Culture Lessons

Not a lot of people know that I have moved to Tokyo, Japan. In fact, by tomorrow, June 29th, it will be exactly 3 months. I feel bad about not being able to update this blog as much as I should and want to, but I'm pushing myself yet again to change that (and hopefully, keep it consistent). I can't promise that things will be chronological around here, as I would love to share both recent and past adventures. It's better late than never after all!

Tokyo is actually known for having a lot of museums, and my first museum experience was at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, which features the British Museum's "A History of the World in 100 Objects". It was very interesting as the objects wove a story of how human creativity and innovation developed over 2 million years. What was more interesting, however, was the experience going through the whole museum with Japanese locals.

It was a Saturday, and the exhibition is only until the 28th, so it was expected that the place will be packed. And indeed it was, but it wasn't bothersome at all.

People were actually lined up in a very organized manner, going from one object to another. Nobody asked them to, they just did, and it was a very effective system. Everybody talked in hushed voices and patiently waited for their turn to view. To add, before entering the exhibition room, we were told that taking photos is not allowed inside, and I swear, I did not see a single soul defy this rule. There were even kids inside the museum and they weren't unruly or restless at all. The museum offers drawing boards to children so they can walk around to doodle the things that they see.

I am utterly amazed by the Japanese people's discipline and courtesy. Here, they stop and patiently wait for you to take a photo, voluntarily move to a different seat if your friend is sitting next to them so that you two will be seated together, keep their phones on silent mode so as not to bother others, wear masks when they have a simple cold or cough, follow traffic rules such as slowing down when there is a pedestrian lane, and always bear in mind to say polite words like "I'm sorry" (gomenasai), "excuse me" (sumimasen), "please" (onegaishimasu) and "thank you" (arigatou gozaimasu). I could go on and on but I'll probably just write more about this as we go along.

On a final note, as we embark on another busy week ahead, let's not forget to stop and be considerate to others. There are always little things that you can do to make this world a happier place. Goodnight, everyone. :)