No own food and drink in restaurants? Those crazy Japanese and their weird customs -_-
Iâm amazed that people have to be told not to harrass somebody to take a photo, including tugging at clothing.
Or that they dont end up getting punched.
While I am hardly a world traveler, I have had a few trips and I have seen people from many nationalities, including Japan, do rather rude things to get a picture or doing something disrespectful in a church (which in Europe often doubles as a cemetery).
I really want to go to Japan with a friend next year, but I am not 100% sure I can swing it financially. Might need to do some freelance work again.
Those are mostly rules any tourist could use. Here in jolly old Whtby ( UK ) there is a minority of arsehole tourists doing rude and stupid things.
This is worse when lots of alcohol is consumed naturally.
This also applies to the locals LOL
Hmmm nothing about standing in the middle of street blocking traffic as you take pictures of your family which I witnessed a Japanesse family doing in Savanna last month.
Iâve worked around tourist for decades dumb tourist are dumb tourist they come from every corner of the world.
A Chinese colleague of mine showed some pictures of her trip to Japan. At one of the shrines/gardens, tourists can dress in traditional garb. She decided to give it a try. Her build, facial features, and demeanor are close enough to Japanese that nearly everyone thought she was a local. Spot on perfect. Apparently even Japanese tourists were posing with her, unaware she was actually a tourist like them.
Just something to keep in mind next time you are taking pictures of the locals.
They should have these for every major tourist city in the world. Jerky tourists wonât have the excuse of ignorance any more, and the rest of us will be better educated about less obvious things (like the tipping and taxi doors).
I donât think this has to be a âWestern tourists in Japan are worse/better than Japanese tourists in the westâ fight for it to be a helpful & good idea for communicating local norms, customs & unexpected penalties to visitors (5 years for riding a bike drunk would be a deeply unpleasant surprise to many people). I really enjoy the three degrees of angry face for communicating just how much of a fuck-up each thing on the list is.
It was many years ago that I visited Kyoto. Good memories. (Tip: donât bother trying to visit the Kyoto Convention Center; thereâs really nothing out there, despite how famous it is.)
Curious that thereâs an entry for âDonât Litterâ. Have things changed? I would have suggested, âDonât ask where the nearest trashcan is. There isnât one. Please carry your garbage around for the rest of the day.â
I also recall seeing at least one Japanese poster raising public awareness about taking âcandidâ photos of women, because rudeness apparently isnât limited to tourists.
Considering how stringent maiko training is, and how they have a strict protocol for nearly every activity, the thought of people just grabbing at them and treating them like mascots is really disheartening.
Semi-related anectdote: My high school was a private girls school with a very dapper uniform (white shirt, red necktie and navy blazer/pleated skirt) that was right beside a central tourist hub around Ottawa, Canada. Oftentimes weâd have crowds of Japanese tourists excitedly snapping photos of us when weâd be strolling outside on lunch break. Back then I wondered why they were so interested but later I figured it was because they were amused to see Canadian school kids wearing their familiar âsailor suitsâ. That said, they thankfully always kept a safe distance and never grabbed anyone.
I am reminded of an old David Letterman top ten joke: âIn Japan, it is considered rude to punch a flight attendant.â
I once visited Japan with a 6â5" friend of mine who spoke Japanese fluently. When walking in public, people gaped at him, took pictures, and constantly made comments about him; we walked by some schoolgirls and he laughed â "Theyâre saying âlook at that monster! Huge! So huge!â.
As with any culture, folks donât think itâs rude if they think you canât figure out what theyâre doing.
I wonder how preposterous the drunk-cycling gaijin hijinks must have been to prompt a âfive years in jailâ type strengthening.
Itâs my understanding that only occurs in particularly rural areas. Is that where you were?
No, this occurred repeatedly on the streets of Tokyo, especially around Harajuku and Ueno Park areas.
[quote=âgothicgeek, post:5, topic:64827, full:trueâ]
Those are mostly rules any tourist could use. Here in jolly old Whtby ( UK ) there is a minority of arsehole tourists doing rude and stupid things. [/quote]
I used to visit Whitby regularly (maybe monthly) when I lived in Beverley years ago, but mainly for the food; there was a coffee shop whose sweets I was addicted to. I hope the only rude and stupid thing I did was travel so far just for a piece of cake.
You can feel insulted at that remark. Or you can immitate Gojira.
Choice is yours.
For most people, he just chuckled and smiled, but for the schoolgirls saying âHuge! Huge!â he just turned, gave a little bow, and said âarigato gozaimasuâ. They squealed and scurried away.
Julie Chen had the same experience at Disneyland. Everyone wanted a picture with Mulan.
