“A lot of people are under the impression that Japanese girls are shy and submissive. Likewise, I’ve heard a ton of people say Japanese guys are nerdy and too thin to be cool.

Allow me to destroy your preconceptions:

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What you’ve just watched is the famous Keio Dance team, “”JADE”" performing at Mita Sai 2007. “”Sai”" is essentially a word for festival, and “”Mita”" is simply the name of my campus. Today was the second day I went to the festival, which was a 4 day event in total. It’s the most famous school festival in Japan, with more than 2.5 million people coming from start to finish. But that’s not what this blog entry is about ; )

I’d like to use the video above to illustrate a point: Japanese people are extremely capable of being talented and passionate. Although I am a huge supporter of people interested in Japan, I believe there are some serious misconceptions that I ought to clear up, otherwise you may be disrespecting yourself or even me.

First, Japan is not a haven for people that ‘don’t fit in’ in other places. You know what I mean by this: there is a difference between someone who likes anime and someone who is obsessed with anime to the point of neglecting hygiene. If you happen to be one of these people, do not think that coming to Japan will solve your problems. Yes, there are ‘otaku’ (translation: nerds) in Japan. And yes, they are viewed the same as nerds are viewed in the states. Whether you chose to live that way or not isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, but the color of your skin will not change people’s perceptions of your personality; only your actions can do that.

This concept applies to japanese girls especially. This can bug me quite a bit at times. I see foreigners disrespecting women on a regular basis in Japan. If you’re one of the guys that only dates Asian girls, that’s fine. Everyone has their own physical tastes in the opposite sex. However, do not think that because you’re white or black girls will bow down to you when you come to Japan. Japanese girls are:

-strong
-intelligent
-capable
-motivated

Japanese girls are not:

-looking for any random foreigner they can find
-the submissive geisha that you’ve seen in movies
-eager to jump into a relationship with someone they cannot communicate with

Japanese girls will not:

-try to make eye contact with you, just because you’re foreign -try to speak with you, just because you’re foreign -try to befriend you, just because you’re foreign

With that in mind, Japanese girls are probably extremely similar to the girls already in your country! That being said, please reconsider the reasons for your Japanophilia. In doing so, you save me the trouble of being tagged as a ‘typical westerner.’ You saw the video, these ladies aren’t innocent school girls. Just like any place in the world, women here are looking for someone they can rely on and respect. Japanese men are extremely capable of this. In fact, I would wager that in terms of work ethic, the Japanese are at the top of the world. I would argue that it is MORE difficult to meet girls interested in you in Japan than where you’re from; chances are they’re working much harder than you to begin with! One of the reasons I’m so attracted to my girlfriend is her incredible motivation; I am not keen on subservient behavior. Finally, think about this: you’ll have to compete with Japanese men that are working hard, 10+ hours a day. Good luck!

I know a lot of people, guys and girls under the impression you can come to Japan, instantly meet a ton of beautiful women/men, and become a celebrity, just for being foreign. This couldn’t be any further from reality. It is far easier to date and live comfortably in America, or wherever you’re from, than it is in Japan. In fact, most of the people I’m living with do NOT want to live in Japan when they are older because they’ve come to realize that their original image of Japan is much different than the reality. I personally like the high level of drive here and is one of the reasons I plan on staying. Of course there are exceptions in every culture, but don’t make the mistake of underestimating the Japanese.

In summary! In Japan, people love to work hard. If you want to fit in, you’ll need to work hard too. Train hard!”