Do Japanese hug each other in public?

That time I had a Portuguese friend. He was from the same generation as me and he often gave me an email. Then he always wrote at the end of the letter, “Hug”. Oh my God, that was his greeting but I didn’t like that word because he was a man. Although I would be happy if he was not a man.

One day, I replied to him in the email, “we don’t hug in Japan”. Then he was angry to reply, “I watched many Japanese erotic videos, so I know they hug with their naked bodies”. He said to me, “you are a liar”. Yes, I know a fact that many Japanese hug with their naked bodies. But honestly I didn’t want to hug that guy who was my friend.

Japanese are shy, so we rarely hug others in public. When we are very friendly with someone from another country, at that time we are willing to hug the person. But, I can say, Japanese guys rarely hug each other. Because, there is a possibility that they are rumored, “they are weird in one sense”, so we are afraid of the rumor, even though they have a good relationship. 

Of course, I can say, couples like to hug everywhere in Japan, in the case that they are young. However adults hesitate to hug especially in front of their children. This is just Japanese “beauty sense”. 

We have said since a long time ago, “To hide is beauty”.

Japanese poem Haikus sang about sakura a lot

Every Japanese person must have a photo taken in front of a cherry blossom tree. Our lives and cherry blossoms are inseparable.

Many haiku poems in Japanese poetry have cherry blossoms as their theme. This is because cherry blossoms are a very special flower for Japanese people. Matsuo Basho, a poet of the Edo period, wrote this haiku.

さまざまのこと思い出す桜かな

Samazama no koto omoidasu, Sakura kana

花の雲鐘は上野か浅草か

Hana no kumo, Kane wa Ueno ka Asakusa ka

しばらくは花の上なる月夜かな

Shibaraku wa hana no ue naru, Tsukiyo kana

The first poem is translated into English as follows. Cherry blossoms stir Recollection of many things, Ah, the sakura!

The second English translation will be like this. Clouds of flowers, bell rings, Is it Ueno or Asakusa?

And the third one. For a while, Beneath the moonlit blooms, we find our repose.

Cherry blossoms in Japan begin to bloom at the end of March. Once it starts blooming, the flowers fall off within a week. However, because there are differences in temperature and temperature depending on the region, cherry blossom season in northern regions is in the second half of April.

Japanese elementary schools hold entrance ceremonies in early April. Many elementary schools had cherry blossom trees planted in their schoolyards. Therefore, many Japanese people have memories of entering elementary school while looking at cherry blossoms. This is why we often took pictures in front of cherry blossom trees when we were children.

A lover with Japanese, he is from Pakistan

It was Saturday night. That must have been 20 years ago. Late that evening, I was on the train. On the train on my way home from work, I was a little drunk because of a party with my colleagues that day.

I got on the usual train at Nagoya Station and headed to Gifu, where I live. Nagoya is the third largest city in Japan, so many foreigners also live there. After the train had been running for about 15 minutes, the number of passengers on board became thinner.

“Is there a hotel I can stay at in Gifu?”

A young man near me spoke to me. He wasn't Japanese.

Normally, I would just answer the question briefly and call it a day. After all, my commute to work takes four hours every day. That's why if I talk for a long time, I'll arrive home late.

But this day was different. I was drunk and feeling liberated. I felt relaxed. So I wanted to have a little talk with this young man. I started chatting with him.

“I’m coming to Japan from Pakistan,” he said. I didn't know if he was in this country for his job or to study abroad.

Apparently his girlfriend lives in Gifu. So he had made an appointment to meet her. The date was scheduled for the next day, Sunday, so he had to stay alone at a hotel that day.

When the train arrived at Gifu Station, we got off the train.

There are many hotels near Gifu Station, but in order to find one that has a vacant room, you must first look up the hotel's phone number in the telephone directory and then call and ask. After all, that was 20 years ago. I didn't have a cell phone yet, and the Internet wasn't as developed as it is now.

There was a house near Gifu Station where my parents lived. For now, I decided to take him there. My parents were surprised when I suddenly brought a Pakistani with me late on Saturday night. Mother served us tea.

I looked up the hotel's phone number in the phone book and called to see if there was a room available. Fortunately, I quickly found a place for him to stay for the night.

He wasn't fluent in Japanese, and I didn't speak his native language. So I didn't know the details. However, I understand that his girlfriend seems to be Japanese, that he encountered her in Tokyo or somewhere, and that they have arranged to meet in Gifu.

Then my father drove the car and I took him to the hotel. It was almost 12 o'clock at night. He thanked me and left us.

I don't know what happened after that. It is unclear whether he was able to successfully reunite with his girlfriend who lives in Gifu. However, I was feeling a bit good because I could help him with his international romance.