Nonverbal Communication in Japan

In the Western World, we rely heavily on the actual words said in a conversation to decipher the meaning. This is due largely to a direct style of communication. In Japan, however it is important to preserve wa (group harmony) and ensure that everyone saves face. The meaning of the word yes can range from yes, no, to absolutely not. Meanings are often implied rather than directly stated. In order for a foreigner (like me) to communicate effectively here, it becomes important to be very observant of body language and cultural norms.

Some forms of non-verbal communication are exceedingly obvious. When a foreigner makes a cultural foux paus, the nihonjin in charge will likely respond with their arms raised in a big X. Other non-verbal signals are not always easy to spot. In my experience so far, people in the U.S. seem much more willing to express their discomfort openly than people in Japan. Whereas a customer service rep at a 7-11 in the U.S. might be openly grumpy to customers, a similar employee here will always put on a smile and force out an irrasshaimase. The separation of honne and tatemae helps to explain this phenomenon. In Japan, due to social obligations and a group mentality, it is common for Japanese people to suppress their true feelings (honne) and instead act according to social expectations.

The following video, although intended to be humorous, gives an interesting look into other nonverbal communication that is present in Japan. Enjoy..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_RM8To5mjU&feature=channel

Camping at Lake Biwa!

Welcome to my blog..

Throughout the course of this semester I will document my travels, trials, and tribulations in Japan. As one of the few people studying at Kansai Gaidai who are visiting a foreign country for the first time, I am seeing everything through fresh lenses. I am a newbie to both Japanese language and culture, which should make for some blogworthy experiences.

This past weekend I traveled with international students (2 Columbians, 2 Germans, an Australian, a Swedish-Brit, a Ukranian, and 3 other Americans) to Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. This was about as intercultural as it gets. The campsite we stayed at was one of the most aesthetically pleasing places I have ever been too. It felt almost as if we were on the set of Lost. For 3 nights we camped out, bbq`d, swam, explored, danced, and even tried to start conversations with the local Nihonjin.

There were some pretty big differences I noticed between us and our campsite neighbors. Other than a random guy that windsurfed past us on the first day, we were the only foreigners in site. Most campers stayed for only one night, whereas we decided to make the most out of Silver Week and rough it in the wild (no showers, etc) for 3 days. Despite this, we still had the shoddiest tents on the beach. This was evident when one of them snapped halfway through the trip and we had to duct tape it back to stay under cover.

One thing I noticed about Japanese culture thus far is that they take everything seriously. They even relax seriously. Their tents looked like they could have had a basement dug underneath with possibly a kitchen. Their also seemed more organized in planning their meals. Although our bbq ended up being delicious, our inability to read japanese food labels left us with cow intestines and 64 hotdogs on a stick. All in all, it was an amazing trip and I am looking forward to experiencing whatelse Japan has to offer outside the city of Hirakata..