Tokyo is an amazing and inspiring city and I am spiraling in the honeymoon phase with it.
Here is a short list of cultural difference that I have experienced:
Culture The people are extremely polite. It’s in the culture that they “keep the peace.” People care about the quality of life; not just for the individual person, but the overall quality of life for the community.
Public transit Riding the escalators to the public transit, people that are not rushing walk on the left side, opening the entire right side for people running to catch their trains. The trains are always on time or -/+3 minutes late (not counting unusual delays.)
Garbage The garbage is divided into burnables (food, clothes, paper), non burnables (plastic), and recycled cardboard, cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles.
I lucked out by not experiencing culture shock (so far!). I absorb and retain everything I am learning about the people and the culture.
Welcome Party
Food It can be cheaper to dine out instead of buying groceries. 7/11 is a great option for cheap, healthy, and fresh food. There are convenient stores and vending machines at almost on every street.
Architecture The Japanese architecture have a system of “scrap and rebuild” as a means to purify the space. Depending on each case, houses are demolished around every 20 years for a new generation. It’s considered “weird/uncustomary” to have an old house that another family has lived in. Temples and Shrines are also demolished to purify the space.
