FAQ about Japan

• 06/08/2008 - 00:00
• Author: Ryuichi
• Japan
• 0 Comments
• Read in IT

I often listen to stereotypes and prejudices about Japan. "Japan's cost of living is sky-high", "All Japanese people are shy" and stuff like that. Out of curiosity I decided to look into some of the topics of the frequently asked questions about Japan and its culture. ^_^

    

Exactly how many Japanese people are there? Is it true that there are millions of them on that small island!?

Yes, the population of Japan is over 127 million! it is the tenth most populated country in the world ^^

How much is the  cost of living in Japan? Is it sky-high?

No, it is not that high. If we take food as an example, you can have a really good meal-2 main courses, 1 side course and beverages- spending around 1600 ¥ (13 dollars). Quite cheap! VAT in Japan is 5% so it is not that bad at the time of paying. Let's also destroy another another myth: the cost of the house. An ordinary house, not far from the centre of Kumamoto, is around 380 thousand euros. And rents are more or less in a 400-600 dollars per month range.

Are big Japanese cities chaotic?
Absolutely not. I've been to Tokyo and Kyoto. There are millions of people in the streets, but they walk orderly. Streets are clean and there are even physical and acoustic position indicators for blind people. Underground and train services are extremely efficient: it is rare to see a train arriving late for more than a minute. I've never seen the famous railway employees that push passengers inside the carriages, even though sometimes I travelled during the the rush hour, but a friend of mine had this unpleasent experience XD

What is the religion of Japan?

There is a proverb that says: "There is no Japanese that is not shintoist and no shintoist that is not Japanese"... well this is nearly true! A lot of Japanese are buddhist or atheist. But what is extraordinary about them is that they don't choose a single religion, but they are able to make them coexist at the same time. There are infact a number of "multifunction" temples, like Kiyomizu dera, where you can worship buddhist and shintoist gods at the same time.

Is it true that Japanese people sleep in capsule-coffins?

Ehm... capsule-coffins are a product of Cyberpunk fantasy ^_^ However... yes. There actually are "Capsule Hotels" ???????. Usually workers with particular working hours sleep there. By the way, in Japan working hours are the classical daily 8 hours.

Is Japanese internet connection slow? What is the average speed of internet connections?

Internet is not slow in Japan. The web now covers 100% of the Japanese territory, even the country areas. The average speed is 100 to 300 Megabits per second. The price of a 20 Mega ADSL connection is around 1.600 Yen (13 dollars) per month.

Do Japanese people eat dogs and cats?

Noo! XD Korean people do that. And nobody eats cats!

Do all Japanese know/practice martial arts? Is it the national sport?

Well, I don't think all Japanese know and/or practice martial arts. But I know Sumo is the national sport. Baseball is also very famous, Japan is known worldwide for it, oddly enough.

For now, that's all folks! I hope I satisfied some of your curiosity. I'll write some more FAQs soon on nanoda!