Today I had a friend post an article of a group Japanese people hauling around a giant pink penis on a platform. Following the post was a question I get asked way too much.
Is this a real event?
Honestly, I have been sent some crazy articles about Japan and if I believed everything I read I would think that Japan is this crazy, kinky, zany place where something is always happening.I read one article that said that the "new trend" in Japan is getting busy in green goo. I'm sure you have all heard about the vending machines that sell used girls panties for those perverts with underwear fetishes. Don't forget the people that wear one piece spandex suits and walk around groping each other faceless in Tokyo.
But reality is quite different.
First of all NO! I have never seen a group of Japanese people hauling a giant pink penis around. In fact as crazy as these articles portray Japan, Japanese people are very conservative. Most Japanese people, make American conservatives, look like liberal hippies. These articles are grabbing the outlying, rare and sometimes, made up parts of Japanese culture and making them seem like trends.
Does this mean there is no panty selling vending machines?
Fuck if I know, maybe, but I've never seen one. The thing is if we were to make generalizations on the odd parts of a society, we can come up with some crazy stuff. Imagine if we judged American culture based on a porn expo in Vegas. We would start thinking that Americans are into mass orgies and filming everything. Then again with the amount of celebrities releasing sex tapes this may be true. But my point is that every day life in Japan, is much less interesting than the way Japan is portrayed in these articles.
"My friend in the military went to Okinawa and saw a live sex show"
I'm sure he did. But this doesn't mean Japanese people approve of live sex shows. In fact many of those types of businesses are tied to a prostitution issue that Japanese society is trying to deal with.
So what should I expect when I travel to Japan?
It depends where you go.If you visit a big city like Tokyo or Osaka, you will find some crazy things to do. But if you travel to places the locals go to like Tottori, Shikoku Island and Kyoto. You are going to find places rich in culture and relatively quiet. Places like these close early. No all night partying or sex shows.
The point I'm trying to make is don't think just because you found some amazing article about Japan that it involves all of Japan. It's probably one small isolated incident. Kind of like we shouldn't make rash generalizations about America based on what happens in Vegas, we shouldn't do the same by what happens in Ropongi.
Social Gelo with Angelo
Angelo Ferrer (M.S. Psychology)