Top 5 Questions Japanese People Always Ask Me

I’ve been living in Japan for 20+ years and I still get asked the same questions over and over again. Can you guess what they are?

1. How tall are you?

It’s easy to understand why people ask this question and if you have met me in person, you would understand, too. I’ve been taller than most people all of my life. You can see in my 2nd grade class photo that I was already the tallest in the class. My parents taught me to stand up straight with good posture. They knew I would grow up tall and were afraid I would feel self-conscious and slouch. My mom challenged me to walk around the room with a book balanced on my head. It worked and although I love being tall and have never wished I could be shorter, here in Japan, I am a giant. I’m 5’11” or 179 cm tall. The first words out of my father-in-law when my husband introduced us was – “dekai-no!” which means something like “Woah! So big!”

Most Japanese people say how lucky I am and wish they were taller. I always tell them it is actually rather inconvenient to be tall in Japan. It’s almost impossible to find clothes and I sometimes hit my head on the door frame.

The funniest and most unbelievable inconvenience is when I use the public restrooms. Sometimes men accidentally follow me into the women’s restroom. I think they aren’t looking carefully and automatically assume I am a man because I am so tall and have short hair. The opposite happens when I come out of the restroom. Women who are coming in see me and for a moment they get disoriented. They turn around to leave thinking they have made a mistake and entered the men’s restroom. Then, when they realize their mistake and that they are indeed in the women’s room, they get very embarrassed. If you don’t believe me, just ask my husband. He has witnessed it several times.

Can you guess what the other 4 questions are? Check back again to find out!