Does hugging ever make you feel uncomfortable?

Sunday 30th August, 04:50 AM JST

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Betting at 04:20 PM JST - 30th August

I really don't enjoy getting hugged by people I don't know well. And I feel extremely uncomfortable if I get hugged in Japan by younger people who think they should be automatically doing it around "Western" people.
DenDon at 04:23 PM JST - 30th August

no
pawatan at 04:34 PM JST - 30th August

No. I hug on occasion with a few of my Japanese friends and it feels natural. With non-Japanese it pretty much always feels natural.

I'm a little touchy-feely, though (in a good way, not a Saikyo-sen way!)
Patrick Smash at 05:28 PM JST - 30th August

It's better than having to shake some North American's sweaty out-thrust palm, but only just. No contact please, unless I know you and fancy you. Unless you want a good hard mooning in response.
onewrldoneppl at 06:00 PM JST - 30th August

same sex/gender huggin'makes most expat men uncomfortable. unless of course it's 2 hot ...
bamboohat at 09:33 PM JST - 30th August

No problem, unless they start getting a boner mid-hug, then I must exit, stage left...
Livvie at 09:45 PM JST - 30th August

I really don't enjoy getting hugged by people I don't know well. And I feel extremely uncomfortable if I get hugged in Japan by younger people who think they should be automatically doing it around "Western" people.

Hugging doesn't make ME uncomfortable. It's when my Japanese counterpart stiffens up like a corpse that makes both of us look silly.

I agree with both comments. If somebody I barely know comes up to hug me I am usually taken aback, but if someone I've known for years tries to hug me and is as stiff as a board, I feel just as uncomfortable. Still, I understand it's not really part of the culture here and it does make some people uncomfortable, so I dispense my hugs wisely!

I do feel that people, especially in Tokyo, need some form of physical contact from time to time in order to stay sane (no, getting squished in between people on the train doesn't count).
polarmalik at 09:50 PM JST - 30th August

Hugging is very good(Man & Woman)brings you closer to each other and may lead to a more exciting and meaningful life...Farakh Malik
nalunui05 at 10:42 PM JST - 30th August

I love to hug, but don't like hugging "itchy people, or my ex-wife." Eeeeessshhhh! That makes me wanna hurl.
Pukey2 at 11:20 PM JST - 30th August

I have to say, there's much more physical contact between friends when it comes to Koreans and Chinese. I myself have only hugged one Japanese friend (and I only do it if I know that person will react to it well), but she's a very outward-looking internationalized type of person. I've hugged friends from Korea, India, China, so it's not a western concept as such. Maybe it's just a non-Jp concept.
guuzendesu at 03:52 AM JST - 31st August

As I understand it, Japanese people rarely hug their own children after a certain age, and most of them wouldn't think of doing it in public. If you are going to post on this, please also include your country of origin so that the differences in culture can be observed. It's quite interesting. I'm an American, and it doesn't bother me at all. My wife is Japanese and she says that hugging other Japanese does make her uncomfortable, but hugging Americans is "ok." But, I haven't asked her if that's only while she is in America. That will be interesting to find out too.
kview at 07:41 PM JST - 1st September

I feel comfortable to hug anyone as long as I get a good response which is not always the case. Because not everyone expected it. Its the warmth of a welcome or goodbye and it takes the edge off the loneliness. It lingers in my mind, the warmth as our cheek touches, the light pat on my back, it feel so good. I am for it.
corinnajune at 04:37 PM JST - 2nd September

What I really don't like is the American style of blowing air kisses beside the other person's cheek when two people hug.

huh? who does that? i'm american and have honestly never encountered that before...?

as for hugging- i actually like a hug here and there, but i am never sure about other people so i never initiate it. my family is not very touchy-feely, so i've never been quite sure when hugs are supposed to happen... then the moment passes and is gone. sad really. good old social awkwardness!
womanforwomen at 05:16 PM JST - 2nd September

If it is not someone very close to me, yes, makes me very uncomfortable. It is a very important physical contact with the ones you are close to. French style is also very nice when it is someone you really care about. I am Asian.
SiouxGirl at 02:27 AM JST - 3rd September

I don't mind being hugged at all. What pushes my buttons is a hard hand shake. I have to stop myself from slapping him (it's always a man).