Changes in Perception

I can’t stress enough how much my perception of Japan changed over the years. It truly does surprise me. It makes me wonder how much of the stuff I believe about Europe and South America is completely untrue. Though, I’m pretty sure Germans wearing socks and sandals is fact…and gross.

Here are some minute and detailed things I didn’t realize were completely unfounded.
For starters, I was under the impression that Japanese people were bento eating, judo knowing, train riding, fetish loving, anime watching smart people. I could not have been more wrong. I can’t think of one Japanese person that fits all of these characteristics. In fact, some of these attributes, like anime and fetishes, are such a minority that it makes no sense why I would have ever believed that.

Eating bento, Japanese box lunch, though fairly common, is not quite as popular as I first imagined. Many department stores and some restaurants sell these pre-made lunches with many different dishes in their own compartments, but they don’t seem to be as popular as grabbing a quick bowl of ramen or gyuudon. My perception may be skewed by the fact that eating bento is not really done in public places, but I’m pretty sure this is not the most popular method of eating lunch.

Much to my dismay, martial arts is about as popular in Japan as it is in America, so being a black belt does not do much for my nanpa game. Weak.

Okay, I was basically right about riding trains, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t cars in Japan, just fewer. Trains are awesome and efficient, but they are by no means the only way to travel in Japan. Taxis, buses, my friends’ cars, and bicycles are just as important to my travel in Japan as trains are. Plus, if you want to see what rural Japan has to offer, or the beach, good luck finding a train that goes there.

Another popular myth was that Anime in Japan has more cursing and violence than what you see on cartoon network. Well, more cursing would be quite a feat since Japanese doesn’t really have any curse words. Kuso, chikusho, kisama, are loosely interpreted as shit, son of a bitch, asshole respectively. However...
Kuso can also be used pretty lightly, depending on intonation. Like 'mekuso' can be used to describe the crap that's in your eyes when you wake up.
Chikusho, is now pretty outdated, and just means beast. I guess it’s crude by Japanese standards, but by no means a four letter word.

I'm getting off topic but I'll close with words I've learned that do offend people.

Kisama and Omae are fairly rude things to call someone to their face (they literally mean 'you'...just a rude version). They aren't curse words per se, but are good at getting a rise out of people nonetheless. Myself and my other bromodachi use Omae when talking to women, because why not?

When you want to refer to some other asshole across the room, aitsu is a good choice.