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Survey among expats: What did you think about Japan before you started living here?

63 Comments
By Michelle

When you hear the word, “Japan,” what comes to mind? Mt Fuji? Anime? Cherry blossoms? Those of us who have lived in Japan came to this country with ideas of what we might encounter and many of those preconceived impressions turned out to be completely false. We asked foreigners who have been living in Japan for at least three years to share what they thought about Japan before ever stepping foot inside the country. Take a look at their answers:

1. Old people are always in arcades battling it out with the kids.

Reality: Never seen it.

2. Samurai live in Japan.

Reality: We’ve never seen one, unless you count Eiga Mura in Kyoto.

3. No matter where you are in Japan, you can see Mt Fuji.

Reality: Japan is much bigger than that.

4. There are vending machines with girls inside.

Reality: Are you kidding?

5. All festivals are strange and outrageous.

Reality: Only a few.

6. Japanese people like door knobs.

Reality: Only girls in “certain” photo books. And they’re probably not so keen in reality.

7. Japanese people eat insects on a daily basis.

Reality: Only some people.

8. Because Japan is an advanced nation, everyone can understand English to some extent.

Reality: Not exactly.

9. Many people wear kimonos.

Reality: You will occasionally see people wearing kimonos on the street.

10. Everyone loves Hard Gay.

Reality: Hard Gay hasn’t been seen since 2006.

11. Japanese pine trees grow all over the place.

Reality: Only in some places.

12. Cherry blossom trees bloom all year round.

Reality: Only during spring.

13. You can eat sushi off of a woman’s naked body in Japan.

Reality: No. You can’t.

14. Everyone makes sushi at home.

Reality: Most people just get takeout sushi if they eat it at home.

15. Most Japanese are otaku.

Reality: Most Japanese are not.

16. Capsule hotels are very popular.

Reality: They aren’t, unless you’re really short on money.

17. Sumo is an everyday sport.

Reality: It isn’t.

18. People read pornographic materials on the trains.

Reality: Only sometimes.

What’s most interesting is that every single foreigner who was interviewed said that after living in Japan, the country turned out to be unexpectedly normal and different than they expected. It seems the world thinks of Japan as a land where otaku run wild, Hard Gay is worshipped, and people do sumo while fighting samurai in the streets, only pausing to eat sushi off of naked women. In the end, Japan is just a country with normal people going about their normal everyday lives, not some magical land of crazy. But we will grant that, when Japanese are eccentric they know how to push the boat out…

Read in Japanese.

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Why Do Foreigners Like Japan so Much? -- New York As Seen By The Japanese In 8 Random Points -- Oh, Japan, You Make Me So Mad Sometimes!

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63 Comments
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Just goes to show you can't pre-judge a place by what you read.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Door knobs?? You'll have to explain that one to me.

15 ( +16 / -1 )

You can eat sushi off of a woman’s naked body in Japan.

Reality: No. You can’t.

Er... yes you can. I know a few places actually.

11 ( +14 / -3 )

How clueless are people?

Also shows how the western media almost exclusively focuses on Japan's extreme aspects, completely skewing the image of the country. When I first met my husband, I started going to the library to look up stuff about Japan (no internet then). The photos in the books were all so outdated, it was ridiculous...boards laid in the streets of Tokyo because of pitted pavement, no pictures more recent than 25-30 years previously. Now we have the internet, information on the entire world and everything in it at your fingertips, and still little is portrayed accurately.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Also shows how the western media almost exclusively focuses on Japan's extreme aspects, completely skewing the image of the country.

You should try looking at Japan's own media if you want some "skewing" of the nation's image. The "news" in the likes of Asahi Geino or Shukan Jitsuwa can be truly bizarre, like bestiality bars, to cite just one creepy example. The western media doesn't come close.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

I thought Kyoto would be just beautiful - like some kind of Japanese Florence or something - but I can remember my disappointment arriving at the old Kyoto station on the shinkansen and thinking I must be on the outskirts or something and I would find the beautiful centre somewhere. I never did. In fact, the outskirts are better.

Then I travelled quite intensively and found that very little distinguishes one city from another. Which I guess is why people make a big thing of the food in each place - there is nothing much to see.

2 ( +12 / -10 )

I was also disappointed with the music scene. I thought surely a country this rich would have some great undiscovered contemporary music. Well, I soon discovered there is a good reason why the music has never made a big splash in the west. It is tripe.

4 ( +11 / -7 )

Because Japan is an advanced nation, everyone can understand English to some extent.

Reality: Not exactly.

Best. Understatement. Ever. Made me chuckle.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

It's part of the question Why did you come to Japan? that you often get asked by Japanese people, isn't it.

I have always been very disappointing with my answers. as I knew little to nothing about Japan, had no special reasons for choosing Japan, and did no research before I came.

The one misconception I had was I thought that people would be very well-dressed, in super-smart business wear. So I included about 3 pairs of heels and a couple of grey and black skirts in my luggage. Never needed the shoes, rarely wore the sensible skirts.The overall lack of power dressing in Mie Prefecture disappointed me...

To try and pad out my answer, I have often thought hard about what I knew of Japan before coming, and the entire list goes like this:

A pretty Ukiyo-e lady on some stationery I had;

Yoko Ono;

Yukio Mishima's photos in the books of his my brother had especially the one of St. Sebastian;

The British TV series Tenko;

War, and an understanding that the British weren't too fond of the Japanese because of it ;

The Hiroshima cloud;

The highly entertaining Channel 4 sumo digest on a Thursday evening - loved it!

Er...

That's it.
2 ( +3 / -1 )

Samurai,sushi,Shinkansen

Now ,I can't get the Kome Kome Club song out of my head !

1 ( +1 / -0 )

What did you think about Japan before you started living here?

I had more respect for them, overall, and I actually sympathized with them over their victim-hood like complaints... Until I learned more about REAL history, and their part in it, and what a good deal they got out of it. I used to sympathize when I heard people in Okinawa (or mainland Japan) talk about U.S Military, This and that... But after I read and experienced more (30 + Years) I learned that Japan is actually playing the U.S. for a fool. Hardly anyone in the U.S. knows what Japan, The Japanese Gov't, Media, ect... Says about the U.S.... It never sees the light of day in the U.S...So most people think, Oh, Japan, what a peaceful, nice kind, polite people... And of course, the average U.S. (or European) would never expect in a million years that, if they tried to rent an apartment or get a job here (in Japan) they would be cut-off at the knees by their legalized racial discrimination... Not that we don't care, but because hardly anyone knows... Because that's NOT how they would treated in The U.S.... You see there are laws that make discrimination a CRIME... Not too mention the thousands of lies over WW2 and how innocent they portray themselves to be, while shaking a finger at the U.S. saying, "War Criminal!"... Yes... they've truly took a page straight out of the "Karl Rove" / Republican Playbook, when you, yourself are a Criminal, Call the other person the Rapist...

I had 1000-percent more respect and admiration for the average Japanese before I came here and experienced, the REAL Japan... Yes, there are many good people, honest and truly kind people, I've met my fair share, but unfortunately , there are also (I wish I could say minority amount) of people that have were born and raised with the history blinders on...

5 ( +14 / -9 )

Every place is stereotyped to some extent. When I return home, I spend a lot of time debunking stereotypes about Japan. People usually only know what they see on TV or grew up hearing. It's still hard for most to grasp because the information I give is not consistent with what they think they know and they haven't "been there, done that."

1 ( +2 / -1 )

This seems like an exercise in stupidity and chronic ignorance. Do people really think these things?! Really?!

I honestly don't get it.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

I didnt choose to come here either, it sort of fell into place because my then-boyfriend was Japanese (we didnt meet here). I also knew next to nothing. Some of my assumptions:

1) Karate Kid II - I assumed all of Japan was like that Okinawan island (except Tokyo) 2) Japanese girls are obsessed with Mickey Mouse (got that from living in Sydney and seeing them in pairs every day taking pictures in matching MM raincoats) 3) Sushi, karate, karaoke 4) Japanese men get drunk and cry a lot 5) Japanese women dress and act like little girls (met a couple at a party once. He introduced her as "my stupid wife" and when I said hello to her she bent over double, shrieked with giggles and couldnt answer me. She was wearing a knee length yellow flared skirt and white bobby socks with kitten heel sandals. She was 28.) 6) The apartments are tiny 7) The kids all have the same haircut and wear sailor suit uniforms to school 8) Except high school boys who wear military style back uniforms. 9) Japanese are into sado-masochism (from Tarrant on TV, Friday nights) 10) Everyone in Japan still dresses and looks like they did in the 70s (been reading the same books as Maria!)

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Apart from assuming that more people would speak English and I would have to struggle to practice my Japanese, things were more or less as I imagined (=as my teachers at uni told me). People did wear kimono, did allow their parents to arrange their marriages and ate rice, fish and misoshiru for breakfast. Times have changed.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I thought it was a first-world country.

2 ( +8 / -6 )

For me the biggest shock was, for such an advanced nation (in some respects), how behind it is (in other respects).

For example, not being able to buy groceries with a credit card or the sheer volume of paperwork / effort to get anything done, even the simplest of tasks. Them there's the unavoidable male-dominance in society (and that's coming from a male!). It's like society is trapped in the 60s!

11 ( +14 / -3 )

oh - and trying to get either an apartment or even just a credit card as a foreigner - GOOD LUCK!!!!!

4 ( +10 / -6 )

People will tell you where they've gone / They'll tell you where to go / But till you get there yourself you never really know...

"Amelia" -Joni Mitchell

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I agree with the foreign display of Japan that can give people the wrong stereotype assumptions. Movies for instance.... Netflix among other companies need to start choosing better Japanese movies to translate and showcase here in the states, or around the world. I've watched just about every movie and I have a hard time trying to show some of my friends and family some things about Japan because they are the most off the wall stories. Just about all of the movies only showcase the oddball strange things about Japan, how about some better cultural selections? Not perverted, kooky, depressing, lets put Japan in the limelight titles.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

trying to get either an apartment or even just a credit card as a foreigner - GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Never had any trouble with either. Shops ask me to sign up for their credit cards. After the fourth one, I decided I didn't need any more.

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

People read pornographic materials on the trains.

Reality: Practically every sports newspaper, tabloid and weekly magazine contains at least some smutty content. If you're tall enough to look down at the other male strap-hangers standing around you, the chances of verifying this on a rush-hour train are close to 100%.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Here's some ancient perspective: I was an expat kid growing up in Tokyo in the 1960's and early 1970s - my family moved there right after the Olympics in 1964. Here's what we thought back then:

Samurai fights in the streets every day (we didn't know about ninjas back then) everyone lives in paper houses you only get to eat rice with chopsticks for utensils there's only tea and saki (sic) to drink women and men wear kimonos all the time everyone is very polite and bows a lot primary travel is by rickshaw everyone knows Karate girls and women giggle a lot; men say "ah so" people shout banzai at the drop of a hat no one can see very well, so they all wear thick glasses goods are all cheap knockoffs made of tin everyone is industrious and strangely clever (tricky) Japanese are inscrutable

During summers back in the USA, kids would ask me these things; I always confirmed the Samurai fights bit, and it helped if they thought I knew Karate.

The most we kids knew about Japan was from a TV cartoon called "Hashimoto Mouse" set in Japan about the adventures of a polite and clever father mouse and his family. While this show had its share of stereotypes, it also had surprising even-handedness and cultural correctness and respect in it, and occasionally proper spoken Japanese! You can find some episodes on YouTube.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

@cleo

trying to get either an apartment or even just a credit card as a foreigner - GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Never had any trouble with either.

On your own or with a Japanese partner?

When I decided to move to a new place I went to an agency in the area I wanted to live, the guy phoned the owners of a list of apartments I picked out and about 7 out of 10 of them didn't want to know as soon he mentioned that I was a foreigner. Luckily the agent worked really hard to help me and I found a nice place. So it depends what you mean by trouble, but to deny there is a big problem with this in Japan is wishful thinking.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

About point 18 Do salary men reading through the sex pages of a sports tabloid count?That is borderline pornography.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

When I was in Japan I always wondered where they hid all the robots.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

davestrousers - When I'm out shopping alone, the people wanting me to sign up for their credit cards don't know that I have a Japanese partner, they don't even know just from looking that I have PR.

One time when we wanted a bank loan and Mr cleo was temporarily unemployed, the bank suggested I get the loan in my name, to get a lower interest rate. Being furrin has never been a problem.

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

@cleo

I meant more about the apartment . Have you ever looked for one alone, through a normal agency, i.e. not arranged via work or your partner, and had absolutely no trouble?

5 ( +6 / -1 )

I thought Japanese were renowned for being well mannered and polite.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Back on topic please.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I thought I would be tall in Japan.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I thought Japanese always had to be in a cluster and to find comsensus all the time. Reality: Correct. I still find it funny that 4 gents in black suits need to visit a company together and to pretend they are doing actual work.

I thought Japan was the height of efficiency. Reality: incorrect. It took me about two years of living here to see the Japanese society more clearly. Efficient it is not. There are an enormous number of people here and that makes it seem efficient.

I also (as others have mentioned) thought it was a more advanced society than it is. Sure, technology is great but many other things seems waaay behind what I thought it would be:

building standards, with cold houses in the winter still surprises me. -Washing machines using cold water is incoprehensible, still today. -People sharing same bath water (I do that today, kinda frowned at it first)

Fortunately, there have been quite some positiv surprises: -the food. It rocks. And in Tokyo, you can find just about anything, even foreign stuff. -The weather. Winter are nice and clear most of the time but it's the summers I look forward to - hot and humid with nice evenings. Great for a beer on the balcony.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

In church activities, my mother would always use Japan as the theme for her projects. So as a child I had a little knowledge of what to expect: paper lanterns, paper fans, paper this, paper that. After arriving here I discovered something else: a relaxed lifestyle. My friends (mainly from Chuo University) would spend a lot of time in mahjongg parlors, go parlors, pachinko parlors and those lovely coffee shops. Great, I thought. I'm going to like living here.

But then after settling down I discovered I've got to work, work, work to make ends meet. Such free time was just a dream. Since then it's been work, work, work.

Today, when I pass those mahjongg parlors, go parlors and pachinko parlors I still see people in there apparently with lots of free time on their hands. I've always wondered, how do they do it? Do they actually work somewhere? Do they make that much money to play around all the time? I could never afford to do that ... nor did I have the time.

And as for paper this and paper that ... that's only a small portion of what goes on here in everyday Japan ... as all we expats know ...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

As a kid I didn't think Japan was as well off because of the lyrics in Weird Al's Just Eat It : "...Well, don't you know that other kids are starving in Japan..."

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Nothing..it didn't seem tot exist to me...Karma?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I thought that people were respectful to their elders....... that image changed within my first week, when I realised that the aged were the butt of most comedy.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Samurai live in Japan.

Who ever thought of this one either watched Last Samurai too many times or first came to Japan in the 1800's.

Some of the other one's just seem too made up to be real. ANYONE who thought of those was or is a serious Otaku.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

In the end, Japan is just a country with normal people going about their normal everyday lives, not some magical land of crazy.

Define 'normal'

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Japanese people like door knobs.

Reality: Only girls in "certain" photo books. And they're probably not so keen in reality.

What does this even mean? Some kind of euphemism I'm not aware of? Someone enlighten me please!

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I thought the Japanese Family was a much more tight knit entity before I went to Japan. In reality.... children often grow up only seeing their fathers once a week if that.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

My thought was foreigners had a "geisha" complex about Japanese women, in that they viewed women as behaving like geisha. Boy, was I wrong! Only in the movies! I did get one thing right. People commit suicide a lot in Japan. I was right about that one.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Japanese society is diverse.. in many respects. Personally, this nation is filled with contradictions and ambiguities that makes one laugh and weep at the same time. History has stated this nation as a culturally conscious and ethically diverse nation.

But, like any given nation.. like any given age.. societies, beliefs, and understandings change.. it just tells you, Cherry blossoms dont always bloom on graduation days..

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

When I arrived in Japan and rented a house, I was told that the neighbours were very concerned that I would not be able to handle garbage properly, do my neighborhood jobs, park the car with consideration or refrain from noise pollution so I made a point of being careful about all these things. My big surprise was that people here are constantly putting out garbage on the wrong days, not doing their neighborhood jobs, parking inconsiderately and making a racket.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

To show my ignorance.. Here is what I think now having not yet lived in Japan: -People are polite and respectful and clean. Police have no guns and ride bikes. -Streets are clean and safe even at night for women and children coming home from school -Apartments and hotels have small rooms, high rents and views are a premium -Food is better, cleaner, healthier than New York but Osaka has best. Hokkaido has best seafood in world. -Rich people buy condos in high rises paying millions in cash. -Girls are kawaii, hello kitty, look alike and dress alike and have expensive designer bags. -Kids bully each other because everyone dresses the same and there is need to be "better than you" -Taxis drivers are professional, wear white gloves and sleep in their cabs with gas running -People love the Emperor like England loves the Queen. -People live a long time because of diet of rice, fish, sake, pig. -People do not have enough sex are are repressed and stressed -Shibuya crossing is a social event and girls squat on sidewalk -There are grocery stores in the basement of department stores and high rises. -Japan is 2 years ahead of US using smartphones for paying for things -There are white gloved people pushers who jam people into metro cars at rush hour -Men work themselves to death and some die at their desk. Wives who stay home alone become alcoholics. -Everyone learns English in school but should practice American conversation -Kids are getting taller, bigger fatter sicker from eating bread, Coke and McDonalds -Women do not want to have children until later so they can shop and travel and avoid becoming alcoholic -coworkers go out after work for yakitori, sushi and beer every night and take last train home -Kobe cows are massaged, fattened with beer and listen to music. -Farmers care about foods, do not want GMO and grocery stores are amazing -JPOP groups all look the same sound the same are the same .. cheesy -There are no female movie stars and Chinese get the English speaking roles -It is not legal to dance in nightclubs. The national soccer team must learn to dance -Japanese women like Korean dramas wish Japanese men were more romantic, gentle and kind -You get 5 pretty girls help you at a cosmetic counter. Service in restaurants good without tipping -Restaurants are still mom and pop and they really care about quality of food and customers happiness -Everyone drives Japanese cars, supports national products. -Cosmetic surgery and Anti aging are big business -only jobs for educated foreigners is teaching English -workers exercise together before starting work -Sakura is best time of year with all day picnics in the park -only corporate execs and the rich can afford to play golf -older women and men wear traditional Kimono. Men all wear same monkey suit to be taken seriously -few children want to perpetuate family businesses that are not glamorous thus Japan losing culture -everyone loves doorknobs (I have no idea what that means)

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I had ssumed that the flood of Japanese imports into foreign lands was a sign that the Japanese had a somewhat international outlook and mentality-I've been proved wrong on that score many a time....

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I was well "initiated" before leaving France but had been surprised to learn that not only one could ski in Japan but that it was becoming more and more popular ! (As a ski instructor, that really made me happy !)

1 ( +1 / -0 )

That's a long and strange list. Although I've been living in Japan for many years, it's the first time I've heard about those things. (ie. Door knobs?, vending machines with girls inside?)

I was woefully ignorant of Japan. I came over because of a girl and knew little. I understood that they had kimonos, but I never assumed that I would see people wear them. I was a tiny bit surprised at how everyone dressed in western type attire though. I thought that there would be a different dress code of some sort.

I had heard that everyone in Japan is respectful and polite. While that is true to a big extent, I think that it's not what I imagined. Note that politeness does not equate to respectful or friendly.

I also imagined that Japan would be far ahead in the electronics department. I was quite disappointed after touring the electronic stores. While they do have a few cool gadgets, I just imagined that it would be .... better. I was also frustrated when it was easier to order stuff from back home then jump through all the hoops to get something equivalent here.

I have no idea why people would even think that there would be samurai running around saving people wearing kimonos among Japanese pine trees. Ha ha ha....

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Ha! Funny survey!

"There are vending machines with girls inside."

Har!

"You can eat sushi off of a woman's naked body in Japan."

Reality: No. You can't."

Of course you can, you just have to have enough money and know where to go. Heck, you can eat sushi off a woman's naked body in Los Angeles! ( from the Rising Sun movie, ha ha! )

"Sumo is an everyday sport."

"Reality: It isn't."

Well, 6 times a year for 2 weeks it is.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Number 6:what? Just what?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Before I came to Japan I believed "efficiency" was the watchword. I was certainly wrong on that one. The number of places you can't use a credit card, you need to fill in endless forms with the same information which HAS to be computerised so that an army of desk jockeys can look puzzled at them and then send you somewhere else to start again, and the fact you can't even use soap if you need the restrooms on the public transport system disabused me of those preconceptions pretty fast.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

There have been a couple of questions above concerning "door knobs." I'm digging way back in my memory bin, but if I remember correctly, in the early and middle part of the last century most Japanese homes had sliding doors and doors that opened with latch locks (I guess that's what you call them). After seeing photos and motion pictures of Western-style homes that had doors that were equipped with door knobs, the Japanese dreamed about someday having a home with such door knobs.

So perhaps that is where the door knob thing comes in ...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"Number 6: what?"

Doorknobs! You know, those metallic thingamajings on doors that give you a nasty shock when you touch them if you're walking on carpet!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Samurai live in Japan.

Reality: We’ve never seen one, unless you count Eiga Mura in Osaka. →Eiga Mura is in Kyoto.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

A few things that I had wrong:

Geisha are not sex workers Tea ceremony is not a romantic offering Underwear vending machines - never saw any

I never assumed that speaking English made any country an "advanced nation." There are idiots around the world.

I've never lived in Japan, but I worked with SONY-Japan daily for 3 years and have traveled to Tokyo a few times for a few weeks.

Things that were unexpected:

men need a hanky to dry their hands after toilet use - walking around with wet hands sucks. I left my wallet on a shop counter and returned a few hours later to find it exactly where I left it, with all the money/cards inside, untouched. prices for fruits seemed extremely high. some Japanese women are pushy. A strange woman asked to have my babies while I was standing in line in a hotel lobby. huge anti-female bias is tolerated daily - the "men first" mentality. complex toilets in the hotels. I miss those. 2-4 hr commutes are common.

Most of the items in the article were not my expectations at all.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Some of these are partially true.

Sure, not exactly true but Japanese mania for Fuji-san means it might as well be. sure, ot girls but certainly sexual stuff. and lots of "girls services" in Japan may as well be vebnding machines for all the humanity involved. Still think quite a few people wear to wedings and festivals etc. Yes, not all over. But cedars and pines and others pretty ccommon and give lots of people hay fever. No, only in spring but once again the way people go on about them and in medai etc you would think they were here all year. Yes you can. Maybe not all make at home but it is eaten way more than in other countries. plus lots of otaku, sumo is still widely reported, capsules are used, etc. Seems to me the answers were just binary. the answer to reading porn on trains says it all - yes sometimes, but in other countries answer would be "never". Having sdaid all that and knowing how many T'ers have lots to complain about, still plenty of Japanese quirks that are nice and fun and not really tnat weird.
0 ( +0 / -0 )

Oh, and Shogun on ITV was one of the first things I saw involving Japan. And then watched a bunch of Jaapnese movies - many of them pretty rubbish to tell the truth. Never quite made it to the "Anjin-san" level of integration.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

And doorknobs are because of a weird trend in J porn that had women pleasuring themselves with doorknobs.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You can do Nyotaimori (女体盛り) if you know where to go!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Tamarama,

This seems like an exercise in stupidity and chronic ignorance. Do people really think these things?! Really?!

I honestly don't get it.

You have to remember that this short list was heavily edited to only point out the oddities. You have to wonder how many responses were thrown in the trash because they were completely normal or correct.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

There will always be crazy and eccentric events or places if you look for them.

Hang out in Akihabara then you'll think Japan is 50% Otaku. Go to Roppongi or Kabuki-cho then you will see strange venues...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I thought I would be respected in japan.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

This article is saying 'foreigners are ignorant?' I think it is rather that Japan portrays itself to the outside world as a 'benevolent nation' when its not. Good acting JP!

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

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