The stereotypes about living in Japan that are actually true (and a few that aren’t)

I had the fortune of living in Japan for my last two years of high school. My dad is in the US Navy and he got stationed at the American Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan (Jazz was introduced here in the 1940s! We have statues! … That’s really everything you need to know about Yokosuka…).

Although I lived “on-base,” I went to an international school in a different city called Yokohama. Both are cities in the greater Tokyo area, but Yokohama is a much larger city and is somewhat closer to Tokyo. I was in the weird position of constantly shuttling back in forth between “America” (the base is technically US soil) and Japan every day. As such, I am a semi-expert on Japanese stereotypes about the US, and American stereotypes about Japan. So, without further exposition, here are the true stereotypes (and a few false ones) that Americans have about Japan.

You will be manhandled by the train station pushers: True

Nicely dressed Japanese men and women in uniform with pristine white gloves very professionally squeeze people into human-sized sardine cans. During rush hour, train stations in the larger cities become so crowded that train staff have to physically force people into the cars. Before I moved to Japan, I thought pushers were a myth. They aren’t.

Foreigners feel the fish-out-of-water syndrome: True

Japan is 98.5 percent ethnically Japanese. Not just “East-Asian” or “Asian” – 98.5 percent of the people living in Japan have great-great-whatever parents who lived in Japan. Despite living in the American-influenced city of Yokosuka, I was almost always the only non-Japanese person in a restaurant, in a department store, or in a train at any given moment. I identified as “The Blonde Gaijin” (the blonde foreigner) for two years.

Vending machines are everywhere: True

They also sell basically everything. Most mornings I would get an o-cha (green tea) bottle from a vending machine before getting on the train to school. Or, if I was tired, I would get canned coffee.There are also vending machines for things like underwear (the used-underwear vending machine is a myth, though, as far as I know.)

The thing where you have to take off your shoes: True

Yes, you do have to take off your shoes before entering anywhere private. Almost all apartments have a special entryway and sometimes a little cabinet to put your shoes.

Everyone wears school uniforms: True

Everyone from kindergarten to high school graduation dresses like they go to Catholic school. Flocks of plaid-wearing girls and boys are everywhere, often roving in squads that take up the entire sidewalk. Seriously – the regulations sometimes even control earrings (none) and hair (undyed). You can tell if someone is in college or high school by their hair color. The little kids are especially cute- they often have matching hats.

Japan is obsessed with food: True.

The Japanese take their food very seriously – a really fresh, top-quality peach can go for upwards of 1000 yen, or 10 dollars. That single peach will be the best damn peach you ever taste in your life. There are also a lot of location-specific foods – different cities (and even neighborhoods) will be known for their local delicacies or desserts. It’s expected that you bring back “omiage” (gifts) of that delicacy to your friends and co-workers whenever you go on a trip.

People from Japan all love tentacle porn: Not so much

Is there tentacle porn? Yes. Is everyone in Japan really into kinky octopus sex? Of course not. Enough said.

Everyone is into Akihabara culture: Not really

There is this tendency in the US to think that Japanese people have very weird imaginations and dress like anime characters. Most of what people think as Japanese (anime, kogal, cosplay) is what Japanese people think of as “otaku” (geek) culture. It’s not really mainstream. That being said, just about everyone has read One Piece and there are genres of anime for all demographics.

It’s a pretty liberal place: Not exactly

Japan is actually a surprisingly conservative and often sexist society. 33 percent of Japan’s population is above the age of 60, which means that the overall vibe is quite a conservative one. Women are largely encouraged to drop out of the workplace as soon as they get married. I was almost always the only girl in my Aikido dojo, especially when I trained at a dojo off-base. I am pretty sure the only reason they let me stay was because I broke the mold so much (gaijin, woman, could barely say Konichiwa) that they made an exception.

As a reward for reading the entire article: Fun fact about Yokosuka!

If you have ever heard your grandparents say “hunky-dory” and wondered what the hell it meant, here’s the answer. The word is originally from Yokosuka. “Hunky-dory” is a bastardization of Honcho-dori, the name of a street in Yokosuka. Right after World War Two, America had a lot of sex-starved sailors and soldiers stationed in Japan. Apparently, this street had a bunch of brothels and prostitutes during that era. “Everything is hunky-dory” originally meant “I’m about to get laid.”