Read the Signs!

Read the Signs!

Read the Signs!

Hello everyone, and a Merry Christmas to you all! If you are living in Japan, Christmas is certainly an odd occasion. The Japanese seem to have chosen the things they like about Christmas – the shopping and the Christmas lights – and have added their own twists – fried chicken and Christmas cake. In fact, most people – myself included – have to work on Christmas Day, which, as an American, is an absurd idea. But the upcoming weekend is a high time for dating, so make sure you find that girl you like and take her out!

This week's article assumes that you are already going on dates with a girl. You probably think things are going great, but all of a sudden she might start acting odd without telling you why. Or worse, she might just end the relationship without you ever knowing something was wrong. This has happened to me more times than I would like to admit early into my dating career.

In Western culture, we are used to airing out our problems in the open. If something is wrong in a relationship, we talk about it, often very loudly. However Japanese women are often quite different. Japanese women tend not to voice their problem directly. Instead you are expected to read the cues and infer what the problem is. This is probably one of the most frustrating things about dating a Japanese woman.

My advice for dating a Japanese woman is to try and be aware of these cues. Don't expect her to tell you when she is upset on her own volition. You have to read the signs and bring it up to her. Be nice about it, talk it over and hopefully you can smooth things out. Or if you find out she's into whips, chains and leather, get to running... or shout "Hooray".