A Japanese exchange student living in New York City has spoken out openly about the massive “culture shock” she experienced after moving to America – pointing out all the major differences between the two countries, including the “hugging culture” of the US . ‘small talk’ and huge amounts of garbage everywhere.
Yumeka Umemori, 21, left her home in Asia six months ago to study in Manhattan — and she was stunned at how different her new life in America was compared to her old one.
She started documenting her study trip abroad TikTokwhere she would describe all the things that made the two places so contrasting, and many people on the internet were just as surprised as she was at the differences.
According to Yumeka, one of the first things she noticed was how much friendlier and more sociable Americans were to each other.
A Japanese exchange student living in New York City talks about the massive ‘culture shock’ she experienced after moving to America
She showed all the big differences between the two countries, including the “hug culture” in the US, constant “small talk” and huge amounts of garbage everywhere
Yumeka Umemori, 21, left her home in Asia six months ago to study in Manhattan — and she was stunned at how different her new life in America was compared to her old one
She started documenting her study abroad trip on TikTok where she detailed all the things that made the two places so contrasting
She explained that “small talk is not a thing in Japan,” so after moving to the United States, she had to get used to conversations with strangers.
In a TikTok video, the student showed off her first US flight, and said she was so “nervous” because she had to talk to the passenger next to her.
But after they started chatting, she quickly realized that being social wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
“Now we’re friends, she’s the best. I am so glad I spoke to her. I want to get better at small talk,’ she said.
Another big difference between the two countries that Yumeka noticed was the way young people talk to adults.
She explained that in Japanese there is a “formal” and “informal” way of speaking, and you should always speak to your parents in the “formal” version.
“I like English because we talk the same way to everyone of every age,” she told her followers.
‘It’s crazy to me that I can become friends quite easily with people older than me when I speak English. It’s certainly not the same when you speak in Japanese.’
A third thing that Yumeka quickly noticed was how often people in the US hug each other – something that happens very rarely in Japan.
“I’ve adopted the hugging culture since I came here. In Japan, we barely hug,” she poured into another TikTok.
According to Yumeka, Americans are much kinder to each other. She said, “Gossip is nothing in Japan,” so she had to get used to talking to strangers
In a TikTok video, the student showed off her first US flight, and said she was so “nervous” because she had to talk to the passenger next to her
But after they started chatting, she quickly realized that being social wasn’t such a bad thing after all. She said, ‘Now we’re friends. I am so glad I spoke to her. I want to get better at small talk’
“I never doubted it when I lived there. But now, here in America, I hug a lot, and I love it.
‘I find it so fascinating that every society has its norms and that you only really question them when you leave your hometown. I need to go to more places to learn new things, this is so much fun.’
Another thing Yumeka quickly noticed was how often people in the US hug each other – something that happens very rarely in Japan.
Some of the other things Yumeka has brought up in her videos include the amount of trash she’s noticed and the oversized portions in the United States.
In a video, listing the things she thinks were the most “American” to date, she said, “Huge amount of cheese on salad – I was surprised when my friends said it’s normal – and the size of ice cream – in Japan specimens half that size are normal.’
Other things on her list included: strangers posing when she took pictures of viewpoints not her, T-shirts with random Japanese letters or phrases on them, the laid-back attitude of her teachers, music playing on a public bus, and people wearing matching PJs. on Christmas.
She also shared how different dating is in the two countries, something she experienced first hand.
She described one time when a man she met on a dating app invited her to his house to meet his family after they “hanged out like five times.”
But afterwards he told her he just wanted to be friends – something she said never would have happened back home in Japan.
She also explained how different dating is in the two countries, explaining: “We don’t really have a ‘talking stage’ in Japan”
After living here for half a year, Yumeka, who now has more than 167,000 followers, admitted that she has already seen a big change in the way she acts and looks
In the end, she said she has fully embraced the American lifestyle and feels like she’s finally living her “best life.”
“We don’t really have a ‘talking stage’ in Japan,” she revealed. ‘It shocked me, because this doesn’t happen very often in Japan.
“Doing this in Japan is like marrying that person or having a very serious relationship with that person.”
After living here for half a year, Yumeka, who has since gained more than 167,000 followers, admitted that she has already seen a major change in the way she acts and looks.
“I recently noticed how American I’m becoming, I don’t dress Japanese at all anymore,” she admitted in a clip.
‘It’s so funny how different I act from the Japanese. I’m getting better at having small talk.’
In the end, she said she has fully embraced the American lifestyle and feels like she’s finally living her “best life.”
“One of the reasons I’m so happy in this country is because I feel freer,” she added. ‘Especially when it comes to freedom of expression.
“I feel like we have a lot of taboos in Japan. We don’t talk about mental health issues, we don’t talk about body image issues, we don’t talk about politics that much.
“I like to talk about everything, it’s so much fun. When I talk about everything I feel in Japan, I’m called the “loud” and “too stubborn”. Like a “weirdo” and all.
“But here in America it’s normal. I feel like I can do anything here. I feel here, I love it.’
