Interview with Mr. L

"Life in Japan felt very different from what I was used to in China, especially when it came to rules and order. Everything here followed a strict sense of etiquette and hierarchy.

I still remember when I first bought my house. Neighbors from all around came to deliver gifts. At first, it felt warm, but I quickly realized that these gestures weren’t from the heart — they were out of obligation. In Japan, when someone gives you a gift, it’s almost always with the unspoken expectation that you’ll return the favor. Back home in China, gift-giving had felt more genuine, something you did out of affection or respect, not because etiquette required it.

Another big adjustment was the weight placed on community culture. In my building, there wasn’t just a building head — there were also floor leaders. These roles rotated among the residents, and their job was to collect feedback and opinions from each household about building and property management, then pass it on to the management office. For two years, I even served as a floor leader myself. To me, buying a house had always meant private ownership, free from obligations like this. But in Japanese society, the expectation was clear: if you are part of a community, you are expected to sacrifice some of your time and energy for its upkeep."