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Gaijin Greets

Should Gaijin greet each other?

  • Yes

    Votes: 32 26.4%

  • No

    Votes: 20 16.5%

  • Depends (on the place, time, etc.)

    Votes: 69 57.0%
  • Total voters
    121
Mikawa, I doesn't make you seem bad, I totally understand. You shouldn't feel compelled to talk out of duty, I'm sure you would help out anyone, whatever race, should you ever need to.

I'm just nervous that there seems to be a whole etiquette I wasn't aware existed. I don't want to be a fish out of water in Japan. On the other hand, I'm only going for my first holiday, and only for 2 weeks and I guess I should treat it like any other destination.

However, I can understand the reasoning behind wanting to talk to people that you share a commonality with. I myself am a little obsessed with other mixed-race people that i come across in London, my home town. I always notice them but rarely talk to them. If I do get to talk to them and the issue of race comes up I am always fascinated by their experiences being mixed race. I guess that's similar to what you've been discussing here.
 
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mad pierrot said:
The 2 basic reactions when one gaijin passes another on the street; avoiding eye contact and eye contact. I always give eye contact. If acknowledged, I give the "nod" and smile.
Click to expand...

I usually try the eye contact first. I don't receive it too often though, so I could care less but if the person reciprocates my eye contact and friendly smile, that's enough for me. Sometimes people are nice, sometimes they aren't. I just don't take it personally.
 
Just to share a bit here this conversation has been had on a couple of "other" message boards as well...here are the links...

This topic has been raised in Taiwan as well.

Seems like it is an Asian thing to westerners coming to Asian, particularly China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan. I wonder on the other hand if Asian people that travel to Europe or the US, or any other "non" Asian country experience the same "need" to identify with fellow their fellow "gaijin"?

Oh well I received the following message when I attempted to post some links about information that people here on this thread might have found pertinent to this topic.


You do not have enough posts yet to add URLs to third-party websites.
Click to expand...

Oh well I'll post the links here "when" I get enough posts.....just for the "record" here just how many posts do I need to make to be able to post these links?
 
I wouldn't say there's an etiquette so much as there are a multitude of foreigners here with a multitude of motives and personalities.

I think that being a fish out of water is inevitable the first time you visit some place, especially if you don't speak the language. But that's part of the fun and adventure, is it not?

And I think that you're absolutely right when you say you should treat it like any other destination. Japan is just as mundane for the people who live here as any other place is for the people who live there.

Still, enjoy your trip! I hope you have a great time here!
 
Depends...lately I have stopped saying hi to other gaijins, becouse I noticed most people dont like or care. Sometimes its good to say hi thoug depends where you are
 

No, we don't. I am an Asian living in the United States. I do not treat the Asians I see any different than the Americans I see on the street. I do not see them in different, we're all just merely human beings. Although I do get looks from other Asians sometimes.
 

Thanks for sharing that. I wish the other "gaijin" living here in Japan would take a look at this and quit feeling the need to say hi to every non-Japanese person that they run across.
 
This is a top idea for a thread. and something I've thought about a bit having spent a bit of time in japan at various times over the last 3 years. It's quite funny to see the different reactions of gaijin encounters and different situations. amazingly different when you spy one out in a quiet street in inage compared to at a bar in roppongi. I generally dont initiate contact, but will happily smile and nod, and be polite if they are to me. To be honest I'm in japan because I love japan and japanese people. I have plenty of white people to keep me company back home so I dont seek out other gaijin but of course happy to chat and help if need be.

I do find it funny that japanese and gaijin alike all assume I'm American because I'm white and 6 foot tall. and I find it funny too that all japanese seem relieved or maybe even pleased when I tell them no, I'm Australian? I can visibly see them relax a little and drop some of the overly polite, forced courtesy and adopt a more casual but still friendly demeanour. Canadians also seem to have a particular affinity with Australians I have NFI why though?!

so my answer to the question is: it depends on the situation, but I dont go out of my way to ignore anyone, white or japanese or otherwise.
 
Interesting but unimportant topic..

I used to just smile ( or wink if you really want to wind them up..) and walk by the person you will NEVER see again..

However I shall put my 5cents worth into the discussion..
( I agree with Pachipro re the US bases folk so lets leave them out of this)

As I see it, there are a couple of issues that effect the issue

1.. The "TYPE" of gijin

I noticed was that a good 75-85% of gijins were social rejects anyway,..ie they probably wouldn't have "cut it" back home & have come to Japan to be a big fish in a little pond..this type probably wouldn't say hello in there own country..

2.. how long the gijin had been in Japan..

There seemed to be several stages of "gijin-ness" , the " just arrived - oh how wonderful this is - treated like royalty by all Japanese" first 3-6 months.
Then there is the "reality has set in - stop saying " no gijins" I just want an apartment - why wont they speak to me in Nihongo. " stage. Which , depending on the person may go no for a week or years or till they leave which ever comes first..
Then there is the "ahhh ( gentle sigh)- I like this place for being its self" stage ........that for me, has gone on ever since..

And a few other stages in between like living alone, no family, nothing familiar etc but you get my point..
Each of these stages effects the gijin emotional resulting in this phenomena being so common we end up with this topic on a forum....

Shortly after I had learnt how to " flow with the crowd " to get out of a train staion comfortably,I vividly remember one day starting down the stairs of Harajuku eki on an average day to hear from the bottom of the steps a shrieking, loud , 20 something female, with a Texas twang bellow,... " if one of these f@%#g pencil dicks steps in front of me I'll break his f#$%g neck..!!!".
I must admit I avoided saying "hello" to her..
 
Age-old topic. If I don't know you (fellow foreigner), why should I acknowledge you, whether with a hello or a simple nod? Please explain the necessity? Just because non-Asian foreigners can distinguish each other in Japan (unless they have become naturalized citizens), why is it that they should (and I emphasize that word) greet each other? If it were possible to distinguish fellow foreigners back home, would you do it? Why? If you were in a European country and somehow could distinguish a fellow foreign tourist, would you greet him/her? Why?

Some of us may be tourists here. Others may be residents. Just because you are perceived as a fellow foreigner, that makes absolutely no basis for me greeting you and vice versa. Politeness doesn't enter into the equation, because you could use that for ANYone. Sharing some mystical common bond? What is that? We are simply in the same country at the same moment. I may be shopping or going to work or whatever. If there is no real need (again, stress that word), what is the reason?

At least I don't AVOID people, but even then, some say they know a foreigner crosses the street rather than walk near another foreigner. How do you know that was his/her reason?

Lastly, you may be a fellow foreigner, but perhaps we don't speak the same language. To think that everyone is an English speaker just because he doesn't look Asian is arrogant.
 
*sigh*.

I've never understood why this was such a big issue.
Just because one is gaijin does not mean we are "friends" or even similar in anyway except that we are non-japanese.
One gaijin to another is nothing more then a STRANGER.
I am no more apt to talk to another Gaijin in Japan, then I am to walk up to a random person here in America, with no good reason.

The mentality some Japanese show concerning Gaijin just boggles my mind at times.

On my visits to Japan, YES I have talked to Gaijin. Did I seek them out? No, they sought me out. Usually because they needed help with something.
I have yet to encounter another American there, most of them from Canada (one kid who informed us he was taking a ferry from Tokyo Bay to Okinawa and would arrive in a couple of hours *sigh*), Germany and even one poor completely lost French speaking man from France on the last visit.

I have no more in common with these people, and no more reason to talk to these people, then I do a random Japanese person.

I want to know who started this issue, a gaijin or a Japanese. I'm willing to bet the most heat originally came from the Japanese.

Dutch Baka: The way Japanese see you will largely depend on the individual person and how well/long they have known you for.
By large most the people who do not know me treat me with kindness and courtesy, there are also those who are just plane rude (like you'd find in any country of the world.) And lastly, even though I have not been there long, my Japanese friends already expect a certainly level of... knowledge (for lack of a better word) from me on Japanese things, and I am to act accordingly or I will not be excused for messing up.
This subject is really hard to explain in the right words...

Most people I know, who lived in Japan for any amount of time have warned me not to move there because I would never be fully "accepted". And they are right, that is true, but Japan is still worth it to me.
 
rumour mill

Being ignored on the street is one thing, walking into some white guys' watering hole is another twisted asian nightmare.
Why should i waste precious time talking to a (potential) loser???
No seriously, too many westerners fall victim to the rumour mill. Both Japanese rumours and expat community ones...
So, you move to a new unknown city...you immediately sign up to the local rumour mill ( after registering your official move at immigration, you next must hang at foreigner bars and be accounted for). So, now that you are a new face, you gotta choose to be friendly or not to be friendly. The consequences could be grave. Eg. if you hook up with a guy who is a known playboy...or go home with a STI carrying slutto...AND, the stuckup guys that know you are new will mostly ignore you (i mean in the bar...). You are an outsider to them and are unwanted- especially if you are handsome and intelligent...Get the picture...
What people think is not important...It's not! But it IS important to beware of f**kheads and to choose friends and acquintances very carefully, if not only to avoid the common and highly contagious "bitter gaijin syndrome"
So now, why should i explain my current life situation to some bum who lacks the self-respect to just head back home? Same goes for some Japanese chick at the international centre you meet...she could be hanging in dark circles too...oowh!...she's been there, done that, speaks English and carries an STI.
I try not to judge people, but the unfortunate reality of living here is that too many westerners behave badly and create very damaging negative imagery in the pea-brained Japanese ( not all Japanese locals are so naive to judge us all alike, but...).
If you wear a tie, you're not a tourist.
If you have long hair, you're not a marine.
If you don't hang with foreigners, you are a seriously minded loner
Etc., etc.
Living in Japan can cause brain damage...

(Edit: For any sweet muffins who don't know any better, STI means sexually transmitted infection)
 
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I never do. I see other forgeiners everyday, but never any my age so that might have something to do with it. I'm exchange student, only 16..and the forgeiners I see are all like 25+
 
If I went to Japan on vacation and saw another British or American person (or anybody who was an English speaker) I'd probably say hello to them because I would be so happy to find another English speaker (I don't know Japanese) but if I lived in Japan and learned the language, there would be no reason for me to start a conversation with another Gaijin. Everybody is a stranger, Gaijin or not.
 
I was shopping for books/magazines written in english and a older gentleman approached me and started a conversation. He wasn't American, but rather Dutch. He said he just wanted to hear a language he understood, as he doesn't speak Japanese either. We had a nice conversation. He was homesick, I was happy to oblige him and let him talk. I would be happy to be in the same situation again. So I guess I would say to greet someone would depend on the time and place. I haven't greeted anyone, but I am shy too, so I don't greet starngers a home; I wouldn't go up to a stranger in Japan....doesn't matter what your nationality appeared to be...you're still a stranger if I don't know you!
 
Obviously, it depends.
While in Japan, some non-Japanese said me hello and asked me where I was from, but to tell the truth I didnt find it annoying, but maybe it was because I was just a tourist at that time.
When I was cosplaying in Harajuku a lot of non-Japanese (a lot of Japanese too, tho) took pics of me or with me, and we chatted a bit. I even was interviewed by some foreign students (don't know what I told them, with my broken English ahah).
It was nice experience, it was Sunday and everyone needed a little bit of relax! So, it was super Ok!!!
A Korean guy even asked me if I was Japanese ahaha
 
You are totally right!The "average Italian family on holiday" is a bunch of shouting people who don't care about what's going on around themselves...
I feel shame for them whenever I see 'em...Of course not every Italian tourist is like that but the one you recognize are sorta...I generally avoid them.
 
It doesn't really matter whether or not a gaijin says hello to another does it? I'm a Taiwanese living in America, and I don't usually greet another person unless they're my friend; neither do Americans greet me if they don't know me. It is a habit to ignore others that we don't know. (That is, unless you live in the midwest where everyone greets others, but that's an exception.) Gaijin in Japan shouldn't worry about this either.
 
Last month, while on a Tokyo subway during rush hour, I sat across a couple of Americans (a man and his grown son). After the crowd in the car thinned out, we struck up a conversation (dunno who started it, it may have been me). They were in Tokyo for some sort of car show. I asked if it was their first time to Japan, and the elder said, "No, the last time I was here I was carrying a .45."

Sometimes it is worth it to greet fellow gaijin.
 

Well, in Japan, so I understand, only about .5% residing there are residing there, so it makes me go like, these represents the pretty much small population of non-Asians in Japan which would make me get this awe feeling that makes you wonder what would this other 'gaijin' is doing here? But I guess you don't get these feeling because in places like in England or North America it is becoming such a melting pot that it is pretty common to see people from all different backgrounds everyday on the streets.

Mauricio
 
Hahaha...you obiously have no experience with the typical German tourist! They are so bad, I go out of my way to put them back in their place, for example during my second stay on the Seychelles where I was walking down a beach wearing a boonie hat given to me as a gift by a US Navy medic. A German man askled his wife (in German) "I wonder if he's with the military" to which his wife replied (in German) "He wishes". I don't look German at all, so they immediatly assumed that I couldn't understand them either. Out of reflex I spun around and yelled in the thickest of Hamburger accents at my mate a couple of meters away if we would re-fuel the rental Jeep before returning to the Frigate? - in German of course! Haven't seen any blush like that since! There's always an ignorant dick-head tourist out there that does their best to tarnish the image of the rest of us.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I voted for greet, but only under the eye-contact condition. I have never really gone out of my way to engage a fellow German outside of Germany, except for my girlfriend !
I would be annoyed as hell to be constantly approached by someone just because they want to demonstrate that they've 'made me' as 'one of their own'. If it were obvious I were in need of assistance, ok, but one doesn't randomly engage in greetings/conversation at home without observing certain rules of conduct, same goes whilst overseas.

This brings me back to the dick-heads; why is it that too many (and one is too many in my book) idiots believe that because they are in a foreign nation that instantly NO social rules exist? Look at the horrible image of Australians in the UK, all thanks to idiots who can't behave.
 
Encouter the Gaijin in the street ,I would like to use eye comunication ,the feeling is so good ,that make me happy all day .I like to make friends.Welcome to come our country !
 
Interesting thread. I wonder if it makes a difference whether you are in Japan as a tourist or living there full time.

I know as a tourist I would often see a brother coming the other way. Usually you could spot those who were tourists and they would often give a cheery smile or a nod, which I would return. My take on this was more of a "holly ****, I'm in Japan at last, isn't this great!" type of thing. In the excitement of being on holiday, you are generally more relaxed and feeling friendly. In several cases I'd strike up conversations with fellow travellers, sharing tips on transport, trying to negotiate our way out of Matsuyama station, finding hotels etc.

Those I met who lived and worked in Japan tended to just keep walking by as if you were a local (in fact many had that fixed forward glance so as not to make eye contact). I also think it depends on the person. some people (like my mum) will say hello to everyone they meet, just as a general greeting. Perhaps it is a generational thing, as people of her age are generally more socially minded and don't shut themselves away like many of the modern generation.
 
Kirie_Maiden said:
If I went to Japan on vacation and saw another British or American person (or anybody who was an English speaker) I'd probably say hello to them because I would be so happy to find another English speaker
Click to expand...
If you SAW them, how would you know they SPOKE English? Arrogant nationalism to assume that a non-Asian face automatically means one is American or British. Could be any nationality and speak any language.
 
Glenski said:
If you SAW them, how would you know they SPOKE English? Arrogant nationalism to assume that a non-Asian face automatically means one is American or British. Could be any nationality and speak any language.
Click to expand...

Arrogant racism to assume that a British or American can't recognize a fellow countryman by sight. You think all Caucasian people look alike?
I'm sure when asked, Japanese people would tell you they could recognize a Japanese from any other non-Caucasian or Asian. I can certainly recognize a Filipino from other non-Caucasians, and even among other Asians.
 
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