4 Things Traveling Americans Can Learn from the Japanese

Four weeks ago I traveled from Japan back to America, and the return was abrupt. Haneda airport was clean, efficient, and on schedule. The Dallas airport? A completely different story.

I traveled again over Thanksgiving, flying to Virginia to visit family. On the trip home, I noticed a few small things about my fellow Americans–not everyone, but some–that we could learn from the Japanese. I mean this quite literally: Take a trip to Japan, and I think you’ll return as a more considerate, more self-aware person in regards to how your actions impact those around you.

1. If you’re listening to something on your phone, use headphones. In Japan, with thousands of people crowded together in a small space, the subway is nearly silent. Every person on the train who is on their phone either has the sound off or has headphones/earbuds. Contrast that to our experience in several airports in the US: People are watching TikTok videos with full sound and yelling into the phone with the other person on speaker.
2. If you’re sick, wear a mask. This is a choice that people in Japan made long before COVID, and the practice persists. What’s more considerate than not spreading disease? Yet on multiple flights in the US since returning, I’ve sat within a few feet of people who are consistently coughing and sneezing. We wore masks on the US flights even without being sick.
3. Throw away your trash. One of the miracles of Japan is that despite a lack of public trash cans, there’s no trash anywhere. Even when I attended the soccer game in Kawasaki, everyone picked up their trash afterwards and delivered it to a few volunteers waiting with trash bags by the exit. In America, trash is everywhere: On the road, in the airport, on sidewalks, in parks, etc.
4. Stop at red lights. This may seem like a no-brainer, but in certain parts of St. Louis it’s incredibly common to see cars go through red lights, and not just at the last minute. Contrast this to Japan, where people will politely wait for the green light to cross a one-lane street. Necessary? No. But it’s one of the rules we opt into when we decide to live in a civilized society with each other.

I really don’t mean to rant about Americans, nor am I saying the Japanese are perfect. I’m one of us too, and I’ve absolutely made mistakes that have impacted the people around me. But Japan really inspired me to be a better American. I hope others can travel there to see how these little things add up to make a huge difference.