These are many differences between life in England and life in Japan. To start with when I lived in England, I would never have dreamt that I would ever eat raw fish. English people cook all their food so I was very surprised by how delicious Sushi and Sashimi were when I first tried them. The traditional Japanese breakfast of rice, soup and fish was also a surprise. In my country, most people eat a light breakfast during the week and only eat a large breakfast on the weekend. Furthermore, in Japan one can find many restaurants selling delicious food at reasonable prices. In England, if one wants to eat really delicious food, one must go to an expensive restaurant. My biggest problem in Japan is weather. In England, in the summer time it's far too hot and humid. In England I was used to pretty mild summers with very little humidity. On the other hand, Japans winter is not as cold as the winter in my country therefor I have no problems with it. In fact, I haven't needed an overcoat for the past 2 years. Life at work here is a lot different to my country. In England most people work a standard 8-hour a day and go home at 5 o'clock to spend time with their family or friends. I think that English people generally work faster than people over here so they don't need to work such long hours. I was amazed by the overall sleepiness of the people I see here, both young and old. On the train in London you very rarely see anyone sleeping, but in Tokyo it seems everyone is asleep. There are also some remarkable differences when it comes to manners, something which are considered to be bad manners in Japan are quite acceptable In England and vice versa. Some examples. Blowing your nose is bad manners in Japan, but in England constantly sniffing and sniveling instead of blowing is not at all considered to be good behavior. Likewise, if you were eating in English restaurant and you made slurping noises while eating your soup. You would get some very strange glances from the other diners. On other hand. I think that the Japanese idea of removing ones shoes before entering a　place is an excellent idea and one I wish more people in my country would adopt .. In conclusion, I believe that all people of the world have different ideas and lifestyles, especially when one crosses the border between east and west. I think it is these differences that make visiting or living in a foreign country such an interesting and worth while experience. Matthew Welch ▲Go to top