It didn’t take long for us to appreciate just how different Tokyo is from the rest of the places we’ve been.
The Language Barrier:
In South America I managed to get by pretty well in Spanish, Even though I couldn’t always speak it so well, I could at least read everything. Here almost all the signs and menus are written in indecipherable Kanji. I tried learning to say a few phrases in Japanese, but the reading is beyond me.
Culture Shock:
After all of our travels in laid-back South America and the Pacific islands, it was quite a shock to be in Tokyo. Everyone moves so fast here! And the bowing – apparently it’s not just a cliche. People seem to be constantly bowing all the time. Feels kinda weird at the 7Eleven.
Dress Codes:
Maybe it’s just the neighborhood we’re staying in, but everyone seems to be wearing suits here – all the time. Suddenly we feel very conspicuous in our casual backpacking attire.
I feel like a caveman in this country, lumbering around in my shabby clothes, trying to communicate by pointing at pictures and gesturing awkwardly while blurting out horribly mispronounced japanese. Thank goodness most people don’t seem too offended – I think we amuse them.
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Culture shock! Everyone says that Japan is such another mind set. I would love some footage of you asking directions. How about the street vending machines?
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