8 Things About Japan That Make So Much Sense

Lloyd & Mandy

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Transcript

00:00Japan made me realise something uncomfortable.

00:02A lot of the stress accepted as normal in modern life doesn't actually have to exist.

00:08The weird thing about Japan isn't that it feels futuristic, it's that it feels considerate.

00:14People queue quietly, phones barely make noise in public and you can leave things behind

00:20and expect them to still be there when you return.

00:23And after spending some time in Japan, coming home almost feels louder, faster and more

00:28chaotic.

00:29But at the same time, Japan definitely isn't perfect.

00:33Because underneath all the beauty and efficiency, there are parts of the culture that feel emotionally

00:37heavy too.

00:39In this video, I'm going to be sharing with you all of the things that I love about Japan

00:42that I wish my home country would adopt, but also at the end, I'm going to be sharing a

00:48few of the things that I don't necessarily love about Japan because let's face it, nowhere

00:53is perfect.

01:03One of the first things that stood out to me about Japan is just how considerate people

01:07are of other people and their space.

01:10People queue properly, nobody's trying to push ahead, nobody's trying to be the main character.

01:16And you don't realise how exhausting selfishness is until you experience society built around

01:21consideration.

01:22For instance, how many times have you been in a cafe, a bar, a restaurant, wherever it

01:28is, and there's clearly a line-up that someone will just cut in front of you and you have

01:33to have that conversation with yourself in your head like, do I start an argument with

01:36this person?

01:37Do I tell them to get to the back of the line?

01:39Do I let it go for the sake of peace?

01:41That just doesn't happen in Japan because people understand there's a line.

01:45There's usually a dot or something and it says line-up behind this dot and everybody

01:49follows suit and I don't think people even consider cutting in front of other people because

01:54it's just considered so rude and I agree with that wholeheartedly.

01:59Back home, even catching public transport can feel stressful sometimes, but in Japan it almost

02:05feels peaceful.

02:06The silence in Japan honestly shocked me at first.

02:10Trains full of people but barely anyone talking loudly.

02:13Phones on silent, no speakerphone conversations, no constant noise, and at first it almost feels

02:20strange and you can't quite put your finger on it until you figure out just how calming

02:25it actually is.

02:26I honestly think that we underestimate just how overstimulating life is in general.

02:31How many times have you been on the public train or bus or on a plane and somebody's just

02:37FaceTiming extremely loud and you can hear the whole conversation?

02:41It's completely unnecessary.

02:42That doesn't exist in Japan and I think we need to bring that culture back home because

02:47nobody wants to hear your conversation.

02:50Keep it at a low level and don't disturb others.

02:53In Japan, vending machines are everywhere.

02:56Side streets, countryside roads, train stations, and weirdly they become comforting.

03:01Hot coffee in winter, cold drinks in summer, always clean and always working.

03:06It's actually kind of insane the amount of vending machines we saw driving around Japan.

03:10Like you can be on a tiny little dirt road in the middle of nowhere, a little village and

03:16there's just a vending machine selling hot coffee, cold iced tea, whatever it is you want.

03:20Even ramen comes out of the vending machine sometimes.

03:22And I'm not exaggerating when I say this.

03:25I think if we tried to implement the same thing back home right now, one of those vending machines

03:30probably wouldn't last more than a couple of days before somebody broke into them.

03:33And that's just a disappointing fact.

03:36I genuinely think Japanese convenience stores might be one of the greatest inventions ever created.

03:42You can get proper meals, coffee, snacks, pay your bills, withdraw money, get rid of your garbage

03:48at almost any hour of the day.

03:50But what I love most is the atmosphere.

03:52Late at night after a long day walking around Japan,

03:55there's something weirdly comforting about walking into a quiet konbini.

03:58So these convenience stores are quite literally the most convenient thing in Japan.

04:03It's not just about the food.

04:05I was actually taking a Japanese language lesson.

04:07And as a side note, the teacher told me that if you're in Japan and you're ever unsure of

04:12where to go to get something done, whether it be like sending mail or collecting a package or

04:18getting rid of your garbage or whatever it is, paying a bill.

04:21She said the first place you should go is the convenience store because chances are they can

04:25take care of it there.

04:26And I just think that's amazing. And 7-Eleven actually started in the United States and branched

04:31out to Japan, I think in the seventies. And it got so big and so popular that the Japanese version

04:37bought out the American version and it's all owned by Japan now. And I think that's the first time

04:42that's ever happened. And there's convenience stores all over the world, but for whatever reason,

04:46none of them seem to stack up against the convenience stores in Japan. I don't know why that is,

04:51but it would be so cool if we could implement that back home.

04:56Epic.

05:00One of my favorite parts of Japan is honestly the countryside and Michi no Eki stops feel like the

05:06heart of small town Japan. There's local food, farmers selling produce, quiet roads and mountains

05:12everywhere. It feels slower, simpler, like a version of life that a lot of people are craving now.

05:18So these rest stops are something that were implemented by the Japanese government pretty

05:23much as a safety precaution for truck drivers or people driving long road trips so that they

05:28didn't fall asleep at the wheel. They made it super comfortable. So there's toilets, there's sometimes

05:32showers, there's always somewhere to eat and drink, and you're allowed to lay down and rest even

05:37overnight. Most other countries we've traveled to, if you're sleeping at a roadside station and you're not

05:43a truck driver, you're going to get moved on, especially if you're in an RV. In Japan,

05:48everybody just seems to let it go and be fine with it because they would prefer you get some rest

05:53than drive for too long. And I just think that's awesome. Most countries like the US, like we have

05:58roadside stations, but if you've ever been to a roadside station in the United States, you cannot

06:03tell me that you feel safe, especially sleeping in your car. But these ones just seem to feel very

06:09secure. And I'm sure there are some that are unsafe. Ever since we started traveling full time,

06:15we've realized how important it is to keep things simple, especially on travel days. Lately, we've

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06:52your computer out at the airport while holding up the line behind you. What we've actually liked

06:57most is that it doesn't just work for travel days. We've been using it constantly in everyday life too.

07:03We've also been using the smaller crossbody bag for passports, cards, and travel essentials while

07:08exploring new places. If you guys want to check them out, we'll leave our TomTalk link in the

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07:21This might sound ridiculous, but using Japanese public bathrooms has absolutely ruined toilets for me,

07:28because the standard has been set so high. And if you've been to Japan, you know exactly what I'm

07:33talking about. If you haven't been there, you probably think I'm crazy, but the toilets are

07:37immaculate. First of all, they have bidets, which is incredible. I don't know how you can have a bidet

07:42and then go back to not using a bidet. There's all these control buttons on the side that can warm

07:46the seat up for you. They can blow warm air, warm water or cold water. There's even a button that

07:53you

07:53can push that makes a sound so that nobody can hear what's going on inside the bathroom stall.

07:58It's like a nice calming like rainwater sort of sound. Once you use a public bathroom in Japan,

08:04you'll never go back. And wherever I end up living for the rest of my life, I'm going to install

08:09a

08:10Japanese toilet in my bathroom.

08:13I think onsens are probably the closest thing modern society has to forced meditation. There's no phones,

08:19no distractions, no rushing. You just sit there quietly with your thoughts. And honestly,

08:25I think a lot of us have forgotten how to slow down. There's literally public onsens in every

08:31single town. Even the smallest village has a public onsen and big cities have tons of them.

08:35They're absolutely everywhere. From what I understand, it's a way to cleanse not only your body,

08:41but your mind as well. And I think that's awesome. But there is something about the onsens that I

08:45don't completely agree with, but I'll get to later. This was one of the most fascinating things to me.

08:51In a world where home ownership feels impossible for so many young people, Japan has entire villages

08:58filled with abandoned homes. Places that are surrounded by nature just sitting empty because

09:03younger generations moved to the cities. So if you don't know about IKEA homes, I'll leave a link down

09:08below which will explain everything. But basically, Japan has this issue with an aging population,

09:14and having nobody to pass on their property to. And even if they do, maybe their grandchildren,

09:20or whoever it is, lives in a city and works in a city and doesn't want to live in the

09:24countryside,

09:24which means some of these homes are next to free. You just have to pay fees. They're a lot older,

09:29they're a bit run down. But in Japan, you can be a homeowner for as little as $10,000. Whereas

09:35in pretty much any other part of the world, it's getting to the point where it's almost impossible

09:40for young people to buy a home. But home ownership in Japan is an absolute possibility. And I think

09:46that might be one of the big reasons why so many people romanticize Japan right now.

09:51Not just because it's beautiful, but because people are looking for a different way to live.

09:55But let's be honest, I'm not here to say everything about Japan is amazing because

09:59every culture has trade-offs. And while there are a ton of things that Japan does beautifully,

10:04there's also a lot of things that I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of. So I'm going to get to

10:09them.

10:09So from what I've heard, the salaryman culture is extremely tough. But if you know a salaryman,

10:14or if you're a salaryman yourself, let me know down below. Is that just something that's been

10:18exaggerated or is it true? Japan's efficiency comes with a cost. You can feel it in the city sometimes.

10:24And people are working incredibly long hours. They're sleeping on trains,

10:29living under enormous social pressure. There's sort of this feeling in Japan that

10:34honor and value comes from self-sacrifice. I think there should be a balance that you should

10:39have to work hard. And there is honor in sacrifice, especially for your family and your loved ones.

10:44But I do believe there should also be balance. And you should be able to live a healthy lifestyle

10:49and spend time with your family at the same time. So as you can see, I'm covered in tattoos.

10:53And going to Japan, there is still quite a big stigma around that. And that's because

10:58of the organized crime that did used to exist and probably does still exist in Japan.

11:03Japan. And unfortunately, that means that I can't access a lot of the public onsens because of my

11:09tattoos. You are able to cover them up and still go in. But if you have as many as me,

11:13that makes it pretty difficult. I understand the reasoning behind it. And I'm not saying

11:17it should change it. It's just something that I would prefer. It would make my life a lot easier

11:22when visiting Japan, if that didn't exist. But I do understand it. One thing that took me time to

11:26understand was how indirect communication can be in Japan. So people are incredibly polite,

11:33but sometimes it's hard to know what someone actually thinks. I do think the trade-off is a

11:39society that's built with harmony and conflict is avoided. But honestly, it can make things a lot

11:45harder too. I'm somebody who likes direct communication. So if you don't like something

11:49I'm doing, or if you don't agree with me, tell me. I'm not going to take offense to it. I

11:53will take

11:53it on board. I don't think Japan is perfect. But traveling there has made me aware of some of

11:58the things I think could be improved in my home country and probably your home country too. If

12:04you agree with me, let me know down below in the comments, or if you think I'm crazy,

12:08let me know as well. Thanks for watching. We'll see you in the next one. Cheers.

12:23you

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