There are several misconceptions that people have about people in Japan. These are just a few of the ones that I had before I went to Japan!
The first one is that EVERYBODY dresses in unique fashion. Although it is true that there are very identifiable fashion styles such as Harajuku or lolita fashions, as well as people who just dress in their own unique fashion, I think that could be said for just about every country in the world as well. In America, for example, we have people who are really into goth and formal fashions. However, in your country, does EVERYBODY dress in these specialized fashions? This is definitely not true in America, nor is it true in Japan. Although these are very widely known fashions, Japanese people as a whole do not dress in this fashion, however I would say they are somewhat more accepting of it and less judgemental than most other countries are just because it is so widely known.
Next, in my video I talked about how, as an anime lover, I thought people would speak at least SOMEWHAT like in anime. While this is TECHNICALLY true to some extent, I feel that this is more because while I was living in America, my only exposure to 'native' Japanese speaking was through anime, and that is how I learned a lot of basic Japanese and slang. Especially when I first came to Japan, I thought that my preconceived notion was true due to me being exposed to so much more Japanese than I was originally used to. Despite this, once I came to Japan and learned a lot more of the culture and language, I slowly got more used to hearing the language, and now when I watch anime, I realize how unrealistic the voice-actors can sound in some anime. I still love anime, but now it is something that I notice.
3rd is a bit inappropriate, but SEVERAL of my friends have at some point or another brought up the subject of whether or not Japanese people are super pure or crazy concerning their sex lives. FIRST OFF, let me just clarify that I have no first-hand experience regarding this subject, however through my friend's stories, I have come to the opinion that they are no more crazy or innocent than the average human being. Besides that, if anything I would say that due to anime and the overall culture, Japanese peoples' expectations of love are so high that they just fail to find a relationship that meets their expectations, which in turn leads to them not getting intimate with a partner. Another thing that I have heard is that because Japanese high schools are so intense with studying and cram schools, that students really have no time for relationships, and therefore, once they enter college where they have a bit more free time, they are much more open to exploring their options, and therefore experiment a bit more. Despite this, due to their culture being very conservative in terms of sexuality and private matters, no matter what the subject, they are very on the down low about what they do.
One of the misconceptions that I had before I came to Japan and even after my first visit ever to Japan which was only for two weeks, is currently the misconception that continually haunts me to this day. People who come to visit Japan for any period shorter than about a year (sometimes even more than that), will always tell me how amazingly nice Japanese people are. Although I do agree that Japanese people are more considerate as a whole than most countries, due to that overall consideration as a country, I believe they are more compelled as a people to hide what they truly think and want to say behind that mask of consideration. This is not to say that they are a bad people by doing this, and this is also not saying that all Japanese people are like this. However, I have had incidences where I meet people and I find it really hard to gage what their true personality is until about a year later or even longer. Just like any other population, Japan has a society full of people with different and unique personalities and I recommend you get to know them as a regular friend instead of labeling them as a "Japanese friend" and distinguishing them like that or treating them different than you would any other person.
The last and most interesting misconception that I currently think of is the fact that Japanese people usually cannot tell the difference between good Japanese accents or not. I have a ton of examples of this, but because my video was already ridiculously long, I cut all of those out.That is besides the point, however. The point is, if you guys are super worried about whether Japanese people won't understand you or will make fun of you due to your bad accent, 99.9% of the time that will not be true. So just have fun when you go to Japan and practice Japanese with natives to your heart's content :)
The first one is that EVERYBODY dresses in unique fashion. Although it is true that there are very identifiable fashion styles such as Harajuku or lolita fashions, as well as people who just dress in their own unique fashion, I think that could be said for just about every country in the world as well. In America, for example, we have people who are really into goth and formal fashions. However, in your country, does EVERYBODY dress in these specialized fashions? This is definitely not true in America, nor is it true in Japan. Although these are very widely known fashions, Japanese people as a whole do not dress in this fashion, however I would say they are somewhat more accepting of it and less judgemental than most other countries are just because it is so widely known.
Next, in my video I talked about how, as an anime lover, I thought people would speak at least SOMEWHAT like in anime. While this is TECHNICALLY true to some extent, I feel that this is more because while I was living in America, my only exposure to 'native' Japanese speaking was through anime, and that is how I learned a lot of basic Japanese and slang. Especially when I first came to Japan, I thought that my preconceived notion was true due to me being exposed to so much more Japanese than I was originally used to. Despite this, once I came to Japan and learned a lot more of the culture and language, I slowly got more used to hearing the language, and now when I watch anime, I realize how unrealistic the voice-actors can sound in some anime. I still love anime, but now it is something that I notice.
3rd is a bit inappropriate, but SEVERAL of my friends have at some point or another brought up the subject of whether or not Japanese people are super pure or crazy concerning their sex lives. FIRST OFF, let me just clarify that I have no first-hand experience regarding this subject, however through my friend's stories, I have come to the opinion that they are no more crazy or innocent than the average human being. Besides that, if anything I would say that due to anime and the overall culture, Japanese peoples' expectations of love are so high that they just fail to find a relationship that meets their expectations, which in turn leads to them not getting intimate with a partner. Another thing that I have heard is that because Japanese high schools are so intense with studying and cram schools, that students really have no time for relationships, and therefore, once they enter college where they have a bit more free time, they are much more open to exploring their options, and therefore experiment a bit more. Despite this, due to their culture being very conservative in terms of sexuality and private matters, no matter what the subject, they are very on the down low about what they do.
One of the misconceptions that I had before I came to Japan and even after my first visit ever to Japan which was only for two weeks, is currently the misconception that continually haunts me to this day. People who come to visit Japan for any period shorter than about a year (sometimes even more than that), will always tell me how amazingly nice Japanese people are. Although I do agree that Japanese people are more considerate as a whole than most countries, due to that overall consideration as a country, I believe they are more compelled as a people to hide what they truly think and want to say behind that mask of consideration. This is not to say that they are a bad people by doing this, and this is also not saying that all Japanese people are like this. However, I have had incidences where I meet people and I find it really hard to gage what their true personality is until about a year later or even longer. Just like any other population, Japan has a society full of people with different and unique personalities and I recommend you get to know them as a regular friend instead of labeling them as a "Japanese friend" and distinguishing them like that or treating them different than you would any other person.
The last and most interesting misconception that I currently think of is the fact that Japanese people usually cannot tell the difference between good Japanese accents or not. I have a ton of examples of this, but because my video was already ridiculously long, I cut all of those out.That is besides the point, however. The point is, if you guys are super worried about whether Japanese people won't understand you or will make fun of you due to your bad accent, 99.9% of the time that will not be true. So just have fun when you go to Japan and practice Japanese with natives to your heart's content :)
XOXO,
Meowko
Meowko
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