Japan General Thread - Japan-related news, happenings and thoughts

[Non-breath oblige]

I was having mixed feelings about all the new restrictions Japan's been putting up for foreigners, having lived there and visited multiple times since leaving pre-covid, but shit like this makes me understand why they do it.

Been on a deep dive lately of terrible tourist behavior over there and it's pretty depressing stuff (see the idiots harassing the geishas in Kyoto).

Add in the asshole foreigners who complain and demand Japan act more like America and bleh.

Having visited a few times post-covid, it's totally justified. Made even worse by the yen deflation. Even in a "low peak" season all the main cities are so fucking crowded even outside of rush hour.

Some recent examples:

• Universal Studios Japan is impossible without buying pre-timed fastpasses in advance because all the standby lines for every ride turn into 2-3 hour wait times right after the park opens. I didn't even bother with the Mario wrist band and Harry Potter wand shit (and any themed food/drink stuff) not just because it's a ripoff but because there was a long ass line for every. single. interaction area, mainly Chinese and Korean tourists. I'd imagine Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea is no different.
  
  
• In the arcades, particularly the music game area, there are signs in English and other languages that clearly say no photos/videos (mainly to prevent gaijin tourists from posting all those "hurr durr look at these japanese players are so pro" clips on social media w/o the players' permission) and yet on multiple occasions I've seen foreigners trying to sneak one anyway. (Somewhat related, in Akihabara those annoying maid cafe/bar girls are now on literally every path and corner, if you thought pre-covid was bad, it's a lot worse now.)
  
  
• Social media has made trying to take photos of or appreciate anything nature-related more frustrating because the "influencers" and tourists waste so much time posing and trying to get the perfect shot. My favorite moments were when I went on hikes to places in the early morning before any of the tourists show up and I was literally the only one there and it was so damn nice to just soak in the peace and tranquility before I hear some loud Asian family bickering or someone blasting their annoying Bluetooth speaker.
  
  
• My Japanese is okay but enough to get around places and I can't say there's been a couple times when I've had to interact with a Japanese worker at the hotel/shop/restaurant and they make that "Oh thank fucking god I can finally talk to someone in my native language" face.

 

[Napoleon III]

I don't really like anime.

But the Japanese are really good at a lot of stuff and I respect them for it. There are a lot engineering things that Japan does better than the US and so they have my respect.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

Having visited a few times post-covid, it's totally justified. Made even worse by the yen deflation. Even in a "low peak" season all the main cities are so fucking crowded even outside of rush hour.

Japan's crowded in general, at least in the main cities. This isn't really a tourism problem.

hotel/shop/restaurant and they make that "Oh thank fucking god I can finally talk to someone in my native language" face.

If you work in tourism or leisure, such as a hotel, you honestly should expect to deal with a lot of foreign traffic. It comes with the job. At this point, it should be a requirement to speak some level of English to work in those jobs.

 

[Sinner's Sandwich]

My Japanese is okay but enough to get around places and I can't say there's been a couple times when I've had to interact with a Japanese worker at the hotel/shop/restaurant and they make that "Oh thank fucking god I can finally talk to someone in my native language" face.

Are you sure? That would be really rude for japanese standards. If they really make a strange face it's most likely because they don't expect foreigners to speak japanese.

 

[Noxe]

This is probably power level but man I can't stand when people assume I am learning Japanese cuz of anime. I don't watch much anime at all, but I like the culture, history, pop culture, etc. I know Japan isn't perfect but I still appreciate them even with the shit parts. Wish I could visit but I doubt they'll happen anytime soon.

 

[DietPurplePepsi0]

I'll never understand the JETs who come to Japan and either hate being in a foreign culture despite agreeing to work in a foreign country or are still complete fucking weebs the entire time they're living there. I sometimes feel bad for the kids that have to deal with assistant teachers that are completely inept and used the job as a free ticket to glorious Nippon.

 

[Toji Suzuhara]

I'll never understand the JETs who come to Japan and either hate being in a foreign culture despite agreeing to work in a foreign country or are still complete fucking weebs the entire time they're living there. I sometimes feel bad for the kids that have to deal with assistant teachers that are completely inept and used the job as a free ticket to glorious Nippon.

It's a problem that has to do with immigration/long-term residence between the citizens of two first-world nations. You see it, that's why the americans that move to europe or the european that moved to america is detected almost instantly, because they are always with the "in my country this, in my country that, I could go back at any minute and not miss anything about this place" speak, they know they had it good in their home country, and because they had to move, they expect to have it perfect

 

[Sakisaka]

How are south east Asians perceived in Japan? Are they seen as more foreign than let's say, Americans?

 

[Peru oso donas]

I'll never understand the JETs who come to Japan and either hate being in a foreign culture despite agreeing to work in a foreign country or are still complete fucking weebs the entire time they're living there. I sometimes feel bad for the kids that have to deal with assistant teachers that are completely inept and used the job as a free ticket to glorious Nippon.

Might as well ask here, what does JET stand for?

 

[Non-breath oblige]

If you work in tourism or leisure, such as a hotel, you honestly should expect to deal with a lot of foreign traffic. It comes with the job. At this point, it should be a requirement to speak some level of English to work in those jobs.

I mean the "some level of English" that is used is fine for like basic interactions or when the customer is a native English speaker. Imo it's more when you throw in something like Asian tourists where both sides are trying to communicate in super broken English and thick accents and a lot of cultural nuance/context gets lost plus more recent assholery is where I think some people get overwhelmed. Especially the further you get away from the cities where a lot of the traditional places haven't kept up with the times.

Are you sure? That would be really rude for japanese standards. If they really make a strange face it's most likely because they don't expect foreigners to speak japanese.

Idk. I wouldn't call it a strange face, maybe more like a slight relief in their eyes.

Might as well ask here, what does JET stand for?

Japan Exchange and Teaching, from the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme.

 

[David Kirk Ginder]

Recently there was a situation where some Chinese piece of shit spray painted the word "Toilet" and pissed on the Yasukuni Shrine's stone pillar.

In a separate incident at another shrine, some Korean dipshit was filmed smoking inside the main shrine area.

It's all so tiresome...I fucking hate these pieces of shit like you wouldn't believe.

I wonder why the Police can't simply maintain a permanent presence at major shrines where shit like this happens. That would solve a lot of the issues.

While we can point out the degeneracy of Western multicultural/multiethnic societies, clearly the solution isn't as simple as homogeneous monoethnicity (Chinks, Gooks and Nips are the same Mongoloid race).

More research needed.

How are south east Asians perceived in Japan? Are they seen as more foreign than let's say, Americans?

I think SEAs are to Japan what Mexicans are to the US, doing cheap labor. The differences are that they don't join drug gangs, they don't rape or murder, and they, like every other foreigner, are low in number (Japan is 98% Japanese) so they don't have any political power/voting power.

Okay, they're nothing like Spics.

 

[herefortheactualthreads]

I wonder why the Police can't simply maintain a permanent presence at major shrines where shit like this happens. That would solve a lot of the issues.

well they banned Logan Paul from Japan permanently after throwing coins in a shrine and filming the suicide forest, and being obnoxius of course.

i'm not sure what to think of japan as a whole. it's like germany but with a more extreme work-culture and they are socially more inept, since they work 16 hours and have almost 0 free time, they can't talk about mental issues and have high sudoku-comitting statistics afterwards. also their jails are inhuman but they celebrate the low inmates percentages like thats a good thing.

however i'd like to visit some food places or arcade machines and see the nature, if there's a solid reason for me to go there.

 

[sirthisisanarbys]

weeb

 

[Toji Suzuhara]

Might as well ask here, what does JET stand for?

Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, or JET Program for short. It's basically a program to get teachers, students, and the like from foreign countries (mostly americans) so they can help the japs with various things, primarily knowledge/proficiency with the english language

 

[Fishmalk Observer]

I've been planning a trip to japan in a few years, but it's kinda hard to find information i need. I'm a sumo head ( been following it since 2017 , want to see a full tournament in person) so that's 15 days at minimum, probably add 2-3 more on each ends. Probably rent a house or something for the month. How expensive is air bnb shit there ?

 

[Almighty Space Duck]

I think SEAs are to Japan what Mexicans are to the US, doing cheap labor. The differences are that they don't join drug gangs, they don't rape or murder, and they, like every other foreigner, are low in number (Japan is 98% Japanese) so they don't have any political power/voting power.

Okay, they're nothing like Spics.

I did get a chuckle out of seeing all the tills on the busy floors of Bic Camera being manned by Chinks with the one Jap supervising. And they had to call that supervisor over when they did anything other than take payment and put item in bag.

I've been planning a trip to japan in a few years, but it's kinda hard to find information i need. I'm a sumo head ( been following it since 2017 , want to see a full tournament in person) so that's 15 days at minimum, probably add 2-3 more on each ends. Probably rent a house or something for the month. How expensive is air bnb shit there ?

I’d start by putting the city and dates into booking.com and filtering for apartments then use the map thing to scroll about and get a feel for the cost. Also Business Hotels are well worth looking into since you’re only really looking for a place to sleep/shower.

 

[YumeNoHero]

I've been planning a trip to japan in a few years, but it's kinda hard to find information i need. I'm a sumo head ( been following it since 2017 , want to see a full tournament in person) so that's 15 days at minimum, probably add 2-3 more on each ends. Probably rent a house or something for the month. How expensive is air bnb shit there ?

The closer it is to a commercial or city center, the more expensive it is. Plus, most of the house you can rent are quite small, enough for only one or maybe 2 person max. If you only need a place to rest after a day's travelling and moving around frequently then capsule hotels suit you more, also cheaper to rent than AirBnB.

How are south east Asians perceived in Japan? Are they seen as more foreign than let's say, Americans?

This is just my personal experience with them, but I found them a lot more tolerable than western weebs and chinks. Most of them are immigrant workers on worker visa so they tend to stay together close to wherever they work and it's easy to spot them. Unfortunately they are prone to petty crimes like shopliftings and thievery since they are all from poor rural part of their respective country, hence not understand that a self-checkout store is not a free-for-all store. For all the shit they pulled in our country, at least it is not as egregious as the chinks who come over here to be absolute loud-mouthed fucktards trying to buy up everything they can to scalp, even ignoring the purchase limit per person imposed on each store and the western weebs being a bunch of creeps to women in general.

 

[Mike Matei's Penis]

I like the fancy drink vending machines everywhere.

 

[TATE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODE!!]

Any advice I have for going to Japan is Tokyo is a an overrated nightmare. Neat for a short stay but go to the countryside.

The natural beauty of the island has is bliss.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

I'll never understand the JETs who come to Japan and either hate being in a foreign culture despite agreeing to work in a foreign country

Just because someone comes to work in a foreign country doesn't mean they are suddenly beholden to liking everything about it. Some people just aren't ever going to be prepared for what living in Japan is like, even if they are more predisposed to caring about its culture than most. And some people just have really bad experiences. Its all just unfortunate.