How do locals react to someone different looking? I’m 4’3”.
I get stared in the states but our culture is usually eye contact and a smile or head nod.
I’m sure it’s different region by region but
how do locals see foreigners and people who look different?
Update:
Thanks everybody! Your input has been very reassuring, I’ve had a good laugh at a few of your comments lol. I’ll definitely check out Japan, I just need to learn etiquette and simple words beforehand to make the trip a bit less hectic!
25 comments
They were very polite with me. My S/O was nicknamed Pasta-san since he has locks. His hair kinda looks like pasta. Bottom line, if you don’t speak Japanese, if they say anything you’ll be blissfully unaware. In my experience, everyone was polite. The busy cities I’d be careful just because everyone has their nose in a book or their phone.
You’ll be fine. Even if they do stare at ya it seems like you’re used to it? It’s not like they’d be running up and laughing at you.
Foreigners are so common nowadays, you will be unnoticed anywhere you go in cities regardless of how you look.
But in rural areas, you may get a look but more in a curious way for looking non-Japanese. not as a small person. It’s not like we don’t have small people here in Japan. So there is nothing to worry about regardless.
I see plenty of old ladies here that are that size or shorter, so you won’t be a total anomaly. Some people might gawk a bit, though. Chinese tourists and I have gotten into full on staring contests, most Japanese will discreetly stare via reflections in windows and the like and will not make direct eye contact. The majority of people will mind their own business, though.
I’m 4’10”, so most stuff here is sized for me, like bathroom sinks and mirrors, kitchen counters, door handles, toilets, etc. It’s fucking great. For that trade off, I don’t give a damn if people stare once in a while.
Please forgive me if I sound rude, I am genuinely asking and answering.
Generally Asian aren’t tall, many people are 5′ or event less, so being a dwarf is not exceptionally special in most cases. Even if they notice a dwarf, they may have some strange looks, but foreigners outside big cities are given strange looks all the time anyway. I personally have never rejected service or anything but had been ignored just for being a “gaijin”
Big cities people are generally more cold and indifferent to people anyway so I doubt if they would lay strange eyes on dwarves. It would just be the normal “I welcome you but I am afraid I cannot speak English well” kind of look.
In my experience I was mostly in rural small towns in the south and people were more curious than anything they would stare and some would walk up and stop me then bow a little and say hello or konnichiwa then run away laughing or something like that. They are very respectful and nice as well I had a store owner run maybe half a mile to chase me down a beach to give me my money because I paid too much. I honestly do not think they will have a problem with you being small like other people said the average height is much smaller than in the states.
You’ll be fine. 4’3 isn’t that bad. To be honest I see more more Japanese people with dwarfism that are smaller than that here (around 3ft) than I did back in the US. It’s uncommon still but imho more common than it was back home.
I don’t think anyone really cares tbh, there are lots of women in Japan on the super short side, 4’8″ is pretty common and even down to around 4’6″ isn’t impossible to see. For a guy you’ll generally be on the short side, one of my best buddies is taller at 4’9″ but on the very short side for a Western guy. He’s super popular with the ladies in Tokyo, like makes me kinda jealous popular lol.
I think these sorts of things are more in your own mind. If you imagine people are making fun of you then you’ll see things that probably are not there. Being confident and playing off your shortness can make you a lot of friends, if you don’t care about it then nobody else will even think about it much. I have a disability but it’s never stopped me doing the things I want or enjoying myself.
Midgets are interesting everywhere.
I’m also short and had no problem in Japan, in fact, it’s probably the best I have felt in a long time considering everything seemed to fit me. I didn’t have the fear of going in to restaurants and worried about table height, or anywhere else for that matter. Plus, people are very polite in Japan. I also encountered men as short or shorter than I am, so I did not feel so odd.
The problems I encountered in Japan I would have encountered anywhere. A very young Japanese child pointed at me on the train but I had no idea if it was because of my height or me being white, and this was a rare occurrence. Another time at the Taiji train station a young student slapped me in the head then ran off the train. After talking about it with the hotel staff they said it was because Taiji is where they kill dolphins and he might have thought I was an activist against their dolphin killing.
What you should do is have your luggage picked up and delivered so you are not carrying it on trains. This service is very common in Japan and not expensive. You can start at airport – have it delivered to your hotel. Then continue doing that as you travel, have them pick up your luggage at hotel delivered to next location. Also, if you are carrying luggage at train station, look for the elevators – which are in most stations – so you are not carrying luggage up stairs which there are many of.
Sent you a DM with some more info.
Are you going now? I was supposed to go now, but that’s all cancelled for reasons.
There are dwarves in Japan, too, of course. I suspect you’ll get a double take or two, but nothing too bad. 4’3″ is also not that much shorter than some of the 4’10” old ladies I’ve seen around, and many of them look shorter due to how hunched they are. Over all I bet you’ll have a fine time, and maybe even better than in your home country because Japan is scaled smaller than most western places.
Japanese here. I wouldn’t worry at all. People are too busy doing their own stuff that they don’t care. The most is that they will have a glance and then move along. No one will come up to you and say stuff or take pictures. In the end, don’t worry about it because of us don’t really give a shit 🙂 (not being rude)
In my experience the Japanese are the least likely people to stare at you. Everyone is so considerate of rudeness and they would see staring as very rude. They may come and speak to you if they’re interested but they will be very polite when doing so.
I’m not really unique looking, but I have red hair and freckles. I’ve been to Japan a few times and people always ask me if I get stared at, and the answer is absolutely not. My most recent trip I was in areas with very few Western tourists (Akita and Aomori) and I definitely got more attention, but it was all very polite. Several people wanted to know where I was from or why I had visited. I think you will be fine in Tokyo, but may get some curiosity in other areas.
Japanese people are for the most part short as well. So I wouldn’t worry tbh.
Dwarfism is a thing here too, in fact I’d say being foreign has a bigger impact on how differently you are treated than dwarfism.
Your not gonna be that much shorter than the average Japanese person honestly, not enough for it to be a big deal I would say. But listen out for the word Chibi (Ch-E-Bee), means short but in a fairly rude way
The Japanese are amazingly polite and helpful. You’ll come back to the states and be disgusted the minute you step off the plane.
I worked with someone in Japan who was probably close to 4′ tall. Nobody seemed to care about a short elderly Japanese scientist. But I don’t know as a foreigner if you’ll get any different response.
I’m 6’, dyed blonde hair, 2 full sleeves, and 250 lbs. I honestly got a lot of staring and I was questioned a lot by locals asking where I was from. It was kinda fun considering everyone was polite about it. I’m sure you’ll be fine considering a lot of Japanese people are 5’-5’7”.
If you are calm and polite, you`ll be welcomed, whether you are small or tall, thin or fat, yellow or black or white.
When you feel someone watching you in Japan, perhaps it`s not because of your height. But it can be because of your loud voice.
Some foreigners are too loud in nice cafes or on calm trains.
You might want to avoid rush hour traffic in the mornings, and both times in the evenings, so you don’t get steamrollered.
Otherwise, you’ll be fine.
I wore a full duck outfit on new years. Everyone was to afraid to look at me. Don’t worry! Japanese won’t say anything if you look different.
I’m 5’9” and I felt like a giant in Japan and Singapore! However, people were very nice, and extremely polite! At your height, you’ll blend in very easily as it’s not very unusual over there. Go for it!
I’ve seen a few dwarves/little people going about their day during my trips in Tokyo, sometimes on their own, sometimes with their friends. If anything, you have an advantage. Places in Tokyo can be so small and cramped (restaurants, bars, hotel rooms, etc) that they can be uncomfortable for a large person lol