Culture Shocks | JAPAN vs ITALY

Going from Japan to Italy (Naples) was an experience all in its own... and with it came some amazing experiences and culture shocks.

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[TokyoLens]

An amazing 3 days. Ever Been to Europe? Live in Europe?
Don't live anywhere near Europe!?!?
Let me know what you think below!

[noxiousbloom]

i'm italian and i was wandering where this guy was. Then the family on the scooter without helmet immediatly gave me the answer

[vp]

In Japan, road signs are rules. In Italy, they are suggestions.

[hlb]

The thing about italy is that in general there is not one italy, but many; essentially every region is a bit different from the other, and if you want to find the most clear differences, the respect of everyday rules between (very, very coarse-grained approximation) the north and the south is quite different (living in the north, even if it's not the extreme north, I can tell you it's a long time since I've seen someone crossing a railway and not wearing an helmet, etc; the "competitive" approach to driving and "creativity" in parking are quite a bit more common, tho);

but actually it's only a first approximation, since once one gets more familiar, would notice the big differences between e.g. Sicily and Neaples area or Puglia, etc. There's also another rule of thumb: that major towns tend to be also different from the region they're in, approaching things a bit (in case of Rome and Naples, ...quite a bit more) "their ways". Naples itself has good reasons for being an exceptional case: was a capital (in many aspects, a much more culturally developed one) before being incorporated by the Pedmont conquest, that was comparatively very well trained in the military and efficient, but much less nuanced and refined, than e.g. Naples. Ex-capitals usually have a hard time being "demoted" (everywhere), and in terms of italian history, it happened "yesterday"; this in part contributes fueling the local pride too; Naples has a fully fledged language too, distinct from standardized italian, and its existence (despite the name Nea-Polis, that is "the New Town") predates the one of Rome. Everything is a little bit... complicated :)

Despite living in what could be consideread an "unfinished country" tho, italians are bound together by many things, including the love for life and a particularly warm, gentle (in particular, visual) aesthetics that focus on the human experience, and a long, long history; if you'll ever get the chance to come back I hope you'll happen to have some more days to "sample" the place, I think you'll be surprised by many more things, and I wouldn't be surprised to discover that you share some remote cultural roots with us

[antoniousai]

I mean, I'm Italian and I feel the culture shock as well when I get to Naples ahahahah

[martinarizzalli]

Ahahahah speaking as an Italian, all of this culture shock came from Naples so.... not all Italy is like that 😂😂😂 I'm from Milan and we kind follow all the rules

[personalcontrasts]

01:24 you would regularly have a heart attack in Bangkok my friend. You will see an entire family on one scooter with their shopping bags left and right 🤣

[krimzon]

Helmets are optional in Texas. It’s common to see people going 75 mph (120 km/h) on the interstate without a helmet. They’re usually suburbanites going through mid-life crisis though. Bike gangs wear helmets pretty regularly.

[elenabenedetti]

Actually that's just people from Naples (or the south of Italy in general) that act like that. Try going to Milan, and it's a completely different world.
I get culture shock too seeing how people act in Naples and I'm italian LOL

[bestiediananas]

In Italy the more you go south the more driving gets worse...and Naples is pure anarchy. I think for pizza it's the opposite

[PlanetNIHON]

I thought for a second I was watching a cleaner version of my country Egypt
People smoking once they get off the train/bus? too lazy to use the stairs to cross the train tracks so why not cross over quickly before the train arrives?
No HELMETS whatsoever and definitely no rules on the number of ppl riding a scooter/motorcycle
parking in the middle of the street like it's no one's business

It's all normal in my hometown Egypt

[cheriestl]

As an American living in France for college (years ago), I was in constant awe of the age of everything. I stayed in a building that was build 200 years before our “Independence” in 1776. I touched Roman ruins. Amazing. I imagine you get to experience some pretty old buildings in Japan, too.

[JaysMackie]

I spent about 3 months in Italy for work. I loved the cities at night. After all day absorbing the heat, the cobbles and old buildings slowly release the warmth plus it seemed like the energy of centuries of continuous use. There seemed to be an vitality there even when it was empty of other people.
It may just have been a pack of stray cats stalking me for their next meal. Many cats, especially Milan Castle, it is battalioned by cats (little know fact I might have just made up, but there were enough of them).

[vp]

BTW, there's an iconic B&W photograph by the famous photographer, Bruno Barby, showing an entire Italian family on a single scooter. I'd never imagined it still goes on today.

[mariram]

I live in Northern Italy (Trentino) and people here know how to park and how to safely ride bicycles or motorbikes. But also here there are dogs on the balconies :D

[kirinnagura]

I’m from the UK which is probably comparable to Canada in terms of strictness of rules. A lot of the things in Italy aren’t much different but 100% no crossing train tracks 😱

[patrycjawrobel]

It is so funny that, as a European that have visited Italy multiple times, all that things are so normal for me. It’s so interesting to see someone else’s perspective.
Rewatching old videos on the recovery - day 2.

[MidoriViolet]

I'm glad you enjoyed Napoli! Yes, these things happen here (except crossing the railroads... Very very strange, maybe there was an explanation) but they are not the norm as someone could think. If a policeman cought you without helmet o with babies on the scooter, It will cost you a lot, in some cases also the driving license

[Cosmopavone]

Italians have culture shock too when they go to Naples.

[DoMiNoE]

XD yeah I live in Italy. If there are signs a lot of people won't follow them, we cross everywhere regardless of whether there are any zebra crossings, queueing doesn’t really exist(especially when ordering a coffee) just like personal space, everyone is loud, smokers smoke everywhere, a lot of people smoke in the toilets of the train. I just came back from Japan where everything seems so calm and peaceful...I had a bit of a cultural shock readjusting to all this xD!!!