Japan is a spectacularly fascinating country to visit, however there is not a single Top 100 Place in the entire country. On the surface you would think this would make it not attractive as a travel destination, however, experiencing Top 100 Places is certainly not the only reason to travel. Japan should be a high priority on your travel list because of the unique and quite simply amazing culture that the Japanese live in.
One major cultural difference that you will immediately observe on a visit to Japan is people’s extreme work ethic and devotion to their jobs. Everyone takes their jobs extremely seriously and executes their responsibilities as if the entire country’s functioning is dependent on their success.
Go to a McDonald’s in America and notice how slow, rude, and sloppy the workers can be (full disclosure – I love McDonald’s, eat it multiple times a week, and sometimes the service is actually okay). At McDonald’s in Japan, the employees will treat you almost as if you are the second coming, welcoming you into the restaurant with a loud welcome – “Irasshaimase!”, practically bowing to you when you claim your greasy tray of fries and sending you off with a chorus of thank yous from practically everyone on the clock.
There are many examples of this Japanese cultural phenomenon. All of the cabbies wear full suits, white gloves and are extremely courteous. Accidentally walk out of a store before being handed your 1 YEN (penny) worth of change and you will quickly see store employees chasing you down the street trying to deliver your 1 YEN to you as if you left your first child on the counter.
The guy in the photo below definitely takes his train platform watch job very seriously. I found him in the basement of Roppongi subway station in central Tokyo where he was standing in a fixed position for hours methodically guiding every train into and out of the station. His job appeared rather boring, unimportant and unnecessary to me, but he carried it out with a level of seriousness and focus that would make you believe that all of the thousands of trains running around the country depended on him.
