Job Discussion Forums

[gaijin4life]

furiousmilksheikali wrote

`As for the foreigners not acknowledging each other I really don't see the problem. If someone (foreigner or Japanese) nods at me and says hello then I will acknowledge them. But, there is no reason for a "foreigner" to nod and smile at every "foreigner" they see. `


I agree, but think it would be nice if pple could do the decent (human) thing and acknowledge others of their kind (more or less, whatever ..) who are nevertheless fellow strangers in a strange land.

My first time working in Japan was in a big city and at that time I wasnt so interested in meeting or hunting out other foreigners. I guess I was happy to assimilate and mix with whoever was around at the time regardless of whether gaijin or nihonjin. This time I guess Ive mellowed and given Im now in a place w less gaijin, its less common to meet or see fellow gaijin. Im in favour of the returned smile or nod when passing, it would be nice. But if pple dont want to do that, ofcourse its their choice ..

[sushi]

Restaurants that charge more after midnight. Was in one a while ago, and was curious as to why my bill was so much. Reply was "because it's after midnight". Receptionist was a little embarrassed by the fact too. I felt like throwing a glass through the window. Why the hell don't they put up a sign saying "They charge more after midnight".

[scorchio]

[quote="wolfman"]

[Alberta605]

I was interested to note that the UK Foreign Office describe Japan as a 'difficult country' along with some Middle Eastern nations, Russia and so on.

I'm more interested in what Japanese people think about this, so I ask them...they believe almost to a 'man' that it is because they appear hostile to non-Japanese people. I would basically agree with this.

But, is it really just appearance?

For example i was walking down the steps in a station, there was just me and the cleaning lady on the steps. When I drew level with her the cleaning lady walked very rapidly toward me banging her brush on the concrete steps in what i suppose she thought was an intimidating manner. Lemme tell ya, if she does that again on the wrong day she'll need a friend to help her retrieve her damn brush by putting a foot on her ass and pulling.

It's not unusual for those in less exotic occupations that exhibit these sorts of attitudes - certainly there are many with such issues in every country in the world. Having said that, I've worked in many countries and visited even more and I've never seen that.

[gaijinalways]

I would usually say "Excuse me" as I passed her in that situation, though I'm not sure why she was banging the stairs and approaching you as you were passing.

[6810]

[Alberta605]

Well, i was kinda exaggerating my response (obviously!), but certainly not as much as your interpretation of it! Carefully inserting a brush handle up someones back-passage is by no means as violent as 'knocking someones teeth out', and could therefore be considered a kindness

As I was there and you weren't its something of an indulgence to contradict my experience dontcha think?

But, if you really are that good would you be so kind as to guess next weeks lottery numbers? Cheers.

[6810]

Dude, ever heard of Nero Wolfe? Kinky Freidman? Two of my fav detectives.

That = me looking at what you wrote - not what you did. In other words, what you said you did.

Based on that account and comparing it my own experience of cleaning ladies/men at various stations in Japan I have encountered is the spirit in which I wrote my response.

If we were to spark up another cigar from a holder the bullet holder vest we are wearing, after drinking an espresso and perhaps puckering our lips in that singular way that only a fat armchair detective can, we might also reflect for a moment on your last paragraph... "less exotic occupation doing workers with these sort of issues (which I take to mean... I'm really not sure)" [sigh, I paraphrase, I'm sure it will get me into trouble later]...

On reflection we might discover someone looking down his nose (literally since you were descending the stairs...) at a lower class 下層 pleb doing an underpaid job while some non-Japanese dude strides down on top of her...

Hey, I'm not defending the old lady, I don't care to defend you, but one isolated event such as this in the "annoys/infuriates" thread... seems a little like overkill.

[Alberta605]

Then let me help you out here and simplify:

Does hostility annoy you? YES/NO
Does hostility baffle you? YES/NO
Do you think the Japanese are hostile YES/NO
Next...share any experience you may have had in this area, or if you have not encountered such issues it's all good.

Here's a useful piece of evidence for your Hercule, Holmes or whoever you romantically stylize yourself after - the Japanese I discussed this with actually DO think they come across as hostile.

You see, my post was intended to provide a brief example of an incident I considered hostile and to encourage people to share their OWN experiences; not to encourage them to analyze mine from an armchair in a galaxy far far away.

[JonFreeze]

in tokyo it gets annoying when you are trying to walk and you hear a "ching ching" cos a cyclist wants to pass you. its no problem for me to move, the problem i had was the people who cycled past and looked back at me with a mean face.

i noticed a lot of comments about gaijin greeting other gaijin in the street. i found that almost every westerner i saw said hello. often someone would come up to me looking incredibly relieved and asking where something was to which i would reply "i dunno where the hell i am either". had a good laugh with an american couple who were trying to find the Sony building in Tokyo which i actually knew the directions to. i also warned them of impending super-disappointment should they want to hunt down the godzilla statue like i did. why the hell did i have it in my head taht it would be absolutely huge. the disappointment i can not describe in words lol

oh and another nag would be when i ate in a Dennys with a friend and everyone just stared at us the whole time we were there lol.

[Glenski]

[gaijinalways]

Glenski posted

[Sherri]

In the small town in Hawaii where I live, people routinely greet each other, even total strangers when passing on the street. On campus people passing each other on a walkway almost always greet each other. In fact in our orientation for new students (who are almost all Japanese), we teach them that it is impolite not to greet people.

I have to say that when I lived in Tokyo, I would greet non Japanese people in my neighborhood, but I wouldn't in central Tokyo--too many around, but if someone greeted me, I had no problem returning it.

[JonFreeze]

i live in North Wales and people often greet each other here. even when you dont know each other

[gaijin4life]