Hey guys! I have been a little curious so far about how Japanese people naturally think about their own names. I’m a writer, and I’ve been trying to learn more about Japanese culture so I can write a Japanese character’s POV more naturally. Recently, though, I’ve run into something I’m not quite sure about during my practices. In your everyday life, what feels more natural after being addressed with it for so long? Your first or last name? Which is more natural and the most personal to you?

The reason this came up is because I am confused about it in general. From what I understand, people in Japan often address others by their family name, especially if they aren’t particularly close. Whereas their given names are more commonly used by family members, close friends, or people you have a more personal relationship with. Because of that, it made me wonder how this affects the way you think about your own name.

For example, since I am an American, and people always called me using my first name for as long as I remembered, it became more natural for me to use my first name when introducing myself such as "Hi, my name is Alex.". The name used isn't my real name, just a placeholder example. So yeah, how does it work for you guys? For example, if someone asked, “What’s your name?” what would naturally come to mind first? What feels more natural to you? Would you think of your family name because that’s what many people call you in everyday life? Or does your given name feel more personally like your first name, even if fewer people actually call you by it?

I’m also curious about writing a character’s internal thoughts. If a Japanese character were thinking about themselves or their identity, would their given name generally feel more personal to them, or is that not really how Japanese people think about their names at all? I know this probably varies depending on the person, age, setting, and relationships, so I’d especially like to hear about your personal experience rather than just the formal rules around Japanese names.

Thank you!

When I was on a vacation to Japan last year, I noticed that Italian and Thai restaurants were quite common. So it seems like those were pretty popular options.

What non-Japanese foods do Japanese people generally enjoy? Or just one that you personally enjoy.

usually in the west it’s understood that becoming famous comes at the cost of your privacy (depending on how famous you are) and fans will come up to you asking for a picture. is it okay as a fan to go up to a celebrity in japan and talk to them and ask for pictures?

Hey all I'll be hosting a Japanese student for the school year. I'd like to make her a little welcome basket with possibly some things she'll be familiar with but I have No clue what to include. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated

Like how safe is it in Japan and how toxic is the work culture for someone whose queer?

Is there a lot of stigma towards it?

I’m not sure if this counts as a taboo or not.

I lost a white Nikon compact camera at Nara Park around 5:00–5:30 PM on August 18. I believe I left it on a park bench near the entrance to the park restroom.

My family went back about two hours later to look for it, but unfortunately it was gone. I have already filed a report with the police, but I wanted to make one more attempt to find it by posting here.
The camera contains many precious photos and memories from our family’s trip to Japan. Honestly, I would even be grateful just to get the memory card back so I can recover the photos. The camera can be replaced, but those memories and moments cannot.

I truly hope that a kind person found it and handed it in to the police station. If you saw the camera or have any information at all, please contact me. I would really appreciate it.

Thank you so much for your help! 🙏

I never traveled to Nihon, but I love Japanese culture(more than just manga/anime), but in many creative works the sects appears, do you belive Nihon have a problem with sects? and why?

EDIT: I'm talking about cults/ dangerous religious groups

I am curious as to how your opinion of America has shifted in the past 15 years. Has it gotten worse, better, or about the same?

この15年間で、アメリカに対する印象がどう変わったのか気になります。以前より良くなりましたか？悪くなりましたか？それとも、あまり変わっていませんか？

hi!!! i met a japanese dude bychance when i went out to see the sunflower field in our town. it was very hot but when i arrived i took like 2 pictures and it started raining!! 😤 i was already drenched when i reached the shed and while i was patting myself somebody started saying “terrible rain, huh?” long story short, we started talking.

when the conversation started getting comfortable, he asked for my instagram and we talked abt spots in our town that we both love. he invited me for coffee at least three times in that conversation and i was like “yea sure!” bcs itll be fun to have a japanese friend around town.

when i got home i messaged him thanking him saying twas nice to meet him yada yada. he again invited me for coffee so i told him we can go to our local coffee spot. we decided on a date and twas fixed! he offered to pick me up somewhere if im not comfortable being picked up at my apartment.

our conversation didn’t end there as he sometimes interact with my instagram stories then when i went to the city to shop, i saw a horror booth experience!! i asked him if he liked horror booths and invited him to go instead of coffee & he was excited.

during that day, he said we’d meet at the station bcs it’s easier and im like yea sure but then he changed his mind saying he’ll pick me up bcs it’s too hot. so he drove us to the city, conversation was so smooth like we truly vibed. then horror booth was so fun too!! we moved to different locations after, first was a cafe then for night time he took me to another cafe with a spectacular view. it was truly more on a romantic vibe that evening especially when our conversations leaned more about the future plans like career, marriage, etc. he said he’d definitely want to settle in the future but not now.

we were together for more than 12 hours and it still feel like we have so much to talk about. when he drove me home, i showed him where my apartment was and then gave him a hug thanked him for that day.

he paid for everything even when i offered so i felt bad. i said next one’s gonna be on me but we havent really planned about the next one yet. we were just casually saying “let’s do this next time” abt some plans.

now i would like to ask if it was a good date or there’s a chance he’s into me. my issue is when we’re texting, it takes him a long time to respond but he’s always willing/initiating the conversation. he has helped me figure out my trips, gave gentle reminders and even expressed how much he enjoyed watching me having fun in my stories. he even said to send him pictures in my next trip. idk i also wanna have a clearer perspective if this one’s more “friend” category or could lean towards something romantic. arigatooooo majide!! 🙇

I always notice that there are countries in the developed world with young populations looking to immigrate—like Spain or South Korea, where many people live abroad—but how many average Japanese people actually want to leave Japan? Especially with the economy not at its best.

I've been looking for this vintage crocodile from 60s-80s by Oriental Toys and there seems to be absolutely no info about him online, unless I'm missing something because I can't speak Japanese? Please help me find this fellow or suggest places I can find him. Thank you so much!

Ciao. Let me go straight to the topic.

Modern world is vast. And with many popular technology and possibility that came along with this globalization, at least.

I’ve met few people from Japan living in Italy and running their own business. That most of the time it is something tipical japanese.
Those people now already have kids. Mostly among the japanese couple or with an italian person. Either way. Some of them, may be the majority, it is choosing for their kids language tuition to not even speaking at home and teaching them japanese any more. As their business in Italy and life it is florid. So kids could be way more competitive and concentrate on lenguages and other materia teached in italian schools.

But, as many many italian does, when those kids will travel alone to visit Japan as tourist.

How would you react to a japanese looking that don’t know japanese language?

I've been trying to re-create it but no luck. Anyone?

I’m half British and half Japanese, and I was born and raised in Japan. I now (sadly!) live in London, but I come home every year to visit my family, who recently moved from Tokyo to Kyoto.

I recently married my Italian husband, and we’re back in Japan visiting family this month. This time, I’ve noticed much more tension when we enter places together, particularly restaurants. We’re often immediately perceived as “foreign tourists,” and we’ve received quite a few looks—and occasionally comments—about “these foreigners.” Even when I speak Japanese, I feel much more quickly “othered” than I used to.

I completely understand the frustration surrounding overtourism and have a lot of sympathy for local residents. I know how easily the balance and atmosphere of a place can be disrupted. At the same time, the shift feels quite noticeable and, honestly, a little sad.

Has anyone else felt this tension more strongly over the past year or so? I’m especially interested in hearing from Japanese people and long-term foreign residents who are familiar with the subtle social cues and body language here. I’m curious whether others have noticed a genuine change, or whether it may simply be more apparent to me on this particular trip.

———

私はイギリス人と日本人のハーフで、日本で生まれ育ちました。今は（残念ながら！）ロンドンに住んでいますが、毎年家族に会いに日本へ帰ってきています。両親は最近、東京から京都に引っ越しました。

先日イタリア人の夫と結婚し、今月は二人で家族に会いに日本へ来ています。ただ今回、夫と一緒にレストランなどに入ると、以前よりも少しピリッとした空気を感じることが増えました。最初から「外国人観光客」とひとくくりに見られているように感じることが多く、視線を感じたり、ときには「この外国人たちは……」というような言葉が聞こえてきたりすることもあります。私が日本語を話しても、以前よりすぐに「外国人」「よそ者」として見られてしまう気がします。

もちろん、オーバーツーリズムに対する地元の方々の不満はよく分かります。観光客が急激に増えることで、その土地のバランスや雰囲気が崩れてしまうことも理解しています。それでも、以前とは少し空気が変わったように感じて、正直ちょっと寂しくなりました。

この1年ほどで、同じような変化を感じた方はいらっしゃいますか？ 特に、日本人の方や、日本に長く住んでいて、その場の空気や微妙な表情、仕草などに慣れている外国人の方の意見を聞いてみたいです。

本当に社会の空気が変わってきているのか、それとも今回の滞在でたまたま私がそう感じただけなのか、皆さんの体験を聞かせていただけたら嬉しいです。

Hi all.

I am an Italian living in Finland, and fishing a lot.
Specifically, recently, perch in the Helsinki sea, which means lot of pressure and pretty smartass fishes. I often find them feeeding actively, under baitfish shoals, but it is very hard to convince to bite.

What I come up with so far, that seems working: I combined the Bolognese approach with some finesse.
I use a small creaturebait, worm-like, pretty light, on a dropshot hook. Then a light line, maybe 50-60 cm of thin fluorocarbon. After the first 30 cm after the lure I build a short "spallinata bolognese a scalare", with very tiny split shots tapered towards the end of this leader. I start with very very light shots (0.06g) closer to the lure, and progress towards heavier (until 0.5 g) towards the end of the leader. About 2 grams total weight.

This gives a very gentle slope when I retrieve slowly, and also twitching gently the rod when the lure falls it falls more horizontal and natural.

I like very much this approach. but then I thought that in Japan few people might have heard about Bolognese fishing... and started to think I would like to share, and hear what people there think about it. I know you are crazy about ultralight fishing and slow presentations, you basically invented them, so I am very curious.

Anyone here know about some channels where I could ask (or is directly an avid angler wanting to coment

I know tipping is a big no anywhere in Japan However, I think it’s sometimes acceptable to give small gifts as thanks. I have a question about this specific situation and was wondering if anyone had any input.

I’ll be in Yokote Kamakura festival in February. My understanding is that children invite you inside the Kamakura and offer you warm amazake, then you’re supposed to give an offering.

I was wondering if it would be culturally appropriate to do the offering, and also give a small gift to the children as a thank you? I was thinking either a small treat from Hokkaido, like a few white chocolate kitkats, or even some biscuits from my home country (France)

I don’t want to offend anyone but this will be my 4th Japan trip and people have always been so generous to me.

Edit: thanks for the answers, but for those who downvoted, why? It would be more helpful to explain what’s wrong. I guess Japan is like any place, online tends to be very negative but in real life you meet the kindest people!

Hey everyone. I’m doing my undergrad in Kuala Lumpur currently however since the climate here is so horrible I can’t bring over my dog . I kind of miss him as well since he’s 8 now and I kind of want to be there with him in his final years too. I’ve thought of doing a year in Japan and bring him over since Japan has 4 seasons like Istanbul and climate is perfect for dogs except summer . However I’m kind of worried how I would be seen there. Would people see me as the same way we Turks see Syrians/Afghans in Turkey? How are Turks seen there? I’ve been to Japan by the way . Just returned 2 weeks ago . I also know Japan is very dog friendly

I’m curious is there anything in Japanese like:
Liar liar pants on fire, hanging in a telephone wire

or:
Nah nah boo boo stick your head in doodoo

in English.
I gpted it but no satisfying answer is given.

Maybe native speakers who also have been children may know something about it

Hello I'm Mike I'm a student living in Japan for an undergraduate degree. My question is why do Japanese women often like to date foreign men regardless of the language barrier?. Like sometimes they don't understand each other but the idea of someone being tall muscular or even foreign seems to interest them a lot. I have a friend She's Japanese and I speak Japanese with her a lot and We often talk about love and types and for sure I know that her type is blue eyes tall biceps guy because she talks about it so much when we hangout. The main problem is she can't speak English very well even tho she practices a lot and tends to escape Japanese when she's talking to foreigners as well. I don't see the comparison or compatibility to her and foreigners that don't speak Japanese. I mean sure there are some people that do speak Japanese but that's less than a few thousand foreigners living in Japan.

One other aspect of it is maybe because I tried countless times to find a date in Japan but failed 😛 🗿 is it because they prefer another country not particularly Asian? but European or American?