I’m very curious and with a non-judgmental mind, it is a very interesting concept.

I look forward to hearing your story and thoughts. 🫶

Are Suekichi omikujis usually being kept, or are they being hanged on trees/left at shines?

I was in Shizuoka on the other day and my wife showed me a restaurant called Sawayaka. We went to one branch around lunch time and we were told that they're fully booked for that day. Couple of days later we were in Gotemba and around late-lunch time we found another Sawayaka, as Gotemba isn't as big as Shizuoka City, we thought the line wasn't going to be that bad--we were completely wrong. The waitress told us the waiting time is 6-8 hours--even taught us how to book via their website for another day. I genuinely shocked, even got laughed at by some locals lol

Are they really that good and worth to wait that long?

Having a discussion with my Father who is belittling me for wanting to buy a rice cooker for my small apartment when my kitchen can't fit many appliances. I argued that most people in Japan use rice cookers but then I realised my assumption may not be correct. So... Is it common for most households to use an appliance, or more common to cook rice with other methods?

I’d like to hear some opinions about workplace norms in Japan, especially from people who have worked at smaller companies outside major cities.

My girlfriend recently graduated and started working as an office employee at a small manufacturing company in a regional Japanese city. She’s only been working there for five days.

She wears a simple septum piercing, nothing particularly flashy. Recently, a senior colleague told her that septum piercings aren’t a good look in the workplace.

However, this colleague had previously mentioned that the company has a fairly relaxed atmosphere and that things like modestly dyed hair and manicures are fine. My girlfriend has also seen a male department head wearing a purple gemstone earring, so she assumed the company was generally pretty accepting of personal style.

Neither the company president nor any of her other colleagues has said anything negative about her piercing. The senior colleague also clarified that it was her personal opinion and that my girlfriend was free to do what she wanted.

I understand that this might just be advice based on the colleague’s own experience, but my girlfriend is worried that wearing a nose piercing as a new graduate might give her coworkers a bad first impression or affect her relationships at work.

I’d appreciate some insight into a few things:

Would a simple septum piercing generally be considered inappropriate for an office worker at a small manufacturing company in regional Japan? Is there a noticeable difference in how people view nose piercings versus earrings, dyed hair, or manicures?

When a senior colleague gives this kind of unsolicited advice to a new employee, is it usually just a personal opinion, or could it be a hint about unwritten workplace expectations?

If someone does their job well and gets along with their coworkers, how much of an impact would a piercing like this realistically have on their professional image?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from people who have worked at small or medium-sized companies in regional Japan. Thanks!

In the UK it is as abrasive and challenging as possible but I recently saw the PM of japan excuse herself in the commons for being a women and cleaning

Hi! I'm looking to order a clock from https://antry.co.jp/en/ and have it shipped to the Netherlands.

Has anyone ordered from this store before? Is it trustworthy, and are their products authentic?

Any experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

The most common phrase as far as I know is "onii-san" (with "-san" honorific), but I've seen a few anime where the girls use just "onii" without any honorifics. Does this actually happen irl? Is this supposed to be equivalent to a girl calling their older brother "bro"?

There are so many famous Americans.
There are so many famous people from the UK.
There are so many famous people from Korea.
There are so many famous anime characters from Japan, but what about real people?

Don't Japanese guys and girls want to be famous?

I've seen many Japanese people cosplaying in YouTube videos. They look stunning, but they're usually part of a large community rather than being individually famous.

Is it because so many people look good that it's harder for someone to stand out and become famous? Or is it because Japanese people only care about being famous in Japan and aren't particularly interested in recognition from the rest of the world?

I honestly can't name a single Japanese movie star.

If Japanese people want to be famous, which countries would you like to be known and admired in? Is international recognition something you aspire to, or is being famous in Japan enough?

Where I live, people would definitely desire individual fame and recognition.

So I had this debate with my friend who’s a foreigner living and working in Japan. According to him, if a Japanese person studied abroad in USA or Europe or U.K. or Australia. They are automatically westernised.
However my argument it depends on their personality as some just study and return home or their personality could stayed the same as they left Japan.

Just wondering if the statement is true as he state Japanese people are narrow minded when labelling people

I'm scrolling past some popular Japanese influencer on social media. She posted her diet progress and her most recent medical check-up:

体量: 41 kg BMI: 16.6 脂肪率: 18.2%

And the comments are like:

可愛い

努力すごい！

:heart-emoji:

If this person's audience was American, no doubt there would be more people saying "please be safe", "don't overdo it", "take care of your health".

Because these numbers are extremely startling. If this person was my friend, I would've asked to call/meet up to ask if everything was alright.

There are many women in Tokyo who have extremely thin legs that look very concerning from a medical perspective. And I wonder if there's anyone in their lives telling them that.

I'm planning to stay in Tsunan for a few months as part of an internship teaching English to middle schoolers, and one of the things I really want to do in Japan is participate in karaoke. But, the only songs I can really sing are Odoru Ponpokorin and Kawaikute Gomen. Will I be expected to know most Japanese popular songs (if so which should I learn?) and will the crowd think it's weird for an 18 year old blonde American boy to try singing in Japanese? 😭 I'm just a little afraid of embarassment but I love to do karaoke lol

For anyone wondering, my girlfriend speaks several languages (I myself only speak English and Spanish) and Japansese being one of them she taught me a little bit and I already like Japanese music

(Side question: I'm from Texas, should I bring my cowboy hat/boots in case anyone asks about the whole western thing? Lol)

Has anyone read Amelie Nothomb's "Métaphysique des tubes / The Character of Rain" or "Stupeur et Tremblements / Fear and Trembling"? She certainly paints vivid pictures of Japanese culture, but how much do they accord with general Japanese experiences?

My dad is American but was born in Japan and spent his first years of life there due to my Grandparents job. I’m American and my mom let my Dad choose my middle name and it is “Kyasha” he provided the spelling and meaning. My parents were married for 10 years before I was born and I’m the youngest of three siblings. However, by the time I was three they divorced and my dad moved on and didn’t want anything to do with us. We had some contact because my Grandparents (his parents) maintained a relationship with us, but he really just didn’t want kids I guess. The whole point of this post, I have this middle name and I really wonder how weird it is to have as a name? From what I understand he chose the name because I was so small, dainty etc and he liked it, but is it weird as a name?

Aside from the homegrown ones such as Kawamura and Hachimura.

For example, D Rose is widely popular in China even though he’s retired for awhile.

Hello! I am currently visiting Tokyo and on my first day I saw 7-11 socks and bought up four pairs. Only later when I looked at the size 23-25 cm I knew they would not fit anyone in my family. They have 25-37 cm and those would be better. Would it be rude to try to exchange them? I'm sure I can find a receipt. I'm not out a lot of money if I can't. I'd rather take the loss and not be a rude guest. What should I do?

So if you're familiar with Terminator, many people think Arnold's accent sounded cool and he even volunteered to do a German dub of his character again but the German dub company turned him down because both Germans, Austrians, and German speakers in general thought he sounded like a redneck, hillbilly, or farmer. So they had a nonchalant stoic German accent dub the T-800.

So I'm working on an indie manga series about a vengeful badass protagonist who's from Okinawa and takes pride in his culture. I thought if my series were to ever have a Japanese dub, he should have an Okinawan accent to reflect his background but I heard some Japanese mainlanders describe the Okinawan accent as "country bumpkin". I watched some anime of a few Okinawan characters who are often portrayed as tough karate fighters and they sound Japanese but rougher and deeper which sounds badass from other people's perspectives. So would my protagonist be taken seriously as a menacing badass if he had an authentic Okinawan accent or would be similar to the Arnold situation?

※私は日本語を話せないため、翻訳ツールやAIの力を借りてこの文章を作成しました。日本のアーティストの皆さんと、日本の皆さんにどうしても感謝と想いを伝えたくて書いた手紙です。

​タイトル : 日本のクリエイターやアーティスト、そして日本の皆さんへ

​日本語は話せませんが、どうしても自分の言葉と想いを、皆さんの言語で伝えたいと思い、この文章を書きました。

​自己紹介をさせていただきます。名前はポール、39歳です。

​私はフランス人ですが、私の物語はマダガスカルから始まります。

思慮深く、観察好きで、けれど少し孤独な子どもでした。

​そんな私が出会ったのが、同じく海外で暮らしていた日本人の少年、タツヤでした。

​すべては彼から始まりました。流行に流されたわけではありません。ただ、そこに一人の友人がいたのです。

​大人になるにつれ、私は日本のアーティストたちが持つ教養の深さに魅了されていきました。

私は文化や知識を尊ぶ人間です。知識を求めて探求する人々を心から尊敬しています。だからこそ、「日本のアーティストは、時に西洋のアーティスト以上に西洋のことをよく知っている」と冗談めかしてお話しすることもあります。

​私はその敬意に応えたいと思いました。日本のこと、そしてその歴史のすべてを知ろうと、自分なりに尽くしてきました。

​そして何より、日本のポップカルチャーは私の人格に深い影響を与えました。おそらく、他のどんなものよりも。

​それは私に、大切な価値観を与えてくれました。

​名誉。

真実の友情。

野心。

寛容さ。

自己犠牲の意味。

不屈の精神。

誰もが価値を持ち、敬意に値するということ。

表面的なものを拒絶すること。

そして、お金の力に自分を支配させないこと。どんな状況であれ、あらゆる不正や妥協を拒むこと。

​そして何より、物事を合理的かつ知的に分析し、本質を見極める姿勢です。

つまり、一歩引いて世界を俯瞰すること。

​そうです。日本のアーティストたちは、私という人間をそのように形作ってくれたのです。

​けれど……それによって、私は自分の周りの人々（同胞たち）から少し遠ざかってしまったような気がするのです。

だからといって、自分が日本人になれたわけでもありません。

​自分は一体何者なのかと、戸惑いを感じることもあります。

​時間をかけて、ようやく気づきました。世界中のあらゆるアーティストがそうであるように、日本のアーティストたちもまた、戦っているのだと。

自分自身のため、自国の人々のため、そして己の社会のために。

​では、皆さんの文化とともに育った私たちのような外国人は、一体何なのでしょうか。

​母国にいても異邦人、皆さんの国に行っても異邦人。

​私たちはどこへ向かうのでしょうか。

妻は韓国の文化に深い愛着を持っています。これらは、私たちの人生から切り離せるものではありません。

私たちの中心にある情熱です。けれど、それにはどんな意味があるのでしょうか。

​ただ、物事がもっとシンプルであればいいのにと思うのです。

​私は今、レユニオン島に暮らしています。南半球の夏が近づき、セミ（コオロギ）の鳴き声が聞こえてきます。

この声を、皆さんにも聴かせてあげたい。そして、皆さんの国のセミの声も聴いてみたい。

​私の庭の桜（チェリーの木）を皆さんに見せたい。そして、皆さんの桜を見てみたい。

​私の島の火山を見せたい。そして、皆さんの富士山（火山）を見てみたい。

​黄金色に染まる私の夕日を見せたい。そして、皆さんの夕日を知りたい。

​これこそが、日本のアーティストたちがその戦いに勝利したという、何よりの証なのではないでしょうか。

​皆さんは、自国のポップカルチャーやアートが、遠い国に住む人間の生き方や価値観にここまで影響を与えていることについて、どう感じますか？

また、このように「母国でも異邦人、日本でも異邦人」と感じている私のような人間を、どう思われますか？

皆さんの率直なご意見やご感想を聞かせていただけたら嬉しいです。

When I went to Japan last year I saw this nice bag in Tokyo but didn’t buy it there. I’m wondering if there’s a website or something that can ship Japanese bags products to the US?

Or do they just write all in the same style?

Hello:

Random question, but are Meiji era antiques rare in Japan?

UPDATE: User error it is! The bag was not stolen, we had two people emptying multiple lockers and one swore that he had tried all of them. He had not. Bag recovered. I'm sure that I will feel embarrassed as soon as I can feel anything but tired. Thanks, all, for your thoughts and concerns.

I just had my bag stolen from a locker at Tokyo Station. My family arrived via shinkansen from Kyoto and rented several lockers to store our bags for two hours. When we returned, all the lockers except one worked perfectly. The last one failed to recognize the QR on our ticket. It then showed the locker as locked, but available. We paid to rent the locker again to open the door. It was empty. I had seen two employees opening a locker down the hallway earlier. I went back to that spot and they were gone. I checked with JR East lost and found; nothing had been turned in. Station security suggested that we talk with police. We found a very friendly and helpful officer who helped us call the company (the only way to get help is via telephone - God help you if you're not fluent in Japanese) to no avail.

Does this happen often? Does anyone have any suggestions about how to get my things back? Is there anything else I should know? Thanks for your input.

EDIT: The policeman at the station suggested that we check in to our hotel and have the hotel help us file a police report. I need that report to file a travel insurance claim.

So many people on the internet think certain pasts aren't being taught in history books, or Japanese news covers nothing about it, which is not true at all. But these fake news have somehow become so normalized, even Poland ball and Bill wurtz made videos saying Japan is "pretending" as if it were facts.

Do you feel uneasy about these types of comments? Do you feel like your country's image has been damaged in an unfair way?

I'm 20f I've met a Japanese guy online we've been chatting for a year and a half. We met when I was in my 1st year in college and his 3rd year, at first his reply takes about 5-6hrs, then becomes 1-2 days no reply and now that he already graduated and I'm in 3rd year, his reply interval now takes about 3-4 days. In my culture, my culture replies as soon as possible or as soon as you see the message. I don't know if he saw it or not. I just don't know why the Japanese reply is slow like what if it's an emergency. I know you guys are workaholic but it's just a reply which only takes a second.Im a busy person and waiting for a reply isn't my thing. Should I not talk to him again??? Is it really their thing to reply slowly? Or it's just you doesn't matter to them.

I need advice what should I do??