Worst thing about Tokyo

[den4]

http://www.g4techtv.com/features/49757/The_Worst_Things_About_Tokyo.html

The toilets. What is that thing, you say? Well, it's not a urinal, but rather what is known in English as a 'squat toilet.' It might seem hard to believe, but many people in Japan prefer using these floor holes to a standard Western toilet. To use them, you've got to squat over them to do your business. And despite claims that they're more sanitary (which I highly doubt), they usually smell terrible. Of course, urinals are still in the men's room, but don't laugh, guys; there may be some 'emergency' times when you may have to use this hole in the ground. And that ain't no laughing matter.

2. Sore Feet – I don't know how they do it, but I saw women walking around town with stiletto heels as if their feet didn't hurt. I was wearing sneakers, and my feet felt swollen and on fire after about two hours of constant walking and standing as we went from place to place. Basically, unless you're fortunate (or ruthless – those old ladies are fast!) enough to nab a seat on the subway or train, there's nowhere to sit in public in Tokyo.

3. The games – Okay, so this is really a double-edged sword. Of course, there's nothing wrong with the games; it's just that unless you're one of those import nuts who own 'chipped' consoles, chances are you can't play any of these exciting games on your Playstation 2/Xbox/Nintendo GameCube once you get home. Japan usually (especially in the cases of games released by Japanese publishers) gets the major titles far in advance of the rest of the world and often has games that you can't find anywhere else in the world for a variety of reasons. The alternative would be to buy the Japanese version of one of these consoles and have it shipped home, but is it worth it?

4. The language – Not to be a downer, but the Japanese 1 class you took in your sophomore year in high school doesn't do you much good when speaking to people on the street and having them understand you. And, of course, figuring out what they're saying to you will probably be equally challenging. However, if you look foreign, they may treat you differently and be more patient as you struggle to communicate in their language. This could quickly become annoying if you spend a long time in Japan trying to get people to speak to you in Japanese to learn the language, but for a short trip, it is often much appreciated. On the upside, if you took some Japanese and remembered at least Hiragana and Katakana, it should help you read signs, menus, and anything else not already translated into English.

5. Lack of internet access – Well, not if you're a local with a handy cell phone, but places to hook up to the internet or check your email seemed to be spread out a lot further than in the U.S. According to the Wi-fi Hotspot Directory Japan has only six free Wi-fi hotspots in the country. (Editor's Note: There are many more Wi-Fi hotspots than that...just not according to the Wi-Fi Hotspot Directory.) Fortunately, you can rent a cell phone at the airport for about $5 a day if you need one.

6. There's too much to see! – Five days or a week is not enough time to see everything there is to see in Tokyo. Like the Internet, Tokyo is full of interlinked places, and the city is constantly changing. One would probably need to spend a whole year in Tokyo to see everything, not to mention the rest of Japan.

I found this link funny...lame gaijin wannabe complaining because things are not the same as at home.

Toilets? The toilets aren't all the squat type, so she must have found the worst toilet possible since most of them are fairly clean. But isn't it just special that the natives use holes in the floor to relieve themselves, not following the modern Western conventions of the "proper" toilet facilities?

Sore feet? My! How rude that they don't all wear sneakers. Forcing the poor, almighty gaijin-san to actually have to "walk" around from place to place, rather than driving or being chauffered. I guess standing for over 2 hours and having to walk around instead of driving is such a chore

Language? Wow? We're not in Kansas anymore....now isn't that something? How selfish the Japanese people are for not following the rules stated in the Japanese 1 class you took in high school.... how rude of them Japanese for not bowing down before the almighty gaijin--who is giving the native population the honor of leading them around the city by hand. Isn't that just like them for not living up to the gaijin expectations they found in them old movies that are severely outdated when they were shown?

Lack of internet access? Well, it must just be jealousy, because they are forced to use their cell phones for the internet, rather than the advanced, modern American way of using desktops or laptops to access things online. But it sounds just like them, to hide their access from their superior gaijin-sama, whom they should all bow down to when they see one of them foreigners looking to get online....

I dunno.....what is a gaijin wannabe to do these days when we're forced to walk, and go to different toilets than we are used to?

 

[Mike Cash]

I think you're over-reacting.

I certainly didn't see even the slightest bit of "gaijin wannabe" (whatever the hell that is) attitude to Miss Nakayama's post. Considering it's length and intended audience, it seemed a very reasonable little report.

 

[den4]

perhaps I am....
still, the focus is on the fairly trivial, when there are far worse things in Tokyo that one could complain about...

 

[TwistedMac]

ok, sure about the rest..

but how do you COMPLAIN that there's too much to see?

there's just no pleasing some people...

 

[Lina Inverse]

This complaint about toilets sounds a lot like Al Bundy!
"The toilet is a man's holiest place! How dare they defile it!?"

 

[King of Tokyo]

Forget if she is lame gaijin wannabe or not, I just don't even think the things she complained about are all that bad.. So I still have a good impression of Tokyo.. Heh.

 

[okaeri_man]

she should have taken that japanese 2 class...

 

[TwistedMac]

"Japanese 2, irregular verbs and how not to go around looking for things to complain about in Tokyo"

 

[Maciamo]

This guy (or girl ?) is really dumb.

1. toilets.
As Den said, they aren't always the squat type. Actually I don't know any Japanese who have squat toilets at home, it's reserved to public places. But even in these, if you don't go for the train station or street toilets, most departments stores, shopping centers, government buildings (including "bunka centers"), or office buildings's toilets have both squat and non-squat toilets. Western-style (洋風) is actually a misleading appellation, as countries like France also have lots of squat toilets. But anyway, even those in office buildings, etc. have the expensive heating seats, etc. So its' much better than any other countries.

2.There are plenty of places to sit in Tokyo ! Try a park (however small) or a bus stop.
In the train, I rarely have the problem of not being able to sit, except during the rush hours. But it's the same in all big cities in the world (London, Paris, New York...)

3. No comment. If the guy comes to Japan for games, then it means he is fanatic enough to know that all electronics (not just games, but also TV, DVD, mobile phones, etc. ) have different systems in North America, Europe and Japan. That's common knowledge, even for children (I learned that when I was 10). Then, why not get a chipped console. Any specialized shop can do it in 10min for a small fee (well, if it hasn't changed since the SuperNinentendo, since I haven't touched a console for 10 years).

4. The language: Not to be a downer, but the Japanese 1 class you took in your sophomore year in high school isn't going to do you much good when it comes to speaking to people on the street and having them understand you. And of course, it will probably be equally challenging to figure out what they're saying to you.

That must have been a kid who wrote the article. First, if he just took one year of Japanese or any other language at school, he is certainly not going to start deep conversations with native speakers. Second, Japanese isn't so difficult to understand when it comes to pronunciation. I'd say it's more difficult to understand some local English accents than Japanese.

 

[den4]

When I lived in Japan, the worst thing about Tokyo was having to hear gaijin wannabes whine. I speak from experience, since I used to whine when I was there, too. When a Japanese person once told me that "Hey, nobody forced you to come to Japan. Stop Whining!" That opened up a new perspective. Nobody forces you to work in another country, or live there (unless your entire family must go there for business or something)...but when a tourist goes to Japan and ******* about how things are so bad, I think it's more due to the blunt realization that they aren't in their home country anymore...and people having to change their comfort zones can be a challenge...not everybody is open minded or willing to try new things.
Amazing also how people forget things that should be common sense. You go to a different country, you should expect new things you are not used to....it's part of the concept of going to a place....
I dunno.....if I found a toilet that reeked badly, chances are that I'd look for another one (like in a department store)....just seems to me that the author of the article was just looking for something to ***** about, and she or he is such a geek that the person couldn't bother looking for a large department store for a toilet or a bench to sit down when tired.....
I wonder what the person would have done if forced to ride on one of them early morning rush hour sardine can trains?

 

[TwistedMac]

not to be a wet blanket on your rage or anything.. but what is a gaijin wannabe?

"hey, I wish I wasn't from Japan"
"you're not.."
"I know..."

 

[den4]

Get a ticket to Tokyo, go to Roppongi on any given evening, observe the multitudes of gaijin wannabes herded there like lemmings....
can't say Ugly American Tourists, because that isn't politically correct

towels are better than blankets....blankets that are wet get too heavy to snap at people.....or drag around....

 

[Mike Cash]

What exactly is a "gaijin wannabe"? And how exactly would one differentiate between a "gaijin wannabe" and yourself, for example?

Do you realize how utterly ridiculous it is when gaijins use the word "gaijin" as a term of derision?

To me, one of the worst things about Japan, as relates to non-Japanese anyway, is the universal and constant need to "one-up" each other and make the whole Japan experience some sort of contest. It often manifests itself in the sort of comments and attitude I'm seeing in this thread.

 

[PaulTB]

What exactly is a "gaijin wannabe"?

Somebody who wants to be a gaijin. For most of the world this is easily achieved by going to Japan. Those who were born in Japan have to make that extra effort.

To me, one of the worst things about Japan, as relates to non-Japanese anyway, is the universal and constant need to "one-up" each other and make the whole Japan experience some sort of contest.

You're just jealous because you've only gone to Japan three times.

 

[Mr. Just-A-Guy]

"6. There's too much to see! Five days or a week is not enough time to see everything there is to see in Tokyo. Much like the Internet, Tokyo is full of interlinked places and the city is constantly changing. One would probably need to spend a full year in Tokyo to see everything, not to mention the rest of Japan."

It doesn't look bad at all. Looks PERFECT !!!

Well, apart from the toilets (lol, it's not a problem), I see nothing wrong! The day I will go to Japan, will be perfect, if the bad things are like these!

 

[wnakayama]

Hello,

Though I'm probably wasting my breath here, I just wanted to say your responses are all very interesting. When writing for this site, I try to aim for our audience, who are mostly gamers and young people intersted in technology and not hardened Tokyoites like many of you here may perceive yourselves to be. Therefore I wanted to keep this simple, humorous, and in tune with what young gamers might be thinking/feeling upon visiting a country such as Japan for the first time. Please realize that this article was originally published as a sidebar article to another article that I wrote that spoke of what things a first-time traveler to Tokyo who is interested in games and related subjects might want to see, so this was intended as a bit of counterpoint to what was mentioned in that article.

As for myself, I am a Japanese-American who has been to Japan five times, though my longest stay was for a month in Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima-ken. I also took Japanese at UCLA for 3 years, so I did indeed take that Japanese 2 class that you speak of, but my assumption is that my intended audience has not. I don't personally visit Japan and bemoan having to take my shoes off to visit someone's house, bring omiyage, and the disappointment of never watching them open my gifts before my eyes because I understand these things, but the average American gamer in their teens probably doesn't.

That being said, I find it interesting that the article made it onto a board like this. Just please be considerate of the perspective taken in writing such an article, and realize that when reading something like this.

Thanks for your time,

Whitney Nakayama
Los Angeles, CA.

 

[den4]

@wnakayama:
That is cool to write articles that gear to the gamers of the world who may be interested in other lands and some of the strange things that may be found there. Since I was ignorant of the other things on the site you mentioned, I should apologize for my rather nasty and harsh comments... :sorry:

But, if you are going to write a travelogue of what gamers that travel to Japan are going to expect, then, since you do seem to know more about Japan than you let on in the Worst of Tokyo, wouldn't it do them better service to at least explain to them that there are regular Western styled toilets available, too? Writing things in a humorous tone is nice, but the impression I got when reading the article was, ok....another gamer tourist type going through culture shock and whining about the way things are in Tokyo.
How did I come across the article? I didn't see the original article you wrote on "Things to do in Tokyo when you're bored." I only followed the link provided by:

News On Japan

Latest daily news & videos on Japan, including Japanese business news, Japan travel, education, politics, society, sport & entertainment ãã¥ã¼ã¹

newsonjapan.com

and they had a link to the g4 site through their sept 29th links:

http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/morenews/Society_News/

Having seen only that link and reading only the Worst things about Tokyo:

http://newsonjapan.com/cgibin/news/link.cgi?ID=2075

I must say that just reading the worst things about Tokyo does come across as whining, but taken in context with the rest of the article, it makes better sense.

This brings me to say that the newsonjapan site has done you a disservice by making it look like you were just having a whinefest...of course, if I knew what I was doing, and followed the other links below to see the rest of the article, then perhaps I would have seen the whole picture....
So, no, I don't think you were wasting your time...and it's good to see that I was mistaken....yet again .....doh! :sorry:

mikecash: gaijin wannabe? go look for Dave Specter... that may fill you in on the negative aspects of the gaijin wannabe...

 

[Mike Cash]

Somebody who wants to be a gaijin. For most of the world this is easily achieved by going to Japan. Those who were born in Japan have to make that extra effort.

You're just jealous because you've only gone to Japan three times.

More importantly, I am bitter because I don't think I will ever get to go again.

mikecash: gaijin wannabe? go look for Dave Specter... that may fill you in on the negative aspects of the gaijin wannabe...

As Paul pointed out, I have been to Japan three times, so I know who Dave Specter is.

Being one myself, I also know what a gaijin is.

What I can't figure out, though, is the "wannabe" part. Wannabe a what? Wannabe a gaijin? That requires neither effort nor intent, so that can't be it. Wannabe a kewl in-the-know non-tourist gaijin? That's the only meaning I can guess for it that makes any sense at all...and even that is ludicrous.

Another thing I have never been able to figure out is the gaijin propensity for dumping on other gaijins for either not having been in Japan as long as one's self or for not knowing as much about the country, people, or language. Why everybody has to treat it like being in a footrace is beyond me.

And by what standards does one judge that someone is no longer a "wannabe" but has arrived in some sort of elite enlightened veteran status? By the tone of your comments in this thread, I presume you place the cutoff line somewhere below yourself and above Whitney. You do realize, of course, that there are those who, if your own personal Japan-related experience were known, would laughingly deride you as being exactly the same sort of gaijin wannabe you so delightedly labelled her....don't you?

And getting back on topic a bit, I still see nothing wrong with the article that inspired this discussion. And I like to delude myself that I have enough background and perspective to make a reasonable assessment of it.

 

[PaulTB]

What I can't figure out, though, is the "wannabe" part. Wannabe a what? Wannabe a gaijin? That requires neither effort nor intent, so that can't be it. Wannabe a kewl in-the-know non-tourist gaijin? That's the only meaning I can guess for it that makes any sense at all...and even that is ludicrous.

Ludicrous or not I suspect that's the meaning in question ... unless there's some point at which Japanese society slaps you on the back and declares you to be an honorary Japanese with true Yamato spirit.

Incidently here's a quote from my Bonjinsha reading exercise book ...
"スミスさんは日本についてよく勉強しているようで、近ごろは心まで日本人化してきたと笑っていた。"
That ever happen to you? Or are you just not 勉強 ing enough.

 

[Brooker]

I thought the worst things about Japan were the flourescent lights EVERYWHERE (gave me headaches) and the constant noise and little jingles playing everywhere you went. :nuts:

 

[Mike Cash]

Ludicrous or not I suspect that's the meaning in question ... unless there's some point at which Japanese society slaps you on the back and declares you to be an honorary Japanese with true Yamato spirit.

Incidently here's a quote from my Bonjinsha reading exercise book ...
"スミスさんは日本についてよく勉強しているようで、近ごろは心まで日本人化してきたと笑っていた。"
That ever happen to you? Or are you just not 勉強 ing enough.

Lots of people say things like もう日本人だ or ask me if I feel Japanese or consider myself Japanese. I always answer in the negative. I try to take it as a compliment or an expression of confidence in me. It's always an awkward situation for me. It's a welcome relief from the "日本語は上手!" stuff, which it largely replaced at some point, though.

For some reason, this thread reminded me of this usenet thread from 1999:
http://tinyurl.com/5l4eg

 

[Flashjeff]

Try riding the trains at rush hour! Packed in like sardines doesn't BEGIN to describe how incredibly crowded the trains get! And uniformed types on the platforms DO push you in! It's amazing people don't miss their stops because they can't push past the crowds fast enough to get off! Amazing!

 

[den4]

The normal gaijin (ok, gaikokujin) behave normally and try to respect other customs and cultures that are different than their own. The don't try to overemphasize that they are foreigners, or tourists, or behave in manners that give other "gaikokujin" a bad name...
my take on gaijin wannabes are the types that jump right in and try to show the Japanese this is how the gaijin really are, with self-styled authority, big egos, know-it-all attitudes and trash Japan just because it's different from what they are used to at home, or they are on a crusade to change Japan to suit their own agenda (be it religious or whatever). They are the type that promote the negative stereotype of how Japan views the foreigners, some become television "tarento" to perpetuate the negative stereotypes, while others are out in public, and the rest of the foreign "resident" population would avoid them whenever possible...usually are the types that want all of the attention for themselves...as if they are God's gift to mankind, and we should all bow down to their superiority....
They aren't the typical foreigner....they're gaijin wannabes.....
but I'm sure this applies to any wannabes going to other foreign lands....Japan hardly has a monopoly on the wannabes....
but what do I know? I'm sure the rest of you, including wnakayama, have your own views on this...and I have been mistaken before, as this thread shows.....