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Life In Japan - The Low Points

Raddict said:
Just refused service from a shop I was previously a semi regular at. Since there was trouble with a foreigner all foreigners are now banned... usual story, but the lack of logic and willingness to lose money due to illogical fear is definitely a low, and it's not just limited to the fuzoku industry. Banking, housing, employment, and others.
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Sorry to hear that... but it just takes one idiot and that's the end of that.
 
Raddict said:
Just refused service from a shop I was previously a semi regular at. Since there was trouble with a foreigner all foreigners are now banned... usual story, but the lack of logic and willingness to lose money due to illogical fear is definitely a low, and it's not just limited to the fuzoku industry. Banking, housing, employment, and others.
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While I agree that many places will stop providing services to all foreigners because one badly behaved one, it almost seems like many places run by really racist owners use these events as an excuse to ban all foreigners. Lately in Japan, the majority of Japanese people don't have such a racist/nationalistic view and that puts pressure on the Japanese people who are not open to foreigners to be friendlier and more politically correct toward them. When an event like this happens, they will use it as kind of an ace up their sleeve and the reason why they don't have to be politically correct and welcome foreigners anymore. This just seems like racist, xenophobic behavior. Why would all foreigners be bad people? This is a racist concept.
 
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1) packed train as always. During winter is the worse especially on the Yamanote line,everyone puts on their thick winter clothing,eating up lots of space,and you have squeeze in like a tuna fish in a tin can.
2) no foreigners allow to enter those best of the best p4p shop.
3) always mentioning "oishii" when I just tasted the food as normal,nothing special
4) the "stranger glare"
5) harder to get laid when compare to back home as I need to double the effort
6) language barrier
 
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High Point
•Transport, very good service
•Safe, you can see girl walking at 3:00 am in dark alleys.
•Some delicious food
•High school student with mini-skirt even in winter, hahahaha

Low Point
•Packaging, OMG plastic inside plastic.
•Make line for an hour to enter to a restaurant on weekends
•The おいしい word even is regular food.
•Trend, did any notice the new balance sneaker trend, it make me crazy see those everywhere.
•How people can pay 1000 yen for eat a bowl of 80% rice and 20% meat ( talking about food court and restaurant; excluding Sukiya )
•Men purse and bags; when that trend start?
 
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Man purse must have been in 2009.

The skirt thing was a lot worse 30 years ago. But don't feel bad about that. Feel bad for the boys in high shorts in the dead of winter with a temp below zero. Freeze balls for sure!
 
Akanksha said:
High Point
•Transport, very good service
•Safe, you can see girl walking at 3:00 am in dark alleys.
•Some delicious food
•High school student with mini-skirt even in winter, hahahaha

Low Point
•Packaging, OMG plastic inside plastic.
•Make line for an hour to enter to a restaurant on weekends
•The おいしい word even is regular food.
•Trend, did any notice the new balance sneaker trend, it make me crazy see those everywhere.
•How people can pay 1000 yen for eat a bowl of 80% rice and 20% meat ( talking about food court and restaurant; excluding Sukiya )
•Men purse and bags; when that trend start?
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Hey there is nothing wrong with New Balance >.>. And god the lines. Japanese love to queue. British have a reputation for it but the Japanese take it to a whole new level. If it's some new foreign place or a well reviewed restaurant it's like people just want to be seen there over it being good. My friend told me when some doughnut place like Krispy Kreme or something opened in Shibuya the queue was like 3 hours just to get doughnuts that aren't as good as the shop they had there already.

Safety is a good plus even walking to and from live houses and clubs in Shinjuku at night I never feel under threat even from touts that while are a nuisance are not dangerous neither are the tons of drunk males carrying some paralytic girl to the love hotel for the night. It's the only country in the world I've seen small children taking the train to school alone. The uniforms range from sort of cool to hilarious. Some of the girl ones are cute. The funniest I recall seeing was somewhere around the Den En Toshi line was these boys wearing shirts and berets such is Japan's weird obsession with France.

Oh and Japanese packaging I just wonder where they get all that bubble wrap and tissue paper but I guess they are big on recycling so it probably works out which actually as a low outside of the central Tokyo area and a conbini on every street it's a pain in the arse finding places to throw away trash sometimes.
 
High points in order:
  • Mini skirt, Office ladies, 95% of girls are cute
  • Convenience store always open
  • Kick ass transport
  • Food
  • Safety
Low points in order:
  • No Trash bins
  • Kawaii and Oishii overload
  • Racism (mostly by seniors)
  • When I ask to repeat a sentence just because I did not hear well, they feel the need to try saying it in english, which I understand even less because of their terrible accent
  • Professionally not effective to change, they follow protocols too much, no critical mind
 
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My pet hates, trucks with speakers driving slowly around the neighborhood at 8am on a Sunday.

TV! Its the same, false, overacting crap everyday, my tv is never on anymore.

The racism in the industry I work in is unreal. A definite us and them mentality.
Japanese and foreigners are kept apart. At meal times we get Bento they get a cooked meal.

The inability to think outside the box or for yourself. My colleagues would eat a dog crap off the floor if a superior told them to, no questions why, rules are rules.

What I would do to smoke the odd joint.

I live a pretty isolated life here, the fact I can Surf, Snowboard, Camp and Mountain bike keeps me sane.
 
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points cards......what a total rip-off
 
just4fun said:
points cards......what a total rip-off
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What? No one forces you to use one and at least the 3 I use the most give direct value for use in buying something.

My top 3:
T Point
Yodobashi Camera
VISA Points
(I have a few others but the 3 above net me the most use when getting free coffee, gift cards and using points to pay for something bigger.)

I have 40,000 points on my Yodobashi card and that is basically cash when it comes to buying something that I want. I used 65,000 points a few months ago ago which paid for a new GoPro Hero4 camera pack. I only had to pay for the other accessories that I got at the same time.

T Point I use while buying gas which some days nets 3x points which I later use later to buy coffee of food from eithe Dotuor or Excelsior. Caffe. Also, Yahoo shopping, where I order drinks from, also nets a good amount of points that I can use to buy stuff later as well.
 
Right......you HAVE to go BACK to that establishment and BUY from them.......
I've tried telling them to keep their points and give me a "discount" but nooo......they want your money NOW and just maybe you'll go back there and buy something else where it kills the competition.
You actually but stuff at Yodobashi? I only go there to see what things look like/play with it (like today for example) and then look for it cheaper online. I want to save some money now......not wait till I may need something later.
 
just4fun said:
Right......you HAVE to go BACK to that establishment and BUY from them.......
I've tried telling them to keep their points and give me a "discount" but nooo......they want your money NOW and just maybe you'll go back there and buy something else where it kills the competition.
You actually but stuff at Yodobashi? I only go there to see what things look like/play with it (like today for example) and then look for it cheaper online. I want to save some money now......not wait till I may need something later.
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No, I don't buy everything from them and as far as prices go... The difference in the price for the stuff I buy is marginal. Anyway, it's just a different view and probably a different view on value of actually saving some cash vs. getting the product I need/want on the same day.

The points are given at the most value when using cash and the points are basically free and can be used on anything in the store.

I'd actually prefer to buy more stuff from a smaller dealer, but they don't always carry the same model or selection....
 
TAG Manager said:
No, I don't buy everything from them and as far as prices go... The difference in the price for the stuff I buy is marginal. Anyway, it's just a different view and probably a different view on value of actually saving some cash vs. getting the product I need/want on the same day.

The points are given at the most value when using cash and the points are basically free and can be used on anything in the store.

I'd actually prefer to buy more stuff from a smaller dealer, but they don't always carry the same model or selection....
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I've found differences moneywise marginal and exceptional......the set up here is to have you come back......which is good business but I feel it's a scam.......BIC camera will not beat competitors price......sales people just walk away and hide on you. (I've personally experienced this)
I agree that if you want it right now....... at Yodobashi you can have it that day (but you'll pay extra for it) but you do get your points. It's still a low point to me and it just gets my craw.....
 
just4fun said:
I've found differences moneywise marginal and exceptional......the set up here is to have you come back......which is good business but I feel it's a scam.......BIC camera will not beat competitors price......sales people just walk away and hide on you. (I've personally experienced this)
I agree that if you want it right now....... at Yodobashi you can have it that day (but you'll pay extra for it) but you do get your points. It's still a low point to me and it just gets my craw.....
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I don't usually need staff assistance, unless it's to pull a product from a store room... but Bic Camera and Yamda Denki get the lowest scores from me and I never buy from them unless I'm absolutely forced to (which is never).

Not gonna go digging up stuff to see what the differences were, but the biggest savings I got from ordering online vs. buying in the store was 9,000 yen. (that I can remember) the rest were marginal.
 
split said:
FYI: Yamada Denki will price match the lowest price you find on http://kakaku.com/. Saved tens of thousands of Yen on home appliances that way. And then returned later using the accrued points.
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Thanks for the tip. I'm planning to replace my old LCD TV with a new setup... will keep this in mind while spec'ing stuff out.
 
Reachin said:
My pet hates, trucks with speakers driving slowly around the neighborhood at 8am on a Sunday.

TV! Its the same, false, overacting crap everyday, my tv is never on anymore.

The racism in the industry I work in is unreal. A definite us and them mentality.
Japanese and foreigners are kept apart. At meal times we get Bento they get a cooked meal.

The inability to think outside the box or for yourself. My colleagues would eat a dog crap off the floor if a superior told them to, no questions why, rules are rules.

What I would do to smoke the odd joint.

I live a pretty isolated life here, the fact I can Surf, Snowboard, Camp and Mountain bike keeps me sane.
Click to expand...

Are you working at a Ski resort by chance? If not, I have heard of foreigners doing this kind of work. It sounds like you are in the mountainous countryside or coastal area?
 
Reachin said:
Foreign talent.
The bigger the job i.e. a commercial or Boy band music video, the worse us Gaijin get treated.
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@Karen works in media and I've heard such stories. (she's not talent, just licensing and legal stuff...)
I saw some stuff on YouTube awhile back of some non-Japanese guy trumping up about being in a Japanese TV commercial or being on TV just to act like a gaijin... but the reality is, well, bleak as you have so described. ;)
 
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