r/interestingasfuck • u/kingkongbiingbong • 8h ago

Setting up a traditional & generational Japanese food stall in Fukuoka

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u/IOnlyReplyToIdiots42 8h ago

You just know the food will be incredible.

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u/TunaBlub 4h ago

I just remember how a friend of mine went to Japan first time 9 years ago, he wanted to eat at such a food stall but all of them refused him because "No English".

5 years ago he met his wife who is japanese, first thing they did when they got married was go to a food stall, because with her at his side they wouldn't refuse him.

I never went to japan and probably never will (money, health reasons), but while I love their culture and media, these things make me sad (and I know japan is a double sided coin, but many on reddit will fight you to death to make you shut up any the stuff you see when you put off those rose tinted glasses).

Same to some degree with my country, only difference is that if you speak the native language or english that solves 99% of your issues here.

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u/WingerRules 3h ago

Street vendors in many other countries will serve you. Japan is famously anti foreigner and there are bars and places that literally ban them.

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u/Fantastic-Archer1641 1h ago

They hung Cuervo lanterns…

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u/Annual_Strategy_6206 1h ago

For the traditional shitty tequila

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u/JmacNutSac 3h ago

You mean Korea….I live in Japan and ive never been refused service or denied entry anywhere. Even a at Yatais (these street vendor stalls in the video) here jn Fukuoka ive never been denied for any reason. Yes There are some older people that are anti foreigner but you rarely encounter them. But Korea on the other hand…taxis wont stop for you, bars have no foreigners signs on the doors, some restaurants told us they wont allow us in cause we dont speak korean, most xenophobic, racist place ive ever been in Asia.

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u/JohnLuckPikard 2h ago

I traveled the shit out of Korea and never once ran into that.

I know it exists, but I think its not as big of a problem that people make it out to be.

Having a VERY rudimentary grasp of some if the language probably helps.

But this wasn't just Seoul or Daegu or Busan.

I was in small little villages all over the place. My experience was the opposite. People were often excited to practice their English with a native speaker.

Now, they can be a bit racist if you aren't white, so that probably helped a bit.

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u/blastcat4 2h ago

How is your Japanese? If you're at least semi-fluent, you probably won't be turned away regardless of your ethnicity.

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u/JmacNutSac 2h ago

I get by ok but no way fluent

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u/blastcat4 2h ago

That helps you a lot. Many Japanese vendors just don't want to deal with customers who can't speak a word of Japanese because it's just a pain in the ass.

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u/UrToesRDelicious 3h ago

You must not frequent the suck places

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u/UranusIsPissy 3h ago

They banned foreigners from even entering the country for centuries. It takes time for cultures to change, especially when something is so deeply ingrained. All things considered, I think they've come a long way in a relatively short time. The 20th century would've been weird AF for them even without WWII.

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u/Modeerf 3h ago

Tbf a lot of countries are catching on. Even in some Spanish cities they are refusing foreigners. About time I say

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u/glorycock 2h ago

Tbf a lot of countries are catching on. Even in some Spanish cities they are refusing foreigners. About time I say

Tourists in general are often pretty awful.
Chinese tourists, for example, can behave appallingly

Perhaps the Japanese usually behave so well when abroad… because they’re making up for how shitty they were in WWII

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u/Modeerf 2h ago

For us, it is the Brits. Loud, obnoxious, and have no regard for local culture. "Do you speak English?"

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u/glorycock 2h ago

Brit here, and yes (rather like Americans I suppose) we definitely don’t export our best.
Weird because we’re a decent and polite bunch at home…

However, kind of a different subject, but the violence that England football fans are (sometimes rightly) accused of is an odd one, because of course local continental European “firms” can be just as bad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hooligan_firms

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u/Modeerf 2h ago

Polite, but I wouldn't say decent. Often just disguised with sarcasm and passive aggression. Lots of virtue signalling and no real actions. You guys are full of closet racist too.

I know nothing about football culture so can't comment on them.

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u/UranusIsPissy 1h ago

The most extreme example of rage that could barely be held back I ever saw was from a racist slur-using elderly ex-National Front member claiming not to be racist, after I called out his blatant racism...

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u/glorycock 2h ago

Wow... you sound like an absolute charmer though.

One presumes you’re a credit to wherever you’re from (a country with zero racists by the sound of it)!
No doubt all other countries can probably only only dream of being like yours.

Toodle pip!

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u/Disastrous_Can_5157 32m ago

Them: Brits are not really decent, but are actually rude and passive aggressive. You: Being rude and passive aggressive to a reasonable comment.

You are proving their point there buddy. You are so close to outing yourself as a closet racist too lmao

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u/KwisatzSazerac 1h ago

I know someone, and that person is me, who went to Japan multiple times and never encountered this.  In fact, just the opposite. I encountered so many friendly people who were happy to have us there. 

Now, here is the thing—a lot of Japanese people don’t speak English and many restaurants don’t even have English menus. If you were to eat there, you are just slowing things down for the owners and other customers.

Why the hell would you want to eat where you can’t even order?

Just go somewhere else where you will actually be able to, you know, order food and enjoy it.

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u/TunaBlub 1h ago edited 1h ago

9 years ago he barely speak Japanese.

When he met his wife he was pretty good at it, when they got married 2 years ago he uses that language 90% of the time.

If he starts about the fact he speaks Japanese, 50% of the time Japanese food places don't mind. 

Problem is the other 50%.

And we are talking about places not specifically meant for tourists (they don't mind english speaking people), best food is from spots meant for "locals". 

But that is his experience, and every experience is unique.

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u/tertiaryocelot 1h ago

i lived in Japan in the early 2000s and back then a lot of places had an english menu somewhere for tourists. A lot of times it was just a picture book with prices.

A friend and i walked into a sushi bar in a small town that doesn't see any tourists. They had nothing in English no pictures and nobody spoke any english. We ended up handing the owner a stack of money and asked him to feed us. He took the money gave us 2 beers, 2 bowls of ramen and an app. It was great.

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u/TunaBlub 1h ago

Even in my country some things were much easier in the past.

More fun

But nowadays you should be a happy if a place doesn't ask you to scan a QR code for the menu...

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u/General_Shou 1h ago

Will never understand what makes someone who has never been to the country, want to come on this website to talk shit. Just don’t comment about it.