A Traveler’s Perspectives on the Cultural Differences Between China and Japan

China and Japan have many cultural similarities and differences. China is a huge country with lots of different cultures and traditions while Japan is an island nation that has lots of similarities between different regions. Even though both Countries are very close to each other geographically there is a huge difference in their cultures.

Japan’s cuisine is heavily influenced by the west and it is very different from modern-day Chinese cuisine. Even though Japanese and Chinese cuisine has similarities such as eating rice as their natural everyday diet, soup noodles, dumplings, etc., Japanese cuisine is more like the middle ground of western cuisine and Chinese cuisine because they do things differently like frying seafood and meat. Chinese food usually has stronger flavors from the condiments and Japanese food usually have subtle flavors that show the qualities of the ingredients.They also have a unique cuisine because they live in an island nation surrounded by water, that provides them with lots of seafood that they would incorporate in their cuisine while China only touches the sea on the East side.

China and Japan’s major religions are both Buddhism, so they have a similar way of doing things. But because China is such a big area only the east side has similar cultures as Japan while the west and the south is more similar to Vietnam and India. The Chinese also believe in Islam and Taoism in different regions and the Japanese believe in Shintoism which is an indigenous religion. The Chinese celebrate the lunar new year while people in Japan celebrates the western new year according to the Georgian calendar and they don’t celebrate with firecrackers and lots of red decorations.