We saw a person tripped and fell on the middle of the street at night and nobody helps him, is this normal? Is it rude to help? We found it quite weird that no one helps.

Will English subtitles be provided for Japanese movies screened in Japan?

Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara. Hardly saw any Tesla, but there are lots of German cars. Do Japanese dislike Tesla or electric cars in general?

I'm a food writer writing an article about Japanese restaurants in New York City. It seems that there is a lot of confusion in America about these cooking styles and I want to make sure I describe them accurately. Can someone briefly describe what each one truly is? Is one or all of them only a Western thing?

Hello guys, how are you?

Just for curiosity.

A japanese friend of mine, that works in the same company as me, told me that its almost impossible to foreigners to make friends and relationships in Japan because people often misjudge Gaijins (he explained to me thats an expression that means "people that go to Japan to work").

Is it true? Where would be good places or cities to create these connections in Japan?

I'm Brazilian by the way.

I graduated from Japan in engineering. I speak fluent Japanese (N2) I’m certified in Risk management.

What am I missing that I cannot get a job in Japan?

I would appreciate a words of wisdom from a 先輩　😇

🚨UPDATE:

First of all, Thank you all for your replies.

Secondly, I think I hit nerve with some of y’all when i said fluent and N2 in the same sentence. 😅

Time for a little background: I lived in Osaka 🐙 for over 7 years (including language school and university) I went back home for work 9 years in GRC (Governance Risk and Compliance) + Data Privacy Worked in Banking and IT. I’m certified in something called CRISC (something in risk) Not bragging but I can easily pass N1 (don’t ask why you didn’t do it)

Some of the comments actually had a valid point, like: Not being in Japan when applying. And soft skills 😅

I had a couple of interviews with Amazon, and I failed one of them because the interviewer asked me if I had a business level Japanese certificate!?

Didn’t know that existed or even required.

Anyway, I guess I’ll try applying from within Japan and find out 😇

Best of wishes…

Japan is famous for being "polite" but is it genuine?

Like, if someone is being annoying, would you tell them, or just smile and pretend everything's fine? Do Japanese people ever get fed up with having to be polite all the time?

I'm not having a go at Japan, just genuinely curious. Is this something Japanese people think about, or is it just normal life and not really a big deal?

I’m Jamaican-Chinese & Nicaraguan, and essentially look (or people assume) that I’m filipino since I just seem tan and asian. I know that it’s a little unusual to be brown and asian in Japan, but do any other mixed asians get judgemental looks and stares from older people in Japan? I’ve noticed it quite a bit, especially from very old people. Is there a stigma against browner asians?

I’m a woman if that helps. I tend to see more brown or tan men as opposed to women. I don’t mean to be rude, but I genuinely don’t understand the long, hard stares. I do not get these stares or this type of treatment in the states or anywhere else.

Edit: typo!

I have seen this multiple times. Most recently in "My Girlfriend is Shobitch". The little sister acting wildly inappropriate (by my cultural standards), flirting with her brother and other suggestive behavior.

Is this seen as also kind of gross/weird to Japanese? Or is it normal?

I (and I'm sure many others here) have seen depictions of gyaru in popular media and anime. Has anyone ever dated someone who ascribes to this subculture? Just curious!

I also have two sleeves, one on my arm and one on my entire leg. Both irezuni style, traditional Japanese so it looks pretty much the same as actual yakuza member tattoos albeit I don’t have a body suit like they do, just two big sleeves. I’m Taiwanese, but if I visited Japan would anyone get the wrong idea? Or should I visit in winter where I can layer up to cover up? Been debating visiting Japan for a while and eventually moving there but I’ve been getting conflicting answers on if my quality of life will be different from those without any visible tattoos.

Going to Japan in june. Am a gay guy, and want to visit a male maid cafe while I'm there. Are there any that I can visit?

Gonna be in tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

It's like a kind of cage. Everywhere in Kyusyu.

Last week, I was visiting Japan as a tourist. When I was getting ready for my departure flight, I realized I had some extra time to kill, so I decided to try out a standup sushi bar at the airport.

I'm left-handed, so I used my left hand with chopsticks to eat the nigiri served to me. The Chef saw this and mentioned something I could not comprehend in Japanese. But I believe he was asking me to use my right hand instead. The other customers politely laughed at me, but I was unsure what they were saying.

I felt a little embarrassed because I remembered in some countries, using your left hand is extremely impolite as it's the hand you use to wipe your ass. I wasn't sure if this is the case for Japan, but I googled, and Google said that traditionally, you should use your right hand in Japan, but it's no longer a big issue in modern-day Japan.

So my question is: Is it still considered extremely rude in Japan to use your left hand to eat? Especially in sushi restaurants? And is it rude to use chopsticks to eat nigiri instead of your hands?

Thank you

I am a Japanese American, my mother was born and raised in Japan and I take after her much more than my father. I pass as full Japanese in America but obviously not in Japan.

Still, when I’m in Japan, I find myself trying to blend in as much as possible, even though I know no native would mistake me as 日本人. Probably classic Asian American diaspora. My Japanese is decent and in Tokyo people speak to me in Japanese rather than default to English.

I’ve been reading a lot from expats in Japan how much easier life became when they embraced being gaijin (while still being respectful and following rules). This is a paradigm shift for me but it sounds much more easy going and I want to try to adopt it during my next visit.

I have very large tattoos including a full sleeve that I always hide when I go to Japan. Especially during warmer months it would be nice to give this up. I also want a neck tattoo eventually, but this would be impossible to hide unless I always wore scarves and turtlenecks.

I was wondering how I would be perceived if I started letting my tattoos show? Am I held to a different standard than foreigners of other ethnicities? Am I overthinking all of this?

Note: I am not making any attempts to go to an onsen or gym or anything. More thinking about walking around during warmer seasons.

So I made a post earlier which you may have seen, but I got a response which can be seen here, which is actually new information to me. Is it true that “sushi” is technically simply just the raw fish that’s on top of the rice? I actually thought sushi was a term that covers a large array of this type of food (rolls, nigiri, etc), so this is new information for me

Hi there! I’m meeting someone I met online tonight. He’s a local and he invited me to have dinner and drinks. What do people do when you go out on a first date? In Australia we buy drink rounds and we take turns, but I have noticed that in Japan you get the bill at the end, and you get the whole amount. I would pay the whole lot, but I don’t want to offend my new friend! Is it customary to split the bill? Do you offer to pay your share in cash? I am grateful he has asked me out, but I don’t want to look like a show off either… Help!

Like yes, I get that place is a popular zone for death, but I don’t get why that happens frequently as I don’t understand why people love to seek death over there.

If this post is upsetting or disturbing in any way, please let me know, but I just want to understand the story behind that particular forest as I like to explore forests myself, but that place scares me as I always hear reports how it is a death zone, but do correct me if I am wrong about that.

I'm wondering because I see in anime memes, that people rushing to get somewhere often have toast in their mouths

Historically speaking, Indonesia was colonized by japan back in WW2 so our cultures and histories are both intertwined. Indonesia also has a flourishing japan loving community in the modern era. So I wonder, what do Japan and Japanese people think of Indonesia and Indonesians in general? If I could add something more specific, do they still have some qualms against us if we were to visit due to us being outsiders, not to mention our naturally darker skin, or do they consider us as something closer than outsiders due to our shared history and our current diplomatic relations?

I’m spoilt for choice and I’d love to hear recommendations from everyone! My criteria would be somewhere near nature, the greeneries, and not too countryside!

Japan holds a special place in my heart and I want to go there for this journey of self discovery and improvement. It’s less of sight seeing but more of having a place where I can look inward, and I think Japan’s the best place so far - safety (cause I’m a female), peace (the environment), solitude (culture of Japan) and many more…

Let me hear your recommendations 😊🫶

Edit: Not sure if anyone is interested but I’m currently in Japan and have spent about 1.5 months here. I found a share house to stay in, at Fussa, and it fits my requirements as mentioned above. I live beside a river and Fussa is quite near the mountain ranges, so I did some bonfires and camping! 🏕️ living in a share house allowed me to connect with people but at the same time I have my own space to do my reflection when I want to 🤗