Culture Shock 2
It has been two months since I arrived ONU and I encountered many things that are very different compared to Japanese culture. Therefore, I will handle this topic again.- The tradition of removing shoes in home
In Japan, people take off shoes when they enter their house. Because Japan has a climate with high temperatures, high humidity and a lot of rain, it makes the floor dirty and causes sanitary problems if they come into their house with their shoes. By doing that, people can sit on the tatami, a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms, and spread futon on the floor.
Moreover, there are other countries where people take off shoes in their house.
Example: Korea, Southeast Asia, East Asia, China, Turkey, Alaska, Canada, Norway
- Box culture at restaurants
And with that, I was saved by Box culture.
In Japan, if people cannot finish their meals, they cannot take out their remnants of food. This is because the food will decays and there is a possibility of food poisoning. The restaurant cannot be responsible for that. In addition, people in Japan have a custom to take only what they can eat and not to leave food.
At my house, we take off our shoes every single time we come in my house so I understand that! But also, I take home food every time I go out to eat. The portion sizes are HUGE and it's always way more than I can eat. I would love to go to Japan and try some restaurants there. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think it would be nice to experience a culture where portions were reasonably sized; however, I do enjoy having leftovers after meals! I had never considered that food-borne illnesses from leftovers could be the responsibility of a restaurant. I think big portions and box culture is so common in America because Americans are more comfortable wasting food than other countries. This was very interesting, thank you for sharing!
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