WEIRD things that are NORMAL in Japan
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses several cultural norms in Japan that might seem surprising to people from other countries. It explains why eating raw eggs is safe in Japan due to strict cleaning standards, and highlights other unique practices such as all-you-can-drink services (nomihoudai), public drinking, and leaving personal belongings unattended without fear of theft. The video also touches on the freedom Japanese kids have when traveling alone, and how it’s common for them to navigate public spaces independently from a young age. The speaker contrasts these customs with experiences abroad.
Takeaways
- 🥚 In Japan, eating raw eggs is common and considered safe because the eggs are thoroughly cleaned, unlike in many other countries.
- 🍚 Tamago Kake Gohan, a dish with raw egg, rice, and soy sauce, is a popular Japanese breakfast.
- 🍶 Japan has 'nomihoudai' services in many restaurants, where customers can enjoy all-you-can-drink alcohol for a limited time.
- 🍺 Alcoholic beverages, including beer and plum wine, can be bought from vending machines in Japan, and in some cases, without ID verification.
- 🍻 Drinking in public is legal and widely accepted in Japan, with people often drinking on trains or in public spaces without issue.
- 🚗 It's common for Japanese people to leave their cars running while unattended, which is a surprising cultural difference compared to other countries.
- 👜 In Japan, people often leave their belongings unattended in public places, like phones or bags on tables, without fear of theft.
- 🛏️ Sleeping in public spaces like fast food restaurants is not unusual in Japan, especially late at night while waiting for public transportation.
- 👧 Japanese children often travel alone using public transportation to school or cram schools, even at a young age, which is considered safe and normal.
- 🎒 Japanese high school students often travel long distances, such as trips to Tokyo Disneyland, without adult supervision, showcasing trust in the safety of the environment.
Q & A
Why is it safe to eat raw eggs in Japan?
-In Japan, egg companies clean the eggshells very thoroughly to ensure safety. The risk of salmonella is extremely low, with only 3 out of 100,000 eggs being found to have it, making raw eggs safe to eat.
What is 'tamago kake gohan' and why is it popular in Japan?
-Tamago kake gohan is a popular Japanese breakfast consisting of steamed rice, raw egg, and soy sauce. It's safe and delicious, thanks to Japan's strict egg sanitation practices.
How do Japanese 'nomihoudai' services work?
-'Nomihoudai' is an all-you-can-drink service available in many Japanese restaurants and bars. It is typically offered for a set period of time, such as 60 or 90 minutes, allowing customers to drink without paying for each drink separately.
Are people allowed to drink alcohol in public places in Japan?
-Yes, drinking in public places is legal in Japan. It's common to see people drinking on trains or in parks, and many Japanese vending machines even sell alcoholic beverages.
Is theft a concern in Japan when leaving belongings unattended?
-In Japan, it is common for people to leave their belongings, such as bags or phones, unattended in public spaces without fear of theft. This reflects a culture of trust and low crime rates in the country.
Why do people sometimes leave their cars running in Japan?
-In Japan, some people feel comfortable leaving their cars running while they run errands, trusting that no one will steal the car. This behavior reflects Japan’s general sense of safety and low crime rates.
Is it common to see people sleeping in public spaces in Japan?
-Yes, it's common to see people sleeping in public spaces, such as fast food restaurants, especially when waiting for the first train or bus. Staff typically avoid disturbing them to prevent causing trouble.
Do Japanese children have more independence compared to children in other countries?
-Yes, Japanese children, even as young as 6 or 7 years old, often travel to school or cram school by themselves using public transportation. Parents feel it is safe due to Japan's low crime rates.
What is 'cram school' in Japan?
-Cram school in Japan is a special school where students go after regular school hours to study additional subjects or participate in extracurricular activities. Many children attend cram schools to improve academically.
Do Japanese high school students often travel far without parental supervision?
-Yes, it is common for high school students to take trips without parental supervision, such as going on school trips or visiting Tokyo Disneyland. Parents trust that their children are safe while traveling.
Outlines
🍳 Raw Eggs and Breakfast Culture in Japan
The speaker discusses the cultural norm of eating raw eggs in Japan, particularly in the popular dish 'tamago kake gohan' (steamed rice with raw egg and soy sauce). In Japan, egg companies thoroughly clean the shells, making raw eggs safe to eat, with very low instances of salmonella. The speaker recounts a personal experience from New Zealand, where her friends were shocked by her breakfast choice of rice and raw egg, as it is uncommon and considered unsafe outside of Japan.
🍻 Drinking Culture and Alcohol Vending Machines in Japan
This section explains Japan's drinking culture, where 'nomihoudai' (all-you-can-drink) services are common in bars, allowing customers to enjoy alcohol for a fixed period. Japan also has vending machines that sell alcohol, such as beer and plum wine, with some requiring an ID, while others do not. The speaker contrasts this with the United States, where such services and vending machines are rare or nonexistent. Additionally, public drinking is legal in Japan, and people frequently consume alcohol in public spaces, such as on trains, without disturbance.
🚗 Public Trust and Leaving Belongings Unattended in Japan
The speaker highlights the high level of public trust in Japan, where people leave personal belongings unattended in public places without fear of theft. For example, bags or phones are left on tables in cafes, or cars are left running while the owner does errands, with little concern for theft. This behavior, while normal in Japan, is shocking for foreigners and would not typically occur in countries like the U.S., where theft is more common.
😴 Public Sleeping and Social Tolerance in Japan
In Japan, it is common for people, especially the younger generation, to sleep in public spaces, such as fast food restaurants, while waiting for public transportation late at night. This is generally accepted by restaurant staff, who may not like it but avoid confronting customers to avoid conflict. The speaker contrasts this with foreign perceptions, where people might find it strange and expect management to intervene.
🚌 Independence of Japanese Children in Public Spaces
Japanese children, even as young as six or seven, often travel alone to school using public transportation, a sight that is considered normal in Japan but may be surprising to foreigners. High school students also travel long distances independently, sometimes for school trips to places like Tokyo Disneyland. Japanese parents trust that their children are safe, using tracking devices or simply relying on the country’s low crime rates, and encourage independence from a young age.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Raw Eggs
💡Tamago Kake Gohan (TKG)
💡Salmonella
💡Nomihoudai
💡Public Drinking
💡Safety and Trust
💡Cram School
💡Public Sleeping
💡Vending Machines
💡Freedom for Children
Highlights
It's normal to eat raw eggs in Japan due to the thorough cleaning of egg shells, making it safe for consumption.
Tamago kake gohan, a popular Japanese breakfast, consists of steamed rice, raw egg, and soy sauce.
Raw eggs in Japan are extremely safe, with only 3 out of 100,000 eggs containing salmonella.
Many Japanese restaurants offer 'nomihoudai' or 'all-you-can-drink' services for a set period of time.
Alcoholic drinks can be purchased from vending machines in Japan, and sometimes no ID is required.
Drinking alcohol in public places, like on trains, is socially acceptable in Japan.
In Japan, it's common for people to leave their belongings unattended in public spaces without fear of theft.
Japanese people often leave their car engines running while stepping away for errands, something surprising to foreigners.
Sleeping in public places, such as fast-food restaurants, is normal in Japan and staff generally avoid confronting sleepers.
Japanese elementary school kids often commute to school alone using public transportation, even as young as six years old.
Junior high and high school students in Japan frequently travel alone, sometimes for long distances, which is considered safe.
Cram schools are common in Japan, and students attend them after regular school for additional studies.
Japanese high school students often take long trips by themselves, such as traveling to Tokyo Disneyland on a night bus.
In Japan, parents feel secure allowing their children to navigate public spaces independently due to the country's low crime rates.
Despite safety concerns, many Japanese parents trust that their children can travel alone without significant risk.
Transcripts
i was going to prepare my breakfast with
rice and raw egg all of my friend tried
to stop it don't do that please don't do
that
hello everyone it's mrs eats today we're
going to talk about
things that are normal in japan but not
the rest of the world
the first thing is it's totally okay to
eat
raw eggs in japan eggs come out of a
place that is very nasty and dirty and
covered with chicken poop and tea
covered with chicken poop and pee
[Music]
come out of a place that is very nasty
and dirty
it's not very safe but in japan egg
companies actually
clean the shell very very thoroughly you
might be surprised that we even have a
egg package said this is best for tkg
tamago kake gohan it's a one of japanese
most favorite breakfast with
steamed rice and raw egg and soy sauce
it's amazing and you have to try it when
you were in japan when i was living in
new zealand
i was going to prepare my breakfast with
rice and raw egg but all of my
kiwi friend tried to stop it don't do
that please don't do that you get sick
please don't eat it okay
why it's very normal in japan but they
were so shocked to hear it
raw eggs are so safe to eat in japan out
of
20 000 eggs there was no salmonella and
out of
100 000 eggs only three
had some of them so if you eat raw eggs
in japan
you have 0.0029
to get sick next is all about alcohol
so you might be surprised that a lot of
japanese restaurants is bar
actually have a service called
nomihoudai
no mijoda is all you can drink it's
only for a certain period of time like
60 minutes
90 minutes some of them have like a 10
minutes
all you can drink system too my husband
told me that
in the u.s there are no such services
there that i was so surprised to hear
that in japan most places
have to offer nomihoudai because you
know customers just
want to drink you know then they don't
have to pay extra
but if you just want to have one drink
you can always go to your convenience
store or
vending machine we have a lot of alcohol
drinks vending machines here in japan in
those vending machines you can buy
canned beer too high plum wine
i've seen a lot of alcohol vending
machines that you have to show your id
card so anyone can
buy alcoholic drinks when we did a live
stream in osaka
we actually bought a plum wine from a
vending machine and of course that one
you didn't need to show your id oh and
if you didn't know
i have an instagram where i do mini live
streams
so make sure you follow me on instagram
to catch me live
you might be surprised to see a lot of
japanese people drinking
in public places and drinking in public
is legal in japan for example i've seen
a lot of people
on a train drinking can of beer and you
know nobody really bothered them in
japan people really don't touch
other people's belongings for example
you might see
some young people they just put their
bag
or sometimes their iphone on the table
to keep the feet
and then they go to the cashier to order
their meal you know it's very shocking
for you guys right but
for a lot of japanese people it's quite
normal
because we know that nobody tried to you
know steal it
and also many people park their car
while engine is still running and then
leave the car and then do some chores
like it just happened three days ago
when we are walking near the station
there are three cars in front of the dry
cleaners
and then there were no drivers there but
the car
cars engine was running my husband was
so shocked to see it oh my god
look at the three cars there are no
drivers but they put
the engine is on i had to think it's not
gonna happen in the us
probably it's not going to happen in
your countries maybe please let me know
what you think about this
so in japan you see a lot of people just
leave their car or
leave their bicycle or motorcycle on a
street and then just
just to do something and then five
minutes they did come back and nobody
really steal their thing
so again for japanese people we we want
to believe that nobody will steal
your thing next nobody really bother you
if you sleep in a public place so you
might see some young people
sleeping in a burger king or fast food
restaurant
around like 2 2 a.m or 3 a.m because
they are waiting for their
first train or first bus to home again
for me
this is something that i i'm used to
seeing it for foreigners they
feel like it's why are they sleeping
here and
what is the manager of that restaurant
doing why don't they just
kick them out
i don't think that could happen in japan
because you know i'm sure the
restaurants manager or maybe some staff
don't like it
don't like to have a customer sleeping
in the you know their
restaurant or shop but they don't even
though they don't like it
they probably don't want to talk to you
they probably don't want to
ask you to leave the restaurant a shop
because they don't want to cause any
trouble
next japanese kids have more freedom
in public places so here you see a lot
of first or second
grade of elementary school kids going to
their school by themselves
using public transportation so when i go
to work
like it's like 7 00 a.m i see a lot of
little kids like six or
seven years old kids in the school
uniform
taking the train by themselves no
parents
no parents sometimes they're in a group
sometimes they're by themselves and then
again
it's very normal for us to see and you
might be surprised to see like a junior
high school student
junior high school kid just hanging out
by themselves around
8 pm or 9 pm by themselves or going to
convenience convenience store and buy
some snacks a lot of japanese kids
goes to a crumb school after school so
cram school is a special school for kids
to study
other subjects sometimes some sports or
sometimes like
subject from school so they spend their
time maybe two hours maybe three hours
at their drum school after school and of
course they have like a
little security arm or they have a
smartphone that
the parents can detect them where they
are but still
a lot of japanese parents feel it's safe
for them
for kids to you know walk home by
themselves
and also high school kids travel to
quite a far away by themselves
in the third year of high school we have
like a high school last high school trip
so kids gather together and then they
usually go really far away
to travel one of the most popular
destination is
tokyo disneyland so i live in osaka
so come going to tokyo digital will
probably take six hours by highway
bus so i went to tokyo disney with my
friends like five of us taking the
highway bus at
at night 9 pm and then get to tokyo
early morning
and then again this is very normal for
us so
you see a lot of high school kids taking
highway bus to tokyo disneyland
or maybe maybe they just take a you know
longer
trip by themselves and again parents are
okay with it
i'm sure they will say like a be careful
you know don't talk to strangers you
know if something happened please call
us and call the police or
help ask for help to other adults but
still
you know we know we know nothing could
happen
to them so please let me know if these
things are normal
in your countries thanks for watching
akini
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