4 ms·

Even just visiting Japan (I'm originally from Japan) causes this for me. Short stay is fine, but I feel really foreign, maybe more so than "foreigners" as peopl

Even just visiting Japan (I'm originally from Japan) causes this for me. Short stay is fine, but I feel really foreign, maybe more so than "foreigners" as people in there can detect disconnect of my appearance and mindset by my subtle deviation from expectations of how I act in there.

verisimilidude 10y ago
I can sympathize. Whenever I come back to the US from Japan, I find myself bowing at the supermarket and persisting lots of little Japanese mannerisms. Sometimes for days. Japanese culture seems to demand more...commitment...than some of the other places I've visited and lived. Perhaps Japan is a stronger source of reverse culture shock.
- bane 10y ago
  Japan also is the source of a strange culture bound syndrome sometimes called "Paris syndrome" -- which is somewhat related to the lack of the kind of micro-ceremonies that are encoded in Japanese manners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome
- greggman 10y ago
  Bowing st the supermarket ? I've been in Toyko for over 10 years I've never seen customer bow at a supermarket. Is that a thing in some other part of Japan? What I notice going back to the USA is how it often feels like the 3rd world countries my dad would tell me about as a kid indirectly trying to tell me how great the USA is. Now I just see crime, corrupt police, etc. Came back for 6 months got my car broken into twice. Once in LA, once in SF. Try to hang out at a coffee shop to work but have to pack up my stuff and give up my seat to use the restroom because otherwise my computer will be stolen. I never feel safe riding public transportation in SF where as I never not feel safe riding in Japan. Another is convenience. After 9:30 in Venice Beach, if I haven't eaten by 9:30 nothing is open except 24 supermarkets in have to drive miles to. Compare to Tokyo where there's almost always a conveniece store within 5 minutes and they actually have reasonably good options. Food is bland and large. Americans seem to prioritize quantity over quality in general. At least in the suburbs. I could rant about Japan too but the topic is reverse culture shock.
  - mixmastamyk 10y ago
    Venice beach closes, but there are quite a few places open late in Santa Monica, like Swingers. Unfortunately the Tommy's on Pico was turned into a Starbucks :(.
  - verisimilidude 10y ago
    "Bow" might be the wrong word. More like the subtle forward nod/thrust that you make with your head when you thank or acknowledge someone. Most Americans might not even notice it, to be honest. I lived in Gunma for several years, for what it's worth. That was about a decade ago.
wapz 10y ago
I'm in Japan now but being a Japanese-american I "look" like most Japanese. That being said, I'd say almost every Japanese knows I'm a foreigner before I open my mouth. Just the body language, way you walk, approach people, and what you wear seems so homogeneous that I am easily distinguished (it could just be my clothes or something like that of course).
- adiabatty 10y ago
  A while back a political ad ran that was supposed to take place in Beijing in 2030. There was some discussion about the students and whether they looked believable given expected improvements in nutrition and dental care given the PRC's current trajectory. I thought the discussion was silly — the students were obviously Americans because of the way they chuckled. IIRC the people who did the casting call for it put ads for Asians around a community college in the DC area and offered free food. Mannerisms can be very noticeable if you're attuned to them. Students chuckling: https://youtu.be/4LUumD0MwL8?t=48s https://youtu.be/4LUumD0MwL8?t=48s
ronnier 10y ago
I lived in Tokyo. After moving back to Seattle it took a really long time to accept how empty things are (few people on the streets) and how alone we are most of the time. Driving in a car alone compared to riding the packed Yamanote line every morning was a huge difference.
DanielleMolloy 10y ago
I have been to Japan twice for 9 months in total (originally from Germany). I didn't experience culture shock in Japan at all, but I also never really came back. Reverse culture shock can last for long. It is impossible to talk about this experience to anyone but those who have experienced Japan (or Asia) themselves for long time because most people can not even imagine how different cultures can be.
- unsignedint 10y ago
  It well may be as far as social experience goes, you may not feel so much of "culture shock" in Japan as a foreigner, or at least easy on you. Generally Japanese people don't expect foreigner to act like them. You will never blend in, but flipside is you get perks for being foreigner there. I don't know if this played any role in your experience but that seems to be what I have been hearing around me...

verisimilidude 10y ago

I can sympathize. Whenever I come back to the US from Japan, I find myself bowing at the supermarket and persisting lots of little Japanese mannerisms. Sometimes for days. Japanese culture seems to demand more...commitment...than some of the other places I've visited and lived. Perhaps Japan is a stronger source of reverse culture shock.

bane 10y ago
Japan also is the source of a strange culture bound syndrome sometimes called "Paris syndrome" -- which is somewhat related to the lack of the kind of micro-ceremonies that are encoded in Japanese manners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome
greggman 10y ago
Bowing st the supermarket ? I've been in Toyko for over 10 years I've never seen customer bow at a supermarket. Is that a thing in some other part of Japan? What I notice going back to the USA is how it often feels like the 3rd world countries my dad would tell me about as a kid indirectly trying to tell me how great the USA is. Now I just see crime, corrupt police, etc. Came back for 6 months got my car broken into twice. Once in LA, once in SF. Try to hang out at a coffee shop to work but have to pack up my stuff and give up my seat to use the restroom because otherwise my computer will be stolen. I never feel safe riding public transportation in SF where as I never not feel safe riding in Japan. Another is convenience. After 9:30 in Venice Beach, if I haven't eaten by 9:30 nothing is open except 24 supermarkets in have to drive miles to. Compare to Tokyo where there's almost always a conveniece store within 5 minutes and they actually have reasonably good options. Food is bland and large. Americans seem to prioritize quantity over quality in general. At least in the suburbs. I could rant about Japan too but the topic is reverse culture shock.
- mixmastamyk 10y ago
  Venice beach closes, but there are quite a few places open late in Santa Monica, like Swingers. Unfortunately the Tommy's on Pico was turned into a Starbucks :(.
- verisimilidude 10y ago
  "Bow" might be the wrong word. More like the subtle forward nod/thrust that you make with your head when you thank or acknowledge someone. Most Americans might not even notice it, to be honest. I lived in Gunma for several years, for what it's worth. That was about a decade ago.

wapz 10y ago

I'm in Japan now but being a Japanese-american I "look" like most Japanese. That being said, I'd say almost every Japanese knows I'm a foreigner before I open my mouth. Just the body language, way you walk, approach people, and what you wear seems so homogeneous that I am easily distinguished (it could just be my clothes or something like that of course).

adiabatty 10y ago
A while back a political ad ran that was supposed to take place in Beijing in 2030. There was some discussion about the students and whether they looked believable given expected improvements in nutrition and dental care given the PRC's current trajectory. I thought the discussion was silly — the students were obviously Americans because of the way they chuckled. IIRC the people who did the casting call for it put ads for Asians around a community college in the DC area and offered free food. Mannerisms can be very noticeable if you're attuned to them. Students chuckling: https://youtu.be/4LUumD0MwL8?t=48s https://youtu.be/4LUumD0MwL8?t=48s

ronnier 10y ago

I lived in Tokyo. After moving back to Seattle it took a really long time to accept how empty things are (few people on the streets) and how alone we are most of the time. Driving in a car alone compared to riding the packed Yamanote line every morning was a huge difference.

DanielleMolloy 10y ago

I have been to Japan twice for 9 months in total (originally from Germany). I didn't experience culture shock in Japan at all, but I also never really came back. Reverse culture shock can last for long. It is impossible to talk about this experience to anyone but those who have experienced Japan (or Asia) themselves for long time because most people can not even imagine how different cultures can be.

unsignedint 10y ago
It well may be as far as social experience goes, you may not feel so much of "culture shock" in Japan as a foreigner, or at least easy on you. Generally Japanese people don't expect foreigner to act like them. You will never blend in, but flipside is you get perks for being foreigner there. I don't know if this played any role in your experience but that seems to be what I have been hearing around me...