"I hear the Japanese are very polite. Is it true?"
I can't tell you how many times people have asked me this, especially on trips home to the United States. Many Americans imagine a country full of people saying, "Excuse me," "Thank you" and "Please" every other sentence. But of course, that's not true; the Japanese use these phrases in every sentence. At least once.
Take, for instance, the double and triple "Thank you." One thing that surprised me when I first came to Japan was not that the Japanese always say Thank you, but that they feel just one thank you isn't nearly enough, even when expressing gratitude for the smallest thing. Next time you leave a Japanese restaurant, count how many times the staff thanks you for coming. Then count the number of times each individual staff member, at various volumes, thanks you. You'll feel like you've won the Thank You Lottery.
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