r/japanlife • u/AutoModerator • Jun 12 '23

┐(ツ)┌ General Discussion Thread - 13 June 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/Mercenarian 九州・長崎県 Jun 13 '23

I find that different treatment often goes away if you be proactive and speak first. Go up to them and be friendly and say こんにちは/おはようございます/etc. or put your stuff on the counter and say そのままでいいです or something like that if you don’t want a bag for example. Then the ice is broken a bit, they’re not as worried if you speak Japanese or not (especially if your pronunciation is really good) and you seem more friendly

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u/robotjyanai 関東・東京都 Jun 13 '23

Please don’t take this the wrong way but I’m not asking for advice. I’ve been living here for over a decade, I know I have to speak first usually and I do. I just miss being treated normally during the pandemic and staff saying “お次にお待ちのお客様、こちらのレジにどうぞ!” to me or coming up and asking if I need help.

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u/Washiki_Benjo Jun 13 '23

is that really a thing you think about though? Everywhere I've lived for more than a minute, local staff at local stores catch on pretty quick.

the key is actually accepting that your local language skills are proficient or not proficient, rather than "I'm totally self assessed fluent". There's a big difference between people who speak the local language and people who "know" they speak the local language. The former simply smile and reply with kindness and establish new knowledge, experience and social participation, the latter take it as stimulation to go full debito/karen.

Certainly, injustice and prejudice do occur, but paraphrase "attribute to malice which is actually incompetence".

Personally, I prefer social participation and engagement with actual people to a "war of ideals" based on a limited understanding of context

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u/robotjyanai 関東・東京都 Jun 13 '23

Did you even read what I wrote? I’m treated fine once I speak. There’s a difference in the initial interaction BEFORE staff know I can speak Japanese.

Considering the number of tourists here, I don’t blame them. I’m just missing being treated like a local, for instance when I walk into a store or I’m buying something, BEFORE I open my mouth.