---
type: Country
title: Japan
description: Harry's observations from Japan — the rent-a-girlfriend industry, mask etiquette, privacy culture, and food.
tags: [japan, east-asia]
timestamp: 2026-07-12T12:00:00Z
---

# Japan

Harry travelled Japan in 2023 — a day in [Tokyo](/places/tokyo.md) on a rented
date, and a fortnight running [Tokyo](/places/tokyo.md) to
[Kyoto](/places/kyoto.md) to [Osaka](/places/osaka.md) with
[Walid](/people/walid.md).

## Observations

### From [I Rented a Japanese Girlfriend in Tokyo 🇯🇵](/videos/cjsAG4cBTuU.md)

- **Society**: the rent-a-girlfriend service is a real industry Harry ties to
  Japan's loneliness epidemic; for his date it was a side job alongside
  architecture studies. Booking sites are Japanese-only — expect to navigate
  blind.
- **Etiquette**: most people wear masks in public; going without is
  considered rude and draws judgement.
- **Privacy culture**: restaurants with curtained private booths are normal;
  at a protest Harry passed, police visibly outnumbered protesters.
- **Presentation**: people dress very well — Harry was struck by how
  put-together everyone is.
- **Money and costs**: a full day out in Tokyo with meals and activities cost
  him about $400 (a rented date being most of it); trains are cheap, taxis
  aren't.
- **Food**: wagyu sushi was a highlight — among the best sushi Harry has
  eaten.

### From [14 Days in Japan 🇯🇵 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly](/videos/nwQ323luUKo.md)

- **History, briefly**: Imperial Japan pursued global expansion, failed in the
  Second World War, rebuilt, and became the economic power it is now — which
  Harry credits to the resilience, work ethic and innovation of the people.
- **Kaizen is the explanation he keeps returning to** — the philosophy of
  continuous improvement, even by 1% a day, which he credits for Toyota, the
  bullet train and much else. It is the same idea he later applies to his own
  YouTube channel.
- **The bullet train's average delay is twelve seconds.** The fastest ever
  recorded ran at 375 mph, and 280 miles takes about two hours.
- **A two-week JR Pass** covers the bullet train; the Tokyo–Kyoto leg alone would
  be about $130.
- **Over five million vending machines**, which he ties to an office culture
  where a quick trip out is the available break. Some sell insects.
- **Over 30,000 shrines.**
- **Nothing is easy and everything is in Japanese.** Buying a train ticket,
  booking anything, reading a menu — Harry is repeatedly defeated by admin in a
  country that otherwise works perfectly. His fix, realised too late, is that a
  phone can translate a whole menu.
- **The longevity, and why**: a traditional diet of seafood, green tea and
  fermented food in small portions, good healthcare, active daily life like
  cycling to school, and a culture that respects the elderly. The oldest Japanese
  person he cites is 117.
- **Sleeping on the floor is considered healthy** — muscles relax and the hips
  and spine hold a neutral alignment.
- **Cleanliness at a level he can't get over.** He says repeatedly that he'd eat
  off the street, and contrasts a Tokyo side alley with the equivalent in London
  or Los Angeles.
- **Public safety as ambient fact**: a large snake loose in a Tokyo park is
  treated by passers-by as mildly interesting.
- **His own verdict**: he isn't a big-city person and didn't expect to like
  Japan, and was blown away.