Manila
Diaries
Japanese culture
20 April 2013: 34 degrees C / 93 degrees F, Cloudy, Humidity
46%
I recently
visited Osaka in Japan to present a paper at a conference. It was my first visit to Japan and I was
looking forward to experiencing another aspect of Asian culture. My first impressions were that it was a very
orderly and clean city. Much of everyday
life seemed to take place underground.
Once we had mastered the subway for getting around, we found ourselves
walking within the labyrinth of walkways and tunnels that connected one area to
another.
Clearly, we
stood out as tourists in the city and on a few occasions when we were
considering which direction to take, we were approached by a Japanese local and
asked if they could be of assistance.
One experience that we will remember and seemed to epitomise the
generosity of the Japanese people towards foreigners was one evening when we
were looking for a particular bar where live music was playing. Unfortunately we did not have the exact
address and so were not in a position to really ask the way, however, in
desperation as we walked past a car park entrance I asked one of the two attendants
if he knew where this particular bar was.
He smiled and said he did not speak English very well. I too smiled and thanked him and we were just
about to walk away when he indicated we should wait. He then made a phone call on his mobile
phone. The only English word in his
conversation was the name of the bar we had asked directions for. He then indicated that we should follow him;
we did and he lead us through the familiar tunnels underground and after about
10 minutes of walking we arrived at the bar.
He just bowed, smiled and walked back in the direction from where we
came. We just stood there, slightly
dumbfounded and pleasantly amazed at how courteous and generous he had been
towards us. There was no expectation of
anything he wanted in return.
As I
reflected on that experience I wondered if we had put him in a difficult
position by asking him something he couldn’t answer and the concept of “Loss of
Face” meant that he felt he had to respond to our request positively. Alternatively, he could have just been a very
nice person who wanted to help two strangers in town that were clearly
lost! Either way the impact he made on
us and how we will always perceive Japanese hospitality will always be a very
positive one.
When
comparing how we might have been treated had we been foreigners in our home
town of London, we were saddened to think this experience would probably not be
replicated. I have vowed to myself that
somehow I will try and replicate this generosity on my return to our home in
the UK.
One small
gesture can have a tremendous impact. It
reinforces my view that it’s often the little things in life that can make the
biggest differences.
