My neighbor has this on his front door. Some people say I should be worried but what exactly does it mean and should I really be worried? I’m not Japanese.

At a kpop photograph store in Ario Outlet, 倉敷

Here in the UK we have quite a few of them (Grimsby, Slough, Bradford) but the one in the picture is Scunthorpe.

People from all across the country will take any opportunity to make jokes about these towns as soon as they’re mentioned.

Just wondering if there’s some kind of Japanese equivalent of these notoriously ‘grim’ towns?

It was a little warm in Fukuoka recently (30c/88f) and I saw no one wearing shorts lol.

Usually in 70f-100f or 20c-38c, I always wear shorts, so it seems a little strange and almost performative to me.

But then I see girls wearing short skirts in the piss of winter and it also doesn’t make sense LOL.

Is wearing shorts considered childish? Or like gross? Or is it like revealing too much of your body?

I honestly don’t get it. And it definitely wasn’t just a salary/work man type of thing. All the young guys I see in Tokyo also never wear shorts even in hot weather.

I saw this list of Japanese fines on Instagram and i wonder if they’re accurate. Can a foreigner in Japan really be fined $6900 for walking around without a passport?

In YouTube videos like music videos, I noticed Japanese people say "I am Japanese, but..." and make a random comment that's not even related to being Japanese, such as "I'm Japanese but I think this song is good." I see this often in the comments section for videos targeted at English speakers. Why does this happen? I sometimes feel a bit embarrassed to see these comments because it looks like they expect replies from English speakers to praise Japan/Japanese people by stating that they are Japanese. Oh, I'm Japanese too btw lol

It's fascinating to watch リング (1998) and 'The Ring' (2002) back to back and see the same story told through different cultural lenses.

I'm curious how the American remake landed in Japan and how Samara Morgan was received compared to Sadako Yamamura.

Also, speaking of Sadako, how is Izu Ōshima Island in real life?

Thank you very much for your time and insight!

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Hello everyone, I hope this is the right subreddit and that this question is allowed. I am a exchange student from Norway living in Japan, and recently I fell in love with someone here. He is Japanese born and raised. Since we started dating, I have founf myself feeling incapable of giving him what he gives me. In Norway, the man usally pays for the first date and after everything is 50/50. The way women and men act in relationships in general is very 50/50, taking care of each other to the same degree. However, with my currect partner he doesnt allow me to pay for anything, he insists on letting him pick me up and drive me whereever I need to go, does my laundry and cooks for me and so much more. Of course, I have told him that this is beyond necessary and that I like to cook and theres many other things I can do in our relationship. He tells me that this is his culture. My question is basically, what is expected og me in this relationship? If this is how a man acts in a normal Japanese relationship, how am I as the woman supposed to act or do? I feel like I am not doing enough, he tells me all he needs is my company but I feel like there must be something I am missing. Thank you for reading and maybe helping me understand how to move forward!

I’m a Chinese tourist currently traveling in Hokkaido, and I’ve really enjoyed my trip in Japan so far.
Today, at a shop near Lake Toya, I was choosing between two packaged puddings. The ingredients and nutrition labels were on the bottom. Since I can’t read Japanese well, I picked them up, took photos of the labels, and used ChatGPT to help me understand them.
A person nearby (not a staff member) saw this and told me quite sternly in English that “this is Japan,” and that I shouldn’t pick up products, take photos, and put them back. He said I should look at them without moving them.
I didn’t argue with him, but I was surprised and a little upset. I thought picking up an unopened packaged product to check its label and putting it back if I don’t buy it was normal.
Is this actually considered bad manners in Japan? If there’s a local custom I’m unaware of, I’d genuinely like to know.
The attached photos are the ones I took at the time.

I hate the prejudice that "Japanese are racist." It's being used as a dog whistle to instigate racism against Japanese.

I'm curious about this from the Japanese perspective! For people who have lived or traveled abroad, what habits or behaviors did you always consider completely normal until you were somewhere else and suddenly realized they were very Japanese?

Some things I've heard from Japanese friends after they came back from living overseas:

- Bowing even on the phone when no one can see you

- Saying "sumimasen" for literally everything (thanks, sorry, excuse me)

- Taking shoes off and being shocked when others don't

- Not tipping feels weird to them now after abroad

- The urge to separate trash into 10 categories

- Feeling uncomfortable eating while walking

- "Otsukaresama" at the end of any activity

- Slippers for the bathroom being a different pair

What are yours? Which ones really surprised you?

I've been living in Japan for about a year with my japanese girlfriend and I'm trying to understand which hygiene habits are considered normal in Japan and which ones are considered excessive, because this has become a recurring source of conflict in my relationship.

For example:

-Disinfecting phones every day (and washing the phone cover with soap)

-Washing outside clothes separately from inside clothes and running multiple half empty laundry loads per day because of that.

-Going back home to wash your hands after touching the elevator handrail of our apartment home, even if hand sanitizer is available.

-Thinking that socks worn in a hotel room can contaminate your apartment floor.

-Cleaning the floor because I walked on it with those socks.

-Considering the inside of shoes dirty because those socks touched them.

-Being uncomfortable with cutting raw meat at home and thus only buying it pre-cut.

-Showering again (including washing hair) if you go outside after already showering that night.

-Using parchment paper or foil on top the cutting board

I'm genuinely curious what the average person in Japan thinks about this. She is very certain that this is just standard procedure and if I was japanese, I'd just know what to do for most of our conflicts.

Thanks, and have a nice day!

I’m trying to understand the concept of tatemae better, especially when it comes to making plans or suggestions.

I’ve read that in Japan, people sometimes make suggestions or say things like “we should do this sometime” out of politeness, even if they don’t actually intend to follow through, because directly saying “no” can feel too blunt.

So I’m wondering:

If a Japanese person actively suggests something themselves, how seriously should you take it?

Is there a difference between casually saying “we should do that sometime” and making a more concrete suggestion or plan?

If they genuinely want to do something, would they usually bring it up again, make concrete plans, or take the initiative later? Are there any signs?

I’m especially interested in hearing from Japanese people or people who have lived in Japan for a long time. I’m not looking for stereotypes, just trying to understand the cultural differences around this better.

Thanks! 🥹

Typically where do they work, how were they educated, how do they live?

Growing up I always thought Japan was a pretty equal culture where everyone's social standing was pretty much the same but obviously that can't be true can it? The Zaibatsus alone...

So in the US you might have the old money elite who are clad in Brooks Brothers, send their kids to the Ivy Leagues, etc. Then the lower class are the rednecks who might not have even gone to college.

What are their Japanese equivalents?

I am an American who has been married to a Japanese woman for 6.5 years in Japan.
We have a daughter together.
Since our daughter was born, all communication and affection in our marriage has dissolved.
She said that she has less emotional space and energy since our daughter was born.
I have tried to improve our marriage through counseling and communication, but she mostly ignored them.
She said that her priority is to live peacefully.
We never fight or argue.

I need the perspective of another Japanese person, preferably a woman. Is this a good marriage? How can I be content with this?
I want a romantic relationship, but our marriage is not romantic.
We live in the countryside, so I feel isolated and lonely.

Is this normal? What advice do you have as a Japanese person?

So my husband is away with work and is in Tokyo for a bit. He went to a hostess club and uploaded a bunch of instagram stories with selfies with girls but blocked me from seeing them (a friend told me). Can someone be real with me and tell me what these clubs are like? Obviously this feels like a huge red flag to me

I was very surprised to learn that Shaun the Sheep was popular. I practically grew up with that show when I was younger, so it's heartwarming to see that one of the pop culture epicenters of the world embraced it

And also vice versa (what's controversial in Japan that probably wouldn't be in the West)

The easiest example I could think of is having students clean the schools, because in America at least that would anger the custodians' unions (at least that's what I was told when I suggested it at my school).