It becomes ignorable background noise. Either you are talking to the person who’s with you or doing something on your phone. It doesn’t really register. I used to work at a theme park in North America where we had the same music track and occasional“Welcome to ..!!” announcement on loop but again it eventually stopped registering. You might be extra sensitive to these things and not a Japan thing

If you mind the musics in MacDonald, then you should go higher-class cafe.

I don't think customers generally care as they aren't usually there long enough to care.

I suspect employees learn to tune it out. I know when I worked at a similar place that is what I did.

If that wasn't the case, I think Donki or Yodobashi would have created an army of serial killers by now.

I am interested in this tbh, from the people right next to the speaker blaring out the (admittedly catchy) tunes in BIC Camera, Yodobashi, Don Quixote , the bleep-bleep tunes in big old Ryokans etc. I always am amazed that they stay sane.

Don don don donki.. donki..jote

出身国にも良い所はあるという事を思い出させる良い機会だと思います。自分は耐えられなかった。うるさすぎ！

I forget those noise. Now I’m not sure how or if there’s difference in how our brains are wired, which I believe to be the same. But there’s a bit popular story (warning: could be pseudoscience because I didn’t verify where this story come from) that Japanese and Polynesians are among a few that can hear noise from insects because the ways our brain is wired to process the sounds produced not insects like human voice rather than arbitrary background noise. Again, not sure how true this mechanism can work, but I wonder if one can determine and contrast the way individuals deals with these noisy environments.

To me it’s not any more than just getting used to it until I don’t hear it, and my unchecked guess was that anyone including residents from the foreign countries is doing that (unless it’s not the case for you at all.)

It gets to the point where you don't notice it. Worse is intermittent stimuli, when there's a loop of different melodies played.

Like u/Freak_Out_Bazaar I worked in a U.S. amusement park, and I found that I completely tuned out the calliope music that played from the moment the park opened until it closed but was driven crazy by the repetition of one particular song by a cover band playing the same set over and over each day.

As one who once worked in such environment in the old days as a baito student, we're too busy with work to even bother about the background music.

I understand that some foreigners may find Japan’s distinctive approach uncomfortable, and I do feel sorry about that. However, I hope people can also understand that there are certain reasons and background factors behind it. In commercial facilities, background music tends to be played continuously as a way of signaling that the business is open. In addition, there are often frequent in-store announcements in order to clearly communicate instructions and warnings to customers. On the other hand, in public spaces such as trains, people generally refrain from private conversations. In that sense, explanations directed at everyone may feel excessive from a foreign perspective, while personal chatter is strongly restrained. This creates a kind of deliberate contrast or balance. If the noise level in commercial areas becomes unbearable, it is usually possible to find a relatively quiet place by moving a short distance away. Ideally, I hope people can gradually adapt to navigating these different environments.

Have you never been to Disneyland?