Life in China Versus Japan
10 | SLAS TIMES
by Mirei Yo
Life in Japan and China is drastically different . I can say this with lots of experience . I was born in Japan and lived there for about five years . Later , I moved to China due to my dad ’ s job . I never realized its convenience until I moved here . was so convenient , that I thought Shanghai was too futuristic at first . In fact , mom was too hyped up about the convenience , that she tried nearly everything on the app page .
I also realized a striking difference in how people interacted with each other in Japan and China . In Japan , I saw smiling , greeting with welcoming words , nodding , and overall , positive things . People tended to be extra-respectful to each other . Public places were clean with no litter . However , once I moved to China , I was overwhelmed when I saw people shouting and stumbling over each other for cabbages on sale . That said , people were still nice .
In Japan , food delivery was not even a thing a little while ago . If people wanted a light lunch delivered online , they would have to pay double the amount of the actual food for the delivery fee . Also , since there were so less places running delivery , there aren ’ t many variations , and needs an average of one hour for the food to come . In contrast , in Shanghai , people just needed a couple of clicks and the delivery fee was not too expensive with an average waiting time of half an hour . Thus , there were hundreds of food options , since many restaurants accepted food delivery . It
Probably the most shocking thing was the fact that people were spitting and throwing cigarettes all over the place . Now , I am used to the environment . In fact , during bargains I like , I join the crowd of people and fight for the item . I like the wildness in the people and the convenience in Shanghai .