of the space used for cultivation in Japan is rice. This is one of the only foods that Japan is self-sufficient in producing. I believe that the temperate climate prevents the cultivation of tropical fruits. Most of these fruits come from the Philippines. In the province where I lived, in Yamanashi, the specialty is grape and peach production. So these fruits are famous all over the country.

At the market, I could find four units of peaches in gift boxes, costing a lot! Apple and melon, depending on the province, could also be found in gift boxes, for a high price.

Many places have been transformed into tourist spots to enjoy nature. The Japanese are very fond of enjoying flowers (this practice is called hanami, literally “seeing flowers”) and taking walks and trails through the mountains. In all the nature spots I found local tourists of all ages, including the elderly and children.

There the waters are bathed by the Pacific Ocean, which is “an ice” and the sand is usually made of stones or volcanic. So, most of the year, the Japanese go to the beach in normal clothes (pants, T-shirt and sneakers), because the water is cold and not inviting to swim in the sea. In the summer, men wear a T-shirt and shorts and women vary between wide bikinis and bathing suits. Many also wear clothing with UV protection covering all skin.

The first time, I didn’t understand that the ATM checked the weight of the basket before and after passing all the items. But once I learned to use the machine, I saw that…