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Japan - Page 2

Sorry, this is going to be a fairly long read.

As far as the funky fresh clothing, it is true that some people do dress up as their favorite anime character, school girl or go with a slightly modern version of traditional with a yukata. However, this really isnt the norm. For instance, when I get on the train in the morning to go to work, it is a sea of white, gray and black. There is almost no other color seen. You can easily see a group of men talking that have the essential Japanese black business suit. It is almost like they are coming off a clone line... So while there are some that, in their own spare time, gravitate towards "expressing" themselves by dressing strangely or going against the daily repression of how they are expected to act and dress...it really isnt the black, white and shades of gray reality. I have talked to a few anime characters on a Saturday in a particular mall in Osaka. All I got out of it was rebellion....

Karaoke is everywhere in Japan. I also find this pretty interesting because there are a few types of Karoake in Japan. There is box Karaoke. This is where people (about 4-8) pile into a small room, sing and drink. There is another type where you basically sing in front of a room of people...this is where you find your hidden performer types. It is interesting to see who really rise to this challenge. The other type is usually a hostess Karaoke and is for men, as Japan is still a male dominated society. But all in all, everyone in Japan does Karoake. I think they are all born with a microphone!

Relation between the sexes is really odd here. One of the first thing visitors will notice are all the hourly rate hotels. You quickly find out that these are called "love hotels". Now this sounds pretty shady, but I did have it explained to me. In Japan, it is not uncommon for a family to live in a house that consist of grandparent, husband, wife and children. The house is typically pretty small and the walls are thin...so...the "Love Hotel" was created as a way for husbands and wifes to get a bit of private time for themselves. Now, there are some of those hotels that are setup for fantasies as there is a famous hill of Love Hotels outside of Tokyo. That was pretty strange for me because hourly hotels in the US are looked upon as pretty seedy places.

Boys and girls have huge problems finding each other here. The social settings rarely present themselves for interaction. Therefore, groups of each setup dinners called "gokon" where boys are on one side and the girls on on the other. I was told that it was a more pressure free environment for a meeting as well as actually forced the people to talk to the other sex. I see this all the time in larger restaraunts on Fridays and Saturdays. Basically, there is no pre-pairing off as it is a group thing first. If there is a spark, then the two can set up a date for later. I understand that usually is done through a common mediary. I said boys and girls but this kind of thing goes on well into adulthood. Company members have gokons.

As far as the strange and unacceptable sexual behavior, I would suspect most of what you are talking about is found outside of Tokyo (Ruppungi). This is highly publicized and yes...there is a lot of strange stuff that happens there. However, to say that this represents Japan would be like saying that Las Vegas represents the norm of America. It happens, but the vast majority of Japan does not participate in it. Now I will agree that some really bizarre stuff happens here, but it is not the status quo in Japan and it would cost a fortune to get into (if they even let you in as a foreigner).

What is common throughout Japan is hostess bars that are called "snacks". These range from what we would think in America as a common corner bar with a lady that serves you drinks from the counter and talks to the customers (basically a chatty bartender for all the customers). These places are frequented by both sexes and are common as they are basically just a bar...nothing strange going on. There are other snacks that have a lot of hostesses employed and basically as soon as you come in you are assigned a hostess. Her dress can be fairly normal to pretty skimpy depending on the type of place you are in. A lot of these places also employ foreigners as hostesses (Russian, Romanian, Phillipeans, etc). The more modest the dressing, the more likely men and women will frequent the place together. The more skimpy dress and it becomes more of a Gentleman's Club. Again, this is not totally unlike the US. Lastly, there are some that are pretty much strip clubs.

Japan spends more money than anywhere else I can say on robotic girlfriends. Once a year some guy is showing his robotic girlfriend. Last year, I read a article about hostess clubs for females that were frequented by wifes that have little contact with their husbands. Apparently, this has taken off pretty well.

Japanese workers still focus primarily on their company before their family. This takes time away from making and maintaining relationships. The end result seem to me to be a repressed society where men and womne have trouble communicating. Sometimes the result is like the places outside of Tokyo or Osaka that are strange! However, those places arent the norm from what I have seen.

Japan

You're saying that sex is not public just in certain places where people are looking for it? I wouldn't thinks so with the kind of animations and themes they produce.

Japan Reviews Consumer & Travel Family Culture

What I am saying is if you are looking for a walk on the wild side, there are places here in Japan where you can find it. What I am also saying is that this taste does not represent the majority of Japanese. This is no different that the US. If you want sin city...you know where to find it. However, the goings on in sin city are not representative of daily life in the US. Lastly, it is the overall sexual repression of Japanese society that I believe generates the anime that you are referring to. The obession with the opposite sex, but with huge barriers (real and imagined) that keep you from meeting them are the stimulus for these creations (anime, soaplands and basically Ruppungi).

There are large businesses on the fringe of the sex businesses of Japan where men or women will pay about $100USD for someone of the opposite sex dressed up (can be dressed nicely or as some sexy character) to talk to them for one hour. Now this seems real and progressive, but I dare say these businesses do so well because at the basic level men and women in the culture have a really hard time of meeting one another. You might find guys in their late 20's and into their 30's trying to "nampa" someone. Nampa is basically just asking someone for sex that you find attactive (usually on the street) and have never met before. Progressive or someone that just totally lacks the social skills to get a date? Hang around Japan long enough and you can make up your own mind about it.

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They do not have dating agencies or events for these people to attend?

Japan

JB

Japan is a strange place. Dating services arent really done much here. A lot of Japanese meet today in on-line chat rooms and Gokons...

There really arent a whole lot of activities geared towards getting singles to meet other than the gokon or in on-line chat rooms. I have heard of on-line introduction services like they have in the US, but they are not really popular yet but are gaining in popularity.

Japan

Name: WL
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Comments: A society built up like that has got to implode at some point, wonder why it hasn't already. Suicide rates there must be high.

Japan - Page 2

Suicide rates of Japan are among have always been among the highest in the world during modern times. The pressure to get into the "best" Japanese colleges is incredible. high school students study until late in the night in order to better their slim chances of getting into one of the prestige schools. Failure here does end up in many suicides of the young.

Fathers, if they lose their jobs, are statistically high for committing suicide. Most of the time they believe that the money paid out to their family will sustain them as it is the only thing he can do.

There are suicide clubs on the internet where chatter wishing to die will get together and commit suicide. A scene where 4 get into a car and then start a small BBQ grill with the windows rolled up was a fad a year or two ago.

There is a lot of pressure on people in the culture. However, they love to laugh and enjoy a good joke more than most. They are interested in the world out there but not all that interested on changing theirs. The country is full of simplistic beauty (environment and food). As with most places, there are good parts and bad.

Japan Culture Family Travel & Consumer Reviews - Page 2

I know suicide in the ancient traditional Japan was considered an 'honor' but to know in these modern times it is carried out like a past time is depressing. They don't have a social system and psychologist trying to help the people get out of this mind set? Is euthanasia legal there?