Pros and Cons about Japan

[Eve]

I dunno anything yet. But im planning to go there next year. So what are the best and the worse things in japan right now?

[Emoni]

Best thing: Some nice Japanese people that you will get to meet.

Worst thing: North Korea with a nuke nearby.

[Eve]

What about the perverts? I heard theres a lot of perverts and stalkers in Japan??

Im a guy btw so dont really care =P

[Emoni]

From everyone I have talked to, it would do you a great deal of good to try to give up any preconceptions you might have before you go. Something anyone would have a very hard time doing completely.

Try to take everything in as a clean slate as it should be, and try to be open to everything and learn. I intend to do the same if I go next year as well.

As for the perverts... I consider all men perverts in someway, and Japan has men so they have perverts too. :P

[Eve]

lol i just wanna be cautious. Don't awnna get scammed or whatever when im gonna be there

[MeAndroo]

What about the perverts? I heard theres a lot of perverts and stalkers in Japan??

Ah Japanese perverts. Some of the most aggressive ones out there, and sometimes, some of the most ignored by society. I have a couple of horror stories from my friends about public...displays as well as public acts.

As far as pros and cons, they differ from person to person. Depending on your personality, you may love the ludicrously crowded streets of Tokyo, or you may hate them (like me). You may find the amount of drunken people around irritating, or you may not notice them because you're just as drunk (also like me).

The perverts are usually a pretty regular answer though :D

[jieshi]

hmmmm I don't think I have any cons about Japan! I love it all

though you could maybe say a con is sexual inequality and racism but they dont bother me that much either (obviously cause Im a guy, though i can get very fired up about how some men treat women as a piece of meat)

[Eve]

theres racism in japan? whoa, who do they hate?

[Emoni]

You...


Kidding ;)

There is pretty much racism everywhere in every country. You will find people who are racist, those who are not. Just be polite, and be yourself. People either will like you or dislike you. Nothing you can do about that.

[Eve]

-.- are there a lot of school girls running around tokyo? =P

[Emoni]

Why yes, and they are all RACIST PERVERTS too! :D

(Couldn't resist combining all those)

On a serious note, don't worry too much about what you can't prevent. Just plan ahead, and bring what you know you'll need and read about the area you will be going too. I'm sure others might have some more preperation advice too on the forum.

[MeAndroo]

-.- are there a lot of school girls running around tokyo? =P

Of course. There's school girls running around any major metropolis. They're just easier to see in Japan because of the required sailor uniforms.

[Eve]

yes, i think those sailor uniforms are kinky =P

[Ewok85]

Con: foreigners.

[Eve]

whats so bad about that

[MeAndroo]

Con: foreigners.

whats so bad about that

Oddly enough, as a foreigner, I hated other foreigners so much when I lived in Japan. It just irritated me to see them all over the place....it felt more like a Japantown than Japan at times. I really can't explain it, except that maybe I saw them behave so stupidly that I felt it reflected bad on me as a fellow foreigner? Anyways, spend enough time there, and you might end up disliking foreigners as well...especially those Nigerian doods in Roppongi who won't leave you alone.

[Mike Cash]

theres racism in japan? whoa, who do they hate?

Racism doesn't always manifest itself in the form of hatred. Discrimination is more common than hatred.

The really aggravating thing is when Japanese discriminate against you while saying "Oh, this isn't discrimination. I like foreigners."

whats so bad about that

Danged if I know. I'm never around any.

[Maciamo]

theres racism in japan? whoa, who do they hate?

I suggest you read my article about discrimination in Japan (http://www.jref.com/society/discrimination_in_japan.shtml) (including racism)

[Hero]

I'm a guy and I was stalked by groups of school girls, a drunk guy walkin down the street, and maybe a few others who did better job at stalking, rofl.

The school girls stalking me was cute.... but the drunk dude scared me >.<

Yeah those sailor uniforms are kinky, lol.

[shotime77780]

yes, i think those sailor uniforms are kinky =P

right on brother!!! but dont under estimate them, they are armed with cutter knives and kitchen knives!!! :D :D :D

[giant_robot]

Hmm, best and worst things? That sounds like a matter of opinion. My advice would be to start reading some of the stuff on this site, particularly in the Culture and Society categories. I found it to be very informative. Also, I've never been to Japan, but from what I hear they are very strict about politeness and customs, so failing to observe this could make for very bad first impressions with people, and make your stay much less enjoyable. I would suggest reading this (http://www.jref.com/culture/japanese_manners_etiquette.shtml) article. That's all I got. Watch out for the pervs.

[Eve]

ok thxs for ur help guys!

[Apollo]

The Best thing about Japan: People, food, well....I could go on! :-)

The Worst thing about Japan: ??? Maybe, expensive fruits, and expensive public transport.

About perverts in Japan: well, I hate those pervert guys who nearly rub their body on you in trains, subways etc...pretending it to be "accident" due to crowded subways....I just give them an angry stare, or push back and go somewhere else....they are soooo creepy! :shock:

[-Yu-]

Sounds like you experienced that many times, but does it really happen often?
I mean, I haven neither seen the actual occasion nor heard my female friends say that kind of thing.(seeing it is almost impossible to happen though, cause they pretend it is caused by jiggle, right?)
I heard my mum say that some creepy guy sat down really close to her in desserted train so she felt something was wrong and decided to leave there, but during going to other compartment, she got some sense of being stalked.
When she turned back, the guy was staring at her in front of her, she just ran away screaming and eventually got off at station which wasn't her destination.
I think that must've been at least 25 years ago. I got surprised when I heard this story cause I can't really imagine there were stalkers at the time.
I'm sick of hearing this story from her over and over again, she thinks it is kind of evidence that she was pretty when she was young. :p

[blessed]

con: that even if i live there, i still wont attain immortality. :D
Pros: everything else.

[Eve]

lol at least you'll live until 120 years old

[Apollo]

Sounds like you experienced that many times, but does it really happen often?
I mean, I haven neither seen the actual occasion nor heard my female friends say that kind of thing.(seeing it is almost impossible to happen though, cause they pretend it is caused by jiggle, right?)
I heard my mum say that some creepy guy sat down really close to her in desserted train so she felt something was wrong and decided to leave there, but during going to other compartment, she got some sense of being stalked.
When she turned back, the guy was staring at her in front of her, she just ran away screaming and eventually got off at station which wasn't her destination.
I think that must've been at least 25 years ago. I got surprised when I heard this story cause I can't really imagine there were stalkers at the time.
I'm sick of hearing this story from her over and over again, she thinks it is kind of evidence that she was pretty when she was young. :p

Of course it is difficult to tell whether these old men rub their body against you in trains by accident or on purpose....It is difficult to ask them about it!! :-)
However, I dislike it and think it is creepy!! Maybe I am too sensitive, but it is creepy having an old geezer with bad breath rubbing against you:-)
I haven't tried it "often", but only three times or so a year in Japan...and my best friend in Tokyo has also experienced it- and she takes the subway often.
I believe there are some out there, who are that creepy...
I have never been stalked like your mom though. LUCKY ME!

[Ewok85]

I havent seen anything like it, I had some woman rubbing herself against me in a train once. I'd lean forward and she almost fall over. :D

well, I hate those pervert guys who nearly rub their body on you in trains, subways etc...pretending it to be "accident" due to crowded subways....I just give them an angry stare, or push back and go somewhere else....they are soooo creepy! :shock:

Find the closest gaijin bloke and explain to them, I garantee that the person wont even imagine doing it again :cool:

[Spaceghost]

The question is what is the motive of these stalkers, generally stalkers seem to be ex lovers or crazy people stalking celebrities.

[Ewok85]

Thats not always true Spaceghost. People do it just to have a thrill or to have something to boast about.

[chikazukiyasui]

I'm sick of hearing this story from her over and over again, she thinks it is kind of evidence that she was pretty when she was young.

If that's the best evidence she can come up with, one hesitates to use one's imagination.

[-Yu-]

Hey, don't take it too seriously, I kind of exaggerated, you know! :p

[chikazukiyasui]

Hey, don't take it too seriously, I kind of exaggerated, you know! :p

Phew, that's a relief. :relief:

[MeAndroo]

The question is what is the motive of these stalkers, generally stalkers seem to be ex lovers or crazy people stalking celebrities.

Whether you're talking about stalkers or chikan guys, Ewok is definitely right. Not only do they do it for thrills, they do it for the actual accomplishment. There are clubs that exist solely to encourage chikan-ers to share secrets and their best "conquests." Elder salarymen and the more experienced chikan-er even gets respect because he's so good at his "hobby."

[Ewok85]

I'm still willing to meet with these kinds of people and 'discuss' their hobby in a dark sideroad some time. That sort of thing make me sick.

[Spaceghost]

So these people just follow a random person to scare them? Or pretend they are some secret agent?

If you see them do they run away....if someone followed me to my house I would be concerned, question is do you go and hit them or run away...

[-Yu-]

There are clubs that exist solely to encourage chikan-ers to share secrets and their best "conquests." Elder salarymen and the more experienced chikan-er even gets respect because he's so good at his "hobby."


How did you know?

[jieshi]

Of course it is difficult to tell whether these old men rub their body against you in trains by accident or on purpose....It is difficult to ask them about it!! :-)
However, I dislike it and think it is creepy!! Maybe I am too sensitive, but it is creepy having an old geezer with bad breath rubbing against you:-)
I haven't tried it "often", but only three times or so a year in Japan...and my best friend in Tokyo has also experienced it- and she takes the subway often.
I believe there are some out there, who are that creepy...
I have never been stalked like your mom though. LUCKY ME!


I wouldn't want an old geezer (or woman for that matter) rubbing against me on the train!!!

[Reiku]

Cons:

1) I don't think I'd be allowed to bring my katana if I moved there. (could be wrong about that though)

2) There's no way I'd be able to continue being a martial arts instructor in Japan.
(Most Californians don't take Gaijin instructors seriously, I shudder to think what the reaction would be in Nihon. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/ReikuHiteruo/Emoticons/LolLolLolLol.gif)

3) I also wouldn't be able to bring my collection of uncensored hentai. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/ReikuHiteruo/Emoticons/icon_twisted.gif It's ironic that the country that invented hentai would have such strict censorship laws--at the very least it would keep all the perverts in their houses and away from the populace.

Pros:

1) Politeness.

2) Great food

3) State of the art arcades
4) A culture with enough sense to shower before they bathe. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/ReikuHiteruo/Emoticons/LolLolLolLol.gif

[Ewok85]

Cons:

1) I don't think I'd be allowed to bring my katana if I moved there. (could be wrong about that though)

2) There's no way I'd be able to continue being a martial arts instructor in Japan.

3) I also wouldn't be able to bring my collection of uncensored hentai. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/ReikuHiteruo/Emoticons/icon_twisted.gif It's ironic that the country that invented hentai would have such strict censorship laws--at the very least it would keep all the perverts in their houses and away from the populace.

1) Since your an instructor of a martial art you could get a licence for it. I managed to get mine out of the country and into Aus but I dunno about the opposite. We'll find out soon enough tho

2) You could always go and study a few arts in japan. You never stop being a student, and it would only serve to improve your teachings!

3) I thought the current censorship laws were imposed by the americans after the occupation, lol

[MeAndroo]

How did you know?

I was there when this story broke, and it's actually on English- Japanese news sites and whatnot.

[Ewok85]

I was there when this story broke, and it's actually on English- Japanese news sites and whatnot.

I've read similar on MDN, but I doubt its authenticity. But I suspect they exist.

[RedDrawf]

con: the toilets take some getting use too.

pro: the people are friendly.

[Reiku]

1) Since your an instructor of a martial art you could get a licence for it. I managed to get mine out of the country and into Aus but I dunno about the opposite. We'll find out soon enough tho

2) You could always go and study a few arts in japan. You never stop being a student, and it would only serve to improve your teachings!

3) I thought the current censorship laws were imposed by the americans after the occupation, lol

Good points, Ewol85. The thing is that I heard that it is illegal for regular citezens to own katana. I'm not sure how reliable the information was, but at the very least I'm sure it would be frowned upon for some gaijin who calls himself a martial artist to have a katana in his house--it could be misinterpreted as an offensive attempt to copy their culture. (I know if someone showed up in Pismo with a cowboy hat and and old revolver I'd be kind of annoyed by it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/ReikuHiteruo/Emoticons/wink.gif)

As far as the martial arts thing, I was more concerned with my ability to make a living. I would very much like to live in Japan for a while and study all of it's arts--not just the martial ones--but I recognize that I don't have anything to offer the Japanes community in terms of job skills other than my martial arts lessons...

...and I seriously doubt I could make a living in Japan as a martial arts instructor, no matter how good I was. :rolleyes:

As far as the censorship, you may be right about that. I don't really recall, but it would be even more ironic if it turns out that the U.S. imposed cenorship laws on Japan that are more strict in some ways than the laws here in the U.S.

[Mike Cash]

Good points, Ewol85. The thing is that I heard that it is illegal for regular citezens to own katana. I'm not sure how reliable the information was, but at the very least I'm sure it would be frowned upon for some gaijin who calls himself a martial artist to have a katana in his house--it could be misinterpreted as an offensive attempt to copy their culture. (I know if someone showed up in Pismo with a cowboy hat and and old revolver I'd be kind of annoyed by it.

You have been misinformed. The (legal) ownership of firearms and swords are strictlyly regulated, but that doesn't mean that private citizens can't own swords. It just means there is a bureaucratic procedure you go through.

A very important note is that if you want to come to Japan and bring a sword with you, you can't just hop on the airplane and think you're going to register it when you get here. You have to start the paperball rolling on all that before you come.

I remember a story from back in the late 1980s of a person who purchased a 15th century Spanish saber (with obvious historical value) and brought it into Japan, thinking to register it. The saber was confiscated and destroyed.

And people spend entirely too much time worrying about what will or will not offend "The Japanese". They're too busy with their own lives to give a rat's rear end what somebody else (unless a member of the 芸能界) has or doesn't have in his home.

[Reiku]

Thanks for the info, mikecash.

(I'd have hated to have Suika-Kirite "confiscated and destroyed". :embarasse)

[Mike Cash]

Thanks for the info, mikecash.


No problem. When I am not otherwise engaged being a petty, argumentative, spiteful dickhead I try being informative....just to throw a little variety into the mix.

[Reiku]

You and me both, man... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/ReikuHiteruo/Emoticons/LolLolLolLol.gif