Japan's unique culture and traditions have always had a reputation. As an island nation with a long isolation history, many aspects of culture have developed without external influences.
The country is a north-western Pacific Ocean island country in eastern Asia. It is on the western border by the Japanese Sea and extends from the Okhotsk Sea to the east and south to Taiwan.
So what makes Japan the most unique country and how do they differ from other cultures in Asia and around the world?
Their Service
Japan's services sector sets the global standard for excellent service, and one of the best parts is not to do so in hopes of a good tip. In the service sector, the majority of people are kind to a failure.
Japanese Services are associated with country-specific standards, customs, language, uniforms, and policies. Visitors and long-term residents are very applauded by Japanese services. The service in Japan tends to be loud. Shop staff, for example, are usually trained to shout greetings to show their enthusiasm and genius. For staff to use megaphones to promote sales and welcome customers is a little commonplace in retail environments.
In a crowded restaurant, when it is necessary to service, it is perfectly polite to shout "sumimasen", a Japanese term for "excuse me." This represents another service model by which customers request service rather than waiting to be noticed. As a consequence, waiting personnel are uncommon to monitor your situation proactively. For service in a store, "sumimasen" can également be used. However, shop workers often follow you, because they usually have to be aggressive.
Festivals
Here is a list of some festivals celebrated in Japan:
Setsubun (The Bean-Throwing Festival)
Setsubun is an ancient tradition, which has evolved into a national television event. In addition to the big productions, there are many small scenes in shrines and temples all over the country. The crowds that cheer and try to catch little gifts are thrown with the money and candy.
The beans thrown are not just any beans. They are roasted beans. Roasted soya, also known as fuku mame, is thrown outside the door towards unsuspecting evil spirits – and sometimes into a senior male family member who has been appointed to give a demon mask for this occasion and play the antagonist.
Hanami (Cherry-Blossom Festival
For its cherry blossom festivals, Japan is known worldwide. Families, friends, and colleagues are competing in busy parks for picnics and parties for a quiet environment. Day and night events happen. Under the flowers celebrated for their passing and impermanent nature takes place a little revelry.
Hanami is an ancient tradition of flowering in Japanese parks and rural areas with cherry blossoms (sakura) and sometimes plum blossoms (ume). The Japanese Cherry Tree, sakura, is the most popular type of tree in the country. These trees are also known in the botanical circles as Yoshino and Yedoensis.
The cherry blossoms have become symbolic of the impermanence of beauty, being beautiful and fleeting — blooms often last only two weeks. Cherry blossoms often appear in works or in art, and even tattoos depict the Japanese concept of mono-unconscious, the perception of "nothing lasts forever."
Kimono
Traditional clothing like the kimono, which distinguishes it from other cultures, is unique to Japan. Many local residents still have the pleasure to wear traditional clothes, including graduation, weddings, and festivals.
The kimono from Japan is one of the traditional clothing that is immediately recognizable in the world. Kimono means "clothing" and was used by everyone in Japan until the middle of the 19th century. With the import of costumes and other western fashions during the Meiji era this began to change slowly.
The Trains
In Japan, the railway system is so well-developed, timely, extensive, and varied that you can just assume that you have a train that will take you there wherever you plan to go.
The first thing to know is that there is no single company operating railways in Japan. Almost 80 percent of railways are owned by the National Japan Railways Group, but all the other companies are private.
Here are the types of trains you might encounter in Japan:
Shinkansen (Super Express)
These are the fastest transport modes in Japan and they have very little (if any) stop compared to the fastest and local. They are also called bullet trains. The Shinkansen run on different paths and platforms because they have a different path to the other. This is due to the high speed and construction capabilities of the line.
Express Trains
Many trains in the Japanese Express have been stopped and upgraded to or downgraded to Limited Express. This means Japan Rail Pass holders can use the current Express trains free of charge from the JR group. An additional fee is applied to all other passengers.
Rapid Trains
When boarding the rapid train, passengers will not be charged any surcharge. A single ride by train also costs a local ride by train. The only thing that makes their time of arrival considerably shorter is that the fast trains skip several stays compared to the local one.