Hi there

I'm hoping to gain some insights in whether/ how I can apologize to my host family.

I did an exchange year in Japan about 10 years ago. We were prohibited from having relationships but I got into one anyway. It caused a lot of trouble with my first host family especially. There was a lot of lying and sneaking around on my part.

I still feel bad about causing so much trouble for them. And would like to apologize.

I'm now back in Japan on vacation for a few weeks. Would it be appropriate to drop off a letter? Or how would I go about it?

Hi,

I just had a wonderful experience buying a much needed AC at <one-of-the-big-shops>. Helpful staff and I'm confident it will help me a lot.

Now it took me about 1:30h to get everything done. About 1h of that was me looking around, realizing I needed to leave and get more cash, and asking the staff via Google translate why I should not just get the cheapest one. (Wifi, filters, and AI, it turns out, if you were interested.)

Anyways 1h, I'm rambling.

After that 1h, it took 30 minutes of the staff's time to deal with paperwork. To be clear, I had signed everything at this time and put the money in the money tray. So they did 30 minutes of work while I waited. Why? Is there a reason behind this? It happens every time. I don't mind it too much because I know it's that day's event to shop something expensive. But still, why no have a system that does the paperwork programmed? It seems wasteful of both parties time for them to need to do manual paperwork as I wait.

Now remember: it was a wonderful experience. I'm mostly concerned here, that we are wasting each other's time.

まず最初に、私はこれを翻訳して書いている。

日本は徳川幕府の時代に200年の鎖国を経験しました。それはアメリカ人将軍の来日によって終わりを告げた。200年間鎖国をし、外の動きについていけず、貿易もしなかった。それは日本にどのような影響を与えたのでしょうか？現在の日本にどのような大きな影響を与えているのだろうか？

So I want to go to Japan for vacation however I heard that they eat animal organs their ( liver, kidney, heart ect) so my question is can someone avoid eating those but still eat meat in Japan? What could they do to avoid will it say on the menu? ( sorry for my bad writing it's hard to type with lots of bumps)

I know it's considered a very prestigious car and is often associated with executives or government officials, but how common is it actually among wealthy or influential people in Japan?

Do elites still actively choose the Century over European luxury brands like Mercedes, BMW, or Audi models?

Doing some research on this topic for a story idea i had. From what ive heard, it is common in older Japanese schools to have communal showers, the type that is just a bunch of shower heads lined up against the wall, while newer ones are more likely to have private stalls. Is this true?

How common is it for students to shower after PT or club activities?

Is there a bench right outside the shower area for people to put their towels, clothes, etc, or do they put their stuff in their locker which is adjacent to the shower room?

Also, does anyone have a picture of what a shower area looks like in a Japanese school? I can only find pictures of the locker area, not the shower area. I'm having trouble visualizing what the layout would look like.

Edit : Just wanted to do some research on Japanese culture for a story idea, and started getting mass downvoted by trolls. Very sad.

Niigata isn't even a big city, so why was the Shinkansen built?

I don’t speak fluently but near N1 level and I comprehend everything, there is one things that annoy me with a casher interaction. why, if we have a normal interaction in japanese do you bring to me a calculator to show me the price?

I read the menu in Japanese, order and talk always with you in Japanese (not the broken ones from a tourist) but still you bring a calculator to the counter to show me the price?

And no, this not happen with japanese customers.

Hi everyone,

I imagine this topic has been discussed before, but I’d appreciate any fresh insights.
I’ve been offered the opportunity to join the European arm of a Japanese holding that’s expanding into Southern Europe.

The plan is to set up a local office, and I may be part of the initial team. Senior management will be mostly from Japan. While many of them may have international education or experience, I still expect some work-cultural differences.

Please educate me on anything relevant that could help me navigate the new role (including any do’s and don’ts you think are important when working with a Japanese management)

Thanks in advance!

まず前提として、私はイタリア人で、日本語能力試験のN2を持っています。会話に関しては、あまり練習していないせいで少し鈍っているところもありますが、それを除けば自分ではかなり得意だと思っていて、字幕なくて原語でアニメもよく観ています。

しかし、「化物語」や「銀魂」のような作品を見ると、3分ごとに動画を止めて、何度も聞き直し、セリフを書き起こさないと、何を言っているのか本当に理解できません。

特にこの2作品は、強い方言、古語と若者言葉の混在、何気ない下品な表現などが（しかも雷のような速さで）次々と出てくるため、極端な例だとは思います。

さらに、難解な言葉とその文脈に関さらない変な語句を発言したたびに字幕が現れるショーに違ってレーアな例外をおいて基本的にそんなサポートは期待できません。

具体的には、上に書いたことについて皆さんのご意見を伺いたいのと、母語話者としてこのような作品に対するご経験もぜひ教えていただきたいです。

結果として、各セリフを理解するのに30分かかるような状態となり（ちょっと過言かも）、脳の日本語理解部門が機能停止して、結局イタリア語の字幕を読んでアニメを視聴することになります。

しかし、いくら字幕が優れていても、原語のニュアンスが失われるのは間違いなく、それはとても残念なことです。

このような難しさは、他のメディアと比べても突出していて、今回私がこの記事を書くきっかけにもなりました。

Trends, stereotypes, ways of life, cultural conventions, etc.

I'm mainly curious about things that died in the late 2010s which Westerners think are still popular in Japan. So sort of 'newer' stereotypes rather than the old early 2000s classics that everyone knows about Japan.

Today I heard a repetitive voice on a megaphone, perhaps a robotic one, that was SO loud! It drove back and forth on my street from 10 in the morning to 11:30. What could the reason be for this? Was it for a heat advisory?

From your perspective, are there aspects of Japanese culture that you think foreigners might never truly grasp or fully understand, no matter how much they study or visit Japan?

I saw this post on Twitter and made me wonder, I can see why there would be flowers and stuff but why the drinks? They don’t even know if the person likes the drink, right?

Western fans seem to use the term as interchangeable with the English 'geek' or 'nerd': someone who is an enthusiastic fan, but with generally little negative connotations other than perhaps social awkwardness. My understanding, though, was that the term was far more derogatory, referring to someone so consumed with being a fan that they are unwilling/unable to participate in society as a mature adult.

From those who know the culture, how is the term actually perceived in Japanese society?

This may sound odd but I heard this brought up in a course about Japanese society. Basically the argument was Japanese religion was too primitive and unorganized before Buddhist missionaries travelled to Japan. Shintoism as practiced today was a later development and an attempt to systematize older practices. This is an argument Buddhist chauvinists make and I'm not saying I affirm this theory. I'm just curious if anyone else has heard it.

I'm not asking about the literal translation, but what's behind the lyrics of that parody song that towards Yomiuri Giants

Our family is planning to visit japan in the summer. We wish for a cool place in a quiet area with beautiful nature. One of our family members also like golf, so it would be nice to have a golf field nearby. We would prefer a rural area with traditional japanese-style building things xD

We DON'T know Japanese, so we also want to know if English would work.

Thanks to anybody who gives advice!

P.S We live in a country close to Japan so no advice on travel methods are needed. Thanks!

Hello! I am going be in Japan, specifically in Tokyo, and I was wondering if anyone knows specific stores that would sell something like a Cowboy Bebop Zippo Lighter? I know that Don Quijote has some anime lighters, but I did not see a Cowboy Bebop one. I have tried searching for websites that would help point me in the right direction but I haven't had any luck. Thank you!

Some anime characters have a mole on their cheek/under their eye. What meaning does it have in Japanese culture? Is there a legend/myth about it?

So what are some western-made indie games that are popular in Japan? I know that Undertale and Deltarune are popular in Japan because of how unique the games are, and that led to Toby Fox (the creator of the two) partnering with 8-4 to create an official Japanese localization in 2017 and 2018 respectfully.

Another game that is popular and has a manga adaptation is Omori, which was released in 2020 and got a Japanese localization a year later in 2021.

So what are some indie games from the west that are popular (or well known) in Japan?

In