No fuss

・Please be quiet in the store
・Please turn off your cell phone or put it in silent mode and refrain from talking in the car (or inside the store)
・Do not noisy in the park
and etc…

You can see there are a lot of “Cautions about emitting sound” in Japan. Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the fact that “children’s playing voices” were certified as noise. We may feel “Isn’t that a little too restrictive?”. On the other hand, regardless of the situation or reason, when we ourselves imagine a very noisy sound in our daily lives area, we’re worried about that… Even if there is a notice in advance that says something like “Due to construction work, we may cause you some inconvenience”, it’s still tough to have noise intruding into your daily life, isn’t it? And how much or what kind of “sound” is perceived as noise is up to the person, right?

The phrase “within the common sense” is often used, but we feel that this criterion is becoming very individualistic these days. Or, we cannot stop to feel that the phrase has been used so much “conveniently” in the past, and now the negative effects of the phrase have finally come to the surface in many ways. It’s a very difficult problem. The optimal solution doesn’t come out so easily. We think that “consideration” and “care” are the most important.
It’s not the same as the one called “patience”. What we could feel uncomfortable about being done to us could be making others uncomfortable. We have to be careful that we may feel uncomfortable when we see others doing that. We think it’s important to be aware of these things. When you have fun, you want to have a good time, and you can’t do construction work without making noise. When having fun, everyone wants to make a little loudly, don’t you? It’s impossible to do construction work without making a sound, isn’t it? We can’t live without making a “sound”. Everyone has their own “uncomfortable thing” to deal with, but we can expand our tolerance to each of them a little bit. At the same time, we should understand each other that our common sense is not necessarily as good as other people’s common sense. Umm… What should we do each other? Can’t we all be just comfortable well…?

Movie theaters in Japan

It seems that the manner or etiquette for watching a movie in a movie theater is different in each country/region. As for eating and drinking in movie theaters, it is universally accepted as long as it is not too noisy, isn’t it? Popcorn and French fries are popular foods in movie theaters. As for drinks, it’s not uncommon to bring in bottled drinks in addition to the cups sold at movie theaters these days, right? Well, As for alcoholic beverages, you should take note that each movie theater handles them differently, rather than each country/region. On the other hand, what is the manner regarding conversation during the screening? In foreign movie theaters, it’s not uncommon for all the people who come to see the movie to have a good time together. A little chatting during the screening is naturally common, right? Well, of course, it depends on the genre of the movie being played. When it comes to action, comedy, horror, and popular series movies, it seems that people usually enjoy watching them while enjoying together. In other words, they enjoy watching movies with others in a lively atmosphere. So, what about movie theaters in Japan? Basically, making noise is strictly forbidden. Oh, it’s not such an absurd prohibition that you can’t laugh while watching a comedy movie or scream while watching a horror movie. However, it is very much frowned upon to make a lot of noise and have a lot of fun without having anything to do with the movie. In some cases, you will be ejected. Chatting between companions should be kept as quiet as possible (and of course, eating and drinking should be kept as quiet as possible). You must make sure that your cell phone is turned off or set to silent mode. And these will be repeatedly reminded by announcements before the screening of the main movie.

In the past, movies were the most popular form of popular entertainment in Japan. Actually, we were free to eat and drink at that time. Chatting was also free. All the customers were enjoying the movies while making a lot of noise. They were like a live concert. The viewers said to the characters in the movie, “Yo! Waiting for you! Good luck!”, or “Go back!” or “XXX!” to the villain. Those were very common sights. Well, many of the movies being screened were also meant to be enjoyed in that way. However, with the advent of TV and other non-cinematic entertainment, the content of movies has changed… As a result, for the Japanese, going to the movies in theaters has become a very personal and enjoyable pastime. So, regardless of the genre of the movie, Japanese movie theaters are very quiet. It seems that there are many people from overseas who are surprised. We hope you will remember this when you watch movies in Japan.