How Foreigners Make Japanese UNCOMFORTABLE (Unintentionally)

Hello everyone! Did you know there are some things that foreigners do that make Japanese feel uncomfortable?? Of course foreigners don't do it on purpose and if they knew, I'm sure they would avoid it! Many Japanese people can look past it, but it's important to know what these things are and why Japanese feel that way!

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Songs Used:

[MrsEats]

How many of these things apply to you? Please don't think Japanese hate foreigners because of it! Japanese people are very easy going and won't fight you or anything for these things! But they might be surprised by it happening, especailly if they don't have a lot of experience around non-Japanese people!

[davidl]

I'm an American. I used to visit Japan ever summer back in the 1990s. Once, I was on my own and got terribly lost on the train. I asked a businessman who was commuting home at the end of his day for directions. He didn't "give me directions." Rather, he interrupted his journey home and kindly showed me the way... meaning, he went out of his way to make sure I reached my destination. He actually accompanied me so I wouldn't get lost. Then, he resumed his trip home in the other direction. That blew me away. What courtesy and kindness. Says a lot about a people. I've never forgotten that.

[Limrasson]

It's funny how "rest of the world" usually just means "United States" for the japanese. It's neat because the rest of us can have a look at two weird wacky places at once.

[teddybear]

I went for the first time to Japan before this coronavirus thing started. I am not a fan of big cities so i went down south of Osaka in the Wakayama-shi prefecture for its architecture and access to the beach.
Long story short i got lost trying to find a toy store. I asked a few girls i saw in the bus for directions to head back to the train station and then later on i heard them running behind me towards me. They were worried that i won't find the way back so they walked with me half way there. I then came to an intersection and got a bit worried if i understood which way was right so i asked the only grandma i saw on the street in front of her house for directions. My japanese is not great but i made sure to learn the most politest forms when addressing people. This grandma smiled at me while i was making train sounds (chu chuuu) in hopes she understands me. She started walking with me with the same smile on her face for about 10 to 15 minutes until we got the train station. I was about to pay for the ticket but the train was already there so the grandma told the ticket booth guy something and both of them smiled at me and politely told me to hurry up and get in the train. I didn't forget to respectfully bow to both of them and thank them.
That memory will forever stay with me and it is my reason to visit Japan at least once every few years. The kindness of people goes along way.

[mongoosecandice]

About the smell, my experiences were pretty odd when I lived in Japan. Yes I was told not to use hand sanitizer when I was sick because it had a smell - I was surprised because it was plain hand sanitizer, and the unavoidable medicinal smell should be welcome if you know your coworker has to come in to work sick. BUT most people in public transportation or out and about had a strong smell in Japan. This was usually cigarette smoke smell, or "sake sweat" (as I called the salary men smell after noon). I find alcohol sweat and cigarette smoke more offensive than hand sanitizer or perfume!

[Ze_Chevalier]

Crazy, as an American I'm considered quiet, I couldn't imagine going to Japan and suddenly being considered too friendly.

[WrenBird]

America is interesting regarding smells because there's definitely STRONG feelings around them, but rather than wanting to not smell at all, Americans want to smell GOOD. Body odors are offensive, so products are made to provide strong, pleasing scents instead. Scents communicate femininity or masculinity, even wealth at times. Interesting cultural differences.

[RalphinaLy]

I have opposite experience in Japan where elders were the ones often initiate small talk regardless where I was (big city or countryside) or what I did. Their constant curiosity and kindness always made my day!

[dblev]

The first time I visited Japan we got a goodwill guide on the first day and he really set us on the right track for a wonderful trip. My Japanese was limited to numbers and a few very basic phrases. The goodwill guide taught me a few basic conversational phrases to start a conversation. He also told me to talk to the younger people because it gives them an opportunity to practice their English. Every Japanese person I met was kind and if they didn’t understand English they would politely wave me off. Every young person I talked with would carefully listen as I stumbled through my limited Japanese, and after listening to me attempt to speak in Japanese they opened right up. After all their English was much better than my Japanese.

[parkb]

It’s funny as a foreigner that has been living in Japan for about a decade, I find that on the trains in Tokyo, many young Japanese people wear strong perfume and cologne. I wear scent less deodorant and as an American, I’m surprised at how strong their scent is lol. Also when I wear my Pokémon tie to work and I go out for lunch, I often get comments from the Japanese cashier or waitress. They’ll say things like “your tie is very cute.” So maybe things are changing in Japan or maybe Japanese people know that they can act differently when interacting with foreigners.

[severedproxy]

If only "perfume harassment" was a thing in my country. I have a few coworkers who smell like they took a bath in perfume.

[thomasmckenney]

Yes when I was in Osaka I was on the train and my ticket was all in Japanese. A man next to me saw me trying to figure out where to get off he spoke great English and helped me out. He translated my ticket and showed me my next train. Amazingly great guy.

[TruOnyxfire]

The foreigners aren't making anyone uncomfortable, they make themselves feel that way, since it is their own personal beliefs and preferences they are reacting from. How you react to someone else doing nothing wrong is YOUR problem, not theirs.

[ThaPimpminista]

This explains a LOT about how the two Japanese classmates I had in college acted. Never making eye contact, the terrified expressions when I'd say "what's up bro" in the mornings 😂. And all this time I thought it was the general fear a lot of people have around a big black dude (I'm 6'4" 245lbs)

[gniccolai]

About shopkeepers talking to strangers, there are exceptions. I bought a suzuri (ink stone) and some other calligraphy material in Kyoto, and the shop owner, an adorable old lady, was so surprised she asked me where I am from and what I was doing (she then confessed she thought I might have been a foreign Buddhist monk visiting some local monastery, as I do have le physique du role 😀), but then we went on talking for about half an hour, and she sort of told me all about her family and her life!
Of course, fluent Japanese, with also some grasp of the Kandai dialect, is a must to unlock this kind of experience.

[kirinrex]

I've lived in Japan over 20 years. When I decided to grow a beard, I first asked my boss if it was okay with them, and told them that if it looked bad, they could tell me and I would shave, but my boss just laughed said her father had had a long beard, so she had no problem with beards. In fact, after I grew my beard, I had a lot of compliments from Japanese people, many of whom said I looked better with a beard.

[olcvvvi]

I'm American and I relate to a lot of what was mentioned in the video. Sometimes it feels like I align better with certain aspects of Japanese culture compared to my own. The first time that I went to Japan, it finally felt like I was surrounded by like-minded people (to an extent). All of a sudden, I'm not the quietest person in the group, most of the people that I meet take public transit, and everyone keeps the trains clean.

I am not outgoing or social enough for Americans, and I've always struggled forming friendships because of it. I don't like anything with fragrance (deodorant, laundry detergent, skincare products, etc). Even when I started puberty in middle school, I did not understand why deodorants had fragrance. My thoughts back then were, "Aren't the deodorants supposed to remove the odor? Why are they adding more smell?". (The best unscented deodorant that I've found that actually prevents odor is from a brand called Lumē.)

Anyway, I'm aware of the social and political problems that exist in Japan. I'm not the kind of person who idealizes Japan or Japanese people, but it's nice to know that some of my mannerisms and opinions on how a society should function would be considered normal in another country. I think that the global appeal of Japan is that a lot of people have similar views on things like cultural etiquette, public transit, and city planning that aren't found in other countries.

[dreaminginjapan]

No eye contact? 😂 Please tell that to all the people who stare at foreigners on the train and bus.

[sguizzooo]

as an italian most of these things are perfectly understandable (especially the smells, god i hate those super strong perfumes), except for the eye contact one, here people teach kids it's very important when talking to others to look them in the eyes since it's seen as a way to show respect and if people look away or keep their gaze low it probably means they're feeling uncomfortable and would rather not talk to you.

[lunaa]

i had a japanese friend who told me about the scent thing in japan before i went there for a time, and as someone who really hates strong smells, i was very delighted about this. however, it is a little bit different in reality, a lot of times when taking the train esp during rush hour, workers in suits would have this distinct smell: ALCOHOL STENCH.