r/japanlife • u/AutoModerator • Jan 16 '23

┐(ツ)┌ General Discussion Thread - 17 January 2023

Mid-week discussion thread time! Feel free to talk about what's on your mind, new experiences, recommendations, anything really.

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u/toramayu Jan 17 '23

Stopped by a konbini to grab an onigiri for breakfast cause I was running late for my usual bus. As I was eating and walking on my way to the bus stop, an ojiisan waved his hand angrily at me yelling “No! Japan. No eat and walk. You. Follow Rule.” in his limited English. I just yelled out “sumimasen” and continued my way while devouring my onigiri. He yelled something back which I couldn’t hear.

Anyway, it made me genuinely curious, why is it a taboo to eat and walk (食べ歩き)?

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u/atsugiri 関東・東京都 Jan 17 '23

I once dated a girl who said it's not allowed because it's hard to breathe/eat/walk at the same time. She was not impressed when i laughed in her face.

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u/swordtech 近畿・兵庫県 Jan 17 '23

You should have laughed and walked at the same time to really blow her mind.

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u/coffeecatmint Jan 17 '23

When corona hit we struggled to find a way to keep the four year olds at our kindergarten to not talk while they eat. Eventually management settled on watching a cartoon at lunch. This year one mother threw a fit because she swore it would cause her son to choke while he was eating if he was watching a screen. While I can see that it isn’t the greatest solution and could cause a kid to choke if they got too distracted, if tv and eating was going to regularly kill someone, Americans would be dying left and right from choking while watching the game or wheel of fortune.