Japanese culture– category –

It happens the moment the train doors close.The hum of the station fades behind you, and a heavy, invisible hush settles over the car like a thick wool blanket. Conversations taper off mid-sentence. Phone screens glow brightly, but no on...

“Oh no, I’m so sorry—I’m in the way.” These are words you’ll hear in Japan more than “hello” or “thank you.” We whisper them as we slide slightly to the left on a crowded sidewalk. We mutter them while bending to pick up something we dro...

“I’m so sorry.”It’s a phrase you’ll hear a dozen times a day in Japan, but what’s fascinating—at least to my foreign friends—is how softly we say it. It’s not shouted, or even spoken with firm conviction. More often than not, it’s whispe...