A post on China's SNS Xiaohongshu (RED) by a Chinese person who studied abroad in Japan, describing their thoughts on returning to Shanghai after 3 years, drew a strong response.

The male poster, who returned from Japan and is now job hunting in Shanghai, first cited "secondhand smoke," saying, "Honestly, Shanghai is a bit similar to Osaka, with people of all ages smoking anywhere they please. The entrances and exits of subway stations are especially terrible."

Next, he brought up "electric bikes," pointing out, "It's certainly worse than in Japan in Shanghai, with honking, disorderly driving, and sudden swerving, so you need to be careful when walking." He also revealed, "I actually quite dislike bicycles riding on sidewalks in Japan. Sometimes bicycles follow closely behind me and then pass me, which is quite stressful."

Continuing on "environment," he compared, "Japan's air quality is clearly better overall. However, Japan isn't 'dust-free' as many imagine; there's actually a lot of dust. Shanghai isn't too bad normally, but smog becomes quite noticeable in winter."

Regarding "transportation and food delivery," he stated, "Shanghai is truly unparalleled. The convenience of life and cost-performance are on a completely 'different dimension.' The biggest thing I felt after returning home was 'finally being able to use taxis and food delivery freely.' Meals can be had for just 30 yuan (approximately 700 yen) a day, and there's a wide variety of food delivery options. Transportation costs are also cheap; a 30 km ride with DiDi is 60 yuan (approx. 1400 yen), and 15 subway stations cost only 6 yuan (approx. 140 yen)."

Regarding job hunting, he said, "I've experienced job hunting in both Japan and China, and it's difficult for liberal arts graduates to find jobs in either country. Moreover, each has different 'debuffs.' The debuffs in Japan are 'foreigner + liberal arts + master's degree + not a graduate of a Japanese university.' In Japan, I applied to over 300 companies in total, and although I eventually received an offer, I declined it because the salary didn't match my expectations. However, there's one clear point about job hunting in Japan: at least it's easier to get from application to interview. Based on my experience, applying to 100 companies and getting interviews with 15 or more wasn't difficult."

On the other hand, he revealed the grim reality in China: "I've already applied to over 100 companies, but have had zero interviews," adding, "The 'debuffs' in China are 'master's degree from a Japanese graduate school + low QS ranking + liberal arts + undergraduate major is also emphasized.' Especially, the fact that I graduated from a general university within China carries a greater (negative) significance in Chinese job hunting than I had imagined."

Finally, he mentioned "prices," explaining, "Each has its cheap aspects. For ordinary daily life, it's definitely cheaper domestically, and the quality isn't bad. Moreover, there are abundant choices. Furniture and home appliances are also cheaper than in Japan. For luxury goods, like iPhones, Japan is cheaper than China."

Chinese netizens commented, "The part about bicycles in Japan is so true. It's more annoying than domestic electric bikes." "That's objective. Some say Japan is cheaper than Shanghai, but prices on e-commerce sites are completely different." "I don't think 30 yuan a day is enough for meals. Just rice vermicelli costs 25 yuan." "Dust in China is really bad. Japan has less sand dust, but there's a lot of floating dust indoors." "Job hunting, huh? Then you should work in Japan. You probably won't be able to adapt if you return home." "But Japanese iPhones can't mute the camera shutter sound, so it's embarrassing to use them domestically."

Other comments included, "The biggest problem domestically is secondhand smoke. People smoke everywhere across the country and spit phlegm on the ground after smoking. It's very disgusting." "I used to live in Tokyo, but every time I went to Osaka, the smell of cigarettes made me feel like I had returned home." "Cigarette smoke everywhere, the crazy honking of electric bikes, and people not lining up for subway escalators. If you can accept these, then it's fine." "The biggest drawback domestically is dirty toilets and spitting phlegm everywhere. Other than that, it's not bad." "Speaking of food quality, there have been big problems with bayberries and napa cabbage in the last six months. Where does the confidence to say the quality isn't bad come from?" "My friend says (Shanghai is) dirty, cheap, chaotic, and fun." (Translation/Editing by Kitada)