Full name: Pham Hong Anh

Group: QH2013.E16
Subject: Intercultural Communication
Project: End-of-term essay assignment
Topic: Intercultural reflection
Two Causes of Culture Shock in Japan: Stereotyping and Culture
Differences between Japan and Vietnam
When moving out of their homeland and encountering with
different cultures, it is common case that most people have to confront
with a situation called culture shock. In 2011, I had the opportunity to
participate in an exchange program in Japan and gain some experience
about culture shock. Personally speaking, culture shock mainly occurred
due to subjective reason - stereotyping and objective one the cultural
differences between Japanese and Vietnamese cultures. This paper will be
an analysis of my own untold stories in Japan about culture shock
through the prism of intercultural communication. Several key terms like
culture shock, stereotyping, proxemics will be found throughout this
essay.
To begin with, as cited by Flanja (2009), Oberg (1954, 1960)
claims that culture shock occurs when people interact with members of a
very different culture and experience a loss of control. This happens when
they cannot understand the behavior of the people from the other culture.
'Then they feel confused and develop both physical (e.g., asthma,
headaches) and psychological (e.g., depression) symptoms." It can be
implied that culture shock can happen to anyone constantly having to deal
with new perception and difficult cultural concepts of an unfamiliar
environment. With all these strangeness and difficulties, people suffering

from culture shock can be compared with fish out of water (CUC107
Cultural Intelligence and Capabilities, n.d.). Flanja (2009) also listed four
stages of culture shock in her article: the "honeymoon" stage, the "crisis"
stage, the "recovery" or "gradual adjustment" stage, the "complete
adjustment" or the "biculturalism".
Fortunately, since the exchange program in Japan only lasted
eleven days, I was still in honeymoon phrase and did not reach crisis
stage yet. My experience is the same as what Flanja (2009) characterizes
in her writing [] euphoria, excitement, fascination, and enthusiasm.
Positive attitudes predominate. This trip was my first time going abroad,
therefore I was literally wowed by every Japanese things such as high
quality infrastructure, Japanese foods, automatic-door taxi, the hospitality
of Japanese people, Tokyo Dome hotel, modern bidet toilets and old-style
houses in Fukuoka. I was very excited and eager to learn about Japan; it
was even more impressive when I could feel its culture with all five
senses than watching some program about it on television. Thus, my
experience of culture shock were merely several embarrassing moments.
As mentioned above, from my perspective, stereotyping is
considered one of the main reasons causing culture shock. Lustig and
Koester (2010) define it as a form of generalization about some group of
people (p.152). It can be understood as preconception or expectation that
people have about a particular group of people. Stereotypes are generally
understood as irrationally based negative attitudes about certain social
groups and their members. (Lehtonen, n.d.) For instance, in Japan,
people with big noticeable tattoos are often thought to be related to
gangsters or criminals, therefore they are denied from taking onsen
(which means hot springs in japanese) (Kashiwaya Magazine, n.d.).

From my viewpoint, my case of stereotyping was pretty harmless.

Back to the time I was in grade 11, when I was still restricted from using
the Internet by my parents, comics, manga and television documentary
programs are the sources that I used to access the knowledge about Japan.
My stereotype about Japanese peoples cleanliness originated from the
famous Japanese manga series Doraemon of Fujiko Fujio that I have
read since I was in primary school. I stereotype Japanese peoples
preference of cleanliness after the character Shizuka, who has the hobby
of taking baths multiple times per day because she likes being clean. As a
result, although having been told by the host that they usually took a
shower before respectively taking a bath, I was still shocked when finding
out that the water in one bathtub is for the whole family to use.
Eventually, my Vietnamese fellows and I chose to experience the public
onsen as we did not want to impede the daily routines of our host
family. At the onsen, we went through the same process of taking
shower then taking bath in the hot springs.
From this example, I learned that stereotyping resulted in my
incomplete understanding of Japanese people and culture. The fact about
Japaneses preference of cleanliness is still valid; however, my
preconception base on the manga and my own culture was not correct, as
I failed to associate with other Japanese values. On one hand, this practice
dated back to ancient history, when It was common for communities to
bathe together in sento baths (Spacey, 2015). On the other hand,
Japanese society is often depicted as frugal, which mean people tend to
be economical in all areas of life, especially resources. Although my
experience of stereotyping was innocuous, I still regret that the
fragmented view created by stereotype hindered me from experiencing
the local culture. International students and tourists should bear in mind

that stereotyping can be deceptive and negative, hence it is crucial to keep

our mind opened to new cultural aspects so as to fully experience and
enjoy new cultures.
Another key factor provoking culture shock is cultural difference.
Due to limited length, this paper only discusses about differences in
proxemics the orientation of using personal space. Edward Hall, as
cited in Lustig and Koester (2010), divides personal space into four
spatial zones or distance ranges: intimate, personal, social, and public
(p.208). In other words, people are encircles with personal space
bubbles (Lustig & Koester, 2010, p.208) of different sizes according to
the relationship. For example, the intimate space bubble can be found
among lovers or between two fighters. At the other end of the spectrum, it
is expected that public or social bubbles are respected among strangers,
although it is hard to keep distance in crowded places such as train or bus.
I could not help but feeling quite lonely in Japan as most Japanese
seem to enjoy being inside their personal bubbles. While I was travelling
by train, I noticed several Japanese immersing in their books. They barely
talked to other passengers, and if they had to talk, they tried to speak as
briefly as possible. The invisible personal space bubble could be felt
easily in this case. Another example is that in Japan, many people
wearing masks. Although the main reason is to prevent illness from
spreading, some my Japanese fellows from Hibiki high school, Fukuoka
confessed to us that the masks gave them a sense of personal space. In
contrast, Vietnamese people are quite open. Many of them, particularly
the elders, can easily start a conversation with strangers in public places.
Nowadays, for fear of criminals, this practice is less seen in Vietnam.
Personally speaking, I actually enjoy having personal space
bubbles like Japanese people. It may be irritating sometimes when people

in Vietnam try to strike up an unwanted conversation, especially when

you are in a hurry or just want to enjoy the silence. However, if this
practice is done excessively, the whole society will appear to be cold and
anti-social, which is quite not tourist-friendly. It is suggested that verbal
and nonverbal factors such as facial expressions, body movements or
voice tone should be pay attention to when having a conversation. If
people show sign of reluctance or avoidance, they want their personal
space bubble to be respected.
To wrap up, although stereotyping and cultural differences may be
the hindrance to a newcomer to adapt and adjust in a culture, there are
still many ways to avoid them. As stated in the famous proverb: When
in Rome, do as the Romans do, observation and imitation are important
when encountering new cultures. Furthermore, it is recommend that being
open-minded can help overcome hidden stereotypes. Finally, being eager
to try and not afraid of failure is the fastest way to lead newcomers to
adjustment and adaptation into new cultures.
(1299 words)

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