[belfalas]

> Also, the service is amazing, and they won't accept tips. If you leave money on the table, they will chase after you, to give it back.

I visited Japan some years back and loved this aspect of the culture as well. An Australian ski guide (this was a winter visit) explained it like so: "the Japanese attitude is to want to do a good job by default. Tipping implies that a good job is only done because of pay. The Japanese see quality service as intrinsically valuable in itself."

[ChrisMarshallNY]

I believe that servers are also paid quite well.

[spiderice]

Quick Google search says the average is $7.55 USD/hour (1,159 Yen). Seems like they're paid quite poorly.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

Might be more to that story. Remember that Japan is a very socialized country, so CoL expenses are not what they are in the US.

I have a friend that basically shops as part of her job. She has been power-shopping, mostly in Europe (dream job, I suppose), for decades.

She tells me that she runs into the same sales associates, year after year, and has watched them “grow up” over years.

So it seems to be possible, at least in Europe, for people to make lifelong careers in the service industry.

[pertymcpert]

Most retail workers in Europe don't make a career out of it by choice. I can tell you that for damn certain.

[ChrisMarshallNY]

That actually goes for most jobs.

HN folks are privileged. We have careers that interest us, engage us, and reward us.

That's not the norm, in this world. I'm grateful for my career. I know quite a few folks that make excellent money, doing jobs they hate. In my mind, that's kind of a nightmare.

https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/icon_uk/11800056/855574/8555...

[thaumasiotes]

That's fantasy. The same thing is true in China. All it means is that the local culture doesn't tip.

[presentation]

Japan does have a well known “customer is god” cultural background; whether or not tipping has anything to do with that is here or there, though it is the expectation that if someone does a job, it is expected not to be half assed.

One of the big differences between here in Japan and other parts of the world I’ve visited and lived in, is the near absence of service staff who actively make a point of looking like they hate their life and treat you like crap, though this is slowly changing here too.

[belfalas]

This kind of reply is what makes me want to quit HN forever. There's always somebody out there smarter who knows better. Why bother to try and contribute anything?

[thaumasiotes]

Yes, contributing mythology is in fact worse than contributing nothing.

[wileydragonfly]

This is geek internet. Suggesting that anything about Japan is less than peak perfection is controversial.