Travels to Japan: Comparing Cultures

With only 11 days left in the country before spending nearly half a year in an alien environment, it is only natural that you start to think of all the things you are going to miss while there. The conclusion of this thought process is that you compare the home country and destination in terms of advantages and disadvantages. Having lived in the United Kingdom my whole life, it almost shames me to say there is not a lot going for it.

Start with the one thing Britannia is famous for; the weather. The established idea of summer and winter is that the former is warm and pleasant, and the latter is cold and not so pleasant. Did somebody forget to mention this to Blighty? At best the summer is mildly temperate and you only need four layers. The summer of 2010 missed the bus, and turned up in April 2011 instead.  Japan, on the other hand, is impressively consistent with their weather. The real difference is where our weather forecasts would track the approach of storms or rain clouds, theirs log the fall of cherry blossom. Oh and theirs are accurate.

Our own system of public transport is grossly inefficient. If the train or bus is not delayed by an indefinite amount of time due to a variety of trivial reasons, then they are not running at all due to industrial action or the above mentioned idiotic weather. I suppose we should be thankful we were not in a rush. Japan, meanwhile, has a system of public transport so proficient that they are world famous for it. The Shinkansen bullet train has a network that covers the majority of the countries populated areas at speeds of up to 300kmh. The UK has a system that just about covers the major cities and functions at two speeds; slow or stop. In its 47 year history the Shinkansen has never had a major accident and the average delay is 6 seconds. I think we need to take lessons, although we have progressed past steam – that is something to be proud of surely.

On to the economy and job market, as anyone who reads or watches the news will know Britain’s rate of unemployment is in a sorry state of affairs. The current unemployment rates from the Office of National Statistics tells us that 8.3% of the UK are currently unemployed, nearly double that of Japan at 5.08%. Whilst Britain is naively neglecting our own financial crisis and trying to support the floundering Eurozone economy in a futile gesture of camaraderie, Japan has sensibly distanced itself from Europe’s problems and in 2010 had a respectable GDP of $5.46 trillion compared with the UK’s $2.25 trillion.

Finally we move on to the people themselves. The Japanese are well known for their culture of politeness and courtesy, as well as their traditional veneration of family values and honour. Ashamedly so, the picture of Britain is as far from this admirable as could be. Instead we are known for ignorance of other peoples cultures and beliefs, our arrogance resulting from this ethnocentricity, and our drunken violence and social faux pas has become the basis for too many stereotypes. The image we convey to the outside world through the media does nothing to help us, as seen by July’s well broadcasted London Riots.

In conclusion, we find the United Kingdom lacking on most things, so much so that I am considering downgrading Great Britain to Good Britain. There is not a lot I will miss about my homeland, aside from the obvious friends and family. That said there is one thing that I am pre-emptively mourning the loss of; the food. Thick sliced white bread, a simple Sunday roast dinner, these I will miss. The people, the country, the culture ; not so much.

Simon Birkmyre