Ask me anything about Japan/Japanese

[Aloysius]

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Which religions are the most prevalent in Japan?

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Buddhism, but there's different types, ya know.

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How do you not mention Shinto?

-Al

[garcia1000]

Could we have Boris take over from the OP please?

[Boris]

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Could we have Boris take over from the OP please?

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Gonna have to wait for a week. Although to be honest there needs to be better questions.

[M2d]

during a recent weekend trip to tokyo, my wife and I hung out with my cousins. they took us to Ginza, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinagawa and other districts. it was a holiday weekend, so there were many young people out and about, mostly in groups. Midway through the trip, my wife noted that there was virtually no flirting type interatction between the likely single females and males. they obviously hooked up somewhere, as couples weer seen here and there, and they were obviously not adhering to any tacit ban on PDA, as they walked hand in hand, arm in arm and some even kissed out in public. the more we looked, though, the more we noted that, what would have been a massive mack-fest in the US (lots of hot chicks and single guys milling around on a holiday weekend) was essentially a sterile, platonic gathering with the guys hanging with the guys and the girls staying with the girls. what's up with this?
btw, this was mostly in the day, although I did note this hold one night in shinjuku.

[ROADHEAD]

Is Showa Park still operating, I lived there about ten years ago, and also what's the average price for a watermellon and also for gas in Japan, when I lived there a watermellon was about 40$

[Soh]

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during a recent weekend trip to tokyo, my wife and I hung out with my cousins. they took us to Ginza, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinagawa and other districts. it was a holiday weekend, so there were many young people out and about, mostly in groups. Midway through the trip, my wife noted that there was virtually no flirting type interatction between the likely single females and males. they obviously hooked up somewhere, as couples weer seen here and there, and they were obviously not adhering to any tacit ban on PDA, as they walked hand in hand, arm in arm and some even kissed out in public. the more we looked, though, the more we noted that, what would have been a massive mack-fest in the US (lots of hot chicks and single guys milling around on a holiday weekend) was essentially a sterile, platonic gathering with the guys hanging with the guys and the girls staying with the girls. what's up with this?
btw, this was mostly in the day, although I did note this hold one night in shinjuku.

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...hmm. Maybe it's my English, but I'm not sure what your question is. Are you asking when guys stay with guys and girls stay with girls, where do they meet each other?

A few notes when it comes to love/relationship/sex in Japan.
*It's true that Japanese people flirt less in public compare to Americans. It's sort of like when Sumo wrestler wins, he doesn't show his happiness, as it's considered impolite to the one that just lost. OK, maybe that wasn't a perfect example, but heavy public flirting is considered "showing-off."

*Its' very common in Japan that husband and wife who are not in bad relationship live separately. My boss lived in the US for 6 years or so, and all those times, his wife and their kid were in Japan. They saw each other maybe a few times a year, when he went to Japan for a business trip, or when his wife and kid came to the US during summer/winter vacation time.

My father lives in the US, and my mother lives in Japan. It's been like that for more than 10 years, but they are NOT separate, and they're reasonably in good relationship.

*Maybe it's because a lot of people live with their parents, but there's this place called "love hotel" all over Japan, and basically it's a place for a couple to have sex. The unique thing about the place is that when you go inside to pay for the room, you won't be able to see the face of the cashier to protect the privacy of the customers. Also, you don't have to pay for the whole nights. There's usually some special time that you can pay cheaper. For example, to stay from 5p - 10p is $30, but whole night is $60.

*It's very common for a couple to never say "I love you." I say it's very rare to find a couple who say "I love you" to each other everyday. We just don't say it.

[WhoIam]

I was talking to Japanese guy a while ago and he said he found it downright bizarre that parents would hug their kids before bed. Is there normally little physical contact in families?

[TiK]

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I was talking to Japanese guy a while ago and he said he found it downright bizarre that parents would hug their kids before bed. Is there normally little physical contact in families?

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It's not as much physical contact, but displays of affection, be it hugs, kisses, "I love yous", etc. I can count on my hands how many times I've told my mother I loved her, and vice versa. It's just something that's not said.

What's especially strange is that it doesn't apply to non-Japanese. My mother used to say "I love you" to her adoptive parents who are American without any uncomfortableness (though only in reply to them saying it to her; she never initiated) and I have had no problem saying it to any non-Japanese girlfriends in my past. I'm currently dating a Japanese girl and it's downright bizarre. It's just weird telling her that I love her even though I do, though it's getting more comfortable. And she and I are both Japanese-American, born to Japanese parents, born and bred in NYC.

[KilgoreTrout]

Let's talk about the groping. What are the accepted procedures for groping nubile young women in public? (In japan, obv. I've cornered the market on US groping).

[Soh]

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Is Showa Park still operating

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This one?

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what's the average price for a watermellon

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No idea. I don't even know how much it is in the US.

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gas in Japan

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Like 130 yen/liter. That's like $5.60/gallon!