Here's something I wondered for a while.

When I was in Japan on homestay, the one thing I took away from it was that people don't want to bother, or be bothered.

On the street, for instance, you should always be as polite as you can be so you don't ruin other people's walking experience.
In the classroom, you shouldn't confront the girl crying, because you'd make a scene.
At home, you should always keep the shower super clean so that the person after you doesn't have to clean it (alright arguably that's in america too but my family is lazy).

This is all interesting and to a certain extent, good, because it promotes politeness, but I was wondering.

I'm the kind of guy who enjoys spontaneity and chaos every once in a while, to get my laughs. I find random stuff on the street to be the most funny stuff, and my favorite humor is that type of humor.

I'm actually a pretty funny guy I like to think, and I enjoy myself most when I'm laughing. However recently, when learning more about Korean culture in parallel with my Japanese studies, I discovered contrasts that opened my eyes to what I'd been trying to avoid in Japanese culture.

Are Japanese people very stuck up? Or, in a way not stuck up, but don't appreciate funny things?

I don't know why I would say that but that's the best way I can phrase it. I mean, Japanese TV is FULL of that kind of stuff!

But for some reason I feel like if I tried to pull some wacky prank on the street (not that I am that type or I would but,), it would go over so well in Japan - at least, it would go over a lot worse in Japan than in America (or Korea, just to put that in there).

I dunno, this is just a talking point, but what are your guys' thoughts?
PS This was pretty much just a flow of what came to my mind because I felt like writing, so if it's incoherent or you don't understand, well, I probably don't either.

EDIT:
Wow, to summarize:
Are Japanese people less funny than other cultures?
I don't know why I feel that way, I just get this strange vibe. The reason really clicked when I started watching some Korean talk TV show things and they were extremely funny and enjoyable. While Japanese ones have their moments, the Korean ones felt a lot funnier, like American stuff I'd seen. Maybe Korean stuff is more western so I feel more accustomed to it, I can't explain it really.

I wrote a research paper recently on Japan and it's friendly authoritarianism (is that spelt write.. it's 10am and I haven't been to bed, forgive me) and its in-out group dynamic etc so i've probably researched and written more about japanese society than i care to remember at this point. It's not that it doesn't have humour, it's just different. I don't watch a lot of those variety shows but I have enjoyed watching some (if they'd just shut up about food for 5 minutes..) every culture has it's own humour, and most of the time it doesn't transfer well, British humour doesn't often get mileage outside of Britain, and I know American sitcoms bore me senseless most of the time.

Japanese people are very polite and don't particularly like to lose face, that's a cultural thing. Stuck up? Certainly not. I doubt you could find a more modest people.

Japanese humour is certainly different from western humour, wit and satire are less common, slap stick, hyperbole and general quirkiness are more popular.

Personally, I find wit and satire most appealing (particularly British comedy), but Japanese comedy can be pretty damn funny as well.

thecite Wrote:Japanese humour is certainly different from western humour, wit and satire are less common, slap stick, hyperbole and general quirkiness are more popular.

My friend made a documentary on why Japanese people don't understand sarcasm. Was quite fun, unfortunately most people included in the video were drunk at the time of making (Japanese and foreigners) so I was the only one that gave actual answers that weren't just insulting whoever was closest. I've always maintained Japanese people do understand sarcasm, hence why there is so much そうですね they aren't actually agreeing at all, they're taking the piss!

Sure, they understand it (a lot of the time, anyway), it just isn't very popular.

Most of the Japanese people I've met are very modest, don't really say too much. Definitely a cultural difference

i just wantd to say that i lovejapanese talk/variety shows because some of them are so hilarious. And so i wholeheartedly i disagree with you on the last bit.

i've been exposed to some korean talk variety shows because i'm korean but i don't think they're that funny (to me... a lot of the times they just laugh hilariously over nothing... while in the japanese show when they laugh hilariously over something, it is worth laughing out loud about). I think you haven't seen the right shows or not best of the best or the cream of the crop. Like literally, the reason I got so good at Japanese was because their variety/talk shows are so funny and interesting. I want to do the same thing with Korean but they're just not as good as the japanese ones ( to me ) and I have so many japanese talk/variety shows to watch as it is... at first i saw some shitty ones and some okay ones and now i know which are ones are good but even so it's stilll alot and i have a life and so it's difficult to watch all.

And like korean tv broadcasting co. or whoever's in charged of that ripped off the japanese talk/variety shows without permission. it's literally like the same thing (the concept/setting) except they replace the young20-yr old with a korean idol or old japanese man with a old korean man, and the #1 talk/variety show host of japan with the korean #1 tv host. so obviously they're desperate to make their tv more interesting even if it means doing illegal stuff like that. it just shows/proves that japanese tv is superior? it's like too much to say that but it just looks so bad... it's almost as if they're saying that because of their actions.
just search: 盗作　韓国トーク番組 or パクリ　韓国トーク番組
it's interesting to read itself anyway.

Another random thing that like better about japanese talk/variety is that they have better BGM. It just matches perfectly, it doesn't get in the way... it just matches the mood/scene while the korean sound effects are over the top and annoying sometimes THOUGH i don't think it's as annoying and in the way as it is in the chinese talk shows (granted i don't understand it but i can tell...) the quality of BGM/sound effects in japanese talk/variety shows is just WOW. I love it.

<< this post reminded me to ask a question on chiebukuro that has beeen bothering me regarding this:
http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/...1455278804
I posted here and basically i agree with what the people replied to as far as the parts they find boring about korean talk/variety shows. It's so true what they pointed out!! those parts/charactersitics of the korean talk/variety show make go aaaaaaaaah but maybe i wouldn't feel bored or irritated if i had interest/knew the tv talent people that came on (but some part of me feels like that those characteristics/parts are irritating regardless of how much i know/care about the tv-talent people)

Something that annoys me about variety shows is that there's almost invariably a focus on food. I have no goddamn interest in watching celebrities eat, prepare or rate food. Especially on some of the more extreme occasions when I've seen them preparing turtles, snakes, and killing live lobsters/ fish on camera. Of course, the viewers just sit there passively or let out a chorus of 「うわ〜」.

maybe this is all because I think korean talk show idols are cuter than japanese ones and my hormones are tickling me

thecite Wrote:Something that annoys me about variety shows is that there's almost invariably a focus on food. I have no goddamn interest in watching celebrities eat, prepare or rate food.

Just a couple of weeks ago I was in a health food restaurant down the street from Harajuku station, and they were filming there for one of these shows. Off camera, what happens is even more boring! There is like an hour of preparation and one minute of some lady eating something and saying おいしい.

Also, the place was a buffet, but for the show they arranged her plate to make it look super beautiful. Does not actually look like that when there are just big bowls of stuff you slop onto your plate. Granted, it was a good place with really good food.

zachandhobbes Wrote:But for some reason I feel like if I tried to pull some wacky prank on the street (not that I am that type or I would but,), it would go over so well in Japan - at least, it would go over a lot worse in Japan than in America (or Korea, just to put that in there).

Gingerninja Wrote:

thecite Wrote:Japanese humour is certainly different from western humour, wit and satire are less common, slap stick, hyperbole and general quirkiness are more popular.

My friend made a documentary on why Japanese people don't understand sarcasm. Was quite fun, unfortunately most people included in the video were drunk at the time of making (Japanese and foreigners) so I was the only one that gave actual answers that weren't just insulting whoever was closest. I've always maintained Japanese people do understand sarcasm, hence why there is so much そうですね they aren't actually agreeing at all, they're taking the piss!

Any way I could see this?

This is how you're supposed to walk/run on the street in Japan:

Love it, nestOr. Real people showing a healthy disrespect for inhibition.

These guys are somewhat unreal. Not sure I'd be able to keep a straight face -