Do you break “rules” here?

27 comments

1. I jaywalk on the smaller crosswalks when everyone else does. They started it, after all.

2. All the time. I break the same rules Japanese people break though.

3. I jaywalk across a regular 4 meter wide street near my closest train station countless times. The zebra crossing is like 15 meters away and very inconvenient.

   Also I stand still on the right side of the escalator sometimes- technically that doesn’t break any rules, but we’ll see about that on the replies. Lol

4. I jaywalk in quiet areas and early in the morning all the time (like everyday) when there is almost no traffic. I’ll never do it if children are around though.

5. I love eating. I love walking. Por que no los dos?

   (I don’t tabearuki at work though.)

6. Only time I have been detained by the police was for jaywalking. Still do it when safe, though

7. This isn’t a ‘foreigner’ thing at all. At peak travel times, I have to elbow my way up the ‘up’ staircase past the crowds of people rushing down it. Do whatever you feel you need to in the moment, everyone else is.

8. Only with a VPN. Also, I cannot stand and wait on an escalator, despite many audible warnings and visuals telling me to.

9. Sometimes I don’t say *itadakimasu* before eating.

10. me “sumimasen”-ing my way up to avoid the crowded staircase.

11. Only tax fraud

12. Whenever i’ve jaywalked (either by mistake or on purpose), The Japanese people around me never seemed to care as much, infact, some would walk after me.

13. I fucking love walking and eating. It’s great.

    Also, if I forget my keys, I’ll keep my shoes on to grab them from the living room.

14. yeah. all the time.

15. I do all the stuff you mentioned but only because I see other Japanese people doing it first.

    I also eat and drink while walking.

16. Twenty years in and sometimes I don’t even know what I am doing is breaking some rule until somebody tells me.

    What I have learned is that if you are the only person doing it, or the first person doing it, Japanese people will tell you it’s against the rules, even if no such rules exist, no matter what it is you are actually doing.

17. You daring gaijin punk. Jaywalking ? JAY FUCKING WALKING ? Don’t tell me your name is Jay.

18. I used to follow strict adherence. Then I started riding a bike around town and hardly anyone follows the written rules let alone the unwritten ones. I’ve decided I’m not gonna let the worry of stepping out of line ruin my enjoyment of life here when it would be impossible for me to blend in here even if I perfectly upheld all standards.

    All that said, don’t purposefully be a nuisance like that guy with the rolling speaker on the train. Otherwise if people are looking for a reason to be mad at you for being a foreigner, they’ll find something so don’t worry too much about it.

19. I walk on escalators.

20. Modesty rules, ALL the time. I love wearing V-necks. I never do at work, but when I go out in the evenings or on weekends, I bring out the clothes that would scandalise my collagues (and not turn a single head back home lol)

    Edit: I have a very large chest that already gets attention here. V-necks just make it more so.

21. I always feel kinda self-conscious hopping into a conbini for the sole purpose of throwing away a bottle or something. But then I remind myself “That’s Japan’s fault for not making trash cans more easily-accessible” just to help ease my mind.

22. Yeah, for sure. But I don’t do anything I haven’t seen Japanese people do. I’ll also intentionally avoid speaking Japanese in certain situations to get what I want done, like banking stuff.

23. I guess some garbage sorting, throwing some plastic in burnables and vise-versa. (I mean, they do burn both, just at different temperatures I heard)

    Dismantling 粗大ごみ to fit regular trash and not order their pick up.

    Both are kinda lazyness.

24. I once got pulled over by cops because I was riding a bicycle while holding an umbrella in the rain. They asked me if I know why I got pulled, and I was super confused and said no I didn’t, then they pointed it out. It surprised me because Japanese people do that all the time so I thought it was okay. I said that to them, and they just sighed deeply and told me it’s actually not allowed.

    Anyway now I use a portable raincoat, and it’s much better.

25. Remember that thread where a girl had jaywalked and the nearby old man said in perfect English “You are contributing to the downfall of society”.

    Sometimes, when I stop at stop signs on my bicycle, the traffic that has the true right of way stops and waits for me to cross. I always think “Why are you introducing error into the system?”.

26. I’ve given it some thought and I have to admit I’m a goody two shoes about most things.

    But I will absolutely break social contracts.

    We had a mostly quiet enkai for two hours and*now* everyone wants to stand around for thirty minutes talking in the parking lot? Yeah no I’m gone farewell the rest of you.

    Yeah ok I’ll pull a lottery tab out of the box and well fuck me I won. I’ll take the box of plastic wrap. Anketto? Haha nope goodbye thanks for the wrap.

    No I don’t want whatever you’re selling. No I don’t want to talk about it. No I don’t want your card. Ok if you insist *ripping noises*. You done?

    I’ll also physically move other people’s carts out of the way at Costco.

27. Geniuinely curious – when did walking and eating become frowned upon? I thought tabearuki was a whole culture here?? I feel like i’ve only ever seen “don’t do it” from ‘THINGS NOT TO DO IN JAPAN’ posts but I do it all the time and see it happen all the time, never seen anyone get looks. Was there a certain turning point when it actually became a bad thing? Why tf they still sellin taiyaki in open pieces of paper then?

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