JAPANESE TRENDS

CELL PHONES: They use their cell phones way more than we do. Especially in the subway. Every single person is either reading a small book (which may have a decorative cover) or playing on their cell phones...even grandmas and older people- it's not just the younger generation. They also all have cell phone charms kind of how we have keychains for our sets of keys. Some are straps, some are little animals, beads, logos, etc. This seems so funny to all of us. Barely anyone does that in the U.S. It's strange that different cultures have different wants and needs. For them, these are either useful, fashionable, or enjoyed in some way.

MEN & WOMEN OF THE WORKWORLD: Everyone wears suits! Suits every day, all day. Even when we were in the park men are wearing suits just leisurly walking through and women are wearing heels riding a bicycles with a babies on the back. Crazy huh?! We were shocked. Even when we would walk home late, say 1am, people are STILL in their suits carrying their briefcases. It seems like they never let go and wear something comfy. Dang. Women wear heels every single day too-no matter where they are-walking through the city all day or even at the amusement park we went to. When looking from a far or above the street, everyone looks the same. Identical. Almost robotical; it's kind of scary this many people all looking/doing/wearing the same. Charlie gave us an example of the difference between Japanese culture and American culture:

Japanese: Formality. Japanese culture places everyone all together, working for one another. They try to blend in as much as possible with the crowd and each other. Thisi explains why they all dress alike- to blend together. It's a lot more conservative than our culture. Seems a little stuffy.
Americans: American culture has taught us to be INDIVIDUALS; to find things that make you unique so that you stand out from the crowd. We tend to think about ourselves more- a type of "I" attitude. No conformity. Just express yourself how you want.
END RESULT: hard for us to relate; we don't see life in this aspect or perspective.

DRESS AT THE WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY: These ladies have some funky fashions, it's ridiculous. They all wear itty-bitty skirts that are usually made of lace tiers or tiny little shorts that are sometimes invisible because their top is long. It is trendy to wear black knee-high hose to cover part of the leg. High heels always. a lot of black eye make-up too. Everytime I was in the bathroom I saw at least one girl running her black eye liner around her eye. Still shocked by the short attire. They probably figure, hey what the heck- wear what you want now because once you start working you become one of many boxed into a certain look. When they were going through the lower levels of school they wore uniforms, were prohibited to wear any make-up or dye their hair at all. See, strict rules. And I thought my grade school's rules were strict.

FAMILY & RELIGION: Family seems to be really tight-knit. A lot of the girls at the university actually still live at home. They commute to school. More emphasis is placed on family closeness. Kids are everywhere; they are my favorite! They have the cutest faces. Women tend to have children at a later age than most women in America. They also wait until their 30's or so to get married. Probably a good reccomendation for couples in the states. Religion prominance is nothing of what it is in the U.S. Sachiko said that she doesn't practice any religion- wasn't brought up with it. She did say that their is some Chistianity and definately Buddism. Hmm... somehow this doesn't really seem to strange to me, yet so different from the religious environment I was raised in. Actually, in one of our classroom sessions (Dr. Fox's Lesson) the girls said that when they die they just want to be remembered as nice people.