I’ve lived here over a decade (as a white guy), in both rural Osaka and Tokyo. This has literally never happened to me, and I don’t think it happens to others, except on maybe super rare occasions. Change my mind
“Hi. I don’t know any of you, but I’ve read one of the most commonly reported experiences non-Japanese people have made in online discourse but because it hasn’t happened to me personally, I deny that it could possibly happen to anyone. And since I live in a delusion that nothing that hasn’t happened to me could possibly happen to anyone else, I am going to charge you, a stranger on the internet who would like to maintain their anonymity, to prove it to me. Because that’s a totally normal thing for people to do heading into the weekend.”
Personally I avoid sitting next to anyone unless there are no other space just trying to be comfortable. Favorite places on train. The edge and next to the pole.
It definitely happens. I’m not sure why people care so much and have to defend this idea. Japan is extremely xenophobic despite all the people who love to defend Japan for everything.
Its 50/50 for me. Sometimes I’ll be empty-seated on a full train, other times people will sit directly next to me on an empty train. Happened back in Scotland too. Cunts are just trying to make Japan weirder than it is.
Visiting Kyoto, I felt, may be Kansai people didn’t mind sitting next to me.. they seem rather casual/cool with foreigners. In Tokyo however, in many instances I noticed people’s reluctance to sit next to me, at least more so during summer.. need to collect more data for winter though
I would say a large portion of it is in their heads, but some of it is definitely due to other reasons such as body size, personal hygene, dress, attitude, etc.
I *wish* people didn’t set next to me on the trains.
Honestly, who are these people that never have people sit next to them?
Well yes, you are a white guy so a lot of other foreigners experiences don’t apply to you. How can you be so oblivious to that?
Foreigners are not all treated equally here.
I’ve been stopped by the police and body checked like 10-12 times now
Yes, Japan is the most perfect country in the world.
Nothing is bad in Japan, it’s just perfect.
Everyone is nice and 99% of Japanese love foreign people.
Nihon itichiban!!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean, even if it happens.. their loss, you still get to sit on the train
Meh. Idgaf, if I want to sit down I’m sitting down, you want to get up that’s your fucking business. If you’re sweating, bad odor, falling asleep on me, etc then I’m getting up
I’ve never had a man molest me on a train. Therefore, such a thing has never happened to any woman ever. We should remove Women’s Only cars. There’s no such thing as “chikan” it’s all in their pretty little heads.
As a white guy I avoid sitting next to white foreigners on trains.
Ah yes a white man speaking for the rest of the black community.
Best part of 30 years here. Happens all the time. I’ve even occasionally had people sit down next to me, notice that I’m a foreigner, get startled and jump up to move to another seat. Not very often though. Interestingly, the worst offenders I find are the banking industry types on the lines going to swanky areas like Otemachi coming from their home in Chiba. Wanna-be’s. Seems like they’re virtue signalling to their fellow colleagues watching on that they definitely disdain foreigners. It’s sad to see people in their 20’s clapping and praying to the Shinto shrine outside Daiwa Securities. I thought they studied science in school.
It’s also interesting to see that it’s these people who dress in an almost identical manner to each other, especially the women who are the worst “snub the gaijin” offenders. Pony tail, black slack pants, white business shirt, black waistcoat, A4 sized leather valise, Tag Heuer watch and resting bitch face.
In Japan I’ve found there’s a very positive correlation between wealth and racism (sorry, *xenophobia*) towards foreigners. Not surprising since they see themselves as the vanguards of high Japanese culture and even look down their noses at their own fellow citizens, especially the untouchable class like the burakumin.
I’ve never had this happen to me on trains, but it has happened to me in an onsen in the past where after entering the bath everyone else seems to leave. Though I honestly can’t say for sure it’s because a naked alien walked in or because people just don’t typically spend too much time in the hot spring to begin with 🤔
I have colleagues and friends that admit they do it, particularly women avoiding foreign men. I’ve had people notice I’m foreign and move away. I’ve had little kids run away from me to avoid sitting next to me. Granted, this sort of behaviour is usually found outside of the big cities, but it does happen — even if a lot of the time it may be in people’s heads.
It happens.
But you shouldn’t care enough to notice it.
You’re weird for thinking this.
I think it’s happened to me before, but it’s hard to tell because I can’t read people’s minds. But if they feel that way, good, more room for me! I don’t feel validated if a Japanese person sits next to me on a train, I’m annoyed.
That’s the same for me. In fact, I’ve had times when people sat next to me specifically because I am a foreigner.
In Nagoya I had an older couple deadass get up and move to the other side of the bus when I sat down once. Otherwise people seem content to sit next to my fat, sweaty gaijin ass so idk, ymmv. There was also a guy on the same bus who was really eager to tell me war stories from Manchuria, including showing me his bullet wound.
Joke’s on you, people don’t sit next to me, regardless of country 😀
This has to be a troll of some sort.
As a POC, it’s happened several times over the years. Sometimes I think it’s just that the person wants to have more space and I don’t take it personally. Other times it’s clearly xenophobia and I try not to care either, more room for me at the end of the day.
Can we talk about the 80% startled (with the Metal Gear Solid alarm sound almost playing in the background) 20% disdainful look I sometimes get? While I am minding my own business and not braking any rules. Just walking around trying to life my life. Perhaps it’s because brief eye contact was made and it makes people uncomfortable?
This being said, nowhere else in the world have random strangers been so nice and polite, especially the older crowd (and of course not talking about situations where I am a customer). One could say I’m being bowed to not for my benefit but so that the person doesn’t feel rude and embarrassed, but still. As Costanza says, We’re Living In A Society.
So it almost evens it out, right?
“It hasn’t happened to me, so that means it’s never happened to anyone. “
I mean. It has happened to me on a few rare occasions but it’s not as prevalent as some say. It’s exaggerated beyond belief. Sometimes people just want to change seats. I do it all the time myself. The one time I remember the most was because it was the most recent. It was the beginning of Covid. Someone thought I was a tourist or whatever, told her bf(I assume)she didn’t wanna sit next to me because of that… tbh, didn’t bother me anyways. She had her reason and it was more of a Covid reason than a foreigner reason. At least in my mind.
Extree, extree, read all about it! White guy thinks his experience is the only true experience, all others invalid! Extree!
As a Northwestern European/Southeast Asian mixed woman who pretty much blends in with Japanese crowds apart from my facial features, it doesn’t happen to me either. But I’ve seen it happen before with foreigners of non-(South)east Asian descent for sure. And then I was being the other foreigner who wasn’t afraid to take the empty spot.
It’s dumb to surmise your personal experiences apply to everyone.
I *think* it has happened to me once or twice, but could just be a coincidence. Mostly what happens is the ol’ urinal etiquette of sitting one apart until everything’s full, but I’m sure people of other skin colors or, uh, grooming patterns, may experience things differently.
Whenever this topic comes up, people always say “I’ve never experienced such a thing” and others say “I experience it on a daily basis”. In other words, it’s more likely that there’s another problem than that Japanese are avoiding you because you’re a foreigner. For example, they put perfume, which the Japanese don’t like, or they sit with their legs spread. Japan is made up of 98% Japanese people, so I think that makes you sensitive in such an environment.
If this is true I see it as s massive perk. I am big dude and i m happy to have some space.
The moment you wrote (as a white guy) is when the conversation ended.
I avoid sitting next to people who look like they may be American since I’ve had way too many Americans try to strike up conversations with me when I just want to be left alone. Wouldn’t surprise me if many Japanese do the same.
If at least they wouldn’t keep headbutting my shoulders while dozzzing off for the whole journey.
Japan remains the only country where this extremely white guy has been stopped by police. And have experienced more than a few times a Japanese person relocating themselves on a train after I sat down next to them.
This guy eats at Madosh lol
I can’t really comment on train seating specifically but I will say that there is a type of person who thinks about discrimination constantly and therefore sees it everywhere.
I’ve seen foreigners more than once be refused entry into a restaurant and assume they’ve been racially discriminated against all the while there was a kanji sign on the door explaining that there is a private event on tonight.
Applies to everything. People are not very good at rationalising the links between cause and effect. We make assumptions, convince ourselves we were right to make them and then see future coincidences as further evidence.
“You can only live in the world you ken. The rest is just wishful thinking and paranoia.”
I think it’s not just race but your general appearance that can make the difference. I’m very tall so I suppose that’s something that makes people think “sitting next to that giraffe seems mendokusai”. Still dumb, but I try not to care anymore
I have read in many reddit posts , east asians speciallly japanese are more racist, xenophobic than a average texas american.
Let’s be real, this is actually a “perk”. Give me my space, yes and thank you. I actually cannot understand why people care so much about if some stranger doesn’t want to sit next to them on the train or whatever. Is it because you feel discriminated against? Well screw them too, why would you want a racist to sit next to you? I try my hardest to look so hard and pray to Jesus, Buddha, and Amatarasu that no one will sit next to me.
But for OPs reference, it does happen. I just love it. Also, I pray to Jesus, Buddha, and Amatarasu that it happens to me…so I guess that could explain it.
OP how old are you that you still struggle to understand that your own experience does not reflect everyone else’s experience?
From hundreds of subway or train rides, it happened about 10% of the time if I were with my pony tail illy white tall gaijin SO. We smoke weeds working in the silicon valley, and look like that stereotype. People walked away Way more when my mom and sister visited and I spoke Chinese to them.
43 comments
>Change my mind
“Hi. I don’t know any of you, but I’ve read one of the most commonly reported experiences non-Japanese people have made in online discourse but because it hasn’t happened to me personally, I deny that it could possibly happen to anyone. And since I live in a delusion that nothing that hasn’t happened to me could possibly happen to anyone else, I am going to charge you, a stranger on the internet who would like to maintain their anonymity, to prove it to me. Because that’s a totally normal thing for people to do heading into the weekend.”
Personally I avoid sitting next to anyone unless there are no other space just trying to be comfortable. Favorite places on train. The edge and next to the pole.
It definitely happens. I’m not sure why people care so much and have to defend this idea. Japan is extremely xenophobic despite all the people who love to defend Japan for everything.
Its 50/50 for me. Sometimes I’ll be empty-seated on a full train, other times people will sit directly next to me on an empty train. Happened back in Scotland too. Cunts are just trying to make Japan weirder than it is.
Visiting Kyoto, I felt, may be Kansai people didn’t mind sitting next to me.. they seem rather casual/cool with foreigners. In Tokyo however, in many instances I noticed people’s reluctance to sit next to me, at least more so during summer.. need to collect more data for winter though
I would say a large portion of it is in their heads, but some of it is definitely due to other reasons such as body size, personal hygene, dress, attitude, etc.
I *wish* people didn’t set next to me on the trains.
Honestly, who are these people that never have people sit next to them?
Well yes, you are a white guy so a lot of other foreigners experiences don’t apply to you. How can you be so oblivious to that?
Foreigners are not all treated equally here.
I’ve been stopped by the police and body checked like 10-12 times now
Yes, Japan is the most perfect country in the world.
Nothing is bad in Japan, it’s just perfect.
Everyone is nice and 99% of Japanese love foreign people.
Nihon itichiban!!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean, even if it happens.. their loss, you still get to sit on the train
Meh. Idgaf, if I want to sit down I’m sitting down, you want to get up that’s your fucking business. If you’re sweating, bad odor, falling asleep on me, etc then I’m getting up
I’ve never had a man molest me on a train. Therefore, such a thing has never happened to any woman ever. We should remove Women’s Only cars. There’s no such thing as “chikan” it’s all in their pretty little heads.
As a white guy I avoid sitting next to white foreigners on trains.
Ah yes a white man speaking for the rest of the black community.
Best part of 30 years here. Happens all the time. I’ve even occasionally had people sit down next to me, notice that I’m a foreigner, get startled and jump up to move to another seat. Not very often though. Interestingly, the worst offenders I find are the banking industry types on the lines going to swanky areas like Otemachi coming from their home in Chiba. Wanna-be’s. Seems like they’re virtue signalling to their fellow colleagues watching on that they definitely disdain foreigners. It’s sad to see people in their 20’s clapping and praying to the Shinto shrine outside Daiwa Securities. I thought they studied science in school.
It’s also interesting to see that it’s these people who dress in an almost identical manner to each other, especially the women who are the worst “snub the gaijin” offenders. Pony tail, black slack pants, white business shirt, black waistcoat, A4 sized leather valise, Tag Heuer watch and resting bitch face.
In Japan I’ve found there’s a very positive correlation between wealth and racism (sorry, *xenophobia*) towards foreigners. Not surprising since they see themselves as the vanguards of high Japanese culture and even look down their noses at their own fellow citizens, especially the untouchable class like the burakumin.
I’ve never had this happen to me on trains, but it has happened to me in an onsen in the past where after entering the bath everyone else seems to leave. Though I honestly can’t say for sure it’s because a naked alien walked in or because people just don’t typically spend too much time in the hot spring to begin with 🤔
I have colleagues and friends that admit they do it, particularly women avoiding foreign men. I’ve had people notice I’m foreign and move away. I’ve had little kids run away from me to avoid sitting next to me. Granted, this sort of behaviour is usually found outside of the big cities, but it does happen — even if a lot of the time it may be in people’s heads.
It happens.
But you shouldn’t care enough to notice it.
You’re weird for thinking this.
I think it’s happened to me before, but it’s hard to tell because I can’t read people’s minds. But if they feel that way, good, more room for me! I don’t feel validated if a Japanese person sits next to me on a train, I’m annoyed.
That’s the same for me. In fact, I’ve had times when people sat next to me specifically because I am a foreigner.
In Nagoya I had an older couple deadass get up and move to the other side of the bus when I sat down once. Otherwise people seem content to sit next to my fat, sweaty gaijin ass so idk, ymmv. There was also a guy on the same bus who was really eager to tell me war stories from Manchuria, including showing me his bullet wound.
Joke’s on you, people don’t sit next to me, regardless of country 😀
This has to be a troll of some sort.
As a POC, it’s happened several times over the years. Sometimes I think it’s just that the person wants to have more space and I don’t take it personally. Other times it’s clearly xenophobia and I try not to care either, more room for me at the end of the day.
Can we talk about the 80% startled (with the Metal Gear Solid alarm sound almost playing in the background) 20% disdainful look I sometimes get? While I am minding my own business and not braking any rules. Just walking around trying to life my life. Perhaps it’s because brief eye contact was made and it makes people uncomfortable?
This being said, nowhere else in the world have random strangers been so nice and polite, especially the older crowd (and of course not talking about situations where I am a customer). One could say I’m being bowed to not for my benefit but so that the person doesn’t feel rude and embarrassed, but still. As Costanza says, We’re Living In A Society.
So it almost evens it out, right?
“It hasn’t happened to me, so that means it’s never happened to anyone. “
I mean. It has happened to me on a few rare occasions but it’s not as prevalent as some say. It’s exaggerated beyond belief. Sometimes people just want to change seats. I do it all the time myself. The one time I remember the most was because it was the most recent. It was the beginning of Covid. Someone thought I was a tourist or whatever, told her bf(I assume)she didn’t wanna sit next to me because of that… tbh, didn’t bother me anyways. She had her reason and it was more of a Covid reason than a foreigner reason. At least in my mind.
Extree, extree, read all about it! White guy thinks his experience is the only true experience, all others invalid! Extree!
As a Northwestern European/Southeast Asian mixed woman who pretty much blends in with Japanese crowds apart from my facial features, it doesn’t happen to me either. But I’ve seen it happen before with foreigners of non-(South)east Asian descent for sure. And then I was being the other foreigner who wasn’t afraid to take the empty spot.
It’s dumb to surmise your personal experiences apply to everyone.
I *think* it has happened to me once or twice, but could just be a coincidence. Mostly what happens is the ol’ urinal etiquette of sitting one apart until everything’s full, but I’m sure people of other skin colors or, uh, grooming patterns, may experience things differently.
Whenever this topic comes up, people always say “I’ve never experienced such a thing” and others say “I experience it on a daily basis”. In other words, it’s more likely that there’s another problem than that Japanese are avoiding you because you’re a foreigner. For example, they put perfume, which the Japanese don’t like, or they sit with their legs spread. Japan is made up of 98% Japanese people, so I think that makes you sensitive in such an environment.
If this is true I see it as s massive perk. I am big dude and i m happy to have some space.
The moment you wrote (as a white guy) is when the conversation ended.
I avoid sitting next to people who look like they may be American since I’ve had way too many Americans try to strike up conversations with me when I just want to be left alone. Wouldn’t surprise me if many Japanese do the same.
If at least they wouldn’t keep headbutting my shoulders while dozzzing off for the whole journey.
Japan remains the only country where this extremely white guy has been stopped by police. And have experienced more than a few times a Japanese person relocating themselves on a train after I sat down next to them.
This guy eats at Madosh lol
I can’t really comment on train seating specifically but I will say that there is a type of person who thinks about discrimination constantly and therefore sees it everywhere.
I’ve seen foreigners more than once be refused entry into a restaurant and assume they’ve been racially discriminated against all the while there was a kanji sign on the door explaining that there is a private event on tonight.
Applies to everything. People are not very good at rationalising the links between cause and effect. We make assumptions, convince ourselves we were right to make them and then see future coincidences as further evidence.
“You can only live in the world you ken. The rest is just wishful thinking and paranoia.”
I think it’s not just race but your general appearance that can make the difference. I’m very tall so I suppose that’s something that makes people think “sitting next to that giraffe seems mendokusai”. Still dumb, but I try not to care anymore
I have read in many reddit posts , east asians speciallly japanese are more racist, xenophobic than a average texas american.
Let’s be real, this is actually a “perk”. Give me my space, yes and thank you. I actually cannot understand why people care so much about if some stranger doesn’t want to sit next to them on the train or whatever. Is it because you feel discriminated against? Well screw them too, why would you want a racist to sit next to you? I try my hardest to look so hard and pray to Jesus, Buddha, and Amatarasu that no one will sit next to me.
But for OPs reference, it does happen. I just love it. Also, I pray to Jesus, Buddha, and Amatarasu that it happens to me…so I guess that could explain it.
OP how old are you that you still struggle to understand that your own experience does not reflect everyone else’s experience?
From hundreds of subway or train rides, it happened about 10% of the time if I were with my pony tail illy white tall gaijin SO. We smoke weeds working in the silicon valley, and look like that stereotype. People walked away Way more when my mom and sister visited and I spoke Chinese to them.
Whatever, dude