Japanese hospitality in general is much better than in NZ, but the lack of human emotion can be painful at times. In NZ, people are less fake, meaning that you can usually tell straight away how they are feeling, whether they really want to be in their position, or whether they’re just passing the motions. In Japan, it’s as if the staff are acting the whole time, and it’s hard to tell whether they are acting or not.

This is perfectly fine for places like convenience stores, and other menial jobs, but when it comes to jobs that you would want human emotion in, when they actually put some emotion into it, it can seem fake. And sometimes, it comes back to you too. What I’m explaining is called ‘Tatemae’, or putting on a face. In this world where acknowledgement of Tatemae exists, you begin to really doubt other people’s sincerity, and so it really takes a lot of effort to convince someone of your sincerity.

But now that I think of it, that can’t be a bad thing, can it? If you truly are sincere, which you should be at all times, people should be able to pick up on that.