When we landed in Kyoto, the first thing that happened was this elderly lady at the airport information desk bowing so low that I thought she was looking for something she had dropped.
But she was greeting me.
And there I was, standing like a confused statue, unsure whether to bow back, wave, dance, run, or just awkwardly smile and nod like I usually do when I don't know what's happening.
So I bent down too. She bent lower. I bent lower. She bent even lower.
It turned into a politeness competition I didn’t sign up for. And I was losing badly.
"Welcome to Japan", she said in careful Asian English, still bent at what looked like a 45-degree angle.
I panicked and mumbled something like, “Same to you” 😆
That was my very first sign: Japan is not like anywhere else I’ve been.
To be fair… I didn’t explore as much of Japan as I wanted.
Because… after spending weeks roaming around Europe like tourists with no responsibilities, Japan was where reality finally caught up with me. I had accumulated enough work backlog to keep three people busy for a month.
So while Mimie was living her best life exploring every vintage shop in a 50-kilometer radius, I was locked in this dark room in the hotel, typing furiously on my laptop, trying to catch up on everything I'd been ignoring.
Still, in the little time I had outside, Japan left me with a handful of lessons that made me go, “Huh… interesting”.
And here are five of them.
1. They bend… a lot
Back in Nigeria, bending to greet elders is a sign of respect. Makes sense. You don’t bow to your agemates, or people you’re older than, that would feel odd.
But in Japan? Everyone bows to everyone. Even the vending machine would bow if it could.
And once someone bows to you, you must bow back. It's like a social contract. But then they bow again because you bowed. So you bow again because they bowed again. Infinite loop. Battle of the bendest.
Let’s just say I spent half my time in Japan in various stages of bending.
2. The streets are clean, but no trash bins
You can walk for hours and see maybe one tiny bin at a train station, and that's it. So where does everyone put their trash?
Plot twist: They take it home.
According to japaninsidersecrets.com:
Public bins started disappearing from Japanese cities after the 1995 Tokyo sarin gas attacks. Now, it’s just normal to carry your rubbish home, even after eating or drinking outside. There’s a strong social expectation to keep shared spaces clean.
See me walking around with an empty coffee cup in my hand for three hours.
3. People join queues with ease
Train arriving? Perfect lines.
Restaurant? Queue.
Tourist attraction? Formation.
Everyone just waits, patiently. Even elderly people.
Apparently, this is an Asian thing, not just Japanese.
According to someone on Japan Guide Forum:
People join queues easily in Japan due to cultural emphasis on group harmony, social order, and individual responsibility for maintaining public spaces.
Must be nice…
4. Tipping = Disrespect
After Europe tried to extort tips from me at every opportunity, Japan was refreshing.
No one asked for tips. In fact, word on the street was that offering to tip someone is actually insulting.
Why?
According to starttravel.co.uk:
It is in the Japanese culture to take pride in one's work. As such, employees have the highest standards when supplying a service and don’t feel the need to accept tips to feel appreciated.
To the Japanese, attempting to give a tip suggests their employer does not value them enough to offer sufficient pay.
Interesting…
5. There’s tech everywhere… except at the counter
Japan is a paradox with technology. They have automated toilets that do everything except file your taxes, but some places still only accept cash.
For some reckless reasons, we travelled without a card. To our surprise, many places in Japan don’t accept Apple Pay or Google Pay. You either come with cold hard cash or a cold hard card.
The Bottom Line
I highly recommend Japan. I would definitely go back there at some point in the future, and I would probably leave my laptop at home.
Ha… I forgot to mention, the coffee there is god-level.
Disclaimer: These observations are purely based on my experience during two weeks in Japan (Kyoto and Tokyo). How you observe a location is very context-dependent. And that's the beauty of travel; it's personal, subjective, and occasionally involves way more bowing than you expected.