Quote:
Originally Posted by RealJames
How about for the vast majority of the population?
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The vast majority of the population are normal people. I just tend to push back when people make it sound like Japanese people are like squirrels, timid from any human interaction.
I have never asked someone for directions and not gotten an answer in Japan. That's not always true in the US.
Go to a typical restaurant in the US, and it is more like a library. People talk quietly over their meals. Then go to an izakaya in Japan. It's like Grand Central Station with people yelling out drink orders and salary men and college students slurping noodles and getting each other loaded. That would practically be illegal where I live.
If you want to say people are more aware of their surroundings and of the people around them in Japan, I would agree, but that is different than being the most timid people in the world. Stand between an Osaka obaasan and the 50% off table at the Daiei, and you are going to see the opposite of timid. Go to a Tigers bar or a Giants bar on gameday wearing the wrong uniform.
No it isn't like a lot of places in the world, I am sure, but I think this image of Japanese being so timid they are afraid of their own shadows needs to be corrected. (I know you didn't say that, but, again, I am giving an alternative perspective for those that have never and may never get there.)