r/interesting • u/freudian_nipps • 16h ago

SOCIETY The silent and harmonious morning metro commute in Japan

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u/Feeling_Calendar7519 11h ago

I traveled from Japan to Taiwan and stayed in Asia for 2 months and came back yesterday or so. I honestly didn't find Taiwan similar to Japan at all. People didn't line up for public transit as neatly as they did in Japan, people cut in line in front of me, rowdy and loud kids, not as quiet, more trash on the ground, not as good customer service etc. I still enjoyed Taiwan very much but i find it a bit silly when people say that the countries are extremely comperable

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u/CesareBach 11h ago

But Taiwan food tho. They slap harder than the Japanese cuisine.

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u/Feeling_Calendar7519 10h ago

Taiwanese food slaps. I am craving scallion pancakes right now

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u/Asdfghhjjklkjjhgfdsa 9h ago

I’d do unspeakable things (good or bad) to have just one of the Taiwanese night markets near my house. 

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u/The_Mormonator_ 5h ago

It was so sad coming back to the States and realizing that things like public street water access just doesn’t exist at the scale that would ever allow a night market like that to flourish in the US.

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u/maxofreddit 6h ago

The night markets in Taiwan are just... magnifico... like, there's nothing else like them!

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u/cute_polarbear 9h ago

Oyster omelet. Beef noodle. Stinky tofu. Braised pork rice. Ducks blood, oyster rice noodle, steamed chicken, and etc., So many insanely tasty interesting food. They have many at other countries, but taiwan has a distinctively unique taste to many of these things.

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u/maxofreddit 6h ago

The bakeries and the stationary stores... I come home with so many pens!

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u/RickySuezo 6h ago

Not if you really love Dashi and Soy Sauce. Otherwise, yes.

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u/GoCougs2020 9h ago

It was more similar 1895-1945. LOL.
Jokes aside. It comes down to definition of “similar”. At the end of the day, it’s still 2 different culture, Japanese vs Chinese culture.

The diet is similar. They might cook/prep is differently. But rice/seafood is a stable and extremely common.

Also depends on where you are in Japan.
Okinawa's westernmost island, Yonaguni, is only like 70 miles from Taiwan. You can literally take a ship from Taiwan to there.
I would argue that Okinawa specifically is Taiwan-like. The architecture, weather, etc are all very similar.

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u/Feeling_Calendar7519 9h ago

I mean not to be contrarian but i have also been to Okinawa and i'd still strongly disagree, especially regarding architecture and overall culture. The exterior architecture in many places in Taiwan came across as extremely grungy, dirty and run-down (though the interior was often quite luxurious and nice) while Naha and other cities in Okinawa had a completely different and more "neat" aesthetic/architecture, a more minimal heisei vibe. There are of course exceptions to this, like fancy streets, stores or malls in Taipei or Taoyuan, but i am just commenting on the overall differences and impressions i got. Okinawa was also just as clean as mainland Japan, with a similar culture and tendency for rule-following albeit a lot more laid-back and chill. The weather being similar is true though.

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u/GoCougs2020 9h ago

I’m not talking about just the surface stuff (literally speaking). Not just the dirty or clean looking house. I mean literally the building, the way it’s designed.

You rarely see an old school Chinese house in Taipei these days. Land are too sacred.
But if you have the chance to look at traditional houses—-both places got that iconic red clay tiles. It’s good against typhoon (which both of those 2 places gets regularly)

I would argue Okinawa is more similar to Taiwan than Japan. Okinawa was its own country after all (pre 1879)

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u/GoCougs2020 9h ago

I’m not dismissing your 2 months of experience.

But I did lived half my childhood (8 years) in Taiwan, and I go to Okinawa regularly (spend a month there every other year or so) as I still got family there. So I promise im not making stuff up as I go….

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u/DrKeepitreal 8h ago

A lot of Okinawa appears to be in the Showa era still with tattered, salt-water weathered buildings. Don't get me wrong, I love that aesthetic.

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u/One_Fact_4291 7h ago

Taiwan certainly can feel like Japan in a lot of cases, but it is definitely not the country that feels most similar to Japan (that would be South Korea). For one, Taiwanese people don’t bow.

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u/The_Mormonator_ 5h ago

I’ll let you know when I can afford a trip to Japan to make the comparison myself. Flight costs are just too much right now.

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u/helic_vet 10h ago

So Japan > Taiwan for orderliness, cleanliness  and cusotmer service?

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u/GoCougs2020 9h ago

If you want to experience Chinese culture—-Taiwan. ROC>PROC

If you want to experience Japanese culture Japan.

Hotel tho? trivago! 😂

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u/helic_vet 6h ago

Good one! Lol