Hmmm, interesting.
Seems strange to me to hear that Japanese people talk about food so much. But if that's what they're interested in, why not? It would seem, in that case, that food is a more common "hobby" in their culture, and fair enough. I mean, in the UK football is very popular, a lot of people spend time sitting around talking about football for quite a long time.. usually in a way that seems "mindless" rather than "intellectual" ( ), but who cares? It's just a thing you do with friends.. (although of course some enthusiasts do talk about it in more depth and "intelligence" )

Regarding clothes... I don't know much about the rest of Europe, but in the UK it is still common for people working in stores to wear a uniform. Not even in posh department stores necessarily, but in little local supermarkets... usually they are expected to wear the company tabard with their own clothes in certain colours underneath, usually plain black trousers and white shirt... and in many shops this kind of dress code is common, if not an actual uniform, then some kind of colour-coordination, usually black and white, and in a smart style. For instance in my hairdressers which is renowned for creativity, the stylists are allowed to wear their own clothes and accessories in any style they want (one of the most "liberal" allowances ^^) but still it has to be black and white to give the impression of consistency. More "menial" sorts of places like supermarket, cleaning company, in fact mainly lower-paid workplaces, they usually have a basic tabard uniform (sometimes you can wear your own clothes underneath, sometimes not); other places like bank and building society (and some stores and supermarkets) will have an entire company uniform; more upmarket stores like jewellers and posh hairdressers will have a "dress code" that allows a little bit more freedom, but the workers are still expected to adhere to certain conceptions of "good taste" and a certain "look".

I suppose what I'm trying to get at is that uniforms for work aren't uncommon in all of Europe, at least not in the UK.

As far as the office environment goes, in office work where you're not dealing directly with the public... it's true you aren't expected to wear a suit necessarily, although it's still expected for certain meetings, events etc. in a way that you get to judge after working for a while with a company. But unquestionably people still judge you on your appearance, in a work context, and on the way you dress! O_O It might seem more "casual" because you're not compelled to wear a suit every day, but believe me, those judgements (and prejudices) are still there.