Hello!
Yesterday night I was out with a friend in Shibuya and we befriended a group of young Japanese guys. I was talking with two of them the majority of the time, and they kept patting my head at random times during our conversations. I haven’t really had that experience before so I was a bit confused on the reason why.
I definitely don’t think it was anything mean or condescending as they were always smiling and laughing during (they were also both a year younger than me), but when I looked online some people say it is usually either condescending or flirtatious… I was just unsure of the second because they both were doing it and they were friends.
If anyone can help me understand I would appreciate it! I just thought understanding the cultural context would be interesting as we don’t have this in Vietnamese or American culture.
EDIT: Thank you for your responses! I think I will interpret it as flirting or just general platonic affection (so all good things!)
by ClientMotor