> In Japan, you don't just walk up to people and strike up a conversation. Foreigners might, but native Japanese largely don't.
First of all, I've seen Japanese (who are strangers) strike up conversations on occasion in Tokyo: at the coin laundry, at the bakery, on elevators, and so on. It's not like a social taboo or something. But yes, in general, people keep to themselves.
That being said, in my experience, people in New York and Los Angeles also keep to themselves. My instinct is that the apparently introverted nature of people in Tokyo has nothing to do with Japanese culture and everything to do with the fact that it is a big city in a developed country. Perhaps someone from London can bring in another data point?
If my experiences in rural Japan are at all normal, Japanese in rural Japan are at least as talkative as those in the Southern US (where I'm from).
I lived in London nearly 20 years and yes it's like everywhere. In Piccadilly Circus or somewhere else busy, of course the shop keepers will be tense and the 'locals' in the pubs won't be looking for a chat (though that is a lie I've had random chats with both on many occasions), but in my own part of east London I'd meet loads of randoms in the park or the pub or the local shops or cafes, esp since having a child.
That said I've now moved to a very small town and it is crazy friendly, people will go out of their way to chat to you and be nice (but then again there are plenty of grumpy shop keepers and locals)
So I guess it is the same everywhere - your own little view will be coloured by your own expectations and by how much you are genuinely open to talking to people.
Lived in London for six years, only spoke to my partner, people at work/uni and my landlord (who is also an uncle-in-law, if that's a thing).
Two weeks before we left we got a dog. We met so many people from the area and the dog was an excuse to start a conversation. Made us feel like we'd been missing out all that time!
Hmm, I wonder how walking a robot dog would go. They wouldn't need walking for the same reasons a bio dog does, of course, but they could be made to insist on going outside. Maybe they would want to hunt Pokemon!
It's strange how easy it is to be so alone when there are so many people around. I've also discovered the opposite to be true, and the principle also carries over to large and small schools and large and small companies. When there are few people, they are more relational, but when it's impractical to greet everyone you meet, you may greet no one.
It is a known fact, that people in big cities tend to be more distant (is this the right word?) from each other. A lot less social interaction the bigger the city.
First of all, I've seen Japanese (who are strangers) strike up conversations on occasion in Tokyo: at the coin laundry, at the bakery, on elevators, and so on. It's not like a social taboo or something. But yes, in general, people keep to themselves.
That being said, in my experience, people in New York and Los Angeles also keep to themselves. My instinct is that the apparently introverted nature of people in Tokyo has nothing to do with Japanese culture and everything to do with the fact that it is a big city in a developed country. Perhaps someone from London can bring in another data point?
If my experiences in rural Japan are at all normal, Japanese in rural Japan are at least as talkative as those in the Southern US (where I'm from).