Strange stuff in Tokyo/Japan
 

Hey. I`ve been to Tokyo for a couple of days, and I found it very different from Europe. I have a couple of questions:

1. Why do the Japanese flash the peace sign with their fingers ehen seeing westerns?

2. Is it any theft at all in the city? I saw people leaving their belonging unantended all the time.

3. I`ve allways heard the stories about "don`t leave the job before the boss". Is this still a part of the workingculture?

4. What about the Japanese sex industry. I saw alot of it in Shinjuku. I also heard that this area was commonly visited when people where going out to have some fun. Can you tell me more about the area? In Lost in Translation Bill Murray are offered a hooker from the people he works for (I also read about it in a Murukami book- Dance, dance, dance). Is this common?

5. What about the schoolgirl/goth fashion. Is that inspired from a cartoon or something?

This was some of the strange things I saw in Tokyo. I`m glad to have some answers, and please add more if you come up with something.

M

1. Never experienced it, while I am oriental (Chinese) myself, i traveled with a lot of Caucasian people to Japan in the past, and I've never seen this

2. Theft exist anywhere, but the crime rate in Japan is really low. In some rural suburbs, people don't even lock their doors at home

3. yes

4. Sex industry is still very common throughout Japan, and yes Shinjuku has a lot of it, but I never been to anything in that regards so I don't have infor for you. However, there are pink box everywhere that can give you more info. I never heard of such thing as a boss offering their staff prostitution service, I don't think there is any accuracy in that. MOST Japanese organization respect "etiquettes" with high regards, of course, some indutries that is not being seen as "professional" is different, otherwise in most cases, the bsos, to maintain a good image, will never do such thing. Then there is also the whole strong culture of corporate hieracy, if anything, it will be the other way around

5. They mostly are. The cosplay culture are from pop music/animate/manga (comics). They are mostly referred to as Otaku, a lot of younger generation are extremely into this Otaku culture, but the general population look at them with disgust, there are many reasons to that, which we can discuss somewhere else and not hijack your thread. In anycase, youn people just want to have fun, its no different from us growing up in NA to play Batman and Robin as a kid, except they go a little further.. well and older

You'll see people flash the "V" sign all the time, but usually only when someone is taking a picture of them.

Theft does occur in Tokyo, it's most commonly related to umbrellas and bicycles which are sometimes "borrowed" by drunk salarymen when they leave the bar following after-work drinks. You won't get mugged here.

Yes, but then again, it depends on the job. Foreigners in Japan are generally not expected to work the same hours as Japanese (though some still do). My gf often works as many as 100 hours of overtime each month.

Prostitution is not "legal" in Japan, but then again, neither is gambling, but everyone knows how to win cash at pachinko parlors. You'll find host and hostess clubs in Kabukicho (Shinjuku), as well as "soaplands", massage parlors, and the like. Bring a platinum credit card, they aren't cheap.

Schoolgirls wear uniforms, it's not fashion, it's required. Men fantasize about them in the obvious way, and schoolgirl uniforms are popular costumes for older women who use them to tease/inspire their husbands or boyfriends. Maid outfits are also popular (for the same reason), you'll see both men (yes, men) and women wearing them. As for goth "fashion", it's not much different here than it is in other places.

Oh, I didn't know thats a "piece" sign. The V means Vicotry I believe... I misunderstood the Schoolgirl part, I didn't think he was asking about the uniform in particular, but their FASHIOn....

On that note, the entire cosplay culture rooted into this "tease/inspire/simulate" partner thing.

Generally bicycles and umbrellas get stolen often in Japan even in rural areas. My mountain bike was stolen from my apartment last year. I now keep my new one inside my apartment.

Other than that people can leave their belongings i public places and expect them to still be there when they come back. That is what I like about Japan.

I think the V for Victory sign when taking pictures probably started with American troops after the war. They saw the Americans doing it, and it sort of entered the Japanese national consciousness that you smile and flash a V sign when someone takes a picture.

1. Why do the Japanese flash the peace sign with their fingers ehen seeing westerns?
they do this in Vietnam too...
the peace sign is pretty universal so its very safe way of saying hello

2. Is it any theft at all in the city? I saw people leaving their belonging unantended all the time.
im sure there is.. but generally very safe place. i left my backpack at the bottom of a elevator in Roppongi one night for 4 hours, finally realized i left it and ran back it was there untouched.
* was a elevator in front of a club also*

3. I`ve allways heard the stories about "don`t leave the job before the boss". Is this still a part of the workingculture?
There is a whole world of japanese business culture, just way to much to go over.

4. What about the Japanese sex industry. I saw alot of it in Shinjuku. I also heard that this area was commonly visited when people where going out to have some fun. Can you tell me more about the area? In Lost in Translation Bill Murray are offered a hooker from the people he works for (I also read about it in a Murukami book- Dance, dance, dance). Is this common?

well it is said that japan consumes the most pornography in the world.
*meaning buying alot of tapes, sex toys, etc etc.*
Its every where, not just Shinjuku.

Shinjuku IS a fun area, and by no means is it known for hookers and stuff like that.

I personally like Shinjuku b/c:

great tempura places to eat
cool people
they breakdance at this huge glass building around 7-12 every nice day
lots of arcades, bowling alleys, kareoki, movie theaters
random stores that sell weird stuff

and yes it has some sex shops and whatnot, but pretty much every area in Tokyo has one or 2.

and no people dont go around offering you hookers

FYI if your walking around and some one offers you a massage, just shake your head and keep walking.

If you walk around roppongi for more then 5 mins you'll prolly be approached by one of those girls or get chased by a black guy trying to get you to come to his strip club or shot bar =P




5. What about the schoolgirl/goth fashion. Is that inspired from a cartoon or something?
no, i recommend a google search on lolita and goth style, its just waaay to much to get into.

its not just based on a cartoon, its like a whole community or life style.

im not all into it but i find it interesting.



Some things i find strange:
1. how its acceptable to pass out drunk on the street while wearing a business suit.

2.how one minute your casually standing in a train, and the next stop you are being crushed by 100 people trying to get on.

3. the unusual amount of Doner Kabab Stands there are

4. why they love paris hilton so much

5. and alot of buildings are missing a 4th floor but still have the 13th floor.
*yes i kno 4 = Shi and its bad luck and means death* but just weird to me to see 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13.

thats all i can think of now =P

Whoa whoa no! Perhaps there are versions of costumes for fetishes just like you'd find in an adult store in any country, but cosplay culture is based out of love for a series and its characters and pride in craftsmanship. In most cases it isn't sexual at all O_o Lolita and goth are subcultures rather than cosplay; there's more to them than the fashion. Again, they're more about self expression than anything sexual.

1. japanese people flash the peace sign all the time. 9/10 pictures of japanese people, they'll be having a peace sign. young people, though. not old. =p

2. no there really isn't. you can leave a bike unlocked and it won't be stolen. my friend was telling me how her dad went to tokyo and forgot his camera in a bathroom and it was still there the next day. the crime rate is really low in japan. my dad was comparing japan and america to me. he's like "in the u.s. this year, there are a few thousand people who die from gunshots. in japan, there was 7" or i think it was 12. anyway i was like o_O

3. i don't know.

4. HAHA i accidentally went to kabuki cho in shinjuku [it's a neighborhood] by myself last summer. thank god it was in the morning, but there were creepy men who asked me if i needed help. it's a shady area, and full of like love hotels and hostess clubs.

5. uhm no. the fashion inspired by "cartoons" [anime, manga, etc being the better term] is cosplay. schoolgirl may be cosplay. but goth is inspired by jrock, such as bands malice mizer and moi dix mois.


things i find strange:

1. when i went to harajuku last summer, it was august 12, noon, and about 100 degrees outside. i was at harajuku bridge and saw a girl walking across it wearing a thick black hoodie and black pants and looking pretty comfy, whereas i was sweating like a horse in a tshirt and shorts.
2. how japanese people just don't sweat in general, even though their summers are always 100+ degrees.
3. how all japanese girls are stick thin and have huge eyes but i'm not/ i don't.
4. i never understood where people in tokyo live. in new york city, there are apartment buildings among the other buildings. but in tokyo there aren't any residential buildings. i saw a residential area in roppongi but that's about it.
5. how japanese girls do daily tasks with those long nails.
6. why people think yamanba are attractive.

You're kidding, right?

There are incomparably more residential buildings than commercial buildings in Tokyo. Where did you think the 13 million of us Tokyoites lived? In the parks?

okay let me make a correction. lol sorry >< --
in tokyo where i went i didn't see any residential buildings.
i went to ikebukuro, asakusa, harajuku, shinjuku, shibuya, ebisu, roppongi, tokyo dome city, and probably a few more places i'm forgetting. i didn't see any residential areas there O_O
no i didn't think you lived in the parks so that's why i found it "strange" that i didn't see any residential areas. perhaps you guys live in the .. less touristy [? lack of better term] areas?

Once you leave these "touristy areas," even just a station or two away, you'd find that large parts, or even that majority of Tokyo is residential.

But a lot of people still live in those places you listed. There are apartments above shops and cafes, or even whole residential buildings next to them. If you do a quick Google search on housing in Tokyo, I'm sure many of these places will pop-up as choices. I remember walking around in the Harajuku-Omotesando area, just wandering a few minutes off the main street to find some very nice looking mansions.

But definitely as a tourist, there are way more exciting sights and sounds than these apartment buildings, so it's not surprising that you didn't notice them--I know I probably didn't on my first few visits there. It's like saying in NYC no one lives in Fifth Ave., Soho, Midtown, Times Square or other tourist-heavy areas. Granted they aren't your typical "residential neighborhoods" with places for kids to run around or whatnot, these tourist hubs are crammed with residential buildings as well.

That got quite a laugh from me too.

I take it the poster never left the main streets. Or maybe apartments/mansions don`t count as residential?

Leave commercial and tourist spots, and 95% of Tokyo is (albeit very crowded) residential. All you have to do is walk back through the wall of flashy buildings facing the main street, and find sprawling residential neighborhoods.

When you ride the train practically every building you see 30 seconds away from the station is residential. A lot of the businesses are centered right next to the stations.

About the theft thing:
Everybody said there isnt, but i got my wallet stolen in Ameyoko. So i was just unlucky to find the few percent of Japanese who actually steel. But when i called the embassy they told me that most times the things wich are lost come back (as everyone else told me), so i guess it is pretty safe. The thing wich sucked most was that the store even had videocameras but they refused to have a look as long as there is no police....
Well anyway, i still think Japan is a very safe place with a low crimerate and Ameyoko is the one place wich is know for theft.

About the "no residental area" thing. Go to Ueno and drive maybe 3 stations with the train and the residantel only areas will start and you can keep going with the train for far more than 30 minutes and there will still be just houses. I think many of the people working in Tokyo live outside there and commute every day for 2+hours (wich sucks!).
After having been on the morning rush hour for 3 weeks now (the worst part beeing from Ueno to Akiba) i would not want to lead that live everday.

thanks guys for the info. i guess that was pretty ignorant, but i honestly didn't notice any residential buildings when i went. yes i did stay on the main streets, and i was probably too busy trying to not get lost/ trying not to melt from the heat to notice any. o.o;;

My grandmother is the strange thing in Tokyo! =D

lol.
I'm joking.
"I kid. I kid."