外国人在日本做的哪一件事会惹恼日本人？

Remington Latham
N2 holder, frequent traveller to Japan

雷明顿・莱瑟姆
日语能力考N2证书持有者，常赴日本旅行

Originally Answered: What is one thing gaijin do in Japan that annoys Japanese people?

原问题：外国人在日本做的哪件事最让日本人反感？

I guess I could try answering this one. I don't live in Japan full time yet, but I've split apartments with less than stellar foreigners before.

我想我可以试着回答这个问题。我目前还没有在日本长期定居，但曾经和一些素质欠佳的外国人合租过公寓。

I draw attention to myself pretty easily (I'm extremely white, 2 meters tall, have long hair and a decent beard), so I've learned to speak quietly even in crowded public areas like trains. Most gaijin don't understand (or realize in some cases) how loud they really are (I've hurriedly hushed a few friends before, and they admitted they thought they were fairly quiet), and when trains get crowded, a lot of gaijin get loud so they know their groups can hear them. This quickly irritates the rest of the passengers, and the few gaijin who are quiet on the trains are assumed to be loud just by being foreigners.

我很容易引起别人的注意（我是典型的白人，身高两米，留着长发和浓密的胡须），所以我学会了即使在火车这样拥挤的公共场所，也尽量小声说话。大多数外国人都不明白（甚至有些根本没意识到）自己的声音到底有多响（我之前就赶紧制止过几个朋友，他们也承认自己原本觉得说话声音已经挺小了）。而且当火车上挤满人时，很多外国人为了让同行的人听到自己说话，会刻意提高音量。这很快就会惹恼其他乘客，就连少数在火车上保持安静的外国人，也会因为自己的外籍身份，被默认是大声喧哗的那类人。

A lot of gaijin also don't have good etiquette. I get it. Japan is extremely different from most foreign cultures. You have to take your shoes off in the house, eat almost everything with chopsticks, and along with all the hard to master grammar rules regarding politeness, there's all sorts of rules for public etiquette. But you're in a different country with a different culture. You basically signed documents saying that because you're not home, you'll follow the rules because you're a guest.

还有很多外国人缺乏良好的礼仪。我能理解这一点，日本的文化和大多数外国文化差异极大：进屋要脱鞋，几乎所有食物都要用筷子吃；除了那些难以掌握的敬语语法规则，公共场合的礼仪规范也数不胜数。但你身处的是一个文化迥异的异国他乡，你入境时签署的文件，本质上就意味着你作为访客，身处异乡就要遵守当地的规则。

I've seen some really blatant stuff done by foreigners. People will skip in line, then pretend like they get away with it in their home country. Even worse, most Japanese won't say anything because it draws attention to them. I always take a picture of my documents because I use my Japanese name on any form while in Japan. It makes me look like I live in Japan if I can show foreigners my customs papers, so that when I catch them acting like they own the world, I can walk up and tell them off in English, even though I have customs forms with nothing but Japanese. I'm aware it's probably against the law, but it's better than letting the arrogance and ignorance of some gaijin reflect poorly on how part time and full time residents are viewed. I've also seen the occasional gaijin in the onsen, and while some of them are part of host families and exchange programs, or otherwise know onsen etiquette, there are some people who just strip down, jump in the water, and start swimming. For anyone who doesn't know, you have to shower (a good five to ten minutes for me, but again, I'm tall and have long hair) before going into the bathing area, at which point you sit and relax. You can't let your hair or towel touch the water, and you aren't allowed to swim. Most people don't even talk, and if they do, it's in whispers at best. If your onsen has a sauna, you do that just before you leave, and again, you just sit and whisper. It's not hard to shut up and relax for 30 minutes, but I've known a couple people that I scolded afterward.

我见过外国人做过一些极其过分的事：有人插队，还装作在自己国家也能这样肆无忌惮的样子。更糟糕的是，大多数日本人都不会出声制止，因为他们不想引来别人的注意。我总会把自己的证件拍下来，因为在日本填写任何表格时，我都会用自己的日本名字。如果向那些外国人出示这些证件，会让我看起来像是在日本定居的人。这样一来，当我看到他们一副唯我独尊的样子时，就可以走上前用英语训斥他们——哪怕我的证件上全是日文。我知道这可能涉嫌违法，但总好过让一些外国人的傲慢与无知，连累长期或短期在日本居住的外籍群体被贴上不好的标签。我也偶尔在温泉里看到过外国人，虽然其中一些人是寄宿家庭的成员、交换生，或是本来就了解温泉礼仪，但也有一些人直接脱光衣服，跳进水里就开始游泳。顺便给不懂的人科普一下：进入温泉区之前必须先洗澡（我通常要洗上五到十分钟，当然，这也和我个子高、头发长有关），进入温泉后只能坐着放松。头发和毛巾都不能碰到水，也不允许游泳。大多数人在温泉里甚至不会说话，就算要说，声音也轻得像耳语。如果温泉里有桑拿房，要在离开前再去，而且同样只能坐着，小声交流。安安静静地放松三十分钟其实一点都不难，可我还是遇到过几个这样做的人，事后我也训斥了他们。

Another big thing I've noticed is a lot of foreigners don't understand that people don't want to see them making out in public. I get it. I love my fiancee, and I kiss her quite frequently at home. But as soon as I leave my house, even in my home country, it's hand holding and the occasional pat on the head or quick back rub. No kissing, no hugging, and very rarely do I speak my affection. Japanese people don't really want to see lovers being affectionate in public. It's embarrassing to others, because affection is generally meant for private locations like your own home. The Japanese couples who make out in public are doing on purpose, and are usually young teens or adults trying to "rebel against society" or whatever the current term is.

我还注意到一个很重要的问题：很多外国人都不明白，日本人并不想看到他们在公共场合亲热。我能理解热恋的心情，我很爱我的未婚妻，在家也经常亲吻她。但只要走出家门，哪怕是在我自己的国家，我也只会和她牵手，偶尔拍拍她的头，或是快速揉一揉她的背。不会接吻，不会拥抱，也很少会把爱意说出口。日本人其实很反感看到情侣在公共场合流露爱意，这会让其他人感到尴尬，因为表达爱意的行为，本就该发生在自己家这样的私人场所。那些在公共场合亲热的日本情侣，其实是刻意为之，而且大多是十几岁的年轻人，或是一些试图“反抗社会”的成年人——不管现在人们怎么称呼这种行为。

And then there's eating... I don't like mushrooms and I can't handle eating octopus unless it's in takoyaki. I also can't stand mayonaisse and most types of shellfish. Simple answer. I just don't order things with those ingredients. If I accidentally order a dish with mushrooms, I pretend they aren't there and just eat them anyways. It's extremely rude to a cook to leave any sort of food on your plate. Especially rice. It's basically a cardinal sin to leave more than a few grains of rice on any of your dishes. It's almost as bad as people who unknowingly stab their food with chopsticks (something done specifically for the dead), play with their food (you're not a child), pass food between chopsticks (I believe that's a bunch of bad luck, and might also be for the dead), or put soy sauce on plain rice (I get that rice is very bland in flavor, but that's the equivalent of walking up to the rice farmer and just punching them in the face for no reason). Food etiquette has to be the worst for gaijin to understand. I can handle you not giving thanks with itadakimasu and gochisousama, as those are fairly hard words for gaijin to handle if they don't already know Japanese, but you can at least say thank you if you're sitting on the other side of the table from the cooks like in most ramen shops.

然后是用餐礼仪……我不喜欢吃蘑菇，也受不了吃章鱼，除非是做成章鱼小丸子的形式。我也吃不惯蛋黄酱，还有大多数种类的贝类。我的解决办法很简单：干脆不点含有这些食材的菜。如果不小心点到了有蘑菇的菜，我会装作没看见，还是会把蘑菇吃下去。在餐盘里剩下任何食物，对厨师来说都是极其不礼貌的行为，尤其是米饭。在任何碗碟里剩下超过几粒米饭，基本上都是大忌。这种行为的严重性，几乎和以下这些行为不相上下：有人无意间用筷子插着食物吃（这种做法专门用于祭祀逝者）、把玩食物（你又不是小孩子）、用筷子互相传递食物（我相信这会带来霉运，而且这一做法似乎也和祭祀逝者有关），或是在白米饭上直接浇酱油（我知道白米饭味道很淡，但这么做，无异于走到稻农面前，平白无故地给他们一拳）。用餐礼仪大概是外国人最难理解的部分了。如果你不会用“いただきます”（我开动了）和“ごちそうさま”（谢谢款待）来表达感谢，我还能理解，毕竟如果本身不懂日语，这两个词确实很难掌握。但如果是在大多数拉面店那样的地方，你坐在厨师对面的位置，至少可以说一句“谢谢”吧。

In short, just... do all of us a favor and read up on culture points before coming to Japan. It helps us long term gaijin get our reputation back and actually highlights the idiots who are just assholes being assholes, and it helps the natives not have to put up with you being ignorant. After all, if it was a Japanese person being rude in your country, it'd probably bother you just as much. Try to understand how Japan feels in the same position, and maybe the real assholes will learn too.

总而言之，拜托大家……来日本之前，花点时间了解一下当地的文化习俗吧。这能帮我们这些长期在日本的外国人挽回声誉，也能让那些纯粹无理取闹的蠢货暴露无遗；同时也能让日本人不用忍受你们的无知。毕竟，如果一个日本人在你的国家举止粗鲁，你大概率也会感到不爽。试着换位思考一下日本人的感受，或许那些真正的混蛋也能从中学会尊重。

Oliver Bayley
Lives in Japan

奥利弗·贝利
定居日本

Originally Answered: What is one thing gaijin do in Japan that annoys Japanese people?

原问题：外国人在日本做的哪件事最惹日本人反感？

As a long term resident of Japan, almost the only time I have seen a Japanese and a “gaijin” almost come to blows was on the train in Tokyo…
The reason?

作为一名在日本长期定居的外国人，我几乎只见过一次日本人和外国人差点大打出手的场面，就在东京的火车上……
原因是什么呢？

The non-Japanese was texting or using SNS, and he hadn't set his phone to “manner” (silent) mode. Every time he received a reply or message (several times a minute!) his phone let off a loud chime, in the middle of a totally silent evening train. Just from looking around, I could see that other passengers were frustrated.

那个外国人当时正在发短信或刷社交平台，手机却没有调成“礼貌模式”（静音模式）。他的手机每隔一会儿就会收到回复或消息——一分钟能响好几次！——在鸦雀无声的夜间列车上，手机的提示音格外刺耳。我环顾四周，能明显看出其他乘客都面露不悦。

Unfortunately, a very drunk Japanese middle aged man got on the train and this drove him crazy. So much so he started snarling and shouting at the non-Japanese.
The non-Japanese person responded to these insults in very good Japanese. Basically, his response was “What right do you have to tell me to turn my phone to manner mode? F$*k YOU!”
It wasn't his language skills that surprised me…

不巧的是，一个喝得酩酊大醉的日本中年男子上了车，这刺耳的提示音彻底激怒了他。他开始对着那个外国人咆哮、怒骂。
没想到那个外国人用一口流利的日语回怼了这些辱骂。他的大意是：“你凭什么要求我把手机调成静音？去你的！”
让我感到震惊的，并不是他的日语水平……

…how could you have such good Japanese and yet ignore so completely the customs of the country you are in, and the discomfort of those around you? Not to mention the signs everywhere asking people to set their phones to silent mode.
I still don't understand that attitude!
EDIT: Thanks for all the upvotes - I certainly wouldn’t have expected so many!

……一个人日语都能说得这么好，怎么会完全无视所在国家的习俗，无视身边人的感受呢？更何况，火车上到处都有标识，提醒乘客将手机调至静音模式。
我到现在都无法理解这种心态！
编辑补充：谢谢大家的点赞——我真的没想到会有这么多赞！

Hide Izumi
Lived in Japan8y

出水秀
在日本生活8年

Originally Answered: What is one thing that gaijin do in Japan that annoys Japanese people?

原问题：外国人在日本做的哪件事最惹日本人反感？

Here’s one. Western management practices.
In this day and age of globalism, this country still retains many, often uncompetitive, medium sized businesses that would not last five years outside of Japan. The reason can mainly be attributed to the many layers of cultural and semi legal obstacles to making businesses consolidate, scale and generally be more efficient.

我说一个：西式管理模式。
在这个全球化的时代，日本依然保留着许多竞争力薄弱的中型企业，这些企业要是放在日本以外的国家，撑不过五年。究其原因，主要是日本存在重重文化与半法律层面的阻碍，让企业难以实现合并、扩张，也无法提升整体运营效率。

Japanese treat work and responsibility as sacred things. That is not typically a bad thing as it leads to fairly strong work ethic. The work force is such that you do not have to rely on rock solid systems, process and controls for everyone to crank out reasonable quality output. Paying peanuts does not necessarily get you monkeys in this country.

日本人将工作与责任视为神圣的事物。这通常并非坏事，也造就了他们极强的职业操守。日本的劳动力群体有着这样的特质：即便没有完善的制度、流程和管控体系，大家也能产出质量尚可的工作成果。在这个国家，即便薪资微薄，也未必招不到优秀的员工。

At the heart of what western management philosophy brings to the table is commoditization of the individual that enables pursuit and exploitation of economies of scale. That runs contrary to the fabric of Japaneseness. People will take profound personal offense when their work is treated as a tradable commodity in this country where the flipping of burgers is approached with semi spiritual attention to detail and perfection. Merging two companies and eliminate redundancy? How insulting!
Now if that is a bad thing? That's a worthwhile question.

西式管理理念的核心，是将个人“商品化”，以此追求并利用规模经济。这与日本的文化内核背道而驰。在日本，即便是煎汉堡这样的工作，人们也会带着近乎虔诚的态度追求细节与完美；而当自己的工作被视作可交易的商品时，日本人会感到极大的个人冒犯。合并两家公司、裁撤冗余岗位？这简直是莫大的侮辱！
那些注定失败的弱势企业，反而能获得大众的情感支持。政客们迎合这种情绪，设立了各种各样的障碍，阻碍企业提升效率。这也导致日本经济中充斥着许多低效的“僵尸企业”，整个体系的导向，就是保护低效率的主体。

This is the backdrop which most hired western executives walk into. Many tried and tested means in the wider world fail miserably. M&A, standardization and automation of work; elimination of work. Morale plummets and the staff hates you because you have just trampled on people's sense of mission and existence on an industrial scale.

这就是大多数受聘来日的西方高管所处的背景。那些在全球范围内屡试不爽的管理手段，在日本却遭遇惨败：并购重组、工作标准化与自动化、裁撤岗位……这些举措会让员工士气一落千丈，他们会对你心生怨恨，因为你在整个行业层面，践踏了他们的职业使命感与个人价值感。

So yes, gaijin style management tends to annoy the Japanese.
Now if that is a bad thing? That's a worthwhile question.

所以没错，外国人式的管理模式，往往会惹日本人反感。
而这是否是一件坏事？这是一个值得探讨的问题。

David Taylor
Lives in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

戴维·泰勒
定居澳大利亚维多利亚州墨尔本

Originally Answered: What is one thing that gaijin do in Japan that annoys Japanese people?

原问题：外国人在日本做的哪件事最惹日本人反感？

It was early morning and I was waiting for a ferry with two Japanese friends and there was just enough time for a bowl of noodles before we had to load our motorbikes aboard. Part way through our breakfast the one I had just met that morning turned to his mate and asked in Japanese “Why doesn’t he make any sound when he eats his noodles?” I knew enough Japanese by this time to be able to explain to him that it’s just the way I was taught to eat as a child. After six months living and working in Japan I had never given it a thought.

那是一个清晨，我和两个日本朋友在等渡轮，趁着把摩托车装上船之前的间隙，我们还有时间吃一碗面。吃到一半时，那个我当天早上才认识的朋友，转头用日语对他的同伴说：“他吃面怎么一点声音都没有？”那时我的日语已经够用了，于是跟他解释，这是我从小被教导的吃饭方式。在日本生活和工作了六个月，我从来没在意过这件事。

But then there was the Chinese-Singaporean colleage who worked in our building where there were only 4 foreigners amongst 2,000 Japanese. He found the Japanese way of slurping their noodles to be “quite disgusting.” He found it difficult sitting and eating in the company canteen if someone near him was eating a bowl of noodles. I don’t think he enjoyed that two year assignment.

不过，我们办公楼里有一位新加坡华裔同事，整栋楼2000名员工里只有4个外国人，他就觉得日本人吃面发出吸溜声的习惯“相当恶心”。如果公司食堂里有人坐在他旁边吃面，他都会觉得浑身不自在。我觉得他那段两年的外派工作，过得并不开心。

Since then I have always slurped my noodles … in the right company of course. And now I know how it is possible for the busy Japanese commuter to eat a full bowl of noodles on the railway platform in under two minutes!
I found the Japanese remarkably tolerant. Knowing at least some of the customs helps a lot. Knowing about some of the more obscure ones gives you lots of extra points. For instance, I was lucky that I knew how to use chopsticks very well, but it was only a week before I left for my 2 years working in Japan that a friend taught me some of the finer points of chopstick ettiquette.

从那以后，我吃面也总会发出吸溜声……当然，是在合适的场合。现在我终于明白，忙碌的日本通勤族，是如何能在火车站台上，两分钟内吃完一整碗面的了！
我发现日本人其实非常包容。至少了解一些当地习俗，会帮你大忙；而掌握一些更冷门的礼仪细节，还能为你加分不少。比如，我很庆幸自己早就很会用筷子，但直到去日本开始两年工作的前一周，一个朋友才教我一些筷子礼仪的细枝末节。

Ayane Takashima

高岛彩音

Here are some things that I was annoyed.
Foreign people ignore the long lines in front of them and tend to cut. This act is particularly said to be seen in people form China. It looks like they don’t feel the necessity in standing in line and respecting other people.

我说几件让我觉得反感的事。
外国人会无视面前的长队，随意插队。据说这种行为在中国人身上尤为常见。他们似乎觉得排队、尊重他人是没必要的事。

Another thing is an action seen on trains. Foreign people talk on phones in loud voices. They don’t see the signs, and “I can’t read Japanese” is not an excuse because there are pictures and announcements that say “DON’T DO IT”.
And one thing I do not appreciate is the people taking selfies on crossings; especially in the scramble crossing in Shibuya. I don’t understand how they can’t see that they are in the way.

还有一件事发生在火车上：外国人会大声打电话。他们对标识视而不见，而“我看不懂日语”根本不是借口，因为标识上有图片，广播也会用多国语言提醒“禁止大声打电话”。
还有一件我无法接受的事：有人在路口自拍，尤其是在涩谷的十字交叉路口。我真不明白，他们怎么就看不到自己挡路了呢。

Kevin Cameron
Lives in Japan (1995–present)

凯文·卡梅伦
1995年至今定居日本

Originally Answered: What is one thing that gaijin do in Japan that annoys Japanese people?

原问题：外国人在日本做的哪件事最惹日本人反感？

As a business owner, employer of Japanese people, and husband to a Japanese wife, the thing that annoys them most is that I am extremely relaxed.
I am very flexible with my schedule, and I try to fit to the customers (foreigners) It might mean that we completely change the schedule for a day or two or three.

作为一名企业主、日本员工的老板，还是一位日本女性的丈夫，我身上最惹他们反感的一点，就是我为人太过随性。
我的日程安排非常灵活，总会尽量迁就客户（主要是外国人）。这就意味着，我们可能会彻底改变一两天、甚至三天的原定计划。

My wife HATED this. She would complain and cuss the hell out of me because I did not stick to the plan.
I said “The customers wanted something different, or else they were not able to follow the plan”
She said “But the inn keepers are expecting you at 5:00 and arriving at 6:00 is rude”

我妻子对此深恶痛绝。她会对着我抱怨、大骂，就因为我不按计划行事。
我会说：“客户有别的需求，不然他们根本没法按原定计划来。”
她会反驳：“可旅店老板们盼着你5点到，6点才到也太没礼貌了。”

I said “Well, I will not use those inn-keepers anymore. I am giving them business, and I am the customer.” This did not sit well with her, but now all my inn-keepers are people who know that I will most likely be late.
My Japanese employees have also expressed dismay at my “go with the flow” type of business style. They want to know exactly what to do and when. If I say “lets see what happens” it throws them for a loop.

我就说：“那我以后不跟这些旅店老板合作了。我是给他们送生意的，我才是客户。”她对此很不满意，但现在和我合作的旅店老板，都知道我十有八九会迟到。
我的日本员工们，也对我这种“随遇而安”的经营方式感到无奈。他们希望清楚地知道自己该做什么、什么时候做。如果我说“走一步看一步”，他们就会手足无措。

My customers are mostly appreciative. There are times when I know that the customer can not climb the mountain, so I change the plan 100%. Or I fall off a cliff and lose my keys and we have to figure out how to make it work. It always works, and the customers say “You are amazing at problem solving” the Japanese say “why didn’t you follow the plan”

我的客户们大多对此表示认可。有时候我知道客户爬不了山，就会彻底更改计划；还有一次我摔下悬崖弄丢了钥匙，我们只能想办法解决问题。最后总能化险为夷，客户会说“你解决问题的能力太强了”，而日本人则会说“你为什么不按计划来？”

upxe:
So today I went to a train station to return a simple $1 lock for a bike I rented from the outdoor center and the customer had misplaced. It was 7 am, the outdoor rental shop does not open until 8:30, so I do what any normal person would do - I go to the convenience store next door (same building) and tell the woman working there “I hid a lock in ****, can you please tell them when they get here?”

更新：
今天我去火车站，想归还一把简易的自行车锁——这锁是户外中心的租赁品，被客户弄丢了。当时是早上7点，户外租赁店要到8点半才开门，于是我做了任何普通人都会做的事：走到隔壁的便利店（就在同一栋楼里），跟当班的女店员说：“我把一把锁藏在***地方了，等他们来上班，你能跟他们说一声吗？”

“No I can’t”
“Ummmmm….. why not?”
“I do not want to be responsible.”
“But you are not responsible for anything. I know you see the people every day. They know me, and just say the foreigner put a key in the kayak.”
“I can’t. GO to the station master and ask him to do it.”
“But you are sharing the same space as the shop, and you will see the person, the station master is up stairs and they will not go there.”

“不行，我不能这么做。”
“呃……为什么不行？”
“我不想承担责任。”
“你根本不用承担任何责任啊。我知道你每天都能见到他们，他们也认识我，你只要跟他们说‘那个外国人把一把锁放在皮划艇那里了’就行。”
“我真的不行。你去找站长，让他来处理吧。”
“可你和租赁店在同一个区域，你肯定能见到他们的人；站长在楼上，他们根本不会上去找他。”

“I am (afraid) not allowed to (I think)”
Yes, anything out of the ordinary is very very scary.
“OK, can I just get a piece of paper and a pen so I can write a note for the rental shop keeper. She knows me so it is OK.
“No, I can’t help you.”
So much for omotenashi. (Japanese hospitality)
“Just a piece of paper.”
“No.”

“我（觉得自己）不能这么做（我猜她其实是害怕）。”
没错，在日本，任何超出常规的事，都让人觉得无比可怕。
“好吧，那能给我一张纸和一支笔吗？我给租赁店的老板留张字条，她认识我，没关系的。”
“不行，我不能帮你。”

这就是所谓的“おもてなし”（日式待客之道）？简直名不副实。

“就一张纸而已。”
“不行。”

Donald Berk
Former CEO/Founder at Fortress Technologies (1993–2001)

唐纳德·伯克
堡垒科技前首席执行官/创始人（1993-2001年）

Originally Answered: What is one thing gaijin do in Japan that annoys Japanese people?

原问题：外国人在日本做的哪件事最惹日本人反感？

I lived overseas for sixteen years, two in Japan, a country and culture I very much enjoyed and learned from. The Japanese emphasis on preserving formal customs and the sanctity of ritual could contrast sharply with actual behavior, so in some ways the culture like all cultures is a facade masking and suppressing individual antisocial human impulses.

我在海外生活了16年，其中两年在日本。这个国家和它的文化让我由衷喜爱，也让我受益匪浅。日本人对维系传统礼仪、恪守仪式庄重性的重视，有时会与实际行为形成鲜明反差。所以在某种程度上，日本文化和所有文化一样，都是一层“面具”，掩饰并压抑着人身上那些反社会的本能冲动。

Shortly after my arrival there, my gaijin friends and I took our first train ride into Tokyo Station. We were coming from a rural town and as we approached our destination the car filled up at each stop until we were jammed in like sardines. As we pulled up to the station platform I could see long queues of waiting people lined up at the points where the doors would open when we arrived. When the doors did open I went with the flow rather than push my way out of the car. I was the last out. The Japanese guy at the head of the line for my door thought I was too slow. He reached out, grabbed my necktie and gave a yank (no pun intended). I lurched forward, my leg sliding down to the crotch into the gap between the car and platform. The entire line of passengers stepped mostly but not always around me as they crushed into the car. All I could think about was that the train would depart, sawing off my leg. Then one of the “white glove pushers” appeared and helped me to my feet. The experience taught me how deviations in the formality resulting from human impulse are absorbed almost out of consciousness. The fact I was a gaijin had little to do with it, I think. Or at least hope.

刚到日本没多久，我和几个外国朋友第一次坐火车去东京站。我们从一个乡下小镇出发，越靠近目的地，车厢里的人就越多，每到一站都会挤上来一批人，最后我们被塞得像沙丁鱼罐头一样。列车缓缓驶入站台时，我能看到长长的队伍，人们都精准地站在车门即将打开的位置等候。车门打开后，我没有挤着下车，而是顺着人流慢慢走，结果成了最后一个下车的人。我这扇车门对应的队伍最前面，有个日本男人觉得我太慢了，伸手一把抓住我的领带，猛地拽了一下（绝非双关）。我一个趔趄往前扑，腿一下子滑到胯部的位置，卡进了列车和站台之间的缝隙里。身后排队的乘客蜂拥着上车，大多绕开了我，也有人直接从旁边挤了过去。我脑子里只有一个念头：火车要是开了，我的腿肯定会被碾断。就在这时，一个戴着白手套的站台推客出现了，把我拉了起来。这次经历让我明白，在日本，哪怕是因个人本能偏离了既定礼仪，也会被一种近乎本能的集体秩序“修正”。我觉得，我是外国人这件事，在这里没什么关系。至少我希望是这样。

Violations of protocol in most cultures are offensive to the dominant population. In very crowded environments more so. In the US, minority cultures stir up the sometimes violent reactions from the majority. There’s an old and useful maxim that says: expectations are premeditated resentments.

在大多数文化里，违背礼仪规范都会惹恼主流群体，在极度拥挤的环境中更是如此。在美国，少数族裔的文化行为，有时会引发多数群体的激烈反应。有一句古老而深刻的格言说得好：期望，就是预谋好的怨恨。

Anne Marie Jaffuel
Lived in Visiting and Travel8y

安妮·玛丽·雅弗尔
以旅居和旅行为生8年

Originally Answered: What is one thing that gaijin do in Japan that annoys Japanese people?

原问题：外国人在日本做的哪件事最惹日本人反感？

I personally witnessed a scene in the subway involving a foreigners family with two adorable small kids: the kids began to play together, shouting and running amongst the passengers and the parents did absolutely nothing to stop them! You should have seen how Japanese people watched at them with indignation, without saying one word, of course!
I was regularly amazed how Japanese children can be quiet, even the babies… Early éducation I assume!

我曾在地铁里亲眼目睹这样一幕：一个外国家庭带着两个可爱的小孩，孩子们开始在乘客中间打闹、大喊大叫、跑来跑去，而他们的父母却完全没有制止！你真该看看日本人当时的表情，满脸的愤怒，当然，他们一句话也没说。
我总是惊叹于日本孩子的安静，哪怕是婴儿也不例外……我想，这都归功于他们的早期教育吧！

Gil Chavez
More than 20 years in Japan

吉尔·查韦斯
在日本生活20余年

Originally Answered: What is one thing gaijin do in Japan that annoys Japanese people?

原问题：外国人在日本做的哪件事最惹日本人反感？

In addition to being loud, which violates the shared space, there is also a lack of sense about personal space. You might think after experiencing commuter rush hour that nobody has personal space, but it's there. In a less crowded train it is the reluctance to occupy more space than is reasonable, or to avoid bumping into someone even when they are zombies staring into their phones and blocking the door. So there's a certain care for watching your elbows, etc, and foreigners don't have much of a sense about it — unintentionally. That doesn't mean all Japanese respect this, either, but when they violate it, they do it intentionally, the students standing in a circle on the train, the tough guy sitting with his legs stretched out in the aisle. You would think that the unintentional would be more tolerable, but it often seems less predictable, which makes it more irritating.

除了大声喧哗（这会侵犯公共空间），外国人还普遍缺乏对“个人空间”的意识。你或许会觉得，经历过日本早高峰的通勤，就知道这里根本没有个人空间可言，但其实它一直存在。在不那么拥挤的列车上，这种意识体现为：不占用超出合理范围的空间；即便有人像“僵尸”一样盯着手机、堵在门口，也会尽量避免撞到对方。所以日本人会特别注意收着胳膊肘，诸如此类的细节，而外国人大多没这个意识——当然，这都是无意的。这并不是说所有日本人都遵守这一点，但他们即便违背，也是有意为之：比如一群学生在列车上围成一圈站着，或是某个壮汉把腿伸到过道里坐着。你可能觉得，无意的冒犯应该更容易被容忍，但恰恰是这种无意的行为难以预判，反而更让人感到恼火。