Culture refers to the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group. Indeed, culture impacts a person in several areas, from how we express our emotions to what is good or bad. This makes intercultural interaction interesting yet, tricky at the same time because an action which is acceptable in one culture may be unacceptable in another.
I was caught in an intercultural situation when I visited Japan. My family and I were travelling on the Japanese subway to the airport. We carried 2 huge suitcases which we placed on the ground and we stood around it during the subway ride. It was a weekday morning where the train was packed with commuters and our huge suitcases took up some standing space. Throughout the train ride, we felt the Japanese commuters staring at us in disapprovingly. Our family felt strange as we were completely unaware of what we have done to invite such stares as tourists placing their luggage on the ground is completely acceptable on the Singapore MRT.
After some research on the internet, I found out that the Japanese found people who took up too much space on the train inconsiderate (and yes, even women with strollers). Solution? Some travellers advised that the best way around this is to say "I'm sorry" (go-men-nasai), "Excuse me" (sumi-ma-sen) and smile. :)
An interesting link I’ll like to shared:
Ten Things not to do on the Japanese subway
