Bizarre Japan

The West has a bad habit of making Japan appear bizarre. And I get it. It’s because Japan is quite different from the West.

Different language(s). Different food(s). Different custom(s).

But when you really think about it, no one country is ever more bizarre than the other simply because every country is bizarre. It all comes down to one’s perspective. For example, Americans wouldn’t find Canada to be all that bizarre and vice versa, right?

So, what is bizarre about Japan? I don’t know for sure but allow me to share my bizarre encounters in Japan.

Suit Clad Men eating McDonald’s

In Japan, there’s a “rule” about not eating while on the train. And it’s a pretty legit rule unless you’re on the shinkansen. People can and will eat on the shinkansen. So, on board the shinkansen with nothing to eat, I spot across from me, two men in nice suits about to eat yellow wrapped McMuffins (?) from McDonald’s.

I had a moment of intrigue. The sight was so bizarre that I had trouble looking away. I honestly wanted to look on longer, but knew that if I did, the men would have noticed, if they hadn’t already and think I was hungry, interested in one of them OR a nutcase! Most likely the latter! LOL)

Till this day, I can remember the sight quite clearly. I am not too sure what it was about this scene that I found to be bizarre but it could have been the fact that business suits don’t equate to McDonald’s consumption, for the most part. That and maybe I wasn’t expecting to see someone eating McDonald’s inside the shinkansen.

Excessive Bowing

Japan bows way too much for my taste. Sure, it’s the norm in Japan but it wasn’t the norm for me so I found it borderline bizarre. I also felt as though I went back in time or something because I rarely see people bow in my personal life. Sure, it happens, but when it is does happen, it’s not as extreme and not as excessive either. Interestingly enough, I’ve actually had two Asians bow at me before when I let them cross the street while I’m driving or something but their bows were nothing compared to the way people in Japan bow. (I think I’d be a hot mess in Japan figuring out their bowing system. Not that I’d want to figure it out… Just thinking about it is mind boggling.)

Itadakimasu (いただきます)

While I don’t think putting your hands together and saying “itadakimasu” before you eat is bizarre, “itadakimasu” deserves to be on this post of mine. Allow me to explain.

With it being custom to say “itadakimasu” before one eats in Japan, someone is bound to notice when you don’t do it prior to eating. Fortunately for me, I didn’t eat out much but when I had to, I got noticed, alright. There was probably one place that didn’t notice (or didn’t care) and that was somewhere in Hiroshima prefecture. But I did get a lot of smiles, so they probably knew I was from somewhere else and chose to make light of the situation. My other experiences with not doing “itadakimasu” were less forgiving, though. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I realized after I returned to the states that the looks of amusement and judgement I got while eating all had to do with me not doing the customary “itadakimasu”. In fact, this happened to me at Tokyo Disney Sea while eating pizza at an “Italian” restaurant. For the longest time, I thought I got looks for eating pizza without utensils when in reality, I probably got looks for not doing the whole “itadakimasu” thing.

So, the natives found me bizarre whenever they caught me eating. Heh. :/

These three situations stood out to me as my most bizarre experiences in Japan. If you want to share your own bizarre experiences, whether it be in Japan or another country, leave a comment below!