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Japanese Culture
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Japanese culture remains extremely enigmatic to those of us in the west. Japanese culture is at the forefront of modern technology yet, at the same time, Japanese culture is also obsessed with maintaining numerous ancient traditions.
The only true way to try and get to the heart of what Japanese culture is all about is by experiencing it for yourself. With Real Gap's Paid Work in Japan you can find work in a wide variety of jobs throughout this fascinating country.
The pay you receive in Japan is generally extremely good and you can work as little or as much as you like - giving you plenty of time to travel and explore the Japanese culture in-depth. Real Gap's ‘Japanese Culture' page takes a brief look at just some of the unique Japanese culture you can experience on a gap year. |
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Japanese Culture - Festivals
Festivals are an important part of Japanese culture, many of which mark the changing of the seasons. For example, in Japanese culture the ‘Cherry Blossom' festival marks the first day of Spring. One of the most colourful festivals in Japanese culture is the ‘Childrens' Festival' held each May - which involves children flying colourful banners resembling carp fish.
Japanese Culture - TechnologyJapanese culture is undeniably at the heart of modern cutting edge technology. A great way to experience modern Japanese culture is simply by taking a stroll through one of the major cities, such as Tokyo or Osaka, at night and enjoying the spectacle of the myriad of neon-lit signs dominating the skyline. The Japanese love their modern gadgets and Japanese culture is largely responsible for bringing video games to the rest of the world. Sega, Nintendo and Sony are all Japanese companies - and the latter two continue to dominate the games console market.
Japanese Culture - Japanese GardensJapanese gardens are prevalent throughout Japan and are an important traditional aspect of Japanese culture. Japanese gardens are extremely artistic and are intended to idealize nature by fusing together different landscaping techniques such as rock gardens, bridges and water gardens. The resulting gardens can be extremely beautiful and serene, and couldn't contrast more with the furious pace of modern Japanese cities.
Japanese Culture - SumoSumo is Japan's national sport and an important part of Japanese culture. The basic rules of sumo are extremely simple - two wrestlers must try and force each other out of a marked ring.
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The size of sumo wrestlers is legendary, (and often considered comical to people in the western world), but sumo is very much a respected sport in Japanese culture and the top sumo wrestlers are held in the same regard as footballers are in Europe. Watching a sumo tournament should definitely be high up on your list of things to see and do in Japan - the atmosphere is fantastic and it is a unique way to experience Japanese culture.
Japanese Culture - Manga and AnimeManga and Anime dominate popular Japanese culture. Broadly speaking Manga is a very distinctive form of stylised drawing used for comic books. Anime, as the name suggests, is the animated form of manga. ‘Pokemon', which became hugely popular with children throughout the world in the early twenty first century, started life as a Japanese manga comic. It should be stressed, however, that in Japanese culture comic books are definitely not considered to be solely the preserve of children. For example the most popular film in the history of Japanese cinema is ‘Spirited Away', an anime film. This form of Japanese culture has taken animation to new levels of realism and, even if it's not to your taste, it's well worth checking out at least one anime film during your time in Japan.
Japanese Culture - GeishaGeisha are one of the most intriguing traditions in Japanese culture. Geisha are female performers who specialise in entertaining and accompanying men to social functions such as dinner parties. Because of this role, many people wrongly assume that Geishas are effectively prostitutes. In actual fact the role of the Geisha in Japanese culture is far more refined and complicated than that. Geishas have to be skilled in classic Japanese arts such as calligraphy, poetry and music and their main purpose is make their client ‘feel like a king.'
Japanese Culture - FoodA key aspect of experiencing Japanese culture is the food. Japanese culture dictates that the presentation of meals is almost as important as the taste of the food itself. Food is selected for its texture and colour and artistically arranged on the plate to make it look as visual as possible. A great way to experience Japanese culture is by dining out in a sushi bar. Sushi is essentially raw fish, which can put some people off - but it is healthy food and extremely tasty.
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