Why Some Japanese Feel Scared of Foreigners

So you wanna know why some Japanese feel scared of foreigners. That's actually obvious, isn't it? Okay, let me tell you honestly what most Japanese actually think about foreigners. Foreigners just suck. They are too big, too fat, and smell so bad. I'm so sick and tired of pleasing them and using TATEMAE all the time. The truth is, foreigners suck. They cannot coexist in Japan. Yeah, that's all I want to say today. Okay, joking aside, let me tell you briefly what happened. There is a beautiful garden in Tokyo, Shinjuku Gyoen. To enter the garden, you are required to pay ¥200 for one adult. But we found out some guests were not asked to pay. Because a 33-year-old Japanese employee of the garden who worked at the admission gate, he just let foreign visitors in without paying. He was doing that for roughly two and a half years. He says he felt scared trying to communicate with non-Japanese guests. The amount of the loss is estimated more than ¥25 million. Now, I'm not really sure why he was so scared. There are many possible reasons. But I wanna take this as an opportunity to talk about that could annoy or even scare Japanese people possibly. Something many foreigners innocently do or behave in Japan. Because that kind of incident is not just first time. Having said that, I wanna clarify this. You don't have to be too worried about that. I'm sure most young people nowadays do not care. These foreigners are getting more and more nowadays. But as far as older generation in Japan, they might feel annoyed or even scared of these five things. I'm sure you already know this, but I need to remind you. Quite many Japanese still associate tattoos with Yakuza. Especially elderly people. So someone who has a big tattoo can be really scary for them. I think this is kind of subconscious for us. Just hard to get rid of the bad image in mind. So even nowadays, quite many public bus don't allow people have tattoos. Okay, I'm not gonna say you can't come to Japan if you have a big tattoo. Of course you can. But maybe you wanna hide your tattoo in public with long sleeve shirt or something like that. I know that would be difficult in summer. But I want you to try as much as you can. Again, the image of tattoos in Japan is still not good. I'm sorry, but it just takes more time to change the image. I'm talking about these kinds of clothes. This is kind of too much for Japanese people. Of course, it depends on the situation. If you're at a party or club, sometimes it would be appropriate. But maybe this is too sexy, too underdressed and too sloppy in Japan. I'm not saying you have to be dressing like a celebrity every time. But just keep in mind. Don't expose your skin too much. I would say Japanese people usually dress like conservative looking. It's kind of not flashy, not showy. And maybe you wanna follow that. If you wanna know about appropriate clothing in Japan, I would recommend you to watch this video. It's gonna explain really well what you should not wear in Japan. I'm gonna put the link in the description below. So check it out if you're interested. Yeah, I actually often see this. But this is quite bad. Of course, not just foreigners. Some Japanese also do that. Especially drunk people late at night. But generally speaking, Japanese people don't like someone standing out and doing some public disturbance. So we always try not to interrupt people like sleeping or checking smartphone on the plane. And things like small talk rarely happen. Something like this. This is definitely not okay. Disturbing other people is considered really rude in Japan. But the problem is, Japanese people usually don't say anything about it. So maybe you're not gonna notice, even if you're really being rude. If you're finally first time in Japan, maybe you wanna be vlogging or filming a lot. But be careful, Japanese are really private people. Protective about their privacy. Chances are they don't wanna be on camera when you're filming or taking a picture in Japan. But if you do that without permission, that could be offensive or even scary. Trust me, you really don't wanna do like this. Japanese people take their privacy seriously. Having said that, all you need is just getting permission. I've done so many interviews in Japan or even social experiment. As long as you have their permission, that's fine. So if you're gonna take a photo of someone or something and you're not sure if it's okay, just ask them. That's all you need. Okay, imagine you're at home in your hometown and somebody comes into and speaking to you in a completely unfamiliar foreign language. How would you feel? That's actually the feelings many elderly people in Japan would get. Simply they are not used to that and have no idea what you want and what you think. That's actually pretty scary, isn't it? Now, I'm not saying you have to master whole entire Japanese language. Nobody expecting that. But trust me, you wanna speak some Japanese at least. Even if you're at a tourist spot. At least the most basic key phrases like ありがとうございます すみません お願いします or phrase like that. I bet you it's not gonna take you even 10 minutes to memorize those phrases. Even if you sound really awkward, the Japanese people will appreciate you since you are trying to speak the language at least. Like I said earlier, you don't have to be too worried about that. Especially in a different culture, we all make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. When I was in Canada, I've done so many rude, annoying things not knowing the culture and manners. But what I want you to do is just to be aware of these things. Especially when you interact with elderly people. Anyway, I really hope that this kind of incident will not happen in Japan anymore. Especially given the situation we have. Again, most Japanese will not say anything even if you're really annoying or scary. Because they're afraid of confronting you and they don't wanna make it a big deal. So I want you to pay attention to the surroundings and catch your bad behavior by yourself. Lastly, let me emphasize this. Don't get me wrong. Just being a foreigner here is not a program. For example, you're big, tall, and not Asian. If that scares Japanese people, that's their program. You're not doing anything wrong. Maybe you wanna disagree. But I'd like to believe that your behavior and actions are going to be judged. So all you need is just appreciate the culture and follow the customs and rules. And just not to be a jerk.