What Japanese People Are Like - Living in Japan

In this article I'll explain what I think Japanese people are like. I've lived in Japan for almost five years, so I'll give my take on them.

Before Coming to Japan

Before I had moved to Japan, I truthfully had no expectations of what Japanese people would be like. Well...I guess that's not entirely true. I guess I thought that they were all basically really shy. The main reason I wanted to move to Japan was because I thought I would be left alone.

Coming from the United States, I just wanted some piece of mind. I just wanted to live without being fearful of dying because of my skin color. I can say that, for the most part, I was correct. But in other ways I was very very wrong.

Japanese Men

I never thought that I would be approached on the street by a Japanese guy, just to hit on me or whatever. I was completely right about that. I don't think I've ever been approached by a Japanese man, in a normal setting to be asked out.

HOWEVER, if you are in the right setting (or wrong depending how you look at it), you will get hit on in THE MOST OBNOXIOUS ways possible. When Japanese men, old or young, become drunk, they can become quite obnoxious. 

I was walking from the train station at night and some Japanese guys tried to talk to me. As a woman who was alone at the time, I don't make it a point to stop and talk to a group of men that I don't know. It's for safety reasons obviously, some men still can't seem to understand how scary it is as a woman, alone, being stopped by men at night. Anyway, I tried to ignore them. I guess they got mad, and one proceeded to fart. That's right... FART. That's still, to this day the strangest encounter I've ever had... EVER.

Japanese guys become very loud after drinking. They are able to express themselves more, which isn't always a good thing. They'll say weird or gross things. Obviously not all of them, but some. They are also a lot more sexual than what you've seen or heard. Don't let the media fool you. Just watch out and be vigilant.

I will say that it DOES depend on the places you go. If you go to a bar or club in Japan, you are more likely to meet strange and obnoxious men. I have heard that normal Japanese people don’t frequent these establishments. In the case of my husband, he is very sweet, kind, and shy. It depends on where you are. Please keep that in mind.

Japanese Women

Japanese women...idk what to say about Japanese women really. Some women here are really nice and quite normal. Others are bat sh** crazy! And that's the truth. They have no sense of girl power here or anything like that. They're just a little.... strange.

It might be due to the competitive nature of Japanese culture, but some women I've worked with are just quite b*tchy. I think it has to do with wanting to be perfect or jealousy, or them just being un-happy in their situation. Whatever the case is, I haven't made many Japanese girl friends. 

The main reason I have not really made any Japanese women friends is because I think they're too judgmental. Not all of them, but a lot. I had a friend who treated me like a bad step-child. I'm your friend, not a child to be chastised. I also don't know if they're trustworthy. Some women will gossip badly about their friends. And some will date a man knowing he's married. It's not exclusive to Japanese women, but I don't want to be friends with anyone I can't trust.

Japanese People in the Workplace

This is where I've had the most issues. At the end of the day, I've had the same experience in the three jobs I've had in Japan. Japanese people are catty, gossipy, and judgmental. Japanese people, especially women, gossip ALOT, ESPECIALLY at work. They don't have anything else to do. It still bothers me that they gossip because I feel like all professionalism goes out the window. Until now, my way of coping with the gossip, was to gossip about them right back. However, this does absolutely nothing for you. Will it make my job easier? No. Will it make my job more enjoyable? No. Will it make me happier? No.

The way I've decided to deal with it from now on is to just ignore it. If someone wants to say something to me, then I'll speak on a situation. However, I don't think engaging in more gossip will be beneficial to you working in Japan. That's how much gossip is prevalent in the Japanese workplace. It rubs off on you LOL.

So, even though I do think that Japanese can be catty, gossipy, and judgmental, there will ALWAYS be at least one nice person in the bunch. So please don't worry. And if it gets too bad, cuss them out and go about your merry way. You can do that in Japan. I don't really recommend it, but I'll understand if you do. You will DEFINITELY get more respect after that LOL. It happens here more than you think.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, I think there are good people, and I think there are bad people in Japan. It's just like everywhere else in the world. There are good and bad people no matter where you go. It doesn't get better or worse just because you're in Japan. Its important to realize that Japan is not a magical place, with magical people. They are only…well normal human beings. 

However, I will say that working in Japan sucks sometimes. But also, sometimes it isn’t so bad. 

Good luck in learning more about Japanese people. Until next time.