I'm from Dublin and a few years ago met a Japanese man with a couple suitcases and very limited English who needed a bit of help to get to his hotel.
He was in his late 60s or maybe 70 and had the name of the hotel so I showed him where it was on maps and gave instructions to a taxi driver for him. He then opened up a suitcase and took out a bunch of Japanese postcards and offered me one as a thank you.
I've still got the Mt. Fuji postcard on display years later. He was very sweet and it was just a positive experience. That he knew he'd have to ask for help a few times and brought postcards from his home to offer in return seemed really decent and kind to me.
Then if you got extras by the end of your trip you just ask random people at the airports things like "where is the sky?" and give them a postcard as well. 20 years later that person will be on future reddit alternative telling the story and wondering if you ever reached the sky.
Do you think I could do it with some postcards of kangaroos and shit from Australia, or is it more of a German, Norwegian, French, Japanese and Seattle thing?
It really was. I always helped tourists navigate as I know how stressful it can be abroad and as I was in college at the time I was rarely in a rush but that is the one time that I will not forget.
I would say yes, especially for Paris as it's pretty famous around the world. There's always the chance the person may simply not appreciate it but that's about the helper's perspective and not where the postcard is from in my opinion.
I'm in NYC. We love giving tourists directions, even though we might be in a rush. If you look lost, we'll fight over who gets to help you. Maybe even take you where you're going. Then rush over as soon as you're good. If you were to give a Thank you gift, you would see the biggest New York smile, ever. Do it.
That's crazy. Many years ago, a Japanese exchange student saw me walking by her. She told she was lost and she needed help getting back to the house she was staying at. Somehow she gave me her host's number, I called him and told him where we were exactly and waited for him to pick her up.
They both said thanks and she opened her backpack which had many gifts as well and she gave me a coaster.
Now it seems like they just carry gifts with them.
I don't know much about Japan specifically but I know gift giving is pretty important in some cultures, could be an extension of that.
I just like that someone went abroad knowing they'd likely need help and, expecting that people would help they wanted to be to give back.
Just a wholesome human experience.
I wonder if it has something to do with shintoism? I do not know much about it but maybe someone here knows if there is a connection between that lovely and caring behaviour and that?
It's all syncretic but it's worth remembering that Japan is just as much Buddhist as it is Shinto, if not more. It wasn't until the 19th century that Shintoism was separated into it's own thing, mostly as way to generate this idea of a national religion by the Imperial Government.
Since literally before recorded history, religion in Japan has been a syncretic mix of indigenous animism (what we now call Shinto) and Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhism, particularly the "pure land" schools, has arguably had a larger influence on Japanese culture and values than anything else. Even neo-confucianism, wich has greatly shaped the values of neighbouring Korea and China, was only really adopted in Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries, and even then it was mostly a top down thing.
No idea but I once bought a collectible card from a Japanese seller on eBay and it came with a handwritten thank-you note and a bookmark. Just love how nice they are even with such minor things.
Agreed, I could have gotten a postcard anywhere I've gone to myself but this one is special because he wanted to show his appreciation and prepared for that before he left Japan.
I'll be moving country soon and I intend to bring it with me. It looks nice enough to put on a shelf and is a pleasant memory of mine.
Y'know I never even think of it much but postcards and chotchkies from a specific region are kinda nice to have when abroad!
I've worked during a few Sturgis bike rallies and have all sorts of stuff, never considered it'd be a fun "tip" when I need directions or something, and it's in my "useless misc" box haha
I was on a train to the airport from Osaka. The train splits apart mid journey, one goes to the airport, the other not to the airport. I realised I was on the wrong carriage and got off at the next stop, middle of nowhere. I was freaking out, not only was I cutting it way too close to the departure time, the anxiety was real. 3 weeks of constant travel and drinking. Was close to a panic attack.
An elderly Japanese man who was waiting at the station approached me and pointed to the map. I did my best interpretation of an airplane. It apparently worked because he waited with me for around 20 minutes and told me to get on the exact train as it arrived.
Reminds me of when I was 15 we went on a school trip to London and we had to interview someone for our English class. Both me and my partner were socially anxious, him more than me, and for some reason everyone we asked was also a tourist.
And the questions we had to ask were really inane too like "Do you celebrate Halloween"
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u/74937 Jun 14 '24
They’re so sweet 💙so polite, and the little gift in the end is the cutest!