I wanted to write about the cultural differences we faced during our meet ups. there are things I noticed about Jiro and his Japanese culture and what Jiro noticed about me and my Belgian culture.
I have to say, during my trip in Japan I met a lot of Japanese people who I can describe as stereotypical and/or traditional Japanese. Meeting Jiro was totally different, I felt like he wasn’t this traditional as the other people I met. Don’t get me wrong, he can be pretty traditional in some cases, but mostly I think of him as a pretty modern and open minded man.
Taking off shoes
Let me first tell you about the Japanese way. I think it’s well know with other people that Japanese people take off their shoes immediately when they enter a home, it doesn’t matter if it’s their own home or someone else’s home. In a lot of cases they change into some overly comfortable indoor shoes.
In Belgium I think it kinda depends on how you are raised. My family always taught me to take off my shoes in my own home. When we go to someone else his home we standardly ask the host “Do I have to take of my shoes?” which the host will mostly answer to keep them on. We barely wear indoor shoes, it’s mostly popular with kids, but adults you won’t see them wear that much.
So Jiro went to a Christmas family party when he was in Belgium. Since it was my sisters place, which feels like home to me, I took off my shoes and Jiro followed my actions. When my nephews arrived and kept their shoes on he told me that it’s not done in Japan. Even when one of my nephews asked about the differences about Japan en Belgium the first thing he mentioned was the shoes.
Sleeping on public transportation
Sleeping in trains on your way to your destination is quite normal in Japanese culture. I can understand that riding trains can have some sleep-inducing elements, but for me this is very weird and stressful.
When Jiro took the train from his house to the airport he said he was going to sleep on the train. For me hearing this was hell, questions like “What if he doesn’t wake up in time” and “What if he gets robbed” kept running through my mind, even though he kept assuring me that everything will be allright and that this is typical Japanese I felt a lot of stress from it.
In Belgium Jiro slept on almost every public transportation we took, which led to some very cute photos afterwards.
Food culture
I’m not gonna talk about the differences between the Belgian and the Japanese kitchen as I think everyone has a good idea of the differences between them. I more wanted to talk about the differences I noticed in the behaviour. For example: every time Jiro ate something (typical Belgian) that he never tasted before he said “Umai (うまい)” which means “So good!”. It was not like he said it once during a meal but he said it over six or seven times during the same dish. In Belgium culture we do it differently, we say at the beginning of the meal that it taste good and if we really enjoyed it we say it again when we finished the dish.
Another example is eating a warm dish three times a day, thinking of it makes my stomach turn since we, in Belgium, eat two bread meals and one warm meal a day. For example Jiro had no problem with eating a burger at 9 in the morning, while I feel nauseous just smelling it.
Last but not least, water is Belgium is not free. If you’re thirsty in a restaurant don’t expect some free water at your table, you’ll have to pay around €2,30 (= ¥123,14) for 30cl of water. In Japan you get water or green tea at your table immediately after you sit down, which is completely free! Here, Belgium should take an example.
Streets and behavior
Jiro immediately noticed the differences in the Belgium streets. I really want to make this a lot rosier than it is but Belgian streets are just plane dirty. He was kinda unlucky that he was in Antwerp January first which made the streets extra dirty with puke everywhere from party people. Garbage on the streets, dog poop on the sidewalks, overly filled garbage cans, cigarette butts everywhere are just some examples of what you can find on Belgium streets. It’s something you definitely won’t see in Japan. The streets are clean even though it’s rare to see a garbage can on the streets, no dog poop, no cigarette butts, just clean like streets should be.
Intimacy (in public)
I think it’s pretty well know that Japanese people are very private when it comes to their love life. Holding hands in public, kissing in public are things that you won’t see that easily on the streets in Japan. In Jiro’s case, he’s very open minded. He isn’t shy to take my hand or to kiss me in a crowded place. it’s amazing that he wants to show our love to the outside world. I also noticed this at our joint instagram account and our future youtube channel. This is why I think Jiro is modern and doesn’t follow all the traditions in Japanese culture.
I’m one lucky girl to find someone who’s this proud of me.
There are so many differences between our cultures, which is normal, but there are too many to describe in one blog post. I also want to say that even though we have these differences that we also have many things in common.
Do you have some cultural differences with your loved one? we’d loved to hear them! Please leave a comment.
Sushi meets fries 