Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
C30N9

Is Japan such a magical place?

Recommended Posts

Jokes about how smart Japanese people are have been rising where I live, but is it true that Japan is such a great place or am I just being ignorant?

Are people very mature and loyal over there? Is it a land of opportunities? Are people well educated? Does it have a bizarre culture? Or is it just like any country in the world which happens to have great economy and technology?

I wouldn't always trust media, so asking someone who lives/visited it may give a better reply. Is Japan such a magical place?

Share this post


Link to post

Sure, if you don't mind being looked down upon for being a gajin. Or having the gender equality gap being analogous to 1950's America. Or a deep-seated disrespect for depressed people. Or a culture that has so many people working to death they made a word for it.

Share this post


Link to post
C30N9 said:

Does it have a bizarre culture?

This is the defining point of Japan.

Also:

Share this post


Link to post

I think that like any developed world country, it has rich/poor variety and all the inherent inconveniences (stores closed early etc.). And since it developed in a different region to USA and Europe, there are cultural differences. This article (Cracked) goes to say that it's pretty normal place, with all the caveats of yourself being a foreigner there.

I think what makes it appear special to foreigners is that it looks more like a first-world country than mainland Asia countries with their stupid communism, overpopulation and/or islamism.

Share this post


Link to post

Japan has a serious problem with a declining birth rate. I've heard estimates that its population will have shrunk by 1/3 by 2050. Their workforce is aging rapidly and I believe their national debt is unrivaled even by Greece ($10.46 trillion USD). Young people aren't making better wages than their parents and often continue to live with their families well into their twenties. Also, rising demand for western food is destroying their local farming industry. In short, things are looking bad for "Glorious Nippon".

Share this post


Link to post
C30N9 said:

Jokes about how smart Japanese people are have been rising where I live, but is it true that Japan is such a great place or am I just being ignorant?

Are people very mature and loyal over there? Is it a land of opportunities? Are people well educated? Does it have a bizarre culture? Or is it just like any country in the world which happens to have great economy and technology?

I wouldn't always trust media, so asking someone who lives/visited it may give a better reply. Is Japan such a magical place?


Japan is actually a boring normal place of boring normal people living boring normal lives, just like the rest of the world. The way Westerners talk about Japan is like if Japanese people were to get all their ideas of America from The Simpsons.

Waffenak said:

They got booze vending machines


Japanese mass-market beer is borderline undrinkable, so I wouldn't buy anything from those machines if I were you.

Share this post


Link to post

I wonder if Japan knows about its bat shit craziness and its only 1% of their culture. Like I'm sure the Japanese look at our Movie 43 and say wtf is going on with America?

Share this post


Link to post

Of course they know about the "crazy" stuff. Being an anime geek is extremely uncool in Japan. The whole anime industry in in a slow death spiral as it becomes more despised by mainstream Japanese society for the creepy elements, which makes anime publishers shift their focus further toward hardcore otaku who spend all their dinero on overpriced DVDs and merchandise, which makes the mainstream pull further away, and so on.

Share this post


Link to post
Phobus said:

No, Tahiti is a magical place.

Sure, if you don't mind being injected with alien blood and having your memories scrambled.

Share this post


Link to post
Woolie Wool said:

Japanese mass-market beer is borderline undrinkable, so I wouldn't buy anything from those machines if I were you.


I wasnt speaking of just beer and besides I dont have problems downing asahi beer.

Share this post


Link to post
Tango said:

doesn't Mr. T live in Japan?

Yes indeed - although I don't remember seeing him on here for some time, so for all I know that could be a past-tense deal...

Also, thanks printz for linking Cracked.com - I'm missing about 3 hours of my life!

Share this post


Link to post

They're xenophobic, racist, and incredibly stubborn even if it brings their downfall (ie Sega of Japan making terrible decisions and not even entertaining the notion that they could be bad). I don't like Japan.

Share this post


Link to post

It is magical. They made much of what they did in WWII disappear - as far as present day citizens are aware at least. :P


Someone I know, who has worked extensively in Japan, described the Japanese like this: "They are as close to aliens as we are ever likely to encounter. Their culture is totally different to Western culture to the point of being utterly alien. If you want to know what it would be like to meet aliens, go and live in Japan."


Despite the above comments, I personally have no strong opinions of Japan or the Japanese people. Frankly, I don't know enough to form a strong opinion. I take what I see/hear via the media with a pinch of salt and the (very few, admittedly) Japanese people who I know well are very nice, friendly people who are fun to be around.

Share this post


Link to post
Sodaholic said:

They're xenophobic, racist.


That's pretty true. Just ask the Chinese and Koreans. Hell, I don't even think many of them take kindly to Japanese Americans (at least ones who are completely white-washed).

EDIT: I'm not really sure if that applies to younger generations of Japanese, but it feels like older generations are like that.

Share this post


Link to post



Stereotypes aside, Japan is actually a relatively normal place. The culture is so overly-conservative (I'm guessing a lot of this comes from Shintoism) however I couldn't stand living there.

Share this post


Link to post

Japan is amazing, and no not every one in Japan is hate/call Americans Gaijins, most of them are quite mature for their age, some even look young for their age. All of the weirdness that every one seems to associate with Japan is are blown out of proportion, other words, mostly NOT TRUE. you really have look into Japan a bit to see the beauty of it.

Share this post


Link to post
jazzmaster9 said:

not every one in Japan is hate/call Americans Gaijins

Are there other countries in the world than Japan and America?

Share this post


Link to post

There's that one desert country where all the terrorists come from.

Share this post


Link to post
jazzmaster9 said:

Japan is amazing...most of them are quite mature for their age

Japan, known the world over for how mature everyone is despite their ages. 70 year olds behaving like 90 year olds and shit.

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×