Home > Japan > The Gaijin Nod
Aug
22

The Gaijin Nod

This entry was posted by on Tuesday, 22 August, 2006 at



Japan train

Originally uploaded by ALEX FOUQUET.

We’ve all done it, or at least, seen someone do it. Some dislike it, some think it’s great – what am I talking about? The gaijin nod of course!

In short, the gaijin nod is when you meet another gaijin (means foreigner in Japanese – but not in polite terms) in the streets of Japan, you mutually greet each other with (usually) a slight nod and a smile. In certain situations, you could even say “Hi” or “Good Morning” (but that is a more advanced form of this gesture). Some people, mainly foreigners suffering from so-called “Gaijin Complex” do not particularly like the notion of the gaijin nod. They either don’t like it because a) since they are suffering from gaijin complex, they dislike contact with all other foreigners in Japan and would rather be left alone; or b) they think it’s racist behavior to acknowledge some unknown person on the street simply because of race or nationality.

I disagree. I think the gaijin nod is not about racism at all – it is simply a nice gesture towards another human being who happens to be in a similar life situation as yourself. When you see another foreigner looking slightly lost walking around in the outskirts of Tokyo, you cannot but smile and think “yes, I have been in the same situation as you” and at that instant you feel some kind of small connection to him/her and gladly give them the gaijin nod.

I would argue that the chances of a gaijin nod occurring between two random foreigners is reverse proportional to the size of the town you are in. Lately, you will probably not greet every single foreigner you see in Tokyo, but when I was living in Kobe, you would not pass a single opportunity to nod to your fellow man. Granted, when I nod a greeting to the 6ft Thai transvestite I bumped into in Shinjuku, I cannot honestly say we share much common experiences….but that is probably the exception to the rule. So, the next time you see a dumb schmuck of a foreigner on the train, why don’t you make his day by greeting him with the gaijin nod?

By the way – I blogged this directly from Flickr, thus the slightly different layout. I think it looked pretty OK with the image floated to the right, so I might try this layout more in future posts.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. air jordan
  2. Http://Secretforests.Com
  3. poker v
  4. Togel Hongkong
  5. emacs
  6. Agen Bandar poker
  7. bold manner herren jeans skinny stretch mit l枚chern jeanshosen used look slim fit destroyed denim streetwear
  8. 讻讬爪讚 转爪谞讬注讬 讞讝讛 砖讜驻注
  9. air jordan
  10. supreme
  11. daftar judi bola
  12. kate spade handbags
  13. vans casual crna cipele patike classic slip on office shoes srbija
  14. supreme
  15. The Gaijin Nod @ Lost in Japan
  16. hermes belt
  17. jordan shoes
  18. how to wear nike blazers
  19. The Gaijin Nod @ Lost in Japan
  20. hispanitas ankle boot 87414 amazon.co.uk shoes bags
  21. Bandar togel
  22. nike air force
  23. jordan shoes
  24. air jordan shoes
  25. judi bola euro 2020
  26. jordan shoes
  27. jordan shoes
  28. togel online
  29. qq Poker online
  30. www.juarabola168.com/
  31. getfastanswer.com
  32. Http://Infopokerterkini.com/
  33. adidas shirts 3xl b眉y眉d眉m 莽ocuk oldum
  34. converse mens chuck taylor all star desert
  35. [https://www.bestdrumdeals.com/|Agen Bola]
  36. avon today tomorrow always my everything eau de parfum
  37. click the next website
  38. pkv games poker online
  39. شخصية هواوي حافظة DIY بها بنفسك تصميم مخصص حقيبة هاتف محمول الطباعة لهواوي P30 لايت P8 P9 لايت P10 P20 لايت
  40. شخصية سامسونج ملصق سيليكون الهاتف حقيبة لهاتف سامسونج غالاكسي ستار لايت A6 زائد 2020 ناروتو ساسوكي شارنجان عيون
  41. zapatillas de colegio
  42. poloko拧ile adidas
  43. شخصية شاومي الحال بالنسبة شاومي Redmi 6 6A ثلاثية الأبعاد يونيكورن الحصان القط ميني سيليكون الغطاء الخلفي جراب هاتف شاومي Redmi 6A 6 A 5.45
  44. pop over to this site
  45. Funda Samsung personalizada silicona para Galaxy Note Edge
  46. [http://www.cefoto.org/|Bandar Bola]
  47. carcasa j6 samsung
  48. شخصية آيفون xs ماكس حقيبة هاتف محمول رسالة مشبك ألف B C D رسالة زهرة لينة تي بي يو جراب هاتف آيفون 11 برو ماكس
  49. joyeria artesanal mexicana
  50. colore bambini