Inappropriate Things to Do in Japan

[Mojinr]

This is a topic about things you probably SHOULDN’T do in Japan.

Go in a bar and ask for a drink. Then start being very rude (Speaking in English only) and throw booze everywhere and wait until someone finally stands up to you and ask you to leave. Then, eyeing everyone in the room and finally the person in your face and loudly exclaim, in perfect Japanese “I’m gonna go WW2 on ya ass SO hard this whole bar is gonna look like Hiroshima after America (Or for those from America you cane get extra points for saying “we”) blew you sorry ching-changs up!”

For alternative way, you could go and cover a Shinto shrine with crucifixes or replace all Japanese flags with a new flag of a nuclear detonation on them.

All of these are overexaggerations of things you shouldn't do in Japan. But of course, if you want to name a normal one then feel free.

[PopCulturePooka]

Try and act like a Japanese person.

[BluZytrix]

Try and act like a Japanese person.
Seriously? I know that after a while, you start to pick up tendancies of the Japanese. Take Az's bowing to the pizza man when he came back to the states. Whether or not I am conciously doing it, I think there are many Japanese things that I will pick up that I won't realize until I come back to the states.

[PopCulturePooka]

Oh picking up mannerisms and quirks = Ok.
Actively trying to kill your foreigness and become just like a Japanese person?
Sure, do taht, become an outcast in two worlds!:D

[co_delphi]

I know that most nationalities become belligerent if you emulate their accent. I'm pretty sure if you do the same you will get people pissed at you (I do it unconsciously to British, Irish and Aussies).

[Monkey]

I know that most nationalities become belligerent if you emulate their accent. I'm pretty sure if you do the same you will get people pissed at you (I do it unconsciously to British, Irish and Aussies).


Really? I don't tend to try an emulate other english accents (irish, aussie, american, etc.) But imitating the accent of a foreign language can be very useful.

For instance if you try to speak welsh without putting on a welsh accent you will find it very hard for people to understand you. Likewise in france it can help if you try to put on a slight french accent.

Personally the absolute worst thing I hear people doing is speaking a foreign language but keeping a thick american accent on it. It tends to sound like you are forcing the words out rather than trying to speak naturally. i suppose it also applies to aussie accents and any other broad english dialect. It's just that I have hideous memories of an american trying to speak french....

[BluZytrix]

Monkey, i agree. I would also like to add that if you don't try using their accent, it says to me that you aren't trying hard enough to learn the language.

[KaiLing23]

I know that most nationalities become belligerent if you emulate their accent. I'm pretty sure if you do the same you will get people pissed at you (I do it unconsciously to British, Irish and Aussies).

holy. that is one ugly dog. (about the avatar) :confused: sorry. :D

[KaiLing23]

Monkey, i agree. I would also like to add that if you don't try using their accent, it says to me that you aren't trying hard enough to learn the language.

cause the nuances are part of the package. little thing it may be but sometimes it does mean the difference between being understood and not. :p

[GovernorOfCA]

This is a topic about things you probably SHOULDN’T do in Japan.


When I was studying abroad, one of the American students in our group got drunk and peed on a local Shinto shrine.

In the ensuing weeks, he was hospitalized twice, once with a spider bite on his foot and once when he broke his toe after diving over a bush to catch a frisbee. He hobbled around on crutches for most of his stay in disabled person-unfriendly Japan.

Lesson: Do not pee on holy things.

[Monkey]

When I was studying abroad, one of the American students in our group got drunk and peed on a local Shinto shrine.

In the ensuing weeks, he was hospitalized twice, once with a spider bite on his foot and once when he broke his toe after diving over a bush to catch a frisbee. He hobbled around on crutches for most of his stay in disabled person-unfriendly Japan.

Lesson: Do not pee on holy things.

Classic!

Now that is truly offensive. Just as long as noone saw him, I know that public urination isn't wrong in Japan but I'm sure people might get offended at that one :p

[koku]

speak really good Japanese, because I mean....that would make you hen na gaijin no?

[Kass]

Get a tattoo.

[Henjin]

Most of these are inappropriate things to do anywhere...

[PopCulturePooka]

You know whats sad?

You can't actually add 'Masturbate in Public' to this list.

[hapacheese]

Stick your chopsticks in your rice.

Pass food between people by going chopsticks to chopsticks.

Wear your shoes inside people's houses or in tatami rooms in restauarants.

Forget to bring a handkerchief with you.

Talk on your cellphone in trains.



On not trying to act Japanese - Why is that? There is a distinct difference between *thinking* you're Japanese, and acting culturally appropriate. I see nothing wrong with a gaijin enjoying a soak in an onsen, putting on a yukata, and sipping sake or tea... or bowing when meeting people for the first time, etc.

[Henjin]

Forget to bring a handkerchief with you.

Is this the whole blowing-nose-in-public thing, or something else?

[hapacheese]

No... A lot of bathrooms don't have paper towels. So, if you feel like wiping your hands on your own clothes and being sopping wet, then it's cool.

Also, if you're going during the summer, you will never. stop. sweating.

[Henjin]

Fan-freakin-tastic. Heh. Thanks for the tip. I gotta remember to bring some.

[mediocre]

Don't forget the joy of going to the bathroom and realizing they dont have tissue paper.

[hapacheese]

I experience that more in the US than in Japan, actually...

[Henjin]

*Packs 4rolls of TP*

How do you say 'toilet paper?' 「トイレぺーぱー」？「便所の紙？」:D

[hapacheese]

トイレットペーパー


(...is apparently not long enough to post by itself.)

[Henjin]

It's just so crazy, it might be true...

And hey, if a bathroom can be called an 「お手洗い」, would a bidet be called a 「お尻洗い」?

(j/k)

[atomiton]

actually, due to the katakana-ized engrish in Japan, emulating a Japanese accent (akusento) can help you be more easily understood... Imagine saying english in a perfect english accent "department store" followed by japanese accent: ni ikimasu ka.

or try asking them if they know what "parallel" means... (parareru)...

it's funny when people think you're just saying english word in a "making fun of" japanese accent... until they realize it has to do with the katakana alphabet.

(Are you going to "Paris" or "pah-ree"). In Japan, they use the French (obviously) pronounciation.

[Henjin]

actually, due to the katakana-ized engrish in Japan, emulating a Japanese accent (akusento) can help you be more easily understood... Imagine saying english in a perfect english accent "department store" followed by japanese accent: ni ikimasu ka.

Exactly! It throws the rythym completely off and is probably incomprehensible. It's funny how I say the same word two different ways depending on the context. Like 「羽田」（はねだ)Haneda airport. When I'm speaking English, I say 'Huh-nay-da. Speaking Japanese, though, it's hah-neh-dah.　　Hard to explain in writing, but you know what I mean. Same as kare-ee-oh-kee vs. kah-rah-oh-keh.

[atomiton]

no doubt... common in most translated things... although I draw the line at potpouri being pronounced "pot-pour-ee"

Japan being so different in the way the consonants can't be alone, and the fact that it's monosyllabic, without stress being on one syllable... that it's actually very difficult to transliterate.

[Henjin]

I find that you can flow pretty smoothly between Spanish and Japanese. Try saying. 'Mi pantaloones ha doko desu ka.' Eh? Eh?

[atomiton]

true. Spanish and and Tagalog use the same vowel sounds as Japanese... and the consonants, barring the r-r-r-rolling R are the same too.

Spanish is a relatively easy language for Japanese speakers to become audibly fluent in.

[Pierrot le Fou]

The phonemes in Japanese and Spanish are very similar due to the prevalence of consonant-vowel combinations (and vowel word endings) as well as the limited vowel sounds.

Other inappropriate things to do:
- Speak very colloquially with someone who's older than you/your boss/someone you just met
- Discuss politics or other serious discussion topics in a bar or other place for enjoyment
- Rebuff a polite/kind gesture too many times
- Getting soap in the bathtub

The problem is that most of the inappropriate things to do (barring hapa's list) are manners of degree and scope rather than direction, and that it's far more about knowing how far you can push things and how far is appropriate. The social conventions in Japan for polite versus rude are really really complex, like dinner etiquette for eating with nobility and knowing which fork to use. It's not that using the wrong fork is rude, but using the fork incorrectly might be.

It's really difficult to make a list. You just start to learn more, and understand the societal reasons behind things (generally falling into cleanliness/hygiene, funeral stuff, and maintaining social harmony) and figure out how all the pieces fall into place. Once you start to get a scope of the issues at hand, you start to figure out what is and isn't rude. Sort of.

[hapacheese]

Actually, Japanese and Spanish are very close in their phonemes. Try saying "Onaka suita" in Japanese. It sounds suspiciously like saying "a small house" in Spanish :D

[Henjin]

I say 'Chorros ga arimasu' when I don't want anyone but my family to know what I'm talking about.

[atomiton]

something not to say in japan:
kimi no chichi ga suki desu!

[Henjin]

But always remember to apologize:
ごめん…許せ!

[Annorax]

But always remember to apologize:
ごめん…許せ!

Call me a n00b, but... these ???'s are Japanese characters I'm not getting, right?

[Sedated]

Call me a n00b, but... these ???'s are Japanese characters I'm not getting, right?

Yeah it means your browser doesn't have the language pack installed for it.

[atomiton]

no... those are question marks. @_@; (笑)

[Henjin]

Call me a n00b, but... these ???'s are Japanese characters I'm not getting, right?

'???' is an ancient Japanese proverb, which roughly translated means "Get the language pack, ahou.'

;)

[akitaka]

But always remember to apologize:
ごめん…許せ!

Not to be lewd, but in relation to the past posts regarding JP bust, she might walk away with a little more ego.

[Pierrot le Fou]

something not to say in japan:
kimi no chichi ga suki desu!
Which roughly translates to 'I like my father in law.'

Only not quite.

You want to say 'chinchin' not 'chichi'

[Enjoy]

After I move there will be several days of stormtroopers walking down the streets of osaka.

[Henjin]

Which roughly translates to 'I like my father in law.'

Only not quite.

You want to say 'chinchin' not 'chichi'


:eek: :D

[Pierrot le Fou]

父【ちち】 means father. Specifically your own father. When not addressing him. So since you can't really like someone else's father using the word for your own father, I guess it could seem as incorrectly trying to state that you like your father-in-law if said to your girlfriend. But most likely you'd just get blank stares.

Chinchin is the word you want.

[Azrael]

On not trying to act Japanese - Why is that? There is a distinct difference between *thinking* you're Japanese, and acting culturally appropriate. I see nothing wrong with a gaijin enjoying a soak in an onsen, putting on a yukata, and sipping sake or tea... or bowing when meeting people for the first time, etc.
Well, the thing is, we are never, ever, ever, EVER going to be Japanese. Doesn't matter how low we bow or how well we use chopsticks. Doesn't matter how good our Japanese is. We can even marry a Japanese girl, have 2.4 half-Japanese babies, build a house out in the rice paddies and complain about politics with all the other local farmers, and we will STILL never be Japanese. I think many of us who come here, especially the ones who had an interest in the country beforehand, try really hard to at least kind of fit in, only to find our efforts completely futile.

But some people take it way too far. More than just reading the Yomiuri in a sauna, or wearing a yukata to a summer festival, they sort of get wrapped up in it all. They spend most of their time with their Japanese girlfriend (of course they have one) and their other Japanese friends. They try to adopt a Japanese way of life/thinking. But in the process, they tend to alienate the foreigners around them who are doing their best to stick together (cause we've got nothing else). So then they alienate the foreigners...but then as I said, they will NEVER EVER "be" Japanese, so it's like a self-imposed exile.

[Pierrot le Fou]

Wow Az, that's, errr, a little off. I spend most of my time around Japanese people, and my Japanese girlfriend, but I certainly don't try to become Japanese (even if it does subtly happen on its own). And I sure as Hell don't alienate the foreigners around me by any means. You're sounding more and more embittered by the day, why did you recontract?

[Azrael]

No...you know the type. Remember Matt out in Kyotanabe? That's the kind.

I'm actually OK. I re-adpoted my long standing policy of "I must accept that which I cannot change or control." I'm kind of looking at the country objectively now, and enjoying the things I may not be able to enjoy after I leave.

[Enjoy]

Personally I think it'd be more fun to play around as the stereo-type they believe us to be-

[Kustom]

(Are you going to "Paris" or "pah-ree"). In Japan, they use the French (obviously) pronounciation.

I wish... Most of the time they try to pronounce foreign words with a katakanized Engrish accent, no matter if it's French or Portuguese... :(

Things you shouldn't do:
- Blow your nose loudly in public (I still do it though)
- Criticize Japan
- Get angry (in public)
- Complain (in public)
- Criticize Japan
- Mention sex (in public conversations) or sexual jokes
- Stare at people you don't know
- Criticize Japan
- Eat in the street, unless it's a small onigiri or something
- Put chopsticks/fork, knives, etc/food in direct contact with the table (Japanese obsession with hygien)

Can someone explain me why the ffffk Japanese people are so obsessed with cleanliness, BUT won't have paper towels in restaurants or soap in restrooms? (if you knew how often I see salarymen exiting the restrooms without washing their hands...)

And don't criticize Japan... Never works.

[hapacheese]

父【ちち】 means father. Specifically your own father. When not addressing him. So since you can't really like someone else's father using the word for your own father, I guess it could seem as incorrectly trying to state that you like your father-in-law if said to your girlfriend. But most likely you'd just get blank stares.

Chinchin is the word you want.

Actually, "chichi" also means "breasts" :) So, he was right, although, your suggestion could possibly still be more appropriate :D


Well, the thing is, we are never, ever, ever, EVER going to be Japanese. Doesn't matter how low we bow or how well we use chopsticks. Doesn't matter how good our Japanese is <snip> try really hard to at least kind of fit in, only to find our efforts completely futile.

But some people take it way too far. More than just reading the Yomiuri in a sauna, or wearing a yukata to a summer festival, they sort of get wrapped up in it all. They spend most of their time with their Japanese girlfriend (of course they have one) and their other Japanese friends. They try to adopt a Japanese way of life/thinking. But in the process, they tend to alienate the foreigners around them who are doing their best to stick together (cause we've got nothing else). So then they alienate the foreigners...but then as I said, they will NEVER EVER "be" Japanese, so it's like a self-imposed exile.

Ah, I see what you mean. My comment was primarily talking about the little things, not an attempt at complete conversion. I guess I'm used to seeing gaijin in Japan on constant Gaijin Smash mode (to borrow your phrase). For example, one of our ex-pats in Japan is a nice enough guy, but he's been living there for 4-5 years now, and hardly speaks a lick of Japanese, is extremely loud, and generally, fits the description of the average stereotype of the image of a gaijin.

Being "American" is completely different than being "Japanese." American is much more of an ideal, vs being "Japanese" is much more of a racial identity. You're right... a gaijin will never be Japanese. But, integrating as best you can into the culture goes a long way. It doesn't mean shunning your "true" culture, but rather knowing where to draw the lines. The gaijin friends I have in Japan that I hang out with tend to be this kind... simply because the gaijin (that I know, at least) that refuse to at least attempt to accept Japanese culture, well, all they ever want to do is head out to Roppongi, do nampa in Shibuya, etc. I don't do that.

But personally, I know that I'm not truly Japanese. Nor am I truly American. Pierrot and I have had this discussion separately, but I believe my own personal culture lies somewhere in between. I enjoy wearing yukata and going to obon. I enjoy sitting in the rotenburo with a cup of sake. I enjoy sitting under a sakura tree with a sake and my guitar, etc. I also take on a very Japanese attitude when dealing with fellow Japanese businessmen... but I also let people know where I draw my lines (i.e. misogyny, etc). People will laugh and say "都合のいいときだけ外人ぶりやがって！" but I think they understand and we all laugh it off. There's no presumption on my part that I think I'm fully Japanese, but there certainly is a middleground that can be reached.

[hapacheese]

- Mention sex (in public conversations) or sexual jokes

Really? It seems to me like every other conversation I have when there are no women around revolves around sex.

- Criticize Japan

It's all in the wording. Remember, the Japanese are the masters of passive-aggressive complaining/criticizing. You just need to do it in a similar way.

[Pierrot le Fou]

The Japanese bitch about Japan more than the foreigners do. And that's saying something. I do, after all, know Az. The thing is that you have to be 内 (in group) and know what actual complaining looks like. I have heard rants on politicians, rants about the government, rants about taxes, and rants about crappy treatment of foreigners. From Japanese. Without prompting.

You just have to realize that they don't bitch like we do. The complaint is implied rather than explicitly stated. When a Japanese person says, 'boy, the national pension system sure is in trouble!' they are saying, 'my God, are the politicians fucking cretins for making us pay more to get less when they won't even pay themselves?'

When they say, 'did you here about that Democratic Party candidate who lied about where he got his degree from?' they're really saying, 'that dishonest little fuck deserves what's coming to him.' When they say, 'That Kamei-san sure has been in the LDP for a long time' they're saying, 'He's a friend of business with half a noggin and no concept of the average Japanese.'

And they do it a lot. You just have to know what to look for. You should see my girlfriend bitch when we watch the news...

[Sayaka]

Doing this European/Latin American style greeting: Kissing someone on the cheeks (friendly, not romantic).

[Kustom]

The Japanese bitch about Japan more than the foreigners do. And that's saying something.


Oh yeah, they sure do... I'm saying that we cannot do it without being hit with:
- "You don't understand Japan", or
- "Oh my, you really hate Japan don't you?"

I mean, sure there are good and bad ways to convey critics; nevertheless, no matter how subtly you put it, criticism by foreigners often triggers some kind of defensive mecanism: they shut their minds to whatever it is you're trying to say. Japanese culture tolerates criticism from insiders, not outsiders. Bitching about your own family, company or country is accepted, even encouraged... But if you're not part of the group, then you are not supposed to criticize... This is something I have a hard time dealing with, being French and all.

I have to watch my mouth all the time. Even if I say, like, "ah, I wish those old creepy chikan were not harassing girls in the metro like this". Even though my girlfriend wholeheartedly agrees, she usually replies something that once run through the Japanese indirectness translator says: "Japan, love it or leave it, punk".

Now I just try to make her say it, and then I just nod. I think it's the only way to go...

Hapacheese: Now that you mention it, sex IS the number one topic Japanese guys talk about! I just hang around girls too much...

[atomiton]

Actually, "chichi" also means "breasts" :) So, he was right, although, your suggestion could possibly still be more appropriate :D




Ah, I see what you mean. My comment was primarily talking about the little things, not an attempt at complete conversion. I guess I'm used to seeing gaijin in Japan on constant Gaijin Smash mode (to borrow your phrase). For example, one of our ex-pats in Japan is a nice enough guy, but he's been living there for 4-5 years now, and hardly speaks a lick of Japanese, is extremely loud, and generally, fits the description of the average stereotype of the image of a gaijin.

Being "American" is completely different than being "Japanese." American is much more of an ideal, vs being "Japanese" is much more of a racial identity. You're right... a gaijin will never be Japanese. But, integrating as best you can into the culture goes a long way. It doesn't mean shunning your "true" culture, but rather knowing where to draw the lines. The gaijin friends I have in Japan that I hang out with tend to be this kind... simply because the gaijin (that I know, at least) that refuse to at least attempt to accept Japanese culture, well, all they ever want to do is head out to Roppongi, do nampa in Shibuya, etc. I don't do that.


This isn't a slam on Americans at all... but in travelling circles they "generally" have a reputation as being loud and obnoxious and ignorant of other cultures.

There's a reason that large fences are put up around Stonehenge. Generally, the locals know not to touch the old stuff... possibly due to being brought up that way... but American culture is very... tactile... hands on... everything is new and what not.

I'm sure a considerable percentage of gaijin smashes are actually "Merikan-jin" smash.

IN any case, one can't typify a nation (especially one as diverse as the US) into one lump sum based on a "reputation," as there are many who don't fit the stereotype, and many who are the opposite. It varies from person to person.

In regard to the "Chi chi," it was, indeed, a pun. As a foreigner they wouldn't be sure if you're talking about their dad (because foreigners can't speak japanese, right?) or their breasts... so it's actually kind of funny.

(I use romaji so all can read)
how about: chi chi ha chi chi ga aru. (dad has breasts)

or kimi no chi chi ha ookii. (your dad/breasts is/are big)

or chi chi no chi chi ha surusuru. (dad's boobs are smooth)

I love Japanese puns... the language lends itself perfectly to it.

michael jordan no joudan ha ma ikeru joudan.
choshoku koboshite cho shokku!

Anyone know any good ones?

Aside from the niwa ni ha niwa ni ha...

[Henjin]

Aside from the niwa ni ha niwa ni ha...


What's wrong w/ that one? :p

[koku]

I want to first say what's wrong with "When in Rome do as Romans do"?

Mabye because I hear weather to me or others "wanna be jap" or "act black" enough times, I kind of have a personal grudge with this topic. It's reeeeeeally annnoying when a person assumes because you're one race or heritage you can only act a certian way. So when you're in Japan and you're following their cultures and customs, when you're just trying to get into some of their likes and dislikes, I don't know why one should hear, "Oh now you're trying to act Japanese what a loser."

Atleast...that's how I feel. I want to scream about that. I think "who we are" is much much more than how we dress and act in public. Or how we want to present ourselves. When I think who I am, I think more of the thoughts that run through my head and how I go into situations.

I don't think,

black, Ethiopian, american or whatever. That's just where I've been. Don't know if that makes sense.

Who I am in a cognitive sense means much more to me.


*There shoudln't even be an "act Japanese" scale. I just think the idea is silly. I should be ashamed for wanting to absorb the culture I'm in?

[Henjin]

郷に入れば郷に従え。
[Gou ni ireba gou ni shitgae.]

[BluZytrix]

I want to first say what's wrong with "When in Rome do as Romans do"?

Mabye because I hear weather to me or others "wanna be jap" or "act black" enough times, I kind of have a personal grudge with this topic. It's reeeeeeally annnoying when a person assumes because you're one race or heritage you can only act a certian way. So when you're in Japan and you're following their cultures and customs, when you're just trying to get into some of their likes and dislikes, I don't know why one should hear, "Oh now you're trying to act Japanese what a loser."

Atleast...that's how I feel. I want to scream about that. I think "who we are" is much much more than how we dress and act in public. Or how we want to present ourselves. When I think who I am, I think more of the thoughts that run through my head and how I go into situations.

I don't think,

black, Ethiopian, american or whatever. That's just where I've been. Don't know if that makes sense.

Who I am in a cognitive sense means much more to me.


*There shoudln't even be an "act Japanese" scale. I just think the idea is silly. I should be ashamed for wanting to absorb the culture I'm in?


Amen. Preach the truth. This makes perfect sense. I get comments like "Man, you are the least "black" black guy that I have ever met." Please feel free to prevent those people from reproducing.

[hapacheese]

電話に誰でも出んわ。

布団が吹っ飛んだ！


...I am ashamed.

[raevyn]

Amen. Preach the truth. This makes perfect sense. I get comments like "Man, you are the least "black" black guy that I have ever met." Please feel free to prevent those people from reproducing.


I've gotten similiar comments heh

[co_delphi]

Well, the thing is, we are never, ever, ever, EVER going to be Japanese. Doesn't matter how low we bow or how well we use chopsticks. Doesn't matter how good our Japanese is. We can even marry a Japanese girl, have 2.4 half-Japanese babies, build a house out in the rice paddies and complain about politics with all the other local farmers, and we will STILL never be Japanese. I think many of us who come here, especially the ones who had an interest in the country beforehand, try really hard to at least kind of fit in, only to find our efforts completely futile.

Az, I think the key is that you have to get the look down. I'm sure if you were to coat yourself with light tan make-up along with wearing a yukata to a summer festival. (if you can't tell the intended sarcasm it is there)

[Kustom]

Az, I think the key is that you have to get the look down. I'm sure if you were to coat yourself with light tan make-up along with wearing a yukata to a summer festival. (if you can't tell the intended sarcasm it is there)

Sad thing is they'd actually think you'd be ridiculous for doing this, while they see nothing wrong with their daughters trying to look like Beyonce...

[stillbornsinger]

One that hasn't been brought up yet...

pour soy sauce directly onto your rice.

I was told by my Japanese girlfriend (I think, was a while back) that it is considered to be an insult to the chef.

On the subject of sex in Japanese conversation... uh, yeah, I've heard both my male and female Japanese friends bring it up several times, and they've had no problem discussing it in detail in public. Also, when I was hospitalized about a year ago, two of my Japanese female friends brought me some Japanese porn magazines and a box of tissues. I had a good laugh about the magazines with my American friends when they came to visit as it was one of my first times seeing a Japanese porn mag and well, for anyone who's seen one... you understand.

A few days later the female friends came back to visit again and one of the nurses came in and was doing something when they started talking in Japanese, I couldn't really understand it all but I figured out they were talking about the magazines which I had in the drawer with a lock on it.

After the nurse left I asked my friend what they were talking about, and she said, "oh, your porn magazine in the drawer" I responded with "What?!? you told her that?" and she came back at me with oh, its ok, the nurse says all the old Japanese men kept their porn magazines in their locked drawers too.


so far as fitting in, yeah, I try my best to fit in, I don't really see anything wrong with it, and I truely think the Japanese do some things better/think about some things in a better way than Americans do. So I've adopted some of those practices and ideas. The over the top american anime guys, and the Japanese people wearing baggy jeans and phat farm shirts are another thing though...

[Henjin]

For real real.

[atomiton]

What's wrong w/ that one? :p

oh nothing... i just know it already... ;-)

actually... i wanna know some more hayaku kotoba

[Kustom]

On the subject of sex in Japanese conversation... uh, yeah, I've heard both my male and female Japanese friends bring it up several times, and they've had no problem discussing it in detail in public. Also, when I was hospitalized about a year ago, two of my Japanese female friends brought me some Japanese porn magazines and a box of tissues.


o_O???

You got some pretty weird friends dude! :D

Among my female friends, the typical reaction when mentionning sex is the embarassed laughter, followed by annoyed looks or even anger if you insist too much.

For a cute little Japanese girl, it's perfectly ok to say: "Oh my, I have such a bad case of diarhea today!" over dinner; but talking about how often you have sex for instance, is out of line for girls that are nearly 30... Maybe I'm hanging out with the snobbish crowd? :(

[hapacheese]

It also depends on how you broach the subject. I just had a conversation over dinner with a friend, while hanging out with a group, about how she had a dream that she was working as a clean-up girl in a strip club, and one of our mutual friends paid for her to strip. When she walked over to him, he whipped it out, and had 6 penises (penii?). She didn't want to hurt his feelings, so said, "Wow... 6, huh?" and slowly backed away. When she got backstage, she booked it over to her boss and screamed, "He's got 6 penises!!!" To which her boss responded, "Yeah, that's normal."

Quite an interesting conversation.



As for the soy sauce on rice thing, that hadn't even occured to me. Nobody in my family (not even the white folk) does that because everyone knows, well, you just don't do that. I guess I forgot that some folk do :D

[Henjin]

I wouldn't have known the difference...

[atomiton]

soy sauce on rice is like ketchup on steak.

some do it, most despise it... but in the end... it really doesn't matter.

soy on rice is done in England... so what.

[hapacheese]

The "so what" is because this is a thread about things not to do in Japan. It's a little more, I don't know, "taboo" I guess in Japan.

[Pierrot le Fou]

Are you serious? That would explain why my girlfriend flipped out when our dinner guest (from Canada) poured soy sauce on her rice. I thought it was weird, but wasn't about to tell a guest how to eat their food (unless it has to do with the chopsticks/food taboos), but apparently it's rude to the chef.

I need to find where we keep the soy sauce so I can pour it on my rice EVERY meal >:)

[Kustom]

Yeah, as a rule you shouldn't mix the sauce with the rice; even when eating curry the Japanese like to keep both nicely separated. My girlfriend just hates it when I mix everything!

[Pierrot le Fou]

I always mix the curry together. Always. I guess the CocoIchi people must think I'm odd. But man, they give the PERFECT mix of curry and rice, and it just begs 'PLEASE MIX ME!'

And anyway, they're not chefs. They're fast food workers.

[hanacker]

Is rice cooking really such an art that it's rude to the chef not to eat it as is? I thought almost everyone just threw rice in a machine and let it sit for twenty minutes. How do the pros cook rice?

I've known since I was a kid that only weird people put shoyu on rice, but I'd never heard that it was rude.

[Quartermaster]

By bouncing knives off the table while it sits.

[JustTooCrazy]

Pooping on a sidewalk midday infront of an old lady.

[hapacheese]

It's not so much as it's "rude to the chef" (that's partially true), it's simply very bad manners. I'd be like licking your plate when you're done with a meal, or eating steak with your hands in a good restaurant.

That sort of thing.

[Henjin]

I'd be like licking your plate when you're done with a meal, or eating steak with your hands in a good restaurant.

That sort of thing.

We can't do that either? For cryin' out loud...

[Kustom]

Oh yeah, and remember to always make noise when eating ramen or soba! Took me about 500 meals to master the trick.

[stsparky]

Patting an adult on the top of their head is considered bad manners.

One thing that bothered me back when I was at Kodansha were fellow gaijin who'd go out of their way to avoid other foreigners. I'm a chatty helpful sort and it really irked me. One Dutch person used to cross to the other side of the alley to not share a side with me - so one day I crossed when he crossed and got into his face to wish him a "good morning." - Sparky