Breetai

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Well, I personally like Japan because I find the Japanese culture very interesting.
In what way?

The culture held respect above most things,
Respect for what, and in what way?

...and the people are very nice.
In my experience, it's about the same ratio as any country I've been to.

I also like the Japanese language, and how it expresses things.
Oh? How so?
I just... like Japan and Japanese things. It's a little hard to explain, but I don't love Japan just because of its animes. Animes got me into loving Japan, but it means a whole lot more than just that to me now. I just like Japan in general.
That's cool. I'm just asking you these questions on your comment to see how you'd compare and contrast these aspects of Japan to other things you've studied/experienced.

Things people usually expect in the Japanese and its culture are not as you think any more unfortunately.
Absolutely true, although a person simply visiting Japan for a weeks holiday, or even a months holiday, may not see this; only seeing the outer layer, as it were.
 
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Sapphire Dragon

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In what way?

Respect for what, and in what way?

In my experience, it's about the same ratio as any country I've been to.

Oh? How so?
That's cool. I'm just asking you these questions on your comment to see how you'd compare and contrast these aspects of Japan to other things you've studied/experienced.

Absolutely true, although a person simply visiting Japan for a weeks holiday, or even a months holiday, may not see this; only seeing the outer layer, as it were.

Well... I think that the Japanese culture is interesting in its polite customs, its way of expressing things, and the way that people act. I know that it's generally not too different than other people around the world, but even so, I just like the Japanese. I just like Japan's way of doing things, I guess. It's something, again, that is a little hard to explain. I like to see something other than just Americans... I want to know something more than just English... I want to know more about other people and how they behave, and the Japanese people have interested me the most. I would be lying if I said animes had nothing to do with it, but it would also be a lie to say that it is only because of animes.

The culture holds respect for people in general. The Japanese language expresses things in a different way than English does, and I like the way that it can express things that are sometimes inexpressible in English. I would have to write out long examples as to why, if you want that explained...

But really, I just like the Japanese for both explainable and unexplainable reasons. One is because their language interests me. I personally think the Japanese language is beautiful. Their customs interest me, and some of them are so old that it's amazing. I would like to know and understand and feel a different way of life- one that is outside of this American bubble that I live in.
 
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Breetai

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Well... I think that the Japanese culture is interesting in its polite customs, its way of expressing things, and the way that people act. I know that it's generally not too different than other people around the world, but even so, I just like the Japanese. I just like Japan's way of doing things, I guess. It's something, again, that is a little hard to explain. I like to see something other than just Americans... I want to know something more than just English... I want to know more about other people and how they behave, and the Japanese people have interested me the most. I would be lying if I said animes had nothing to do with it, but it would also be a lie to say that it is only because of animes.

The culture holds respect for people in general. The Japanese language expresses things in a different way than English does, and I like the way that it can express things that are sometimes inexpressible in English. I would have to write out long examples as to why, if you want that explained...

But really, I just like the Japanese for both explainable and unexplainable reasons. One is because their language interests me. I personally think the Japanese language is beautiful. Their customs interest me, and some of them are so old that it's amazing. I would like to know and understand and feel a different way of life- one that is outside of this American bubble that I live in.
Well, feel free to come to Japan sometime then! Consider spending a year or more here in an exchange programme, or studying university here for a spell when you're finished high school. Another alternative would be to work here if you get a university degree for a year or more. There are quite a few ways to spend time in Japan if you look around.

Have you studied Japanese before? I'm not fluent in it, but I can get by in daily conversation.
 
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Sapphire Dragon

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^^ Thanks! I want to visit Japan maybe once during a vacation or something when I get a break from college (once I go to college). I'm not sure if I could go there while I'm getting my education, because learning fluent Japanese at the same time may be traumatic... XD

はい、 I have studied Japanese before. Not professionally or by a teacher, but between my friend and me. We were obsessed with a certain anime then, and she got me into everything about Japan... but it got much deeper in that once we both researched more about Japan. Now, we both love Japan.

I thought you were Japanese and spoke English too... o.o
 
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windcatcher

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Some Americans are even more Japanese in their natures sometimes. I have seen such people before. I am glad that you like Japan and the people so much.

I have one reason why you like Japan, but it's mostly in the way you view already. Not to discourage you but I want you to know the reality in the country. Just know that you may not see things what you read in books. But then there are nice people around. And when you find them, you will fall in love Japan and the people once again.

The language itself surely has lots of respect. In many cases, people say things politely just because that's what they are supposed to do, not necessary they are nice. But when you find nice people, you will appreciate that genuineness.

I hope you take all the good stuff in Japanese culture. I strongly believe something what we have and what Americans have are the way of Christian. Have you watched The Last Samurai? A movie based on Bushido, which is a book by Japanese Christian. Bushido spirit is amazingly so close to what the Bible teaches. It's quite interesting.
 
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Sapphire Dragon

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Ahh, interesting. I've always liked people like that. And I'm glad you're glad. :)

I see... I want to visit Japan so I can experience that. That's one of my goals in life.

Ahh... なるほど。

That's a good point there. And yes, I've watched The Last Samurai. I enjoyed it, and the end was so sad... Really? It was based on a book? I didn't know that. o.o
And that's true. It is really close to a lot of what the Bible teaches...

ありがとう for telling me some things I didn't know before! ^_'
 
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Breetai

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The language itself surely has lots of respect. In many cases, people say things politely just because that's what they are supposed to do, not necessary they are nice.
I've noticed that in spades. A lot of people here are nice and polite because they HAVE to be because they're at work/it's ingrained in their language/culture/etc., but not because they want to be. In fact, it's overdone so much sometimes that it just don't seem genuine (because it isn't). On the other hand, it is nice to have get so much polite attention here, genuine or not.

Just watch store employees when they've said "irashaimase" for the 100th time in one hour. It's purely routine.

The book "Jizo and Jesus in Japan" might be an interesting read for you about how Christianity has influenced Japanese culture. Did you know that the way that the tea ceremony is preformed was modeled after the eucharist?
 
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Sapphire Dragon

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Hmm... I guess that would make sense. But like windcatcher said,
windcatcher said:
But then there are nice people around. And when you find them, you will fall in love Japan and the people once again. ... But when you find nice people, you will appreciate that genuineness.
Even though it may be routine usually, I know that there are nice people out there that are genuine with their kindness. I also know that you can find those people easily in the US, but Japan still interests me as being a different culture, and a different type of people. They do many things differently than we do. They don't use roman letters (or even relatively roman letters) in their language (for normal speech), being polite is an ingrained custom, and they drive on the left side of the road, for example. Those may seem like very trivial things, but it goes much deeper than that. The fact that people can do things differently, act differently, and have a different culture than the one I'm so used to seeing 24/7 in my life makes me want to understand their type of living. What life is like on the other side of the fence.

I read only some of that article, and I already want that book. I'll have to ask my mother for it on a special occasion as a gift.
 
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What was Tokyo like? Did you enjoy it there?

Tokyo is a wonderful place,I loved it.At first when I got settled at the hotel and went walking I felt terrible and culture shock hit me hard.Then I reminded myself on the money and the time spent preparing and from then on I really enjoyed exploring the metropolis and riding the trains.
 
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Sapphire Dragon

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That sounds so nice. Who did you go there with, or did you go alone? I've never been out of my country before, which I will definitely have to do before I leave this Earth... lol. First stop- Japan!

I just have to figure out how to save up enough money in order to go there, plus I have to have my money exchanged for Yen when I get there...
 
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Breetai

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What was Tokyo like? Did you enjoy it there?
It's the largest metropolis in the world... You're asking a very broad question. Plus, I don't know what you'd want it compared to.

Tokyo is basically a huge, sprawling city in which the most common way to travel is by commuter trains and underground metro. There are countless "downtown" areas around each train station (there must be 100...), with a dozen or so downtowns as big as a mid-sized American city. Many of them have their own skyline, so there are groups of different "mini-skylines" in Tokyo. Each station usually has an assortment of restaurants, department stores, small stores, pachinko parlors, hostess bars, often a shrine or temple, etc.

Does that help?
 
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BrotherAtArms

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It's the largest metropolis in the world... You're asking a very broad question. Plus, I don't know what you'd want it compared to.

Tokyo is basically a huge, sprawling city in which the most common way to travel is by commuter trains and underground metro. There are countless "downtown" areas around each train station (there must be 100...), with a dozen or so downtowns as big as a mid-sized American city. Many of them have their own skyline, so there are groups of different "mini-skylines" in Tokyo. Each station usually has an assortment of restaurants, department stores, small stores, pachinko parlors, hostess bars, often a shrine or temple, etc.

Does that help?

Kind of reminds me of a certain city planet in Star Wars o0

I wanna go to Japan. Just need the money :/
And I want it all planned out, too... to visit Tokyo, and another city, then spend time on the beautiful nature side of Japan... and Mt. Fuji :D
 
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Sapphire Dragon

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It's the largest metropolis in the world... You're asking a very broad question. Plus, I don't know what you'd want it compared to.

Tokyo is basically a huge, sprawling city in which the most common way to travel is by commuter trains and underground metro. There are countless "downtown" areas around each train station (there must be 100...), with a dozen or so downtowns as big as a mid-sized American city. Many of them have their own skyline, so there are groups of different "mini-skylines" in Tokyo. Each station usually has an assortment of restaurants, department stores, small stores, pachinko parlors, hostess bars, often a shrine or temple, etc.

Does that help?
Yes... That helps! I've seen a show called "I survived a Japanese game show", and I mostly watched it to get a view of Japan. Tokyo was... massive. The winners of one of the games on that show got to get an aerial view of Tokyo via helicopter, and it was definitely amazing.

Kind of reminds me of a certain city planet in Star Wars o0

I wanna go to Japan. Just need the money :/
And I want it all planned out, too... to visit Tokyo, and another city, then spend time on the beautiful nature side of Japan... and Mt. Fuji :D
That's awesome. I hope to be able to visit Japan sometime in my future when I get settled enough and when I get a plan on exactly where to go.
 
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BrotherAtArms

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I don't know if it's open to everyone, but I remember my wife telling me when she was in school, since she got excellent grades, that a group called People2People (or something like that) offered her (for a fee) trips to places.
Through this group she's been to China, Australia, and New Zealand, and the P2P plans out the entire trip.
Just wanted to throw that out there :)

BTW, She has tons of awesome pictures, knick-knacks, and memorabilia from each place :) Especially when we're watching a movie, she always says, "I've been there :D".
 
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saki

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I don't know if it's open to everyone, but I remember my wife telling me when she was in school, since she got excellent grades, that a group called People2People (or something like that) offered her (for a fee) trips to places.
Through this group she's been to China, Australia, and New Zealand, and the P2P plans out the entire trip.
Just wanted to throw that out there :)

BTW, She has tons of awesome pictures, knick-knacks, and memorabilia from each place :) Especially when we're watching a movie, she always says, "I've been there :D".

That's really lucky of her to go to those places for FREE~!!! :)
I wish I could go to different places for FREE~!!!!
 
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BrotherAtArms

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That's really lucky of her to go to those places for FREE~!!! :)
I wish I could go to different places for FREE~!!!!

Well they weren't free, she actually had to pay for them, it's more of a trip to bond with others and to learn more about the country. So I think it was more of an educationally purposed trip... but either way, would rock o_o
 
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saki

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Well they weren't free, she actually had to pay for them, it's more of a trip to bond with others and to learn more about the country. So I think it was more of an educationally purposed trip... but either way, would rock o_o

Oops, must of misread it...sorry... :doh:
 
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