Not necessary for dating purposes, but just to connect with local people on trains, street, waiting in line while going about your daily activities?
Most of the time even in Tokyo, no one seems to be talking and it seems way too quiet, seems to be very questionable if people are having healthy face to face social interactions daily.
24 comments
No, and I don’t want to. Not having to participate in meaningless small talk with strangers is a perk of living here.
80% of people in Tokyo come from somewhere else and are there trying to make a career for themselves. Most of them haven’t figured out their just chattel in a grinding machine and will be spat out when they hit 40, so in the meantime they keep their heads down and focus on doing as they’re told in the naive believe it’ll pay off. That’s why Japanese wages are at the bottom of the OECD tables despite incredibly poor demographics. They have no time for small talk. Gambatte!
Hard no.
Train, with the exception of Shinkansen/night rides, are a big no-no for such interactions. Planes are ok. On streets, it will be seen as nampa or scam, you should avoid.
The only acceptable scenarios from my experience are with shop owners (not combinis!), hairdressers, obviously circles/meetups. So yeah little opportunities. 🤷♂️
No. Small talk is basically nonexistent in Japan, and 90% of the time I’m on my earphones anyway
You must be FOB. Small talk with strangers is not a thing here. Dont be one of those duffy idiot gaijin who think theyre funny in awkward situations.
If someone speaks to me I will respond to them. The neighbors often engage me in small talk when I’m out walking the dogs.
It’s not seen as normal to do in the big cities. So someone who does it is probably selling something/suspicious.
But quiet is good?
At the gym I sometimes did, and now that I have a baby, strangers often interact with us, sometimes leading to small talk. I think it’s much more acceptable when there’s some kind of in.
If an appropriate thing pops into my head at that moment, then yes. It happens every now and then.
Same as in the Old Country
No. There were several occassions where other foreigners tried to talk to me on the train and I politely gave the signal that I wasn’t interested in small talk with them.
once I looked at the big poster inside the station. Then a grandpa joined me. I used that moment to talk to him. Gladly we made it.
But in general, no.
i make small talk with neighbors when i’m out walking the dog. it’s only polite to ask them about their dog too as the woofies make nice
Tokyo is Introvert Heaven. With a face mask, hat and airpods on, most of us leave home fully encased in our own sensory shell. We scurry silently from point A to point B; other pedestrians are only obstacles to be navigated around. Real-world interactions are limited to brief rote exchanges with cashiers. When we return home, we breathe a sigh of relief and sink back into the warm embrace of our devices.
Yes but you need to know your audience. Anyone 70+ would entertain anything from 今日もう良い天気ですねえ to how tasty something looks or how cheap something is. I’m lucky enough to have a few regular obaachans in my area that are truly delightful.
But I wouldn’t dare trying to make small talk with anyone younger than that, that’d be weird and most likely not welcomed.
Absolutely not. That’s a great way to attract weirdos. And it’s one of the main benefits of living here.
Ehh…if they initiate some harmless topic I will. I chat with my neighbors when out and about. Vendors and shops I’ll sometimes get caught in some small talk for a while. But I don’t talk to strangers on the bus about the weather or something.
So many people here trying to avoid social interaction, how sad.
People just prefer to mind their own business and go about their day. Not everyone has a fully charged social battery, mine definitely isnt and i plan on keeping it that way.
*”connect with local people on trains…”*
No, just no. Please no.
It’s bad enough to be cramped in like sardines, and when you can finally get a seat, some weirdo wants to chat your ear off with one of those awkward sideways chats in those train seats.
Buy a subscription to Twitch or onlyfans, or pay to go a snack bar if you’re desperate for a chat.
No, but some people have already started small talks with me. When I was at the supermarket line with some beef on my basket, an old man asked me if I was going to do barbecue or something. There was also a time there was a man chatting with the shop owner and he made me join the conversation lol.
I don’t live in Tokyo if that matters.
Yeah fuckin love to, play badminton with the local Idemitsu fellas. Try to have little weird transactions with everyone, make them laugh, life too short to be a robot, Japanese people will come out of their shells with just a tiny effort on your part to be friendly. And it you don’t want to you don’t have to, just enjoy living in this strange place🤙
As an Asian, I always thought it really weird that westerners did that on the streets and in lines. It’s just how it is here, and no it’s not awkward or sad.