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Indeed, but in my experience many of these places have an unspoken sub-rule that the tattoo rule is not enforced for foreigners.
by returningfory2 1y ago
Indeed, but in my experience many of these places have an unspoken sub-rule that the tattoo rule is not enforced for foreigners.
- jayd16 1y agoSeems like if you smile and act friendly and dumb and American you get a lot of slack along with the Japanese shopkeeper version of an eye roll and a headpat.
- androidoka 1y agoThis is a part of the issue, knowing the rules but nonetheless not following them. And then — culturally unaware — thinking it's ok because nobody says anything.
- BobaFloutist 1y agoI mean "don't have a tattoo" isn't really a rule you can follow based on a sign very easily.
- ponector 1y agoBut somehow you can follow rules with signs like "women(men) only". I bet it's easier to follow no tattoo rule.
- BobaFloutist 1y agoI mean you can't quickly remove a tattoo or change your gender based on a sign.
- eska 1y agoYou can still get a private onsen room.
- deaddodo 1y agoThis rule applies to most confucian/communal East Asian societies with individuals from the West. People aren't idiots, they realize cultures differ, so they're willing to give some slack; especially, with a culture they're somewhat familiar with through media (the US, for instance). With Japan and Korea (especially the latter) towards Americans, there's also a soft-unspoken rule (that sort of goes both ways) due to the relationship those countries have fostered towards each other. A Brit/German/Italian/etc who spends more than a short visit in Korea/speaks Korean will probably start being taken to the side for flouting cultural norms like age-deference, polite speech, etc to be informed of their cultural mores (usually phrased with an indication that they also come from a structured society, they should understand that this is the way it is); while this will rarely happen to the same group of Americans. In some cases it's the "dumb/naive American" effect, but it also has to do with the larger relationship between the two countries.
- returningfory2 1y agoI struggle to believe this. How can the average Korean tell the difference between a white American and a white Brit?
- Barrin92 1y agolanguage/accent obviously, dress, manners and also English people in particular look distinct physically given that most white Americans are more likely to have Northwestern European ancestry. The stereotypical "American white guy" would have an easier time on Swedish or German TV than joining the cast of Peaky Blinders
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- deaddodo 1y agoIf you’re integrating/being an “expat” in a society, you’re going to develop familiarity. The “average” Korean won’t know anything about you and continue to just treat you like a tourist (unless you speak fluent Korean), but your social and professional circle won’t. You can’t go very far into relationships in a foreign country without people knowing your background. Less importantly but somewhat obvious: many Koreans are fairly competent in English and familiar with common American accents. They’ll know pretty quickly if you aren’t speaking with one.
- vorpalhex 1y agoWe were told by our onsen host that as long as we made a genuine attempt at covering our tattoos, the onsen didn't mind (given that we were obviously foreigners). Making an attempt at covering was still required (and we used high end stage makeup that was waterproof).
- Findecanor 1y agoOtherwise, I think skin-coloured patches for this purpose are available here and there.
- Klonoar 1y agoReplace foreigners with "white" and you're more or less spot on. I know far too many non-Japanese-asian people who get held to the standards applied to Japanese people - not even over tattoos, but things like language, cultural understandings, etc. The aspect of this with white people is where the infamous "gaijin smash" came from.
- jalapenos 1y agoMaybe they view them more like a different species then - as if being strict towards them would be like demanding a buffalo be potty-trained?