I goto work using bycyle and everytime people pass through me, whether in the morning or in the evening, I can always smell something nice.
In the morning, I understand. But even in the evening after they are done working or doing some activities, they still smell nice.
The same with my colleagues. They either smell nice or not smelly at all.
I have worked with people from several countries including my own.
And so far, Japanese people smells the nicest.
What’s the recipe?
Is it dipping themselves in ofuro everyday for an hour or so?
Or there’s a special detergent on their clothes?
Because what I smell is not perfume.
Or is it the clean air? (I work at a small town btw)
19 comments
Are you in love or something?
The trains in Tokyo reek in summer with sweaty and not deodorized salarymen and women.
How the hell are you sniffing people whilst cycling? 🤔
Next thread from OP:
‘Anyone know a lawyer that can speak English with sniffing case experience? My work is being weird’
Diet and hygiene (maybe regular genes too). BO is mainly caused by bacteria on skin that mixes with sweat…
It’s probably their fabric softener 🙂
Majority here don’t have that wet earwax gene which is the cause of body odor. So deodorants are almost nonexistent and perfumes aren’t that popular neither. So most people just smell like body wash or laundry detergent. But I’ve smelled my fair share of stinky people during rush hour on the train tho.
I’ve smelt some god awful Japanese people everywhere from nice department stores to people walking about. Though I agree, people in general smell better here than at home in America. My vote is for clean-ish diet, maybe less cheese and dairy.
This is hypothesis so take it for what it is. Japan usually don’t use a dryer like America. So after washing the fragrance from the detergent stays on stronger. With a dryer it kind of vent most of it out.
Agreed. But halitosis levels here are off the charts and i believe that’s well documented – read an article about it in a japanese magazine where a professor was trying to explain the causes (mainly to do with stomach issues and poor dental hygiene)
No, I miss passing a gorgeous mix of pheromone and expensive but light and classy cologne that you often get in the UK when walking out and about. Has happened here only very rarely, I can count on one hand
People pass through you?
Casper, that’s enough Reddit.
Creepy
It’s lack of a gene that causes sweat to be appetizing to bacteria–less bacteria= less stinky sweat. And fabric softeners and laundry perfumes, which Japanese people prefer to body perfumes. There’s a big market for them and some types are engineered to last several hours, or activate with heat/moisture, etc. Also lots of hair products with strong scents.
Can’t recommend any tho since I use only unscented products due to skin sensitivities.
OP, do you not get close to Japanese people indoors, or at least in any situations besides riding your bike?
I noticed when I first came that while Japanese people don’t have strong BO, their scalp/hair does smell strongly. I can often smell what I think is sebum buildup on people’s scalp if I’m next to them. I think it’s because most people bathe/shower at night here.
I’ve noticed after being here a long time that white people (myself included) have a distinct kind of wet dog smell when we sweat, but Japanese people seem to usually have no smell. I have definitely smelled Japanese people with BO though, so some do have that gene.
Thank you for those who have replied and answered my simple curiosity.
Thank you also for those who have judged me as a creep, sniffer, dangerous driver.
Have you ever walked and smell something nice or bad when someone passes you?
It happened to me but I’m on a bike, instead of walking. That simple.
May you all be happy.
お休み。
I asked this my Japanese teacher once because I also wondered, and he told me a lot of people use fabric softener heavily.
Interesting, but besides having good hygiene and regular bathing their diet may have something to do with it. Remember, though, that it’s all comparative.
No science to back this up but I think a lot of Japanese people are odorless due to their diet.
BUT TBH I have encountered a few with some stinky BO
I guess you are far from Akihabara.
In our household we prefer fabric detergents that don’t have a strong odor. Also I find that when I air dry my clothes vs using a clothes drier, the fragrance fades quicker too. I am sensitive to strong odors so I prefer neutral smelling clothes