Comments by "Jordan, inside-outsider in Japan" (@Jordan-inJapan) on "Things Foreigners Should NEVER Do - Japanese Interview" video.

First of all, I loved the answer of that last guy who was interviewed. (He wouldn’t ‘take the bait’. 😆) But as far as things that my Japanese friends often complain about regarding foreign visitors here, I’d say the volume level of conversations in public ranks first. Especially on the train (as was mentioned by one of interviewees). Also, I wanted to mention… although consumption of alcohol in public places is acceptable in Japan, public drunken behavior is not. Of course, Japanese locals are guilty of this on occasion as well, but we foreigners stand out more. Just something to keep in mind. 🍻
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Ah, I know exactly what you mean. I think it relates to an interesting point of Japanese culture regarding social interaction. When you have an established relationship with someone (coworkers, family, friends, shopkeeper-customer etc) there are a lot of really complex rules as for how to interact. But when you DON’T have an established relationship (ie two strangers on a train platform) people often just pretend others around don’t exist. It’s seen as a bit of a ‘flaw’ in Japanese culture — a lack of clear rules for interaction between strangers in public places.
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@marw9541 I think people tend to behave worse in cities due to the sense of anonymity. Also, foreign residents in small towns usually feel more accepted as part of the local community, and so behave in line with community expectations. (At least that’s my experience.)
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@marw9541 ah, I live in a small town. Not so much loud yelling…
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@specialk9999 I haven’t lived in a city in ages, but according to the impression I get when I occasionally hang out in Osaka or Nagoya, after-work drinking culture is a lot more subdued than it used to be. (Maybe because of the pandemic.?)
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