A TALE OF 2 ORDERLY NATIONS - Part 6

Updated: Jun 21

Final reflections on two disciplined cultures

Switzerland treats public announcements like a medical report: neutral, concise, and 100% emotion-free. The train is late? Delivered in a neutral, matter-of-fact tone, as if reporting the weather. Lost luggage? A swift update, no drama, no sympathy – just facts delivered at Swiss efficiency speed.
Meanwhile, Japan has decided that announcements should be full of sensory experience. Train stations bust into cheerful jingles for every arrival. Shopping malls have chipper voices reminding you to mind your bags – as if your luggage were an emotional support animal. Even lifts have calming, spa-like warnings that make you wonder whether you should be relaxing or bracing for impact. And when the time comes for a shop to close, you will inevitably be serenaded to the door to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne". Because in Japan, even getting kicked out of a shop feels sentimental.

Swiss announcement philosophy: "Here is information."

Japanese philosophy: "Here is information, choreography, and a soundtrack."

Swiss schools raise self-reliant thinkers. Kids are encouraged to solve problems independently, question authority, and debate logically – in other words, miniature lawyers in training.
Japanese schools, on the other hand, are synchronised masterpieces of teamwork and discipline. Students clean their own classrooms, serve lunch to classmates, and devote their free time to extra-curricular team activities. By age 10, they could organise a more efficient disaster drill than most adults.

The Swiss school motto: "Think for yourself."

The Japanese school motto: "Think together, clean together, survive together."

In Japan, sneezing is already a public disturbance, but blowing your nose? An unforgivable act. Instead, people opt for the noble art of sniffling – endlessly, quietly, and with the solemn dedication of someone determined to suffer with dignity.
Forget tissues – sniffling is the soundtrack of winter or hayfever season, echoing through crowded trains as people valiantly refuse to clear their sinuses for the sake of public decorum. It's like a symphony of restrained sniffles, each one a noble act of self-sacrifice for the greater good.
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, blowing your nose is just hygiene, greeted with zero judgement. No subtle suffering – just quick relief and immediate nasal freedom.

Swiss nose etiquette: "Blow it. Be done."

Japanese nose etiquette: "Sniff until englightenment."

Swiss meals are practical, structured, and optimised for efficiency – food is plated neatly, but without excessive flair. Fondue? Melted, ready to serve. Rösti? Crispy, predictable. Everything is delicious, but the goal is sustenance, not aesthetics.
Japan treats meal presentation like Picasso. Every sushi roll looks engineered with a laser level. Even the bento lunch your colleagues brings to work could double as an art exhibit titled "Symmetry and Soy Sauce."

Swiss cuisine: "Delicious. Simple. Practical."

Japanese cuisine: "You'll feel guilty eating it."

The Swiss like things logical. Sure, there are a few old superstitions – don't toast with water, don't put bread upside down – but forget them and no one cares.
In Japan, however, the universe is actively listening. You don't stick chopsticks upright in rice (that's for funerals). Certain numbers are avoided due to unlucky meanings. And you certainly don't ignore lucky charms, because fate has a very long memory.

Swiss superstition: "Probably nonsense, but fine."

Japanese superstition: "Probably nonsense, but let's not risk summoning anything."

In Switzerland, logic rules; in Japan, harmony reigns... while my heart wants harmony and my head insists on logic.