Arama They Didn't

gyaru liime_arix
11:22 am - 02/23/2013

Foreigners give their impressions and thoughts in documentary, "A Life in Japan"



Synopsis:
Ever wondered how it would be to live in Japan?

In this documentary a variety of foreigners tell about their experiences, likes and dislikes. It's not a complete picture of Japan of course. You will see the country through the eyes of a few, mostly western, foreign residents, who have stayed in Japan between a few months and several decades.

The intention was not to try to give an objective all encompassing picture of Japan, but to let you experience it through personal opinions and experiences of different people. The interviewees had the chance to speak freely, within loose frames, about the topics of their choice.

source

Some of the things that come out of these people's mouth
Leave a Comment
chibi_hime 23rd-Feb-2013 07:01 pm (UTC)
I wish I had time watch the whole 80 minutes documentary... but I don't have the time.

In the first 10 minutes, I saw enough white men with asian fetishes to last me the rest of the day.
senshicalico 23rd-Feb-2013 11:06 pm (UTC)
"In the first 10 minutes, I saw enough white men with asian fetishes to last me the rest of the day. "

Those were my feelings after my first 10 minutes in Japan.
breathless31 23rd-Feb-2013 11:29 pm (UTC)
lol mte
chibi_hime 24th-Feb-2013 03:55 am (UTC)
LOL! After a few months of living in Japan, I let it go. It just bothered me when I, an Asian American, would go out and creepy white guys would try to pick me up by saying "I'm European" or "I'm American".
Yama Take 24th-Feb-2013 03:37 am (UTC)
I get enough attention from Japanese girls with white guy fetishes in the first 10 minutes of every trip I take to Japan.

Just kidding, I like the attention. It never gets old...
chibi_hime 24th-Feb-2013 03:56 am (UTC)
You should go to Tokyo Disneyland and pretend you're someone famous. That never gets old with me and my friends.
isinuyasha 23rd-Feb-2013 07:25 pm (UTC)
I actually think that some of these opinions are really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
inachan89 23rd-Feb-2013 07:37 pm (UTC)
Fastforwarded it a bit,but it was interesting,thanks
thebambinoweeps 23rd-Feb-2013 07:47 pm (UTC)
really interesting watch. thanks for sharing!

on the topic of no one being critical in japanese media... i guess he hasn't heard of matsuko deluxe. well, to some extent she is though.
thebambinoweeps 23rd-Feb-2013 08:19 pm (UTC)
another thing: i agree, i would have liked to hear the views of non-Westerner foreigners, like Southeast Asians.
sophory 23rd-Feb-2013 11:24 pm (UTC)
I'm born Cambodian living in Canada. Last Spring I did an exchange student in Osaka for a semester and it was an amazing experience. Been really memorable for me!

I watched the whole documentary and I've got to share that I actually wiped a tear during the first half. It brought back a lot of good memories to mind.

Lots of things mentioned were truthful to a certain extend. Though for me regards to the "racism" or discrimination part because me being a gaijin ... well I have to say that I haven't encountered such thing. Maybe the length of my stay in Japan was too short ( only close to 5 months) ? maybe I'm a woman? I do have a tanned-Asian skin tone so it's fair to say that I don't look Japanese. But I haven't been asked about my Alien Card. People never actually changed seat or keep a distance from me on train or buses. And people actually speak with me in Japanese kind of like assuming I understand Japanese too. which is pretty funny when I would get my iPod from my purse and look for my dictionary app. And then I just try to speak and smile and gesture a lot and keep on smiling and apologizing and smiling again and people just feel really happy that you are making an effort and they try to speak little words in English but again it's with a smile. My everyday life was just that easy and naive and awkward. and it didn't bother me from enjoying my time there. I went to Japan with a very very basic understanding of Japanese and had such a sweet time. Returning to Canada was actually a somewhat cultural-shock for me ... , and I lived all my life in Canada, ... because I felt so much at ease and comfortable in Japan ... despite all the negative aspects in which I do relatively agree with ... but in the whole, I came to realize that my "home" might not be Canada after all ... I don't really know how to put it in words ... it just came to me that I really miss Japan, with its good and not so good aspects. Japan for me is like 2 worlds coexisting together on a daily basis. and maybe that is the primary reason as to why I feel so attached to it. Because it's a reflection of myself.

My most thumps-up to Japan Listing: ( Had a lot, so here the top 5 !! )

- people are so generous in their time and genuinely helpful and considerate of others needs
- attention to details, ( it might be upsetting at time but you get use to it after a while ... )
- feeling of security ( I spent one week traveling alone in Tokyo, Hakone and Fuji ) and never felt unsecured of being robed or hurt or anything.
- food !!! and drinks !!!! and packaging ... and visual presentation !!!
- There's so many things worth seeing and public transportation system are really on time !!!!!

My most not-so-great-observation-during-my-stay Listing:

- the presence of gaijin faces on commercials everywhere ... ( On TV, or ads or else places ), I totally didn't expect that much !!!
- many touristic spot closes after 5-6 PM. ( temples, parks and such ... ) Many time I couldn't visit the whole area in a one day trip and couldn't see everything I would of wanted to ..
- fruits are just so expensive !!!!!
- you have to go by the rules ... it's just really time-consuming when you don't know the rules, but once you get it, it goes really well.
- streets are small and spaces are limited

Hopefully this post of mine have been some help to you

Feel free to reach me if you feel like chatting about it further.
soundczech 23rd-Feb-2013 11:47 pm (UTC)
yeah, i was gonna say this. the people i knew who had the most hassles in japan were my chinese friends.
lovecallinearth 4th-Mar-2013 03:39 pm (UTC)
I mostly just got stares. Like really really obvious stares and pointing/talking. Like sophory I have tan skin...along with very large almond shape eyes and a hearty chest (plus I have visible tattoos on my feet). I think people were just trying to figure out if I was mixed or Filipino. My friend is a very small cute almond eyed Hispanic...so I assume we made quiet a pair. Aside from the pointing it was nothing different then what I get in America or any other area when I travel. The ultimate cake winner was Turkey though...where I had someone simultaneously hit on me and offend me ("Are you Japanese?!" *pulls back eyes into slits*...YEAH)

My African American friends have had the weirdest experience though. Especially females. My one friend had her hair (weave) pulled constantly from behind. People just wanted to touch her to see what it was like she was a pet oh some kind. Very weird. She had a great time over there aside from that though.
izabera 23rd-Feb-2013 08:14 pm (UTC)
The South African girl really cracked me up when she explained the squid incident lol

The guy with the hat and glasses annoyed me with his Japanese girl fetish and also when he arrived in Japan he felt "maybe I can be someone new, someone different".
I really dislike this type of person, there are many reasons to live as an expat but escaping from yourself is a bad one IMO.

This ties in with the lady who complained about the lack of decent foreign men to date. That may be harsh but I agree with her, and I feel that *generally* the foreign women in Japan are of higher 'standard' than the foreign men.
turtle_yurippe 23rd-Feb-2013 09:16 pm (UTC)
I don't think wanting to make a fresh start is a bad thing per se, but you have to change yourself first before moving can help. Plus, the Japanese girl fetish makes me think that what he was thinking when he thought of a fresh start was "everyone will love me (no matter how douchey I am) because I'm a white guy", and that's creepy.
placetohide 24th-Feb-2013 12:27 am (UTC)
I have met JUST as many foreign women in Japan with yellow fever as guys, and the most senseless partiers I've met/living to sleep around and drink types have been women. I think it's really laughable to suggest that women abroad in Japan are somehow better than men. Everybody's different, and there are good and bad men and women in Japan. Way to stereotype.

If I were to say my *general* feeling, it'd be that most of the foreign women in Japan fall into the same categories/kinds of people as men, but they think more highly of themselves.
exdream1999 24th-Feb-2013 12:37 am (UTC)
You know those types who always complain about how they hate living in Japan, can't read any Japanese, and always talk about how they're going to move back, but never do?

One of my female co-workers. She's also only works three days a week, and yet still tries to find ways to work even less.

Really, you can meet really awesome women and men in Japan, but you can also meet some real pieces of work, too.
placetohide 24th-Feb-2013 01:03 am (UTC)
Really, you can meet really awesome women and men in Japan, but you can also meet some real pieces of work, too.

Exactly! And it's not the case that the guys are the ones who are all shit and the women tend to be better. People need to stop thinking all the dudes in Japan are awkward otaku while all the women are "normal" when there's an even mix all around of all kinds of people.
liime_arix 25th-Feb-2013 04:21 pm (UTC)
A bit off-topic. It kinda reminds of an article written by a woman in Japan http://whoa-im-in-japan.com/2012/12/what-do-japanese-girls-got-that-i-dont-got/. It was basically about pointing out how some foreign women there generally can't find a boyfriend in Japan (be it Japanese or foreign). Even when the foreign men say 'Japanese women are superior'. And instead of asserting themselves more or ditching those kind of foreign guys, they turn their frustration to Japanese women (who are more or less oblivious).

When I read it, I was kind of surprised since I never thought of it before. But then I thought about a lot of the other blogs I read about foreign women in Japan. They usually had an air of 'us vs them' when it came to Japanese women. And a lot of them didn't have any Japanese women whom they could call friends or best friends. And when it came to female celebrities on tv or just regular girls in short skirts on the streets, they had a whole of nasty things to say. I kinda wished that topic was addressed more. Since the women's bias against and perceptions are either seen as normal or not taken into account.
fulllove 25th-Feb-2013 08:08 pm (UTC)
Perhaps, those men think that Japanese women are more submissive, they know how to take care of their men, they did not give their men a headache...they are dedicated to their family...OR they simply prefer Japanese women...

Edited at 2013-02-25 08:34 pm (UTC)
liime_arix 26th-Feb-2013 01:23 am (UTC)
I always lol when I see those men have those perceptions and get married, then a couple years later (or after their first child), the wife basically ignores them and they get a divorced. It's like those women are just like regular women all over the world with the good and the bad.
cruel_idol 23rd-Feb-2013 08:23 pm (UTC)
I will check this video out completely later this afternoon. Was considering doing study abroad in Osaka earlier this week so it would be good to see what it was like for other foreigners in Japan.

http://studyabroad.ncsu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=1381&Type=O&sType=O
cruel_idol 23rd-Feb-2013 10:32 pm (UTC)
Well, I am still looking around but I would like to go to Osaka but if there are other universities to choose from I will look at them as well. But yea I'd like to go to Osaka, it seems like a nice place!
namiia 23rd-Feb-2013 08:27 pm (UTC)
The guy with the Asian fetish was really creepy, but there were also some interesting stories in this docu. Thanks for sharing.
kyotaku 23rd-Feb-2013 08:32 pm (UTC)
whole video was very interesting. I found myself nodding to so many things that were said, especially the topics like:
`... I see.`
`so hot and so humid!`
gaijin hunting
safety
returning a lost items - you learn that
feeling anonymus
Japanese being surprised that you know things
bureaucracy
excessive packaging
Japanese media
racism and no knowledge of anything outside of Japan
all that food
houses

I really like the fact that they choose people who have their own (sometimes critical) opinion on Japan, instead of just trying to blend in, otherwise it wouldn't be so interesting :)
very_pinku 23rd-Feb-2013 08:33 pm (UTC)
The comments bothered me overall...cause it's like they have this 'image' towards Japan and they kept with it for so many years. And always, the fetish comments made by these foreign guys disgust me...

I was quite bothered with the ohanami part, how the department manager forced his employees to drink and pour drinks on them. I can't drink so I consider that more abuse than anywhere close to fun.

They say that Japanese people are always nice and smiling, but it's just really a front. It's more robotic than humanistic imo. They have a manual but if out of that manual, they don't know how to respond.

But I always have trouble with the Japanese students when they come here. They are so ignorant and oblivious to the world around them that it scares me. And I had a few experiences where girls would mention/tell me they want to date White guys. It's very ridiculous and sad...

turtle_yurippe 23rd-Feb-2013 09:19 pm (UTC)
You do realise that you're just generalising a whole nation?
I know a lot of Japanese people who think a lot about many things, just as I know lots of really ignorant Europeans. You can't just say that people from one nation are all the same.
very_pinku 23rd-Feb-2013 09:38 pm (UTC)
I'm not really, I'm just saying out of my experiences of me visiting there and taking care of foreign exchange students. I had tons of positive experiences with people in Japan and the older generations are interestingly the ones who quite accept me well. But when I do visit schools and meet students over there, they do exhibit similar behaviors and act similar ways.

But yeah, the foreign exchange students that I have taken care of up to this point have these views that are very sheltered and protected from the rest of the world. Not saying that all are, but just many are. But it's understandable, even though I have trouble accepting it. Of course U.S. has those issues as well (We tend to neglect understanding other cultures and believe we are the superpower), but I feel it's more evident in Japanese culture.
myluv2pop 23rd-Feb-2013 09:52 pm (UTC)
There are lots of different people in Japan, just the same as anywhere else. You seem to have an 'image' of what Japan is like too, and I don't think there's any 'right image' of Japan. Yeah, Japanese people tend to try to be polite, because it's considered culturally polite to retain some social distance from others until you get to know them well. I don't think that's robotic at all; it's just how our culture works. And of course people going to another country are going to ignorant of how that country and the culture works. Secondhand knowledge isn't a perfect replacement for going to a country and experiencing and learning that world/culture. I don't think that it has something to specifically do with Japanese students as just being foreigners in a new country and environment.

I do agree about fetishizing people based on their nationality/race being ridiculous. Why not just get to know people, right?
very_pinku 23rd-Feb-2013 10:11 pm (UTC)
Well for me personally, I'm from Japan and been there multiple times. Of course, being removed from the culture and place for a while has kind of made me have a certain image towards Japan. But I'm not stating 'right' or 'wrong' image. I guess if you came to Japan in the 80s and early 90s, I understand there is a more prevalent image that would be portrayed a certain way more than present times. Now we have the internet to somewhat educate ourselves and speak with people who are more used to accepting differences. I didn't mean anything negative with robotic, it's just how I come to see their way of dealing with customers and such...they are polite for the sake of being polite and to maintain harmony. But I guess my comment sounded quite negative about that. Maybe because I've experienced more Japanese foreign exchange students than any other foreign exchange students so that's just how my impression was.

But yeah, I don't get why we have to fetish groups of people and saying they're 'better'. I just feel like it's like dominance and power all over again...
umbrellaphone 23rd-Feb-2013 09:59 pm (UTC)
That's kind of the whole point of foreign exchange though. Just like the foreigners in this document has a perceived idea of Japan, Japan natives also has a perceived image of the outside world. They may have culture shock or otherwise try to find experience they won't experience in their own country.
very_pinku 23rd-Feb-2013 10:14 pm (UTC)
Yeah I know it is, but I just thought that they would be aware of certain things before going to another country. It's def. not wrong to be curious or have certain assumptions (cause I do as well), but somethings, I was just...really? Like for example, 'oh my god, there's Japanese supermarkets in the United States?' 'I thought it was only White people in the U.S.' and the constant confusion of race, ethnicity, and nationality (So they would disregard certain people as Americans and ask where they're from...just because they're not White).
umbrellaphone 23rd-Feb-2013 11:40 pm (UTC)
Well, also have to keep in mind that many countries outside of US are mostly homogeneous, and "nationality" and "ethnicity" are more or less synoymous. The exported "concepts" of US do tend to show Caucasians (and African Americans) only on mainstream advertisement or entertainment media, so in a way it's not surprised. This is apparent even for someone living in the US.
boncoup 23rd-Feb-2013 11:29 pm (UTC)
"Humanistic" doesn't mean what you think it does :/
senshicalico 23rd-Feb-2013 11:10 pm (UTC)
The Asian fetishists are like 9/10 of the white guy English teachers I've met there over the years. I stopped being shocked that they were all from JET pretty fast.

And don't forget, kids! Get a white guy talking about his Japanese exes so you can hear him use every form of "omfg she's CRAZY!!!!" because apparently one time she wanted to have serious discussion with him about their future.
exdream1999 24th-Feb-2013 12:33 am (UTC)
I might try and watch this later on today, right now I'm too hungry to focus on something that long.

Glad to hear that there were actually foreign women in this documentary though.

Hearing about how terribad the first ten minutes are, could someone give me so recommended viewings? I'm way too tired of listening to white men with Asian fetishes who act like their experience in Japan is the ONLY ONE you can ever have.
cuddlebump 24th-Feb-2013 01:44 am (UTC)
I found it very interesting and it is a much more realistic type of documentary, rather than treating Japan like a fairy tale.

And the guy who mentioned fetish only stated that he had a fetish for long, black hair. Another mentioned that he visited because there are pretty women that will speak English with him. Everyone is making these comments seem repulsive.

Ignoring the first 10 minutes it is definitely worthwhile watching and interesting.
namiia 24th-Feb-2013 02:11 am (UTC)
And the guy who made the long black hair comment was pretty obviously joking too. Only the one guy seemed really serious about chasing tail in Japan.

The rest of the docu is very fascinating, especially the second half where they discuss what I guess you could say is the "dark side" of Japanese life and the media.
chochajin 24th-Feb-2013 04:38 am (UTC)
I watched this a long time ago and even wrote a blog post about it.
I can't agree with everything that is said, but it depends on one personal experience.

I've been in Japan for many years myself now.
I write about my daily experience here in Japan in my blog series "A German Alien in Japan": http://zoomingjapan.com/tag/german-alien-in-japan/
ohprecioustime 24th-Feb-2013 08:59 am (UTC)
the comments in this post were more interesting than what I was watching so thanks for posting \o/
jennyhime 24th-Feb-2013 06:03 pm (UTC)
Ugh some of those men, so clear that they have a fetish towards asian women. Peter Macintosh is one of the men they interview, some say he is a sleazbag and I've met him but once but never had a dicussion.
I wish they would have been a bit more women and not so much Brits, Aussies and Americans.
liime_arix 24th-Feb-2013 07:59 pm (UTC)
I agree, I really wished they had interviewed more non-Japanese Asians since they really do receive the bulk of the heat. (They're often the most unrepresented as well. Like when 'gaijin' start their movement for equality be it magazines or blogs or whatever, they often forget the Korean and Chinese who making majority of Japan's foreign population).
jennyhime 24th-Feb-2013 08:07 pm (UTC)
That would have been really interesting. I mean they briefly showed in the beginning how many Korean and other Asian nationalities there are in Japan but didn't address it after that.
baboona 24th-Feb-2013 07:45 pm (UTC)
black turtleneck dude is gross
stole_away 25th-Feb-2013 04:01 am (UTC)
need to prepare for school soon, so I am gna watch it next time I guess
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