Cultural differences: Australia vs Japan

 

Recently my friends visited Cairns. They came here for the first time so they were surprised all the time about differences between Australia and Japan. I’ve been living in Cains for almost half a year. I got used to living here so I wasn’t aware of these differences. My friends’ reactions were funny. Hence I’ll talk about the differences between Australia and Japan.

  1. Wide roads

The roads of Australia are very wide. When my friends wanted to go to somewhere, they used Google map. And they went to a destination but they said it had been further than they thought. I agree with them because the widths of the roads are extremely huge.

  1. Bathrooms

When they used the bathroom, they were conscious of the difference in toilet flush buttons. In Japan, the flush button is a lever positioned on the side of the toilet. On the other hand, in Australia, the flush button is on the top of the toilet. When I came to Cairns, I had the same problem and it was one of the main differences for me. I thought that if I go to other countries, I should check how to use toilets. It is an important matter.

  1. Bicycle racks

My friends said that bicycle racks are very simple. In Japan, we have many kinds of them. Recently, technology in Japan has been developing fast so some of them are built underground. I think that it is very secure. In Cairns, however, when I saw a bike rack, I was completely surprised. I couldn’t imagine people park their bicycles there. The shape was interesting.

  1. Height

When we went to a convenience store, my friends tried to get a bottle of drink but she couldn’t get it. The reason was her height as she couldn’t reach. The bottles were positioned on a high shelf. The shelves are built for an Australian size. Conversely, if an Australian visits Japan, they will feel that the shelves are lower than the Australian ones.

  1. Colours

When we entered a cafe, my friends were impressed by colour usage. They were captivated with furniture. The cafe interior and furniture were colourful and fashionable. My friends took a lot of pictures. They got a feeling of being overseas because in Japan the preferred colour is brown and its shades.

  1. Trash bins

There are a lot of trash bins in Cairns whereas in Japan, there aren’t so many of them. I think that the number of trash bins has decreased recently. They are located mainly at train stations and supermarkets today. However, in our country, we basically take our litter home with us. In my opinion, there are many people who don’t obey this rule. On the other hand, there are a lot of trash bins in Cairns and the city is kept clean. I think that people who are living in Cairns are highly conscious of its beauty. Our country should imitate it. When I go back to Japan, I’d like to tell Japanese people about the environment of Cairns. The main reason for me to come to Cairns was studying English. However, there are a lot of things that I learned living in Cairns.

When my friends visited from Japan, they got surprised by so many things, which made me realise the differences between Australia and Japan. It was a good opportunity to open my eyes wider. Cultural differences are interesting. Both countries have many advantages. I feel richer with the mix of good points from both countries. I want to be the go-between for Australia and Japan.

Thank you very much, my friends.

Sauyri, Upper-Intermediate

 

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We are teachers and students at the Cairns College of English and Business (CCEB). How lucky are we to work and study in the Australian Wet Tropics with the world's oldest rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef at our doorstep! We would like to share our happy posts with the world! Welcome to the CCEB space eveyone.

4 thoughts on “Cultural differences: Australia vs Japan

  1. Unlike Japan ,I thought that garbage was not separated.

    Australia has few bike spaces but Japan has many.

    I think again that life is more difficult in my country, Japan.

  2. I ‘m from Japan. I think so too.
    Especially, the bathrooms topic is so interesting and funny.
    When I came to Cairns , I had trouble using toilet. Where is the flush button? But now I got used to using it.
    I went to Malaysia. Malaysian toilet is different from Australia or Japan.
    There is no button in the toilet. I have to turn a tap on and flush a toilet using a hose.
    I also want to find differences between Japan and Australia.

  3. Sayuri’s story is an example of new experiences that a person could have in Cairns. I like the blog post becauseit is sincere and beautiful.
    The way in which Sayuri shared her experience is very rewarding and encourages me to continue improving my English.

  4. I like your Blog.
    I’m Japanese.
    I was also surprised a lot of things such as your friends.
    For example, I thought that Australian toilet paper is so big and paper rack has a key !!!!

    Japanese one doesn’t have a key.
    Japan is a peaceful country and hasn’t enough a sense of crisis for everything.
    Well, I like that about it. Haaha!

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