The sound of the car horn made me think about how patient and quiet life is here, even in one of the largest cities in the world. My life is extremely different my life here in comparison to America. I even think differently!! I am so grateful for the safety and orderly manner of Japanese life . If you have any interest in travel at all, I must recommend this country, because it will change the way you think about yourself.

Japan has taught me how to follow more rules, as well as changed the way I actually think. Life here is so safe and calm, that I hadn’t noticed how relaxed my behavior has become over time. I began to think about how living in Japan has offered me peace of mind.

The first few weeks after my relocation, I lost my wallet at the train station. I was so tired that I didn’t realize I dropped it the night before, but found it safe and sound in the morning at the train’s koban. (police station) My wallet still had all 60,000 ($600 USD) in it! That would never happen in America….

I regularly walk home after dark, sometimes catching the last train home. Japan is so safe, it’s not uncommon to see children unaccompanied in train stations. The first time I noticed a pint-sized Japanese child walking alone, I thought that the mother must be a fast walker. It never occurred to me that parents would be so trusting as to let their children travel alone. Here in Tokyo, it’s normal to see elementary-aged children as young as 6 walking, biking, or catching trains by themselves to and from school. Some of these little kids would probably be abducted in America.

Japanese people taught me how lazy I my work ethic is/was. Japanese people take social construct rules very seriously. It’s well known that Japanese people, especially in Tokyo, work very hard, staying late after their job ends. They do this to prove their work ethic. It’s normal for a person to work 10-12 hour days despite only being required to work 8. Sleeping at work is a sign of a hard worker. This concept is still difficult for me to consider. I’ll be the first to admit that I still think about some work-related stuff as “not my job, not my problem”.

In America, people think the bare minimum is acceptable. They perceive job duties not in their contract as “not their business”. Things they are not hired to do would simply not get done. This is untrue in Japan. For example:

Japanese streets are cleared of any debris. Even in fall, it’s hard to find a road with more than a leaf or two. There are no street cleaners that maintain this cleanliness. Instead, citizens take it upon themselves to clear their streets of anything unsightly. You don’t see any “please don’t litter” signs in Japan. I once dropped a plastic tooth flosser in front of my apartment, and didn’t pick it up because I was (extremely lazy, rude, etc etc) in a rush to work. By the time I got home, someone had already cleaned my litter. This is how prideful Japanese people are of their environment.

 Unlike America’s system of recycle vs landfill, Japan has many trash cycles. Only clear plastic bags may be used to separate burnables, non-combustibles, plastic. foam, glass, tin cans, PET bottles (plastic bottles), and other rubbish.  Japanese people organize their trash. Due to a terrorist attack in the early 1990’s it is difficult to find dust bins in public areas, so people often carry their trash home and separate it there Despite the lack of trash cans, there is little to no litter anywhere!

This kind of pristine maintenance of image is kept up in all aspects of Japanese lifestyle. Everything is organized and structured in this society, and people tend to be very civilallly obedient. I didn’t realize how tainted my moral compass was until I moved here.

Even if no one is around to see, most Japanese people will not leave work even a minute early. There are many opportunities to cheat in Japanese society. Despite not taking advantage of cheating situations, I realized how differently I thought. I noticed ways to steal, cheat, or otherwise benefit from the system. The train station-gates can’t tell if two people pass by at once. The weighted-food buffets at the grocery stores trust that the customer weighs their food AFTER they fill their to-go plates. Most products do not have security tags on them in stores. Japan offers tax-free purchases to tourists but isn’t allowed to legally check the inside of the passports….so if you have a foreign passport but a permanent visa you can technically not pay consumer tax on most goods. The lists go on and on.

Talking on the train is discouraged, and even with train cars reaching capacity, you can barely hear whispers among passengers. People rarely cut in line, and queue without issue. Japanese people are extremely conscientious of their neighbors.

From living in this society with a high moral standard, I realized how jaded I was from the American way of life. Simply put, I felt that Japanese people are more honest than I was. I am not saying that I ever acted on the cheats that I noticed. But I am stating that I noticed these opportunities. And I realized that these situations would not exist in America because people would abuse the trust of their neighbors, of companies, or from the government. I felt guilty when I realized how dishonest my thoughts were.

I realize now that the reason I’m able to enjoy a walk home at midnight without worrying about an assailant is due to the honest, trustworthy, and generally moral nature of the people of this country. I can enjoy peace of mind because I can trust in the good-intentions of those around me. I am able to experience solo female travel without concern because of the superior moral compasses of Japanese society.

Safety is something that is taken for granted until you don’t have it anymore.  Japan is safe because people are raised to be civially obedient. Japan is safe because people trust and respect one another. I have formed an extreme respect for this culture. Isn’t it strange how the sound of an impatient car horn reminded me of the honest lifestyle I am able to enjoy here?

Do you have any examples of how cultures have opened your eyes to your own cultural problems?