Hello, my name is Juri and I am from Japan. I’m doing a work experience here in Langports now. I came to Brisbane about a month ago and I learned business English at Griffith University for 3 weeks. This is my second time to visit Brisbane but it’s my first time to study abroad for such a long time. So today, I would like to talk about the differences between my Japanese and Australian life.
Different lifestyle
What surprised me the most was the closing time of stores here. Japanese grocery shops and the others are commonly open until 10pm and 8pm respectively in weekdays. I think this is for the people who work till late, the householders and university students who have classes over 6pm. Students can hang out and enjoy shopping after the class finishes. These people can get some foods in cheaper price at some grocery stores like Woolworths or Coles after certain time. But in Brisbane, shops start to close around 6pm. This is an unusual thing in Japan so I thought my family would be astonished when I tell this.
Going to the cinema in Brisbane
Another point is about movie theatre. When I went to watch STARWARS at Southbank, the staff who sells tickets didn’t ask us what sit number we wanted. There was no number on the seats. In Japan, we have numbers like A1, B2, C3 on each seat and we choose it first at the ticket counter. So the sooner we book the tickets, the better chances we have to have good sits. However, it is expensive to go to the movies in Japan. If you are a student, it costs about $15 but at Southbank, it costed only $6.5! I couldn’t believe that.
Public transport
The public transport system and more specifically the buses also surprised me. In Japan, we have an announcement like “The next stop is…” before every stops. However, Brisbane doesn’t have it, so it was difficult for me to remember at which station I should stop. I looked at the views around the stations so that I could remember where to stop.
The other difference is that in Australia people raise their hand to stop the bus. Japanese buses absolutely stop all the time if people are waiting at the station. These 2 points are completely different compared with Japanese one.
Australia has a very interesting and different culture compared to Japan. Why don’t you find some amazing things by communicating with many people from all over the world?
Juri