A Trip to Japan with an American Guy

I’m going to travel to Japan on business at the end of January. The purpose of this trip is to get technical training at our headquarters in Tokyo. In order to efficiently support our U.S. customers, our engineers in San Jose sometimes travel to Japan for training sessions. This time, I am taking a young American engineer with me for the software training.

For this engineer, it will be his first time to go abroad. He is excited about going to Japan. I’m also excited because I will be able to show him authentic Japanese cuisine. He was born and raised in Hawaii. Since there are a lot of Japanese immigrants in Hawaii, he is familiar with Japanese culture and food. However, authentic Japanese cuisine is pretty different from what he thinks. He likes “Teriyaki Chicken,” “Sushi Rolls,” and “Saimin,” but we don’t really eat these in Japan.

We will stay in the center of Tokyo for a week. I’m thinking of taking him to authentic Japanese restaurants the first 3 days. The rest of the week, I’ll take him to American restaurants and Hawaiian restaurants. In Tokyo, we have TGI Fridays, Hooters, Outback Steakhouse and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. I’m sure he will find these funny, especially because of the ambience.

I recently watched a YouTube video from when Hooters opened its first store in Tokyo in 2010.

In the U.S, people often talk to waiters or waitresses at restaurants. People especially talk to waitresses at Hooters and often join in singing or dancing with the waitresses. As you can see in the YouTube footage, the Japanese people just take pictures and stay seated during the dance show at Hooters. What’s more, some people aren’t even watching their dancing! The atmosphere is kind of like a funeral. I would say it will probably be interesting for my American colleague to watch the Japanese customers at Hooters Tokyo. Japanese people don’t talk to waiters or waitresses unless they have an order or complaint.

Moreover, my colleague will notice that the customers at Hooters Tokyo are different from those at Hooters in the U.S. Of course in the U.S, Hooters is thought as a place for men. However, Hooters Tokyo is one of the most famous restaurants for dating. According a news article, Hooters Tokyo was Hooters top selling restaurant in 2011. I guess that they were able to appropriately evoke a part of American culture that Japanese people like. Some my friends went there on dates. All of them said that they enjoyed the American atmosphere of the restaurant.

In my case, I’m a typical Japanese guy. Dancing and singing are not my things. So my colleague will probably laugh at me, too!

Smiling in ID Photos

Do you smile when you have your ID photos taken? I have a straight face in all of my ID photos expect one. 

When I went to renew my Costco membership, a Costco employee took my picture for my membership card. I was straight-faced when I stood in front of the camera, but then I laughed aloud because the staff said a funny word. He counted aloud, “One, two, three and Zatoichi!” Zatoichi is a famous Japanese movie character. I never imagined hearing the word “Zatoichi” at Costco. Eventually, I got my Costco membership ID photo with my laughing face. – not just a smile, but a full laugh.

I think American people always smile in photos. Meanwhile Japanese people don’t do this, especially in ID photos. My English teacher told me that she was required to not slime when she had her ID photo taken in Japan. I have never seen official Japanese ID photos, such as passports and driver’s licenses, with smile faces. I don’t know if smiling in official documents is forbidden by Japanese law, but we don’t smile and are not good at smiling.

When Japanese people take a picture, they often say “Cheese” like American people. However, “Say cheese” is not for smiling. It just tells us when the shutter will click. Of course, this custom was imported from American culture, but it has changed. I Googled the phrase “Say Cheese” and found that this was first used in a TV commercial in 1963. It seems that while the phrase was adopted in Japanese culture, smiling never was.

I think there has probably been a lot of research about the cultural aspects of ID photos. I won’t dig deeply into this, but I want to figure out whether American people can keep a straight face in a photo if they are asked.

The staff at Costco successfully made me smile. What would I do if I were a cameraman in Japan? I have no idea if I could ask American people to keep a straight face.