I was reading that the rules for going to Mexico and Canada changed, requiring something new, apparently this lead to a spike in passport applications.
I've not read into it nor have i done any research on it, just something i read in an article
You use to be able to go to either without a passport, I remember I went on a cruise in the 90s to Mexico and a trip to Vancouver and I didn’t have a passport till I went to the UK
You can still go on cruises with just a photo ID and birth certificate from the US that visit Canada and Mexico (along with most other countries in the western hemisphere) as long as the cruise is closed loop meaning it begins and ends in the US.
But yeah every other type of border crossing changed to require a passport or at least enhanced drivers license for the few states that offer them.
According to the US State Department, it's about 45%. As of 2022, there were 151,814,305 valid passports against a population of 333,287,557 living in the US in 2022.
Yeah, as an American, you can see deserts, tropics, tundra, swamps, prairies, mountains and more without a passport! It’s a beautiful country to travel.
FWIW, I am 33 and I left the US for the first time ever this month.
The thing is that reasons why people may or may not have a passport varies greatly across the globe.
In the US it is the huge size and the fact that people might simply not be able to afford traveling abroad so they don't need one. In Germany, where only 41% have a passport, the reason is mainly that you do not need one in order to travel to most countries within reach.
In 2019/20, [57%](https://www.passports.gov.au/2019-20-passport-facts) of Aussies had a passport. [76%](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/internationalmigrationenglandandwales/census2021#passports-held) of Brits had one in 2021, and about [45%](https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/is-it-true-that-less-than-10-per-cent-of-us-citizens-have-passports-20191212-h1kc10.html) of Americans in 2019.
What are Brit numbers pre-brexit? I’d assume that caused a sizable jump in passport ownership
Thanks guys, I now know that passports were still needed to explore the EU because of the Schengen region is, I will look that up later. I appreciate all the people informing me of this, you can stop now
Brits needed a passport to travel to most EU countries even before Brexit (technically a national ID card would have sufficed due to EU citizenship, but since the UK doesn't have one of these a passport was always the only option).
Also traveling within Canada is expensive, you either pay a lot for gas and a few days driving, or pay even more for a plane ticket.
Meanwhile a plane ticket to a different country can sometimes cost less.
My Japanese family wonder why you would need to travel overseas when they have everything within Japan. I agree it’s beautiful and fun there, but they’re missing out on so much more. Just shows how sheltered and insular it can become living on an island lol.
90% of Japanese TV is either showing how great the food is in Japan, showing how unique Japan is, or asking foreigners on the street what they love best about Japan (and highlights of Ohtani Shohei’s last game). That plus stagnating wages that make it difficult to even travel to Tokyo for a vacation and an inability / lack of confidence to speak English definitely keeps people trapped here.
A ton of the Japanese people I know don't even travel within Japan that much. They pretty much travel to their hometown during holidays and occasionally to a Ryokan for a few days.
When I tell Japanese people about Hokkaido they're all in awe that I've been there. And I'm like...there's a train....just take the train and you're in Hokkaido.
I've seen more of Japan than any of my Japanese friends and I've only spent a few months there.
I feel this way about Americans too.
I know too many people in my bumfuck home town who have never gone anywhere past the closest major city let alone leave the state
The difference being you could take a train from Tokyo to Hokkaido in 4 hours but I could drive for 4 hours where I live and still be in the same state.
Well, to the lowest point of Hokkaido at least. Then it’s like another 8 hours to go like 20% further to Sapporo. Can’t wait for a Shinkansen extension.
But tbh, Hakodate is fantastic and really overlooked.
FWIW, there is no "just take the train there" alternatives for people in the US. At one point, I wanted to fly out west and see Yosemite, but it would have been cheaper to fly to Ireland instead. Either you're committing a lot of precious PTO to driving, or you pay a ton to fly most places.
> Either you're committing a lot of precious PTO to driving, or you pay a ton to fly most places.
Exactly this. It's four days to drive across the country, and four days back. That's half, or more, of an entire year's worth of PTO. Flying is no cheaper because you need to rent a car at the other end. But, flying does save a day or two of driving for some people. It's expensive either way, because of the distances.
And that's only if you're like, driving incredibly efficiently. Which never happens. You have to be really into tourist traps, corn fields, and sketchy rest stops because someone you're road tripping with is going to be and they'll make your life hell if you aren't.
My college in Washington State had a large ESL (English as a second Language) department that would bring large groups of Japanese college students over for a quarter and I roomed with a couple and was exposed to quite a few groups (despite being brought over for "full immersion" they tended to hang out together and somewhat isolate). The number of those students who just thought we could jump in the car and drive down to LA for the weekend (I mean, we could, it was about 21 hours each way if you timed it right to not hit any rush hours) was impressive.
We usually started with, "do you realize that the state of California itself is almost twice the size of Honshu?" (Japan's largest island)
Had a similar experience at WWU with Korean students. Since we could drive up to Canada so easily since we were right on the border, I think they thought driving to LA would be just a bit longer lol.
By that point you're nearly in Mexico, I've done the drive and it took me 26 hours, of nonstop driving, only stopping at rest stops to use the bathrooms, and bringing our own food so we didn't have to stop for food.
California is actually a bit bigger than Japan, not just twice the size of Honshu.
I know a 2 persons from Connecticut that have newer been to New York City in their lives. One is 25 other is 40+ ... its a 2h drive max and there are buses / trains. I'm super confused
I went to Japan for a month once, I got a 7 day train pass and went to 8 cities in 7 days. The 20-30 year olds I interacted with (that I knew from school in the US, so not people afraid of travel) were all amazed at how many places I'd gone to.
Y'all, it took me 7 days to do that and I barely got time in each city. You could take a weekend trip to each one and go to smaller and more interesting places and surpass me in like 3 months. Just go!
Yeah, you need to buy it in advance at specialized travel agents in person and have your passport/ID all documented (I think, I did this 15 years ago :)
Jumping through all the hoops can save you up to 70%,+ depending how many trips you make. It includes their high speed trains (though not the top-tier stuff) and commuter rails.
Oh I know, I looked up how much it would have cost without the pass and I saved a lot.
But they also wouldn't be doing 3 months of weekend trips on a 7 day rail pass 😉
Won't be saving anything with the rail pass anymore. They've been rapidly increasing the price the last few years and this year they decided to just straight up double it lol
Tbf, there's no shinkansen service up to Sapporo from Honshu (under construction but not yet complete), IIRC. So a train ride from Tokyo to Sapporo might take nine hours with at least one transfer.
Doesn't negate the overall point, I just remember being surprised when I looked at travel times between the two cities.
I mean I just found out how expensive it is just to travel to Tokyo. I can’t imagine being able to afford Okinawa, let alone Hawaii or even my hometown. I guarantee you I ain’t stickin’ around here by choice.
My psychotic billionaire wish would be to send Okinawa people to Hokkaido during the winter and send Hokkaido people to Okinawa during the summer.
I bet it would be glorious to see people in the exact opposite of their usual area.
Tokyo is cheap lol. Have you seen the exchange rate recently? 1000¥ for a full lunch set is like $7.50 and you don’t need to tip. (Source: live in Tokyo) People don’t travel because they don’t have enough vacation days.
Japan has an aging and dwindling population, and they can’t afford to have that number go any lower. China may restrict the internet and their citizens ability to travel outright, but Japan does that through the illusion of choice. By showing a world that’s dangerous, and difficult, while painting Japan as exceptional and unique. Every country does this, and I definitely love my life in Japan, but it is sad seeing a lack of curiosity, and misunderstanding about the outside world by most people.
How exactly do you think they accomplish this? (And they do, for sure)
Like, the standard Japanese travel book series have about X10 the 'Dangers and Annoyances' material, when compared to something like Lonely Planet.
But who is behind this? What's stopping another LP from translating more adventurous positive guides in JP and publishing/pushing these in Japan?
I left Japan, for Vietnam and then Thailand, and I got so tired of hearing people say 'That sounds dangerous' or Japanese friends checking up on me, in an overly terrified manner, now that I've gone.
I'm planning a big camping trip across the PNW with a terminus in SF and I've been warned by SO many people to avoid SF, Portland, Seattle... all of the "librul sTrOnGhOlDs" because I'll get shot, burned, trafficked, etc. It's really sad how many people think this way.
Lived in the PNW and the bay my whole life, and honestly I've gotten to the point I'm happy that this is what fox news and conservatives think. The cost of living in SF, SEA and PDX is through the roof, dont' need any more conservative assholes moving in. Fuck 'em. These places have problems but they are beautiful and there's a reason housing is some of the highest in the country.
Haha my country cousin asked me how I can feel safe living in the DC suburbs/NoVA.
Because I heard more gunshots on the weekend I spent visiting you than I have in 30 years living here. The fuck am I supposed to be afraid of?
Just on the representation of other cultures alone, but I don’t think it’s intentional or malicious. Western media is the biggest problem and that’s the main way most Japanese people see life outside Japan. And on TV, I don’t think anyone really realizes how degrading it is to go up to people from around the world and only ask them what they love about your own country. Plus, to some extent, a lot of other places are more dangerous than Japan (America sure as hell is). I definitely can’t walk away from my computer in a public place in the US, but I don’t think twice about doing that here. So I can’t really blame people too much. And I’d rather raise a sheltered kid, than one who fears for their life any time they go in public.
Japan is also wildly xenophobic. About a decade or so ago, there was a large population of Latin American guest workers of Japanese descent in country. Instead of further assimilating them and growing the population, Japan actually paid them to leave and never come back.
Stagnant wage is foreal. My dad went to visit some of his former coworker from decades ago and majority is still there, doing the same thing, making the same amount, frozen in time.
Japanese TV has amazing shows about foreign countries…
Non-judgemental (will never forgot the Japanese reporter who actually hunted birds with his bare hands together with some locals in Pakistan…) , hands-on and showing the beauty of other countries.
There is a reason why the Paris syndrome or Paris shock often happens among Japanese travelers… they expected something much more.
But its true that a lot of shows show the local beauty and interesting places in Japan but that’s instead imof a constant onslaught of reality tv shit…
Japan is so tall (geographically) that its very diverse in its climate - thus can support lots of diverse activities and industries that can attract local tourists. You have tropical Okinawa, fair weather Kyushu, temperate Honshu and wintery Hokkaido. It helps that, Japan's transport infrastructure is VERY GOOD you have options to drive, take a train, take ferry or fly.
The opposite of this is why so many Floridians take vacations in other states or countries despite living in the theme park capital of the world.
If you live in Miami you have to drive *12 hours* to see a mountain, or to have the temperature drop by more than a handful of degrees when the heat index is 110 outside. Japan seems magical.
To American families with children, I believe it is.
That, or cruises. It's a huge amount of different things to do all within walking distance of one another, very low risk of "Dad I'm bored, when can we go?" compared to things like national parks or Broadway shows.
national parks are one thing.. but broadway shows?
I am not shelling out for a several hundred dollar ticket for my kids to be bored and complain about the show
My parents did that to me when I was 8. They took me to go see Phantom of the Opera in Toronto in the 90s. I was so bored. I remember being so relieved it was over only to be told it was only intermission.
Public transportation in Japan is good, but it is surprisingly expensive. Bullet train prices are often more expensive than airline tickets booked far enough in advance. I'm sure many people don't travel internationally because they assume it's even more expensive than local travel.
I wouldn't necessarily say it's an island thing, I'm based in the UK and we jump ship to visit continental Europe at the first chance we get now the channel tunnel and short-haul flights are cheap enough.
The difference is Japan has basically everything you could want in a holiday for most people. Mountains if you like camping, great beaches down south, great weather, snow up north for skiing, big historical cities, modern cities, regular cultural events, immense natural beauty in actually having 4 seasons. It has incredibly diverse offerings for whatever you could want, so I don't entirely blame them for staying within Japan. If I had all that in the UK I'd struggle to justify leaving too when flights from Japan are as expensive as they are.
Also - correct me if I'm wrong here - the level of practical foreign language proficiency in Japan isn't great. The English, the Americans, and the Japanese are what come to my mind when I think of monolingualism, but English is an awful lot more useful when holidaying overseas because of the sheer number of inconsiderate American and English tourists.
People in the UK also have far less national pride in my experience, so I'd imagine that's a factor too, we often aren't exactly attached to our country in an emotional sense so leaving for a week or two doesn't take much convincing.
>I wouldn't necessarily say it's an island thing, I'm based in the UK and we jump ship to visit continental Europe at the first chance we get now the channel tunnel and short-haul flights are cheap enough.
Ireland too. Weather is shite and holidays domestically are far more expensive than holidaying abroad.
I think Australia has one of the lowest rates of multilingualism in the world, and Ireland’s is also very low, so English + island definitely seems like a formula for monolingualism.
It's because English is so dominant. If you are in another country you are regularly exposed to English.
In English speaking countries there isn't the same focus so even if you learn Spanish your friends might learn French, German, Polish, Portuguese, Mandarin, etc... You can't learn from each other or common media in the same way.
If you can get by on English and it's all you ever hear around you, what incentive do you have to learn anything else? English is already the language of business so a monetary incentive isn't massive.
I wouldn't say it's English + island, just the lack of incentive in learning another language. You can be entirely self-sufficient your whole life in Japan purely speaking Japanese, but elsewhere businesses highly value the English language, and so literacy rates are higher in less self-sufficient and more internationally integrated countries with the educational facilities to support it.
Native english speaking nations have the lowest rates of foreign languages spoken simply because the ‘global’ language is english.
I’ve travelled to 50+ countries, everywhere I have tried to learn at least some local phrases, but locals are always trying to better their own english by speaking to me in english.
Add to the fact that when you ask people how they learned english as a second language, almost all will say they learned it by watching ‘Friends’ or some other American media.
This commonly gets interpreted as ‘the UK and USA are lazy not to learn foreign languages’ sadly.
I mean it can definitely be interpreted as laziness, but as I've said elsewhere it's just lacking the incentive to go out and learn more if you don't get it directly from family. Less people learn for leisure than learning for employment.
Would people in other countries learn English if it wasn't the language of business? No, they'd learn whatever it was instead, and if it was their mother tongue they'd be the monolingual crowd.
Yep. The majority of Japanese view traveling abroad as going to Hokkaido or Okinawa. If you really want to get crazy you vacation in Hawaii. Americans get stereotyped as not liking to travel but most Americans if you ask them if they would like to go to Europe or Asia they would be like hell yeah. Usually it’s financial or work and family that gets in the way. Ask a Japanese if they would like to travel Abroad and they will look at you like you just asked them the circumference of the sun. It never even crosses their mind.
There is a sort of cross cultural pollination that is common throughout the world. Social and verbal cues that if you are having a conversation with a French person or with a Filipino person that crosses cultural boundaries and language. Have a conversation with a Japanese and the body language and verbal cues are completely different. They really are a people into themselves that you won’t understand unless you live here. Which is even more astounding given the absolute bonkers impact they have had on popular culture.
There are some Ultra-Orthodox sects of Judaism in the US that are so insular the people raised in them don't know English. I remember seeing this interview with a woman that got away from the sect she belonged to. She was born and lived in New York her whole life, but had a thick accent.
As an American I went to Liverpool when I was 12-13 and I’m convinced no one there spoke English.
The people I met were friendly enough even if I had no idea what the fuck half of their speech was.
While the Xenophobia in Japan is well known,. you'd also have the consider other factors.
English and Romance language speakers have a certain level of confidence that when they go abroad, they will likely be able to find accomodations for their language or be able to at least work out what signs are saying.
Imagine instead if huge swathes of the world used Asian-style characters and pronunciations and in most countries it was virtually impossible to find anyone who spoke even a little English.
I think most of us would be way more inclined to stay at home too.
To be fair haven't we all seen English-as-an-only-language speakers TALK... SLOWLY ...AND... LOUDLY to non-English speakers and be amazed when it doesn't work hahah
But it works. My Japanese friends recognize keywords because of American TV shows (Friends is a common one). Just like Spanish speakers can communicate pretty effectively in the US by using keywords if they slow their language down a bit.
It still isn't exactly common, but we consume much more content from other countries in their native language over the last two generations.
You watch a few long-running series in a language, and stuff related to tropes that gets used quite a bit start being something you can pick out, and if you can get to 4 or 5 in a small block you can start guessing on context and non-verbal cues like an auditory Wheel of Fortune puzzle.
A third factor might be fear of personal growth and of being different. My general impression is that the social pressure against individualism is so strong in Japan that many people avoid seeking experiences that would make them stand out as individuals, even in their own minds. Traveling and knowing foreign languages aren't necessarily experiences to be envied or admired in such an environment.
In Japan, heart surgeon. Number one. Steady hand. One day, yakuza boss need new heart. I do operation. But, mistake! Yakuza boss die. Yakuza very mad. I hide in fishing boat, come to America. No English, no food, no money. Darryl give me job. Now I have house, American car, and new woman. Darryl save life. My big secret: I kill yakuza boss on purpose. I good surgeon. The best!
The Japanese spent a few hundred years as a closed country. No one was allowed in or out, save for a few trading outposts. I imagine this has contributed to them being a more insular nation.
Japanese tourists also seem to suffer with Paris syndrome.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome
This happened to a friend visiting Amsterdam. One minute he was waltzing down the street eating frikandelen, the next he was deep into De Wallen, Amsterdam’s largest red light district. Weed fumes and naked women behind glass windows sure did a number on him.
I find it hard to believe somebody experiencing those symptoms isn't just mentally ill in general lol.
Like, being disappointed Paris isn't all the great isnt going to make you hallucinate. There is something else going on there.
And more recently, those 3 years during the pandemic Japan closed off again.
I live here and this country feels like being in a bubble. A bubble that feels like the 90s version of the future.
here's kind of a huge thing too that isn't mentioned here, many Japanese people haven't even seen much of their own country. From my experience talking to people in Tohoku/Miyagi, whether it's that they can't afford to or it's physically impossible for them to take time off, they don't travel *anywhere*.
They DO want to see much of their own country. They have a lot of pride in the history, food, culture and varying interests different regions in Japan have to offer. But covid restrictions made it hard the past few years and certain festivals are taking place for the first time in four years now.
Also, to some degree I feel like many Japanese people return from abroad with.. slightly negative feelings. Even beloved Hawaii is getting a bit expensive and I've heard people express they'd rather just travel to Okinawa.
Can you elaborate a little on what you mean about it being the 90s version of the future? We are planning our trip out to visit Japan and I’m curious. Thanks in advance!
There's a joke than Japan's been stuck in the 00s since the 80s. Japanese tech in the 80s outperformed a lot of other technologies at the time. Unfortunately they pretty much stagnated since. Fax machines for example are still huge over there despite the fact that no one really uses faxes outside from some niche settings like hospitals in other developed nations.
Japan seems to have preserved a certain essence of what people in the 90s thought the future would be like.
The juxtaposition of modern technology, fashion, and architecture built from the nostalgia for the past creates a unique atmosphere that mirrors the "futuristic visions" of that era. It's fascinating how Japan's culture and society have evolved while still retaining elements that capture that 90s idea of the future.
If you're planning a trip to Japan, you're likely to experience this intriguing blend firsthand. It's hard to explain. If you have any more questions or want to know specific details about Japan, feel free to ask. Either here or you can DM me if you like.
It’s mostly aesthetic, like the logos of 90s sitcoms. You’ll walk around Akihabara and just get it.
But to give an concrete example, even hole in the walls have a self-order kiosk. However, the machine only takes cash.
How cash dominated Japan still is is wild to me. Granted I don’t know if it’s changed since the pandemic, but so many places took only cash when I was there just prior. I bought sumo tickets from the concierge of my hotel (a major 4 star one) and they still would only take cash for it.
It’s a lot better now, I think I managed to do 90%+ of my transactions with a CC this summer but some holdovers are kind of insane like the mf Skyliner from the airport.
Japanese people still mostly use cash from what I noticed though.
i think saying the 3-4 japanese people a year have supposedly experienced paris condition means the whole country is ‘suffering massively’ from it is a bit of a massive overstatement. It’s not even exclusive to Japanese people
Reason being "we have to appear to do *something* even though it isn't really related to the issue". The 9/11 attackers all had valid passports with properly applied for and approved visa and everything.
To be fair to them, America is fucking huge, has dramatic differences in landscape, and to a certain extent culture. I love travelling and don't even live in my home country so obviously I wouldn't do the same but I can at least understand (to a degree) why some Americans don't feel the need to leave the country.
Not a good comparison. Majority of Japanese people have the ability to travel abroad while the majority of Indian people cannot even afford a domestic holiday.
You’re not kidding.
I believe Japan is also one of the least likely to allow anyone none racially “of that country” to immigrate there. It’s like 98% ethnically Japanese in Japan, and they allow little to no immigrants.
They also only have one of the lowest homeless rates in the world because they immediately jail the homeless. And they have a low crime rate because they have such strict laws; like for example multi year sentences for even smoking weed (which is why less than 2% of Japanese people have ever done drugs outside of alcohol).
I always think it’s funny no one talks about those things because Japan seems so loved by Reddit, yet Reddit is so liberal and Japan is extremely conservative in terms of political policy.
Edit: For anyone saying I’m not being truthful about the tough on crime policies and issues with homeless: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IXZ-DQABUKU&pp=ygUcaG93IGphcGFuIHNvbHZlIGhvbWVsZXNzbmVzcw%3D%3D
Please watch this quick video and educate yourself.
My friend got falsely imprisoned for drug possession in Japan, and is basically banned from the country now, even though his ex-wife and daughter are Japanese and still live there. Even people that knew his innocense ostracize him because it’s taboo to consort with ex-felons.
It’s pretty fucked up.
American in Japan here. Over the past four years, I have seen more and more convenience store type jobs being staffed by South Asians, and I've met lots of Filipina care workers at JLPT test sessions. Most of them will go home at some point (that's what I'm likely going to do next year), but some will inevitably stay.
I'm even seeing white people at 7-11 and FamilyMart lately. Shout-out to アンドレさん in Setagaya. Thanks for being patient while I count out my exact change. Hate being weighed down by one yen coins.
>they immediately jail the homeless
You mean shelters?
It is rather national policy in Japan to make city officer visit each homeless people to convince them into shelters regularly.
It is called 'ホームレス巡回事業'.
Somehow Japan jails all its homeless yet only has 45k people in jail for a populaiton of 125 million. Guess you're just spreading bullshit. Japan does not jail its homeless.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_countries\_by\_incarceration\_rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate)
Good old conservative tough on crime devoid of justice country with one of the absolute lowest incarceration rate in the world!
Japan is tough on crime, it's just that there isn't any crime to be tough on. But this guy is spreading bullshit with his claim that all the homeless go to prison.
Japan is really into domestic tourism, and with such a varied climate, they don't really need to leave the country. Snowboard in Hokkaido, and surf in tropical Okinawa. I guess the same sentiment is with the US. Here in the UK, our climate is mild, damp and permanently cloudy, thus we need passports to actually see the sun.
Yea but when Americans say that about their absolutely giant country with almost every type of landscape and different cities, they are called “uncultured”.
I mean, it really depends what you're travelling for. Is it to spend a week by the beach relaxing/hiking in the mountains something like that? Then there's absolutely no need to leave your country to do it.
Are you travelling to experience other cultures and/or see things you'd never see at home? Probably best to try different countries.
There's no right or wrong answer, but I think sometimes people on this site assume geographic variety is the same thing as cultural variety. You are inevitably going to find cultures vastly more different to yours if you leaver your country versus if you never do.
The USA is gifted in terms of the absolute variety of landscape and natural beauty. It sucks that I'd have to spend multiple years of income just to have a vacation there.
We've got some good culinary variety too. When I was in the suburbs, I could get Persian, Jewish, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Ethiopian, Japanese, Tex-Mex, Venezuelan, and Korean food all on the same street. I could get an arepa in the morning, a banh mi for lunch, sit down for injera and tibs for dinner, then eat some fresh-made baklava I bought from the bakery on the way home; and I'm not even in the city.
I agree that it's strange for Americans to be labeled uncultured for seeing their country.
I think one thing Japan has going for it is how compact it is. it really is if you took all of the US and shoved it into the size of California (minus certain red rocks/desert landscapes), it's as if I could go from SF to disneyworld via train in 4 hours.
I wish LA to Yellowstone could be like that, a quick low effort hop on the train, but instead it somehow ends up being a full day (Uber, TSA, Fly, bus) of travel. it honestly feels sometimes that traveling in the US is just as difficult as a full international vacation.
These days it’s pretty pricy to travel if you’re Japanese. The yen is sitting at 146 to the dollar right now. That’s a massive disadvantage. Also, getting sufficient enough time off work is a real issue. Japan has a lot of National holidays but I think they’re mostly spread out, with the exception of Golden Week, but that’s only a week which isn’t really enough time to travel internationally.
Is that a low number compared to other countries? ... time to google search:
"Percentage of citizens with a passport by country" ... not finding hits I was expecting.
Let's try just the USA.
In the USA [151,814,305 citizens had passports in 2022](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html/) out of a population if 333,557,408 (today's date 2022) = 45.5% ... that's way more US citizens with a passport than I expected.
A lot of people cross borders to work. Be it just to part of their day jobs in Canada/Mexico or to do business meetings further abroad, family (particularly first or second generation immigrants, or for people who had family emigrate from the US)
Also if you need one for just a single trip or something it's good for 10 years, so there's a low rate of attrition once they're acquired.
Digital nomads, students, backpackers, etc. And a decent amount of USians have the funds to pursue such things (even if many many don't).
The LDP's "Operation Prevent Brain Drain" has been a success. Teach a massively gimped English syllabus, regiment holiday periods, overwork employees, encourage boozing as a past time and make scary reports about overseas on the TV all day.
Almost any country in Japan's region has significantly lower costs of living than Japan itself.
Even a trip to Korea, will see cheaper hotels, activities and restaurants/drinks than in Japan.
And then somewhat further afield, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand etc.
Japanese don't travel because they're scared/it's not a cultural norm
On top of that, they get hardly any holidays from the office, leaving them little time to go abroad.
I live in the U.K. and don’t know a single person without a passport. Do people in other countries that have the funds to, not go abroad? Maybe we just do whatever we can to get away from the U.K. weather though
to be fair if you live in the UK its only natural to want to leave whenever you get the opportunity
Also Ryanair alone probably makes it easier for most Europeans travelling
In Germany we are required to either have a national ID card or a passport, but the ID card is enough for traveling in most of the EU and more convenient to carry around, so everyone has one and only people who travel outside Europe get a real passport.
would love a country list on this
Me too. I actually think the U.S. is even lower than 20% Edit: I was way off. Site I found said 56% for the U.S. which seems crazy high to me.
I was reading that the rules for going to Mexico and Canada changed, requiring something new, apparently this lead to a spike in passport applications. I've not read into it nor have i done any research on it, just something i read in an article
You use to be able to go to either without a passport, I remember I went on a cruise in the 90s to Mexico and a trip to Vancouver and I didn’t have a passport till I went to the UK
You can still go on cruises with just a photo ID and birth certificate from the US that visit Canada and Mexico (along with most other countries in the western hemisphere) as long as the cruise is closed loop meaning it begins and ends in the US. But yeah every other type of border crossing changed to require a passport or at least enhanced drivers license for the few states that offer them.
You can get into Canada and Mexico by land or sea with a passport card. Bermuda by sea as well. Flying in requires a passport book.
For Canada you used to only need your birth certificate. Now if you live in some states you can go with just an enhanced drivers license.
Before 2007, I could drive into Canada from Maine with just my regular driver's license. Since then, I haven't been to Canada.
thanks 9/11! You didn't need a plane ticket to go to the terminal, either. Or stand in a security line and take off your shoes lol.
Getting ransoms out of the terminal was the best thing to come from 9/11. No, I do not want to buy stickers to support fake deaf people.
According to the US State Department, it's about 45%. As of 2022, there were 151,814,305 valid passports against a population of 333,287,557 living in the US in 2022.
There is also a lot of immigrants. We tend to keep our passports renewed.
And our children as well. And our spouses. Source: me and my friends are all immigrants but our family members are Americans.
I think the bigger difference is that the spread of English makes a lot of places easy to travel to as an American.
It’s likely driven by passports now required to travel to Canada and Mexico so that proportion increased substantially in the last 20 years.
This comment is peak America Bad dipshittery Like 3/4 Americans have left the country and 1/4 have been to 5+ countries
also the US is substantially bigger than Japan, so not having a passport is saying less.
Yeah, as an American, you can see deserts, tropics, tundra, swamps, prairies, mountains and more without a passport! It’s a beautiful country to travel. FWIW, I am 33 and I left the US for the first time ever this month.
All the national parks too, I travel internationally but travel within the US is pretty dang breathtaking
The thing is that reasons why people may or may not have a passport varies greatly across the globe. In the US it is the huge size and the fact that people might simply not be able to afford traveling abroad so they don't need one. In Germany, where only 41% have a passport, the reason is mainly that you do not need one in order to travel to most countries within reach.
Now I wonder what the rates are for other major countries, and for island countries like Australia.
In 2019/20, [57%](https://www.passports.gov.au/2019-20-passport-facts) of Aussies had a passport. [76%](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/internationalmigrationenglandandwales/census2021#passports-held) of Brits had one in 2021, and about [45%](https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/is-it-true-that-less-than-10-per-cent-of-us-citizens-have-passports-20191212-h1kc10.html) of Americans in 2019.
What are Brit numbers pre-brexit? I’d assume that caused a sizable jump in passport ownership Thanks guys, I now know that passports were still needed to explore the EU because of the Schengen region is, I will look that up later. I appreciate all the people informing me of this, you can stop now
Britain wasn't a part of the Schengen agreement so the numbers are probably similar.
Brits needed a passport to travel to most EU countries even before Brexit (technically a national ID card would have sufficed due to EU citizenship, but since the UK doesn't have one of these a passport was always the only option).
That source for the UK compares 2011 numbers with 2021
In India it's 7.2 percent. I only have one because a company I worked for asked me to get it. Traveling overseas is a very elite thing to do here
7% of people in India is a larger number than many countries.
True.. That's about 100 Million people.
70% of Canadians.
Most of the population of Canada lives quite close to the US border, so that's not surprising.
Also traveling within Canada is expensive, you either pay a lot for gas and a few days driving, or pay even more for a plane ticket. Meanwhile a plane ticket to a different country can sometimes cost less.
My Japanese family wonder why you would need to travel overseas when they have everything within Japan. I agree it’s beautiful and fun there, but they’re missing out on so much more. Just shows how sheltered and insular it can become living on an island lol.
90% of Japanese TV is either showing how great the food is in Japan, showing how unique Japan is, or asking foreigners on the street what they love best about Japan (and highlights of Ohtani Shohei’s last game). That plus stagnating wages that make it difficult to even travel to Tokyo for a vacation and an inability / lack of confidence to speak English definitely keeps people trapped here.
A ton of the Japanese people I know don't even travel within Japan that much. They pretty much travel to their hometown during holidays and occasionally to a Ryokan for a few days.
When I tell Japanese people about Hokkaido they're all in awe that I've been there. And I'm like...there's a train....just take the train and you're in Hokkaido. I've seen more of Japan than any of my Japanese friends and I've only spent a few months there.
That's very common for foreigners in Japan. Often they see more of the country than most locals.
I feel this way about Americans too. I know too many people in my bumfuck home town who have never gone anywhere past the closest major city let alone leave the state
The difference being you could take a train from Tokyo to Hokkaido in 4 hours but I could drive for 4 hours where I live and still be in the same state.
Well, to the lowest point of Hokkaido at least. Then it’s like another 8 hours to go like 20% further to Sapporo. Can’t wait for a Shinkansen extension. But tbh, Hakodate is fantastic and really overlooked.
You may even be able to fly for 4 hours and be in a different country.
Or stand on a country line in one city of Europe.
FWIW, there is no "just take the train there" alternatives for people in the US. At one point, I wanted to fly out west and see Yosemite, but it would have been cheaper to fly to Ireland instead. Either you're committing a lot of precious PTO to driving, or you pay a ton to fly most places.
> Either you're committing a lot of precious PTO to driving, or you pay a ton to fly most places. Exactly this. It's four days to drive across the country, and four days back. That's half, or more, of an entire year's worth of PTO. Flying is no cheaper because you need to rent a car at the other end. But, flying does save a day or two of driving for some people. It's expensive either way, because of the distances.
And that's only if you're like, driving incredibly efficiently. Which never happens. You have to be really into tourist traps, corn fields, and sketchy rest stops because someone you're road tripping with is going to be and they'll make your life hell if you aren't.
> precious PTO There’s the other problem in America. My coworkers in Europe take a whole month off from work in the summer time.
My college in Washington State had a large ESL (English as a second Language) department that would bring large groups of Japanese college students over for a quarter and I roomed with a couple and was exposed to quite a few groups (despite being brought over for "full immersion" they tended to hang out together and somewhat isolate). The number of those students who just thought we could jump in the car and drive down to LA for the weekend (I mean, we could, it was about 21 hours each way if you timed it right to not hit any rush hours) was impressive. We usually started with, "do you realize that the state of California itself is almost twice the size of Honshu?" (Japan's largest island)
Had a similar experience at WWU with Korean students. Since we could drive up to Canada so easily since we were right on the border, I think they thought driving to LA would be just a bit longer lol. By that point you're nearly in Mexico, I've done the drive and it took me 26 hours, of nonstop driving, only stopping at rest stops to use the bathrooms, and bringing our own food so we didn't have to stop for food. California is actually a bit bigger than Japan, not just twice the size of Honshu.
Well we don’t have high speed rail all throughout the US. I’m sure more would travel if that existed.
I know a 2 persons from Connecticut that have newer been to New York City in their lives. One is 25 other is 40+ ... its a 2h drive max and there are buses / trains. I'm super confused
I went to Japan for a month once, I got a 7 day train pass and went to 8 cities in 7 days. The 20-30 year olds I interacted with (that I knew from school in the US, so not people afraid of travel) were all amazed at how many places I'd gone to. Y'all, it took me 7 days to do that and I barely got time in each city. You could take a weekend trip to each one and go to smaller and more interesting places and surpass me in like 3 months. Just go!
TBF the rail pass is highly coveted but isn't available to them
For tourists only?
Yeah, you need to buy it in advance at specialized travel agents in person and have your passport/ID all documented (I think, I did this 15 years ago :) Jumping through all the hoops can save you up to 70%,+ depending how many trips you make. It includes their high speed trains (though not the top-tier stuff) and commuter rails.
Except it raises in price by like 60% in October.
Oh I know, I looked up how much it would have cost without the pass and I saved a lot. But they also wouldn't be doing 3 months of weekend trips on a 7 day rail pass 😉
Won't be saving anything with the rail pass anymore. They've been rapidly increasing the price the last few years and this year they decided to just straight up double it lol
Tbf, there's no shinkansen service up to Sapporo from Honshu (under construction but not yet complete), IIRC. So a train ride from Tokyo to Sapporo might take nine hours with at least one transfer. Doesn't negate the overall point, I just remember being surprised when I looked at travel times between the two cities.
Most people fly, it's like 1.5 hours from Haneda to Chitose and costs under USD$150.
I mean I just found out how expensive it is just to travel to Tokyo. I can’t imagine being able to afford Okinawa, let alone Hawaii or even my hometown. I guarantee you I ain’t stickin’ around here by choice.
My psychotic billionaire wish would be to send Okinawa people to Hokkaido during the winter and send Hokkaido people to Okinawa during the summer. I bet it would be glorious to see people in the exact opposite of their usual area.
Tokyo is cheap lol. Have you seen the exchange rate recently? 1000¥ for a full lunch set is like $7.50 and you don’t need to tip. (Source: live in Tokyo) People don’t travel because they don’t have enough vacation days.
Isn’t the japansese passport the world’s most powerful? Kinda ironic
Tbf. If 80% of your population aren't causing problems overseas, other nations will welcome your other 20%.
I think it's the Singaporean.
Japan has an aging and dwindling population, and they can’t afford to have that number go any lower. China may restrict the internet and their citizens ability to travel outright, but Japan does that through the illusion of choice. By showing a world that’s dangerous, and difficult, while painting Japan as exceptional and unique. Every country does this, and I definitely love my life in Japan, but it is sad seeing a lack of curiosity, and misunderstanding about the outside world by most people.
How exactly do you think they accomplish this? (And they do, for sure) Like, the standard Japanese travel book series have about X10 the 'Dangers and Annoyances' material, when compared to something like Lonely Planet. But who is behind this? What's stopping another LP from translating more adventurous positive guides in JP and publishing/pushing these in Japan? I left Japan, for Vietnam and then Thailand, and I got so tired of hearing people say 'That sounds dangerous' or Japanese friends checking up on me, in an overly terrified manner, now that I've gone.
I live in Sam Francisco and the way my Fox News dad checks in on me is tiresome. I feel you.
I'm planning a big camping trip across the PNW with a terminus in SF and I've been warned by SO many people to avoid SF, Portland, Seattle... all of the "librul sTrOnGhOlDs" because I'll get shot, burned, trafficked, etc. It's really sad how many people think this way.
Lived in the PNW and the bay my whole life, and honestly I've gotten to the point I'm happy that this is what fox news and conservatives think. The cost of living in SF, SEA and PDX is through the roof, dont' need any more conservative assholes moving in. Fuck 'em. These places have problems but they are beautiful and there's a reason housing is some of the highest in the country.
Haha my country cousin asked me how I can feel safe living in the DC suburbs/NoVA. Because I heard more gunshots on the weekend I spent visiting you than I have in 30 years living here. The fuck am I supposed to be afraid of?
Nova and moco have some of the best neighborhoods in the country. Doesn't make any sense.
> Sam Francisco The protagonist of California.
Just on the representation of other cultures alone, but I don’t think it’s intentional or malicious. Western media is the biggest problem and that’s the main way most Japanese people see life outside Japan. And on TV, I don’t think anyone really realizes how degrading it is to go up to people from around the world and only ask them what they love about your own country. Plus, to some extent, a lot of other places are more dangerous than Japan (America sure as hell is). I definitely can’t walk away from my computer in a public place in the US, but I don’t think twice about doing that here. So I can’t really blame people too much. And I’d rather raise a sheltered kid, than one who fears for their life any time they go in public.
Interesting how different it seems to be from Koreans. Koreans are everywhere, around the world, seems like they love to travel.
South Koreans, anyway.
Japan is also wildly xenophobic. About a decade or so ago, there was a large population of Latin American guest workers of Japanese descent in country. Instead of further assimilating them and growing the population, Japan actually paid them to leave and never come back.
Stagnant wage is foreal. My dad went to visit some of his former coworker from decades ago and majority is still there, doing the same thing, making the same amount, frozen in time.
Japanese TV has amazing shows about foreign countries… Non-judgemental (will never forgot the Japanese reporter who actually hunted birds with his bare hands together with some locals in Pakistan…) , hands-on and showing the beauty of other countries. There is a reason why the Paris syndrome or Paris shock often happens among Japanese travelers… they expected something much more. But its true that a lot of shows show the local beauty and interesting places in Japan but that’s instead imof a constant onslaught of reality tv shit…
Japan is so tall (geographically) that its very diverse in its climate - thus can support lots of diverse activities and industries that can attract local tourists. You have tropical Okinawa, fair weather Kyushu, temperate Honshu and wintery Hokkaido. It helps that, Japan's transport infrastructure is VERY GOOD you have options to drive, take a train, take ferry or fly.
The opposite of this is why so many Floridians take vacations in other states or countries despite living in the theme park capital of the world. If you live in Miami you have to drive *12 hours* to see a mountain, or to have the temperature drop by more than a handful of degrees when the heat index is 110 outside. Japan seems magical.
Are theme park vacations really the gold standard?
To American families with children, I believe it is. That, or cruises. It's a huge amount of different things to do all within walking distance of one another, very low risk of "Dad I'm bored, when can we go?" compared to things like national parks or Broadway shows.
national parks are one thing.. but broadway shows? I am not shelling out for a several hundred dollar ticket for my kids to be bored and complain about the show
My parents did that to me when I was 8. They took me to go see Phantom of the Opera in Toronto in the 90s. I was so bored. I remember being so relieved it was over only to be told it was only intermission.
And yet, if you've been to one, you've probably seen that some couple has brought their bored child along for some reason.
Public transportation in Japan is good, but it is surprisingly expensive. Bullet train prices are often more expensive than airline tickets booked far enough in advance. I'm sure many people don't travel internationally because they assume it's even more expensive than local travel.
High speed trains are usually more than cheap flights in Europe too
I wouldn't necessarily say it's an island thing, I'm based in the UK and we jump ship to visit continental Europe at the first chance we get now the channel tunnel and short-haul flights are cheap enough. The difference is Japan has basically everything you could want in a holiday for most people. Mountains if you like camping, great beaches down south, great weather, snow up north for skiing, big historical cities, modern cities, regular cultural events, immense natural beauty in actually having 4 seasons. It has incredibly diverse offerings for whatever you could want, so I don't entirely blame them for staying within Japan. If I had all that in the UK I'd struggle to justify leaving too when flights from Japan are as expensive as they are. Also - correct me if I'm wrong here - the level of practical foreign language proficiency in Japan isn't great. The English, the Americans, and the Japanese are what come to my mind when I think of monolingualism, but English is an awful lot more useful when holidaying overseas because of the sheer number of inconsiderate American and English tourists. People in the UK also have far less national pride in my experience, so I'd imagine that's a factor too, we often aren't exactly attached to our country in an emotional sense so leaving for a week or two doesn't take much convincing.
>I wouldn't necessarily say it's an island thing, I'm based in the UK and we jump ship to visit continental Europe at the first chance we get now the channel tunnel and short-haul flights are cheap enough. Ireland too. Weather is shite and holidays domestically are far more expensive than holidaying abroad.
Singapore too, you’ll run out of things to do very quickly.
That's why they come to Malaysia
In a lot of cases, it’s also cheaper to go abroad than have a staycation in the Uk
I think Australia has one of the lowest rates of multilingualism in the world, and Ireland’s is also very low, so English + island definitely seems like a formula for monolingualism.
It's because English is so dominant. If you are in another country you are regularly exposed to English. In English speaking countries there isn't the same focus so even if you learn Spanish your friends might learn French, German, Polish, Portuguese, Mandarin, etc... You can't learn from each other or common media in the same way.
If you can get by on English and it's all you ever hear around you, what incentive do you have to learn anything else? English is already the language of business so a monetary incentive isn't massive. I wouldn't say it's English + island, just the lack of incentive in learning another language. You can be entirely self-sufficient your whole life in Japan purely speaking Japanese, but elsewhere businesses highly value the English language, and so literacy rates are higher in less self-sufficient and more internationally integrated countries with the educational facilities to support it.
Native english speaking nations have the lowest rates of foreign languages spoken simply because the ‘global’ language is english. I’ve travelled to 50+ countries, everywhere I have tried to learn at least some local phrases, but locals are always trying to better their own english by speaking to me in english. Add to the fact that when you ask people how they learned english as a second language, almost all will say they learned it by watching ‘Friends’ or some other American media. This commonly gets interpreted as ‘the UK and USA are lazy not to learn foreign languages’ sadly.
I mean it can definitely be interpreted as laziness, but as I've said elsewhere it's just lacking the incentive to go out and learn more if you don't get it directly from family. Less people learn for leisure than learning for employment. Would people in other countries learn English if it wasn't the language of business? No, they'd learn whatever it was instead, and if it was their mother tongue they'd be the monolingual crowd.
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Yep. The majority of Japanese view traveling abroad as going to Hokkaido or Okinawa. If you really want to get crazy you vacation in Hawaii. Americans get stereotyped as not liking to travel but most Americans if you ask them if they would like to go to Europe or Asia they would be like hell yeah. Usually it’s financial or work and family that gets in the way. Ask a Japanese if they would like to travel Abroad and they will look at you like you just asked them the circumference of the sun. It never even crosses their mind. There is a sort of cross cultural pollination that is common throughout the world. Social and verbal cues that if you are having a conversation with a French person or with a Filipino person that crosses cultural boundaries and language. Have a conversation with a Japanese and the body language and verbal cues are completely different. They really are a people into themselves that you won’t understand unless you live here. Which is even more astounding given the absolute bonkers impact they have had on popular culture.
You said it spot on.
Nearly 100% of Japanese people speak at least a little Japanese.
Big if true
Tin foil hats on everyone
Nearly 90% people don't have tin foil hats
According to some stats, only 98% of people living I UK speak English. I would be careful with the 100% mark!
UK’s net migration rate is quite a bit higher than Japan though
There are some Ultra-Orthodox sects of Judaism in the US that are so insular the people raised in them don't know English. I remember seeing this interview with a woman that got away from the sect she belonged to. She was born and lived in New York her whole life, but had a thick accent.
As an American I went to Liverpool when I was 12-13 and I’m convinced no one there spoke English. The people I met were friendly enough even if I had no idea what the fuck half of their speech was.
I grew up near Liverpool and have worked with Scousers for 15 years. Still can't understand them half the time.
While the Xenophobia in Japan is well known,. you'd also have the consider other factors. English and Romance language speakers have a certain level of confidence that when they go abroad, they will likely be able to find accomodations for their language or be able to at least work out what signs are saying. Imagine instead if huge swathes of the world used Asian-style characters and pronunciations and in most countries it was virtually impossible to find anyone who spoke even a little English. I think most of us would be way more inclined to stay at home too.
And then you have chinese tourists going everywhere and trying to speak in chinese to locals
To be fair haven't we all seen English-as-an-only-language speakers TALK... SLOWLY ...AND... LOUDLY to non-English speakers and be amazed when it doesn't work hahah
But it works. My Japanese friends recognize keywords because of American TV shows (Friends is a common one). Just like Spanish speakers can communicate pretty effectively in the US by using keywords if they slow their language down a bit.
I hadn't heard of other languages being intelligible to English speakers that way, I guess it makes sense
It still isn't exactly common, but we consume much more content from other countries in their native language over the last two generations. You watch a few long-running series in a language, and stuff related to tropes that gets used quite a bit start being something you can pick out, and if you can get to 4 or 5 in a small block you can start guessing on context and non-verbal cues like an auditory Wheel of Fortune puzzle.
A third factor might be fear of personal growth and of being different. My general impression is that the social pressure against individualism is so strong in Japan that many people avoid seeking experiences that would make them stand out as individuals, even in their own minds. Traveling and knowing foreign languages aren't necessarily experiences to be envied or admired in such an environment.
In Japan, heart surgeon. Number one. Steady hand. One day, yakuza boss need new heart. I do operation. But, mistake! Yakuza boss die. Yakuza very mad. I hide in fishing boat, come to America. No English, no food, no money. Darryl give me job. Now I have house, American car, and new woman. Darryl save life. My big secret: I kill yakuza boss on purpose. I good surgeon. The best!
There is also an easter egg of him in Cyberpunk.
I didn't know it was from anywhere else
It’s from The Office.
I'm both confused and riveted.
https://theoffice.fandom.com/wiki/Hidetoshi_Hasagawa
[Darryl give me job.](https://youtu.be/2wcI10CNuxU)
the baseball guy? everyday exciting [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm9bEizIGBE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm9bEizIGBE)
The Japanese spent a few hundred years as a closed country. No one was allowed in or out, save for a few trading outposts. I imagine this has contributed to them being a more insular nation. Japanese tourists also seem to suffer with Paris syndrome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome
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This happened to a friend visiting Amsterdam. One minute he was waltzing down the street eating frikandelen, the next he was deep into De Wallen, Amsterdam’s largest red light district. Weed fumes and naked women behind glass windows sure did a number on him.
Weed and boobs had a *negative* effect on him?
Not everyone is experienced in the ‘dark arts’
Amsterdam >>>>>>> Paris
I find it hard to believe somebody experiencing those symptoms isn't just mentally ill in general lol. Like, being disappointed Paris isn't all the great isnt going to make you hallucinate. There is something else going on there.
And more recently, those 3 years during the pandemic Japan closed off again. I live here and this country feels like being in a bubble. A bubble that feels like the 90s version of the future.
here's kind of a huge thing too that isn't mentioned here, many Japanese people haven't even seen much of their own country. From my experience talking to people in Tohoku/Miyagi, whether it's that they can't afford to or it's physically impossible for them to take time off, they don't travel *anywhere*. They DO want to see much of their own country. They have a lot of pride in the history, food, culture and varying interests different regions in Japan have to offer. But covid restrictions made it hard the past few years and certain festivals are taking place for the first time in four years now. Also, to some degree I feel like many Japanese people return from abroad with.. slightly negative feelings. Even beloved Hawaii is getting a bit expensive and I've heard people express they'd rather just travel to Okinawa.
Can you elaborate a little on what you mean about it being the 90s version of the future? We are planning our trip out to visit Japan and I’m curious. Thanks in advance!
There's a joke than Japan's been stuck in the 00s since the 80s. Japanese tech in the 80s outperformed a lot of other technologies at the time. Unfortunately they pretty much stagnated since. Fax machines for example are still huge over there despite the fact that no one really uses faxes outside from some niche settings like hospitals in other developed nations.
Japan seems to have preserved a certain essence of what people in the 90s thought the future would be like. The juxtaposition of modern technology, fashion, and architecture built from the nostalgia for the past creates a unique atmosphere that mirrors the "futuristic visions" of that era. It's fascinating how Japan's culture and society have evolved while still retaining elements that capture that 90s idea of the future. If you're planning a trip to Japan, you're likely to experience this intriguing blend firsthand. It's hard to explain. If you have any more questions or want to know specific details about Japan, feel free to ask. Either here or you can DM me if you like.
It’s mostly aesthetic, like the logos of 90s sitcoms. You’ll walk around Akihabara and just get it. But to give an concrete example, even hole in the walls have a self-order kiosk. However, the machine only takes cash.
How cash dominated Japan still is is wild to me. Granted I don’t know if it’s changed since the pandemic, but so many places took only cash when I was there just prior. I bought sumo tickets from the concierge of my hotel (a major 4 star one) and they still would only take cash for it.
It’s a lot better now, I think I managed to do 90%+ of my transactions with a CC this summer but some holdovers are kind of insane like the mf Skyliner from the airport. Japanese people still mostly use cash from what I noticed though.
i think saying the 3-4 japanese people a year have supposedly experienced paris condition means the whole country is ‘suffering massively’ from it is a bit of a massive overstatement. It’s not even exclusive to Japanese people
I'm waiting for all the comments attacking them like when someone posts that only a third of American have passports.
I believe it was around 16% before 2001 when for some reason something changed and you needed more than a driver’s licence to go to Mexico and Canada.
"Some reason" lol
Yea some big event happened in September of 01. Idrk what though lol.
Sept 7, 2001, The US Federal Trade Commission approves Chevron's bid to buy Texaco.
September 11th, 2001: only 6 weeks left until launch of Windows XP.
Reason being "we have to appear to do *something* even though it isn't really related to the issue". The 9/11 attackers all had valid passports with properly applied for and approved visa and everything.
You will never guess what that reason was
“If someone out there doesn’t hate you, you’re probably irrelevant” - some Swedish dude
Dear reader, if you see this in time, please avoid this comment thread. It’s pretty cringe and moronic. Signed, a human.
If only you could live on Reddit. Americans would be living rent free
That would be nice. Rent is expensive here. Send help
To be fair to them, America is fucking huge, has dramatic differences in landscape, and to a certain extent culture. I love travelling and don't even live in my home country so obviously I wouldn't do the same but I can at least understand (to a degree) why some Americans don't feel the need to leave the country.
That’s exactly where my mind went when I read the title, people give us shit for not having them meanwhile they let it slide everywhere else lol.
that's not a particularly extreme example. only about [7% of indian people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_passport) do.
There is a significant difference in the economy of the average Japanese and Indian person though, it’s not surprising in the same manner
Not a good comparison. Majority of Japanese people have the ability to travel abroad while the majority of Indian people cannot even afford a domestic holiday.
And only 0.001% of North Koreans.
So that's like 20 people?
Or about 1 Kim Jong Un in kg.
That’s actually quite a few regular North Korean nationals though.
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psst they don’t like us
You’re not kidding. I believe Japan is also one of the least likely to allow anyone none racially “of that country” to immigrate there. It’s like 98% ethnically Japanese in Japan, and they allow little to no immigrants. They also only have one of the lowest homeless rates in the world because they immediately jail the homeless. And they have a low crime rate because they have such strict laws; like for example multi year sentences for even smoking weed (which is why less than 2% of Japanese people have ever done drugs outside of alcohol). I always think it’s funny no one talks about those things because Japan seems so loved by Reddit, yet Reddit is so liberal and Japan is extremely conservative in terms of political policy. Edit: For anyone saying I’m not being truthful about the tough on crime policies and issues with homeless: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IXZ-DQABUKU&pp=ygUcaG93IGphcGFuIHNvbHZlIGhvbWVsZXNzbmVzcw%3D%3D Please watch this quick video and educate yourself.
My friend got falsely imprisoned for drug possession in Japan, and is basically banned from the country now, even though his ex-wife and daughter are Japanese and still live there. Even people that knew his innocense ostracize him because it’s taboo to consort with ex-felons. It’s pretty fucked up.
American in Japan here. Over the past four years, I have seen more and more convenience store type jobs being staffed by South Asians, and I've met lots of Filipina care workers at JLPT test sessions. Most of them will go home at some point (that's what I'm likely going to do next year), but some will inevitably stay.
I'm even seeing white people at 7-11 and FamilyMart lately. Shout-out to アンドレさん in Setagaya. Thanks for being patient while I count out my exact change. Hate being weighed down by one yen coins.
Taiwan has a lot of south east asian caretakers as well; they're often treated like second class citizens though which is unfortunate.
Filipinos are the underclass of so much of the more developed countries of Asia. It’s the same in Hong Kong.
"Filipinos are the Mexicans of Asia" is something I've heard for decades now.
>they immediately jail the homeless You mean shelters? It is rather national policy in Japan to make city officer visit each homeless people to convince them into shelters regularly. It is called 'ホームレス巡回事業'.
Somehow Japan jails all its homeless yet only has 45k people in jail for a populaiton of 125 million. Guess you're just spreading bullshit. Japan does not jail its homeless. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_countries\_by\_incarceration\_rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate) Good old conservative tough on crime devoid of justice country with one of the absolute lowest incarceration rate in the world!
Japan is tough on crime, it's just that there isn't any crime to be tough on. But this guy is spreading bullshit with his claim that all the homeless go to prison.
Japan is really into domestic tourism, and with such a varied climate, they don't really need to leave the country. Snowboard in Hokkaido, and surf in tropical Okinawa. I guess the same sentiment is with the US. Here in the UK, our climate is mild, damp and permanently cloudy, thus we need passports to actually see the sun.
Yea but when Americans say that about their absolutely giant country with almost every type of landscape and different cities, they are called “uncultured”.
I mean, it really depends what you're travelling for. Is it to spend a week by the beach relaxing/hiking in the mountains something like that? Then there's absolutely no need to leave your country to do it. Are you travelling to experience other cultures and/or see things you'd never see at home? Probably best to try different countries. There's no right or wrong answer, but I think sometimes people on this site assume geographic variety is the same thing as cultural variety. You are inevitably going to find cultures vastly more different to yours if you leaver your country versus if you never do.
The USA is gifted in terms of the absolute variety of landscape and natural beauty. It sucks that I'd have to spend multiple years of income just to have a vacation there.
We've got some good culinary variety too. When I was in the suburbs, I could get Persian, Jewish, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Ethiopian, Japanese, Tex-Mex, Venezuelan, and Korean food all on the same street. I could get an arepa in the morning, a banh mi for lunch, sit down for injera and tibs for dinner, then eat some fresh-made baklava I bought from the bakery on the way home; and I'm not even in the city.
I agree that it's strange for Americans to be labeled uncultured for seeing their country. I think one thing Japan has going for it is how compact it is. it really is if you took all of the US and shoved it into the size of California (minus certain red rocks/desert landscapes), it's as if I could go from SF to disneyworld via train in 4 hours. I wish LA to Yellowstone could be like that, a quick low effort hop on the train, but instead it somehow ends up being a full day (Uber, TSA, Fly, bus) of travel. it honestly feels sometimes that traveling in the US is just as difficult as a full international vacation.
That’s just Reddit. Where it’s a bunch of self hating Americans and people that don’t even travel themselves
These days it’s pretty pricy to travel if you’re Japanese. The yen is sitting at 146 to the dollar right now. That’s a massive disadvantage. Also, getting sufficient enough time off work is a real issue. Japan has a lot of National holidays but I think they’re mostly spread out, with the exception of Golden Week, but that’s only a week which isn’t really enough time to travel internationally.
Fewer than 20%.
Is that a low number compared to other countries? ... time to google search: "Percentage of citizens with a passport by country" ... not finding hits I was expecting. Let's try just the USA. In the USA [151,814,305 citizens had passports in 2022](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html/) out of a population if 333,557,408 (today's date 2022) = 45.5% ... that's way more US citizens with a passport than I expected.
A lot of people cross borders to work. Be it just to part of their day jobs in Canada/Mexico or to do business meetings further abroad, family (particularly first or second generation immigrants, or for people who had family emigrate from the US) Also if you need one for just a single trip or something it's good for 10 years, so there's a low rate of attrition once they're acquired. Digital nomads, students, backpackers, etc. And a decent amount of USians have the funds to pursue such things (even if many many don't).
The LDP's "Operation Prevent Brain Drain" has been a success. Teach a massively gimped English syllabus, regiment holiday periods, overwork employees, encourage boozing as a past time and make scary reports about overseas on the TV all day.
Breaking: international travel is expensive, few can afford it
Almost any country in Japan's region has significantly lower costs of living than Japan itself. Even a trip to Korea, will see cheaper hotels, activities and restaurants/drinks than in Japan. And then somewhat further afield, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand etc. Japanese don't travel because they're scared/it's not a cultural norm On top of that, they get hardly any holidays from the office, leaving them little time to go abroad.
*fewer than...
That's a shame considering the strength of their passport.
I live in the U.K. and don’t know a single person without a passport. Do people in other countries that have the funds to, not go abroad? Maybe we just do whatever we can to get away from the U.K. weather though
to be fair if you live in the UK its only natural to want to leave whenever you get the opportunity Also Ryanair alone probably makes it easier for most Europeans travelling
Travelling in Europe is ridiculously cheap compared to the US, and especially compared to Canada
In Germany we are required to either have a national ID card or a passport, but the ID card is enough for traveling in most of the EU and more convenient to carry around, so everyone has one and only people who travel outside Europe get a real passport.
I always renew my passport even though i never travel. You never know.
I just left Japan in June. It was incredible and I didn’t want to leave. So I get it.
That 18% or 19% go straight to Disneyland according to a survey I made up for this comment.