Onsen and sentō etiquette — unwritten rules, written down
Wash before you get in; keep the towel out of the water. Obvious to a Japanese bather, and entirely new to someone from a country with no public bathing tradition.
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Notes on the culture and customs of both countries, written from inside both.
Lì xì and otoshidama — the same envelope, different manners
Vietnam's lì xì and Japan's otoshidama are both New Year money. Who receives it, how much goes in, and when it may be opened are not the same.
The angle of a bow, and the Vietnamese crossed arms
Japanese bows signal degrees of respect by angle. Vietnamese daily life has no equivalent form, but it has its own bodily gestures of deference.
Ochūgen, oseibo and quà Tết — different counts, different delivery
Japan's seasonal gifts come twice a year and are usually shipped. Vietnam's quà Tết comes once and is usually hand-delivered. The gap explains a recurring misunderstanding about year-end visits.
Obon and Vu Lan — two ancestor festivals from one sutra
Japan's Obon and Vietnam's Vu Lan both come from the Ullambana Sutra. Only the calendar differs; who is remembered, and why, is nearly identical.
Keigo and kinship pronouns — Japanese puts respect in the verb, Vietnamese in the name
Japanese encodes respect in verb forms. Vietnamese encodes it in what you call the person. That difference explains why Vietnamese speakers ask your age so early.
The chopstick taboos match — but passing food means opposite things
Standing chopsticks upright in rice is taboo in both countries. Using your own chopsticks to serve someone else, however, means hospitality in one and rudeness in the other.
Hanami goes to the tree; Vietnamese blossoms come to the house
Japan's hanami means going outside and sitting under the tree. Vietnam's Tết peach and apricot blossoms are cut and brought indoors. Same spring flowers, opposite arrangement.
Waste sorting changes with the city hall — move house, learn the rules again
Japan's rubbish rules are set by each municipality, not nationally. For foreign residents the difficulty is less the sorting than having to relearn it with every move.
Three animals apart — the Vietnamese cat and the Japanese boar
Vietnam and Japan use the same twelve earthly branches with the same characters, yet three of the animals differ. So does the day the zodiac year turns.
New Year in Japan and Vietnam Have Different Shapes
Oshogatsu and Tet are each the longest break of the year. Because the dates are fixed differently, they hit projects differently too.
Why "Hou-Ren-Sou" Is Hard to Transplant
Report, inform, consult — obvious in a Japanese office. Ask for it without naming the assumptions underneath, and your strongest people are the most confused.
What a Business Card Settles, and What It Doesn't
The choreography of exchanging cards is a search away. What people are actually reading is not the choreography.