I haven’t been back to the UK in 15 years and was in town recently (Osaka) for the first time since the covid ban.
Is anyway surprised by just how many tourists (white people mostly) are overweight and covered in tattoos?
I have nothing against it, just was taken back by the amount. It looked like 75% of the people, especially couples had tattoos on their legs, arms and were overweight.
Anyway glad the country is open and they are enjoying Japan.
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Obesity and tattoos are very popular in the west right now. I heard a good standup joke a while back about how millennials ruined tattoos.
Sometimes I forget that it’s still popular and trendy to look like a homeless lumberjack back in america
I think part of it is that gaining a lot of weight is one great way to enjoy new shapes and colors with your tattoos
Not sure about UK numbers but I’m sure they are close to the 70% of Americans that are at least overweight and nearly 40% that are are obese so it makes sense that when you see western tourists, so many of them appear overweight.
As an underweight gaijin covered in tattoos, I’m always afraid others will mistake me for a junkie.
I go back home as often as time and finances allow (UK also!) and I don’t think I know anyone back home anymore that doesn’t have tattoos most places on their bodies. So it doesn’t really surprise me.
Oh you so much better than them eh
I see tons of white people with tattoos, but no they’re not all overweight. that may be your own bias paying more attention to them? also many Japanese are underweight and malnourished looking (especially the women), so perhaps it’s the contrast that confuses you.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with all of us. That was enlightening.
There are a lot of people traveling in Japan now due to the low value of the YEN. Prices have remained normal compared to western countries. It’s a good nation to visit if you like food, culture, and arts.
I still wonder how long onsens will openly discriminate against people for having tattoos.
Did you know that in Japan, before 2017, tattoo artists were required to obtain medical licenses to practice their art?
Basically, before the Supreme Court ruling of 2017, you had to become a doctor to be a tattoo artist. Otherwise, if you were a tattoo artist in Japan caught without a medical license, you could be fined up to 1 million yen and/or receive up to three years of jail time.
Prior to 2014, it was illegal to dance in clubs after midnight.
Maybe this might be a reason why you now see, after 15 years of living abroad, so many tattooed tourists.
Then again, it might just be because westerners have been locked in their own homes for the last 3 years due to the plandemic.
I was back in Australia for the first time in 5 years and did notice the huge amount of obese people and tattoos too. It was an eye opener. The nice thing about living here is that people will let you know if you’re getting fat. お久しぶり！太った？
I’m more concerned that you haven’t visited home for 15 years.
Also, they all seem to wear shorts for some reason.
Over weight and tattoos is a look in us, Canada, uk. Body positivity is more popular in that part of the world
When I go home to the Midwest, USA … it’s usual… not one tattoo but the whole body…and people are huge
white people in general love tattoos or are more likely to actually get them. I’ve lost count of how many blondes or bros I met who gotten at least 1 while drunk
and then just a numbers game. Obesity or overweight is super common in the USA now
Fat tattooed Westerner: “I shall travel to Mystical Japan, and there I shall display my epic ink to the awed Japanese, who will respect and admire me. The Yakuza Boss of Bosses will invite me to his home for dinner. There he will declare me One Of Them, and I shall drink with the Yakuza Boss of Bosses and his men, as awed Japanese people gaze and bow. Because Mystical Japan is Mystical. Then I shall return to the West where I will be regarded as a Real Japanese Boy.”
[Comes to Japan, is completely ignored by everyone]
Fat tattooed westerner: “Japan f**king *sucks!*”
Amongst major countries the most obese is America. Not surprising. All the McDonald’s and ice cream and chips
https://data.worldobesity.org/rankings/
U live under a rock? I mean, there are a lot of fat people and skinny people around the world with tattoos everywhere? It’s not like tattoos are taboo.
Tattoos are only okay when incredibly minimal, anything else looks terrible and only gets worse from the time it’s done. Fatties don’t care about themselves so getting a bunch of expensive shitty tattoos is an easy leap to assume they would make.
You left your house for the first time since early 2020??
Agreed. I’ve lived in Japan (Yokohama) for nearly 10 years now and the majority of western tourists are overweight with tattoos and messy hair.
I think Op was expressing how easy it is to notice tourists now because they have a very different look than the Japanese people around them. It’s easy when everyone around you has relatively the same hair color and build.
After tourism opened up earlier this year, I have been working on a pet theory that having at least one visible tattoo is an entry requirement for all “Western” tourists under the age of 65.
(Like the OP, I am totally relaxed about people’s personal body decoration choices, but it does stick out after 3 years of semi-isolation).
Seeing a lot of said tourists here, a decent amount wandering about Ginza yesterday. I’ll never understand the look myself, especially considering how irked they get when they draw attention.
i play a small mental game on my commute where I look for foreigners without tattoos
haven’t won yet but maybe one day
Just wait until tattoos become uncool again (as with every fad, shelf-life is limited) and you will see many people wondering how to cover all of that.
When even grannies get tattooed, you know it’s only a question of time before the grand-kids turn away from the fashion trend.
I mean, being that they’re in Japan… what’s “overweight”? I think I’m overweight, but if I went “back home” it’d all be about how I need to eat more.
I’ve gotten used to not seeing tattoos. It’s pretty weird now, I kinda baulk a little when I see foreigners flaunting their ink. I’m getting soft.
I dunno about obese people but last time I went back to the uk I was surprised to see so many people with tattoos.
Seems like everyone had them.
Taken back, you say? Ah, the nostalgia
I really don’t get this sub. You downvote overweight tourists with tattoos, you downvote people complaining about overweight tourists with tattoos…
Cool! A whole thread of people judging others based on appearance! I guess that’s ok again now?
You lived in east Asia for too long and are used to slim people.
I’m just glad that tattoos in general are more accepted in Japan these days. I can remember when I first got here in the 90’s and my friends had to constantly cover them up lest they get a dirty stare. And of course the whole tattoo/yakuza connection thing at the sento and onsen…