I Show The Cultural Differences Between Japan And Other Countries (30 Pics)

I studied in Tokyo from 2010 to 2014 and noticed a lot of cultural differences between Japan and my country so to deal with my culture shock, I started creating comic strips about them. I hope my comics will help more foreigners like myself understand Japan and the Japanese people better, as well as increase awareness about some changes in behavior we might have to make when we visit.
These comic strips were selected from a collection of over 300 that I created between 2012 and 2015 and posted on my Facebook page. I also compiled these illustrations into two books: “Eva, Kopi and Matcha” and “Eva, Kopi and Matcha 2.0” which are available on Amazon and other eBook platforms (Kindle, iBooks, Google Books, Kobo).

More info: amazon.com | Instagram | Facebook

#1 Amazing Clean Toilets

#2 No Service Charge And Tips

#3 Eating Noodles

Slurping noodles to eat in Japan is perfectly fine and it is said that they will taste better too.

#4 Station Masters

#5 Picking Up Your Own (And Others) Trash

#6 Baths

Japanese enjoy taking hot baths too, especially hot spring baths. (monkeys are there for humor, you won’t get to dip with any, sorry!)

#7 Japanese Service

#8 Toilets

The toilets are always wet in Malaysia and there’s always no toilet papers.

#9 Fruits

Anybody bought the expensive Japanese fruits before? Like the melon or the insanely priced grapes…

#10 The Last Stop

If you fall deep asleep on the bus in the US, it may be your last stop…

#11 Vending Machines

There are vending machines almost everywhere, even at places where life-forms doesn’t seem to exist.

#12 Celebrating Christmas

Strangely Japanese celebrates Christmas not with turkey and ham, but with KFC…

#13 Curry

#14 Clean And State-Of-The-Art Japanese Toilets

#15 Smartphones

You can’t turn off camera shutter sound on Japanese smartphones due to privacy and upskirt photo taking.

#16 Tattoos

If the tattoo is small, it can be covered with plaster to enter into the public bath houses or swimming pool.

#17 Getting Off The Train

#18 Kids After Finishing Their Food

#19 Active Elderly

#20 Seven Wonders Of Japanese

The 7th wonder can be found on my FB or blog.

#21 Train Etiquette

#22 Sayonara

“Sayonara” means goodbye but has a sense of finality to it, so don’t use it to your clients!

#23 Stairs

There is a great number of staircases and very few escalators and lifts at smaller train stations.

#24 Impressive Customer Service

#25 Office Toilet

I went to a Japanese company for an interview before I decided to leave Japan. When I went to the ladies toilet, I saw a nice wooden locker cabinet mounted on the wall with small compartments. I know Japanese are very particular about hygiene but to see a locker for toothbrushes and sanitary stuff is a whole new world for me…

#26 Designated Smoking Area

#27 Sushi Rice

Somehow sushi rice will fall off when you eat outside of Japan…

#28 Japanese Speak English

Based on the real story at a sushi restaurant…

#29 Kids In Trains

#30 Hairdresser