Ran into this little forum with experiences of foreigners. Always fun to read, a lot of it recognizable. “Never take your eyes off your baggage” girl kind of surprised me though. In the middle of the night I see chicks running around by themselves in way too big shoes with a handbag on the inside of her arm (as is apparently customary)  and we’re walking behind her until I noticed her wallet was totally exposed and I think “Bejeebus people, I don’t even do that in my own frontyard”. To be quite honest: I am more fearful of my own country than I am of Japan. I honestly would ALWAYS feel fearful if I would walk a city street alone at night. Reason why, that if you’re going alone as a woman any place, Japan is the still the best place you can be imho.

Then I also cruised by some place and a girl asked where to stay, some person pointed them in the direction of JNTO, but reminded them that smaller places nobody will speak English and generally “they didn’t like females by themselves because they could suicide or get raped”. Right… *twitches*.

I also think the poor guy on the end of page 2 didn’t get that the guys picking up girls there are actually hosts. We’ve seen a couple in 2007 – basically – you must have a board stuck on your forehead if you can’t recognize them. The chaps we saw were dressed really nicely, perfect hair, and could kill you with the stench of their perfume alone.

“Just look confused, someone will try to help you” is known I see. The accepting nature comes back as well. I’ll tell you, barking up a tree is the most normal thing to do here. Don’t do it, you get burried basically. What I notice about Dutch society is, they continue when there’s absolutely no point anymore. Continue whining, continue. *bark bark arf arf*. lol. Not like the Germans at all (who respect hierarchy a bit more, befehl isst befehl or “an order is an order”). Belgians generally speak up less than Dutch do. Bark, whine and take a crap on everything, that about ’splains the Dutch. Americans have more sense than that. lol. Dutch: stubborn, pigheaded, anti-authority, extremely direct and will have endless discussions about “what they think” far beyond boiling point. We’re kind of like French, without patriotism and passion I think. lol. Crossbreed between French and English. hahaha.

I still have to laugh when I think back about the time they aired that tv program “lost in tokyo” (the dutch version). They got the most culturally unrefined people out there, and they put them there. Classic mistake: invading a Japanese persons space because you think they’re not hearing you. I admit, it does look like that if you don’t know. Once you’re there you’d think you kind of understand that if you’re _that tall_ and you’re _not home_ you don’t go sneaking up on someone and scare the bejeesus out of them. Especially when the words coming out is English, that’s frightening enough (like other travellers said). I would actually go that far to “start announcing myself” from a little distance you know. XDD. I’d push my friend forward who is half a head shorter than I am to talk to. She looks cuddlier and less “there” than I do. I’m sure I’m going to miss her lol.

It’s also largely these cultural differences Japanophiles get a kick out of, if I must say. As for Japanese first time out of the country (visitors to the Netherlands, Amsterdam for instance:D). Leave your “extra” manners at home, just continue to have manners. Face someone (really face them), look em deadstraight in the eye and say ‘gimme a beer’ with a smile on your face. How should I put it? Hmm. To be you with that extra bit of confidence is really the way to understand people from the West. Blending in and keeping low profile is not a thing to do here if you want to be heard, at all.