"Differences Between Japan and America" by Danto Tanaka

          This is our school in Tokushima, Japan.  American schools have a lot more space because America has larger spaces than Japan.  Japan does not have a lot of space.  Usually our schools have 4 or 5 floors, and small grounds.  American schools have large spaces, very spread out, and the grounds are very big.  In Japan our school grounds do not have grass, like in America.  

This classroom at Hartford High School, USA, is very casual.  Everyone can wear any clothes they want.  Teachers and students are like friends.  Students say “hi” just like friends, while in Japan the teacher is much more respected.  We respect our teachers very much.  When we meet the teacher in the hall, we bow.  We also use polite language.  Another difference is we have a uniform.  Also, we cannot eat food during the class, or listen to music during class.  We must sit up formally, no slouching like in American schools.  Respecting our teachers is a very natural thing.

This garden is behind my house in Tokushima, Japan.  American gardens are very large because they have a lot of space.  In our garden we have lots of things in a small space.  Each family in Japan only has a small space to live, so each garden must be small like this.  For the same reason, many people do not have a garden, just a house.  Our garden is a big garden for Japan – not many people have a garden like this.  Many people live in an apartment without space for a garden.  The land is so expensive.  

This bathroom is my American host family bathroom.  The main difference is Japanese bathrooms have separate space for taking a bath and washing.  We wash our body and hair in a different space than the bathtub.  After that we take a bath just for relaxing.  Taking a bath is very important for Japanese.  Many people love that.  It’s our space to relax.   Also I am surprised by the bathtub together with the toilet.  We do not have a curtain for this reason.  We have three rooms – one for toilet, one for washing and brushing teeth, and one for the bath.  Clean things and dirty things together is crazy!  Also we use a long towel for washing our back and body.  I don’t know how American people wash their back.  Japanese toilets have a warm seat.  This is a very good thing in the winter.  We take a lot of time for washing and taking a bath.  Women sometimes take more than one hour.  

This is school lunch in America.  The first time I came here to eat American food, I thought it was very plain with too much oil and too much salt.  This pizza uses only cheese, bread, tomato, salt and oil.  Japanese food has much less oil, and takes a long time to make, more than two hours to make.  For lunch in Japan I will have rice, miso soup, grilled fish, and many different types of very small salads.  Most of the time we drink water.  In my case, strong tastes like orange juice destroy the flavor and taste of the food.  In Japan we also have microwave food.  Japanese traditional food is declining because it takes so long to make.  People are busy, so the food is getting more like American food.  At school the food is new Japanese food – still completely different from American food – but not like traditional Japanese.  We bring a small lunch box to school, inside many kind of small things, like ten.  Like small salad, sausage, different types of cooking.  We have many ways to cook from one food.  Only with my grandparents on the weekend will I eat traditional Japanese food.