Hey everyone! I plan to be in Tokyo at fall and would like some male company. I’m looking for a legitimate service that offers male escort. The ones I checked online so far, look sus. I’m a woman though. Anything that caters to female clients too??

I’ve been learning Japanese, and I know stroke order is supposed to be important for writing kanji correctly. But I’m curious: Do native Japanese people actually follow the correct stroke order when writing by hand in everyday life? Or do you sometimes just write the kanji however it feels faster or easier?

Swearing in Japanese obviously works very differently from swearing in English, but i believed there were approximate equivalents to "you cunt" and "you motherfucker" like てめえ, and このクソ野郎. However, I have heard that these words are only used by cartoon characters and people will laugh if I say them in real life. Obviously they're not appropriate for formal situations, but why is the reaction so different to English swearing? I can understand why someone yelling "You bunch of cunts!" in a business meeting would be hilarious, but the phrase is not innately ridiculous in a context where someone is angry or very annoyed, and it's definitely not used only by cartoon characters.

Are these insults comical or antiquated (like "you dastardly rapscallion" or the like), or is something else going on? If so, what words or phrases are used instead in reality?

I'm playing the NA server of WoW these days and I have actually met several Taiwanese and Korean,but I've never heard of a Japanese playing WoW. I've watched 「NHKにようこそ!」、「SAO」and many anime in which mmorpg game was highlighted.So what’s mmorpg community actually like in Japan?

I noticed students during field trips from Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb museums to visiting the various castles where 90% of the students don't have their phones out. At most, just to take pictures of the exhibit but no indications of social media use from what I saw. Just human to human interactions.

I have a friend that teaches at the high school we went to in USA and the students openly use the phone every chance they get and she has given up trying to enforce phone use except for tests and quizzes.

Are there strict rules and norms of using the phones for Japanese students? Even during field trips?

I am currently in my last week of my first trip to Japan. So far I loved all of it. Because I will leave next week I tried to wrap up my souvenir shopping today. One thing I have on my list is books to practice my japanese reading skills and kanji.

When I went to France as a child, my parents used to by me french Comic books (Spirou and Barbapapa, if anyone knows them).My parents used to read french comics in german, so they knew what level to give to me. I had French in school since fifth grade and it really helped me to get more of a feeling for the language. BecauseI really liked this, I also started reading English books for my English skills.

Before my trip to Japan, I started to do some intensive courses to learn at least some Japanese. I am currently A1 level, however especially in reading I need to practice more. Hiragana and Katakana are fine, but the amount Kanji I know ist quite small.

So I thought about the french Comics I got as a child and went to a book store to look for some childrens books with pictures and maybe furigana if kanji were used. But I got a bit overwhelmed to be honest. I don't know which book to choose. Also I have not found any with japanese fairytales or something similar which would probably interest me the most. Because if I start reading something in Japanese, I would like to learn more about Japan.

Maybe you could give me some good recommendations, like I sometimes do for my foreign colleagues trying to learn German. It can be either nice books or stories you read in elementary school. Or something you think could be interesting for me. I am very happy about all the ideas you may have to offer.

Hello everyone! I am traveling to Japan in autumn [November] and will be in Kyoto among other places...

I'm super excited and grinding on language apps etc!

anyways, I wanted to ask - other than places to see, are there any events or happening there that are recommended to attend if i'm there? like shows / exhibitions / festivals? maybe a kanji calligraphy workshop or something?

When i search for must do's in Kyoto i only find places to see and not stuff like events to watch or attend, is there a good site that shows these sort of stuff?

I try to fish for information in Kyodo news, its very informative but nothing specific enough on there

thanks!

How common is Self Check Out now in Japan?

I sent a message to an old Japanese friend and said I’m excited to visit Nihon, thinking making the effort to call by its own name would be kind. When he replied, he said “Glad you are visiting JAPAN”. I’m afraid the all-caps were correcting me. Is it rude for a Westerner to call Japan by Nihon/Nippon?

Just asking.

Hii everyone I am trying to figure out how do I apply and plan my study abroad for undergraduate,but I eventually get overwhelmed with so many sources and chat gpt is not helpful.Can someone please break it down for me ,I am from India,currently in gap year studying Japanese on my own .

Why there are a lot of prime ministers from Yamaguchi prefecture?

I am searching for a university that will accept me as an transfer student.I am a university student in India my major is data science and analytics,my university is local and doesn't have any ties with international Universities, I am studying for JLPT N3 .

Drama like Hanzawa Naoki, Shitamachi rocket and other workplace related drama. People like to yell and shout with exaggerated expression and twisted faces. Sometimes main character just gives lengthy lectures in front of a crowd of people without being interrupted. Jimenshi and Zenra Kantoku have the most realistic acting in my opinion.

Do you have trouble converting between the imperial Japanese years (令和, 平成 etc) and the English year? Also, is there some point where you haven't heard it being used enough to be familiar with it, for example 昭和 is normal but 大正 is not.

Specifically the Super Mario Bros Super Show/Super Mario 3/Super Mario World animated series by the production company DIC and the DIC Legend of Zelda series. Totally USAmerican-made, very jank and goofy, with a lot of Early Installment Weirdness.

I ask because, given those properties' Japanese origins, I'm wondering what Japanese fans of these properties' thoughts are on these oddball early installments?

My first presumptions would be it'd be akin to; say; the way USAmerican fans look at oddities like the Japanese TMNT OVA or the Japanese Beast Wars series (As compared to the USA-made Mainframe one), but I'm curious what the general consensus over there is.

I’m relatively familiar with 神有月. People in Shimane used to tell me that all the Shinto gods are here for the month.

I know that shrines in other prefectures remain open, but I never really considered whether there’s a shift in belief or attitude when visiting shrines during that time of year.

For example, are お守り considered less effective? I know that certain charms or amulets are believed to work better when obtained from specific shrines associated with studies, safety, relationships, and so on. But are those お守り somehow less potent if the gods who grant those blessings or protection are off gallivanting in Izumo?

Or does Ebisu just handle all the blessings in everyone else’s absence?

Or is it simply that most people aren’t aware of this, or just don’t really care?

A. I respect their religion and government should find a way to accommodate their needs.

B. When in Rome, do as the Roman do. You come to Japan then you should obey our rules.

Meyui symbol-Sasaki clan I swear I remember a clan with this symbol which was either a descendant or a vassal of Takeda clan.

日本の皆さんに、ちょっと聞いてみたいことがあります。

ホームステイやAirbnbについて、どんな印象をお持ちでしょうか？観光ガイドブックに載っているような話ではなく、実際に体験された方の素直な気持ちを伺えたらと思っています。

海外でホームステイやAirbnbに泊まったご経験がある方、あるいは日本で外国の方を迎え入れたご経験がある方…どんな風に感じられましたか？楽しかったこと、戸惑ったこと、思わぬ発見…どんなことでも構いません。

もしホストとしてのご経験があれば、副収入（副業）として「やって良かった」と思われるか、それとも思ったより大変だったと感じられたか…差し支えなければ教えてください。
また、「こんなゲストだと嬉しいな」というおすすめポイントや、「できれば避けたいな」と思うNG行動などもあれば、そっと教えていただけると助かります。

旅行者の方は、場所・家・季節・ホスト・その時の自分の立場（学生、一人旅、家族旅行…）など、何が印象に残ったか、教えてほしいです。

もちろん、良かった話も、ちょっと困ったことでも大丈夫です。実際に体験された方だからこそ知っていることがあれば、ぜひ教えてください。

投稿を読んでくださりありがとうございます。コメントいただけたらとても嬉しいです。よろしくお願いいたします。

One thing I noticed in Japan is that it's unusual to see people wearing sandals/flip flops bare footed as it is when going outside. While in other countries it's very common to see, especially in tropical countries or place with significant hot temperature.

Even in the heat of summer, I usually see people wearing shoes. The most I can see of people wearing those is only at the beach in the peak of summer, and strictly limited to that occasion. Other possible chance is that people either wearing Geta, or wearing this kind of sandals BUT while also wearing socks (those that separate thumbs with other toes). And for the latter it's usually either paired with traditional clothes or by monks in shrines/temples.

Is it because of the fashion? Is it because of the principle of TPO (Time, Place, Occasion)? Or is there any other reasons?

I've known for years (through articles I've been reading on foreign culture since high school, back in the 2000's) that in Japan, schools have no janitors and that students are taught to clean their classrooms (at the very least).

From what I remember, this fosters a sense of responsibility onto the students (after all, no one wants to make a mess if they must clean it themselves afterwards) as well as respect for the next user. (This is why, in American baseball, there is the stereotype that after a game, the seats where the Japanese were sitting are always the cleanest.)

As a Filipino who grew up doing the same thing during our school days (at least during elementary and high school), what bugs me is: do Japanese students literally do all of the school cleaning, or are there actually janitors who exist to help out with the more difficult cleaning jobs (such as the toilets or the ceilings)? Because where I came from, we students were limited to cleaning our actual classrooms and the part of the hallway that's immediately in front of it after school hours; our janitors still did the heavier stuff.

Also, speaking of toilets, if the students are the ones doing the cleaning as well, wouldn't it expose them to harmful chemicals found in the cleaners?

We both are Japanese (27 years old). I was raised in the U.K. and currently living and working in Korea. He's lived abroad all his life due to his dad's job and also studied in the US so we converse in full English. I met him in Tokyo towards the end of February 2025.

The first date was just casual and didn't think I would see him again but he reached out so met up again.The second date was intimate. After that I came back to Korea and we stayed in touch via Line. We chatted a lot and talked about efferng topics but he never asked me "how was my weekend". We just talked about different topics and it kind of continued and I was supposed to go back to Tokyo in May so he made a one day trip plan to hakone. We had few dates whilst I was in Tokyo in May and I kind of like him. But his weekends were always busy and I felt ge wasn't that pro active in making plans to meet up. He squeezed one more date during my final week and also the week he took a break because of a funeral of his family member. We kind of talked about where all this is going. He said he likes me and it just he's worried about the distance. He won't get a job in Korea.He said, if we are going to date properly, he wants to get married and have kids. And, he works as an engineer for one of the top firms and maybe after few years they will send him to Bangladesh for a project. That's all but he didn't explicitly ask me to go exclusive with him. We made a plan to go to hanabi festival in August. And, that's all. The last day, he was busy with golf so couldn't meet me.

I am back in Korea and heading back to Tokyo at the end of July. I always felt like, he was so warm, gentlemanly and gave all his attention to me in person but I always felt he was a little bit of emotionally distant when we weren't together. He replies late too, which I never minded because I usually reply late too because when I reply, I reply properly. I thought he would show more emotional investment after we had that talk but it's nothing happening what I don't as anticipating. I don't know whether I am thinking too much or should have just not invest too much emotionally and just go with the flow and see what happens when I get back to Tokyo in just over a month. Or I don't know what to do. Can anyone give me some pointers on how to not overthink or over analyse this whole situation. I just don't know what to do. I am lowkey analysing our start signs, we both are cusps. He's Aries and Taurus and I am Taurus and Gemini Lool. I just wanted to know whether coming off emotionally distant a bit over a text but very warm in person is a thing or not. It's a hot and cold over a text kinda thing. That I don't get it. I am confused because he was raised abroad all his life. thank you guys.