First thoughts upon hearing "Japan".

[Mel Theofficegamergirl]

Kimono and awesome food. Those are the 2 things that come to mind. Followed closely by matsuri and yokai.

 

[Vault101]

An Otaku in western terminology is traditionally a fan term used to attribute nerds to hobbies with Japanese origins. Before recently I would've called it what weaboos like to think of themselves as since it is a generally derogatory term refering to a japanese version of nerd with a massive fixation on anime and manga, and rarely leaving the house, so it's easy to see why western people adopt this, but I always thought it was a bit weeabooish until recently since it seemed like an attempt to want to be Japanese.

yeah I see what you mean...it did come across as kind of silly to adpot a derogatory term..however I guess when westerners say it its seems to me more of a descriptive term, another way of saying "anime nerd"

[quote/]From what I hear about you, you enjoy collectibles and don't get out much, so possibly. Althoguh I'm not sure of whether it requires specific interests. I may think more that you may just be a Hikkikomori, a person who never leaves their house, but from what I've learned, I believe that has to do with mental problems rather than interest, so yes, you may be classified as an otaku in Japan.[/quote]
did actually make me wonder if there was more than one kind of "nerd" in japan aside from anime/manga nerd...I supose oktaku is more of a blanket term there (and that culturally they seem rather inward so I guess its rarer you'll find somone who's into American comics...but then my veiw obviously seems skewed by pop culture so thats somthing else to consider)

I think I've read up on Hikkikomori, I get the impression its more extreme (as you said mental problems) almost to he point of Agoraphobia (that and the availibility of vending machines and their culture doesnt help) whereas I have no problem leaving the house for work or shopping for things....won;t deny though that being an introvert and probably a little anxiety in that regard doesnt help

 

[Arina Love]

my favourite pastime: Anime.

 

[GTwander]

I immediately think of savory foods that are religiously made sweet with sugar, and women who seemingly hate having sex.

 

[Westaway]

Weeaboos.

I loathe weeaboos.
.

just for fun...

is there a difference between weaboo and otaku?

An otaku is a resident of Japan who has secluded himself from society and more than likely consumes large amounts of self insert and wishful-fullfilment media. Usually video games and 2ch, too.

A weeaboo is someone living in the West who's hobby is the pretend/wish they are Japanese.

 

[Risingblade]

God bless that perverted little island +

 

[Vault101]

An otaku is a resident of Japan who has secluded himself from society and more than likely consumes large amounts of self insert and wishful-fullfilment media. Usually video games and 2ch, too.

woudl you say Anime and videogames are very self insert and wish fulfillment?..thats interesting

whats 2ch?

 

[The Lunatic]

....

Honestly?

Paedophilia.


Christ, that makes me seem like an awful person.

But, honestly, the amount of time it comes up in Escapist debates on the country, it's drilled into my head.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Tentacle Porn.

Then nuclear weapons.

Then giddy schoolgirls. Though I think that may fall into the category of my first answer...

 

[I_Sinanju _I]

I'm Japanese so naturally I kind of like it. First thoughts are of Samurai and then popular culture. Anime, manga, games, that kind of stuff. I really like hearing what people have to say about Japan since I was raised in America, I get to see it from two viewpoints instead of one.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

God bless that perverted little island +

What could be called almost paradoxical is that Japan's approach towards open talk of sex is still considered very "forbidden/disrespectful/shameful" amongst grown-ups, it's all about politeness and respect. Or at least, that's what I've heard. It seems the more you "shun" the topic of sex in a culture, the crazier and deeper the sexual fantasies seem to go. Look at India and Kama Sutra for example.

Anyway on topic, this is what immediately comes to mind when I think of Japan:

Their traditional home design is amazing...everything from the super-low dining tables, to tatami mats, to sliding wooden/paper doors, etc etc. I'm going to live in one some day, as soon as I figure out how to sit in the "seiza" (kneeling) position for extended periods of time without dislocating my kneecaps and spraining my horribly inflexible thighs

 

[-Dragmire-]

Hmmm... the first thing I think about when I think Japan... it's sort of a 3 way tie.

Spoiler: This:

[sub]I LOVE this style of architecture[/sub]

Spoiler: Tied with this.

[sub]anime in general[/sub]

Spoiler: Tied with this

[sub]not necessarily anime related[/sub]

EDIT:

Anyway on topic, this is what immediately comes to mind when I think of Japan:

Spoiler

Their traditional home design is amazing...everything from the super-low dining tables, to tatami mats, to sliding wooden/paper doors, etc etc. I'm going to live in one some day, as soon as I figure out how to sit in the "seiza" (kneeling) position for extended periods of time without dislocating my kneecaps and spraining my horribly inflexible thighs

Yeah, I agree with you there. I too would love to at least try kneeling at those tables but I can't help thinking that even if I could get comfortable doing it, my legs would fall asleep after 2 minutes in that position.

 

[Ulvai]

Shrines to war criminals! Also, hands of the Kurils!

 

[ensouls]

I have a Japanese uncle who surprisingly is what I thought of first. I guess because he called recently. Then a Natsume Soseki book I'm reading (which is very good), then, well, anime.

 

[StormShaun]

Well I like Japan so...

1. Anime/Manga/Visual Novels.
2. Good culture.
3. A beautiful language.
4. Good sense of humor. (Look at the prank shows and one...I forgot it's name...something castle...)
5. Katanas.

 

[Blue Jay]

Samurai then like a slutty nurse, then a schoolgirl, at that point my mind drifted to whether there's any shapes in the cupboard.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Japan?

Closely followed by

I just really, really love the food. Yeah I love the anime and the video games but it's the food that really made me decide to try learning the language and going there...then I ran headfirst into the fact that I'm a moron so I'm stuck trying to find or create my own perversion of those awesome, awesome dishes...

 

[Alhazred]

I was watching Kill Bill last night so...

Katanas
Zen Gardens
Psycho Schoolgirls
And a metric shit-tonne of blood!

 

[Starik20X6]

Nintendo, giant mecha and robots, schoolgirls (particularly Sailor Scouts), kickass toys, giant monsters, ninjas, beautiful scenery (natural and architectural), and random moments of intense culture shock.