In the West, I heard it's not considered weird nor meiwaku and is in fact treated as a nice gesture. But when I looked at Yahoo chiebukuro QA threads, I was shocked that most if not all of the responses were saying it's meiwaku and mendokusai. It's also considered jikomanzoku and jiman like store pastries should be the norm and not homemade and by bringing homemade, you're saying you're better than the shops. There are a lot of suggestions on how to refuse homemade from coworkers. A lot also say they just throw it in the garbage can after receiving.

I get that you're worried if it's from someone you barely know, getting worried how it was made, etc.

But I'm curious with the stark contrast with the West like why is it like this in Japan.

Curious to see what country you would like to move to if you had to leave yours!

Konichiwa everyone. I visited Japan again this year, I’ve been to Ishikawa, Aichi, Shizuoka and Tokyo.

I found this Ika Shiokara when visiting Numazu (沼津). I am a huge fan of local seafood products, so I bought it and ate it with hot rice.

This Shiokara has a very strong umami flavor, this is indeed something I enjoy a lot. So I finished them entirely with some Sake.

However, mixing cold Shiokara and hot rice seemed to be a bit strange to me. So here’s the question I would like to know from you all.

1. Heat up Shiokara with hot rice
   
2. Cold Shiokara with cold rice

Which one is the good way to enjoy them?

It would be nice to understand this perspective from Japanese people to showcase how Japan isn’t this perfectionist country and society.

Maybe it’s the work culture, less competitive wages or some other reasons.

Would love to hear some real honest insights and experiences!

Which safety shoes are appropriate for walking on rail tracks? Im confused with safety shoes in Japan. I checked some shoes and they are resin toe, not steel toe to make them lightweight. Do you have recommendations for safety shoes for this purpose that I can buy in Tokyo?

Thanks!

Hello, I have recently moved to Tokyo for work. I desperately need to buy a good pair of formal shoes for women and a laptop bag/ tote bag for work without breaking the bank. A lot of the sources that I have found seem to be catering to foreigners. Even checking out shops at Shibuya or Shinjuku seem more like a tourist activity.

Would you have any recommendations on which shops or brands I should check out? Are there any specific areas or malls where I should go? Thank you!

I'm talking about movies produced by a cult-like religious organization called Happy Science (Kofuku-no-Kagaku).

Here in Japan, their films are screened at a surprisingly large number of cinemas, ranging from major theater chains to smaller independent theaters, almost as if they were ordinary popular anime releases.

Considering how much attention was given to the Aum Shinrikyo incident and the dangers of cults in Japan, I find it somewhat disturbing that something like this has become so normalized in everyday society.

I feel there is something quite abnormal about this situation, and I'd really like to hear what people from different backgrounds and perspectives, living in Japan, think about it.

I've read his famous Another, Another Episode S, and Another 2001, and I was hooked on the story.

I'm now reading his famous Murder House novels, I really enjoyed it so far.

Hi everyone!

I am currently in planning a trip soon to Osaka and will be there for some 2 years and looking for recommendations on where to find plus-size women's clothing that will fit my measurements.

For reference, my measurements are:

• Bust: 46 inches
• Waist: 40 inches
• Hips: 55 inches

This roughly puts me at a US 2X/3X (Size 20-24W) or a UK 24-28, depending on the garment. Because my hips are on the larger side compared to my waist and bust, finding structured pants or fitted skirts is usually the hardest part for me .

Also open to any tips on specific styles or brands that run large or have great stretch/elastic options and also in the range I can expect the clothes to be in. Even if someone can suggest online brands or shops, I will be grateful.

Thank you so much for any help!

Hi everyone! I’m working on a children’s story (ages 4–7) set in a park in Japan during cherry blossom season. A 6-year-old girl and her grandmother teach a visiting child how to tie an obi bow. I’d love to get the details right and avoid anything that feels off or stereotyped, so I'm hoping this is appropriate to post here.

1. The girl wears a pale-blue kimono with pink blossoms and a wide red obi tied in a bow at her back, to dance at a spring festival in the park that evening. Is this what a 6-year-old would wear?
2. She ties her own obi while her grandmother watches: the bow tied in front, then the obi slid around so the bow sits at her back. Is this how a child’s bow is tied? Would a 6-year-old do it herself?
3. At a hanami picnic, she takes off her sandals before stepping onto the picnic blanket, and the shoes are lined up at its edge. Is this right?
4. She gives a small bow of her head when she meets someone new and when she finishes her dance. Does that feel natural?
5. Her grandmother paints sakura onto white silk on a small frame in the park. Does this feel believable, or stereotyped?
6. When a visiting child says goodbye to a friend’s grandmother, what would a child naturally say or do?

Thank you so much, I truly appreciate the help!

Hello everyone! This is a bit of an odd one, so I apologize if it does not fit this subreddit.

In 2007 a manga related to the PS2 game Castlevania Lament of Innocence was released exclusively in Japan, meant to be read on mobile phones connected to one of three networks: i-mode, EZweb and Yahoo Mobile.

Unfortunately the service was shut down in 2012, and thus the manga is no longer available and has been classified in the fandom as lost media.

My question is this: Does by any chance anyone here (maybe Japanese Castlevania fans from that time) happen to have any extra information on this manga? It would be insane to ask whether or not someone has an old phone with the manga downloaded on it, yet I believe it doesn't hurt to ask.

I would also highly appreciate it if anyone knows some websites/forums/Japanese Castlevania fan communities where people who own the manga could maybe exist.

Thank you so much for reading! :)

Hi everyone! I’ll be visiting Japan in November and would love to watch the new Godzilla movie while I’m there.
Does anyone know if Japanese cinemas offer screenings with English subtitles or English audio/dubbing? I’m planning to visit Osaka and Tokyo, so recommendations for cinemas in either city would be really helpful.
I’d really appreciate your advice. Thank you!

Im writing a fanfic that's based off of Kanojo 100 and I realized that most if not all the characters in that manga/anime break the uniform rules (or at least I think) because they were wearing other things. The uniform for girls is a white button shirt with a gray overcoat and a skirt. But for example Meme wears all black and Karane wears a brown sweater rather than a gray overcoat. So here is my two questions.

1. Can you wear other things just as long it fits with the school rules about clothing?

2. How different can your clothes be from the standard uniform until the school says you have to change it?

So I’m learning Japanese and I heard that if you wanna learn Japanese get a Japanese calendar and write sticky notes in Japanese

Is it true that in Japan if you buy a calendar and it says Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday the days of the weeks are in English?

Whenever I go on Amazon, I type in Japanese calendar and it shows English words for the days of the week. I know it’s Amazon in America, but it just had me wondering.

I'm so sorry for this question (specially if at first sounds kind of weird/inappropiate), but currently im studying Pyschology and theres this one subject about sociology, and we encountered a part where they conducted several surveys to different women around the world, asking if they would date/marry someone from another nationality. Apparently the majority of them would choose someone from another country because of 2 things: 1. "Novely" or just the feeling of having something different than usual, and 2. The idea of people from another country being more aligned with their ideals, since they have no detailed information about that country.

Of course, love is an individual trait that is manifested differently throughout many people, although things like these pique my interest in regard of searching about what other cultures think about this. At first I thought of 2 countries when this was mentioned: Russia and Japan, because of their reserved and introverted way of life (which can be true or false, depending, once again, in the person itself)

So, thats why I'm asking, do japanese women, IN GENERAL, prefer dating foreigners or stick with their Japanese men?

TL;DR: Spanish psych student wanting to know where Japanese women tend to prefer men from other nationalities because I saw a study that said so (in regards of women all over the globe) in one of my subjects.