fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2299 ]

[ SECRET POST #2299 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2299 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[Kuroko no Basuke]

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[Milestone Inc./Radilgy/Karous]

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[Glee/RPS]

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[The Following]

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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

10. [SPOILERS for Resident Evil 6]

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11. [SPOILERS for Doctor Who]

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12. [SPOILERS for Homestuck]

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13. [SPOILERS for Southland]

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[ ----- TRIGGERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

14. [WARNING for ?? something]

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15. [WARNING for abuse]

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16. [WARNING for rape]

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17. [WARNING for rape]

[Spartacus / Once Upon a Time]

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18. [WARNING for animal abuse]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #328.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Bit more specific this time

I realised that for 4 days we're going to have a shared bathroom. I couldn't find any photos to determine if they meant public one or shared-shared bathroom where...I have to bathe with others?
(I'm a little self conscious of my body and the usual, ingrown hairs, boobs...)

I'm probably going to get my period...sometime in the 4 days with the shared bathroom :x

I go tomorrow morning x_x and all the nervousness/anxiety of strange places has hit.

Ps trains? I've got the JR pass, but my understanding is it only covers the big rides and not local. I'm guessing we're going to stuff up a lot paying them?

And, well, my insurance company decided to make me nervous by emailing me a big pdf on sexual harassment on trams, to yell "chikan" and just implied this is a common situation?

/why yes i'm an anxious person

As far as I understand, yes, sexual harassment on public transit is a pretty serious problem in Japan. The major lines, especially, because when you're crammed like sardines into a car, it's nearly impossible to do anything about it. Avoid wearing short skirts and try to avoid the rush hours. Personally, I'd just try my best to keep my rear end against a wall or something, but that's not always possible. Growl at anybody who reaches for your tits - you might be that crazy gaijin, but you're also a not-groped crazy gaijin. (Related: if you look the least bit foreign, you will experience some xenophobia. Just do your best to be respectful because there's not much else you can do.)

Good luck, and stay safe!

My mum is really blond while I'm brunette so I imagine we're going to get some xenophobia. Just try to be polite I guess :x
I'm hoping if we take the trains mostly out of rush hour it will be okay. I kinda don't want to get in anyone's way with our confused foreign behaviour. Especially if they're going to work x_x

I'm bringing a dress and two sets of trousers (one for the more casual sight seeing, biking trips and a much nicer one for going out for food or visiting city). I didn't want to risk offending anyone with clothing choices. No hawaiian shirts or khaki shorts for me, nope!

The JR Pass covers all JR lines, which run in and between most cities. This includes all the local JR trains. It only doesn't cover the Nozomi shinkansen. If you're taking a private line, you'll have to pay, but it's not too expensive. If you're confused about where to go, get the cheapest ticket--you can adjust the fare when you get to your stop. Also, don't be afraid to ask the station staff for help about which platform. They probably can't speak English, but if you know the name of the station you want to go to, they'll be able to help.

Harassment on trains really isn't as big a deal as it used to be. Use the women's cars during rush, but chances of being bothered are pretty slim. If somebody does touch you, grab their hand and don't let go until you get to a stop and can find an employee.

Don't worry about what you're wearing. Japanese people really don't care what you wear as long as it resembles clothing.

You're going to an exciting new country. It's going to be fun. Adventure! Get lost! Try something mysterious to eat! Make stupid faces in a purikura booth. Don't worry about doing things right, because nobody but you will care.

Thanks :>

I'm normally pretty anxious about going to new places, but I've just got an extra layer of "oh god language barrier and cultural no-no" fears D:

We do have a day booked in for Nara on May 2nd C:

Anon who suggested Nara yesterday - that's awesome to hear! You should definitely go see the Todai-ji while you're there. And the deer! Although you probably already had both of those planned, since they're the two biggest attractions there, lol.

As for the bathroom, it may be a public bath if you're staying in a ryokan. If you haven't used a public bath before... yeah, it can be awkward. I was really, really nervous the first time I went to one when I was living in Japan, and I felt pretty weird about it until I realized that the only person being weird about it was me, lol. Japanese people are, for the most part, used to the whole public bathing thing, so they don't make a bit deal of it. Occasionally you might get someone being startled to see a foreigner there, but since the bath is going to be where you're staying and it's a pretty touristy area, I'm fairly certain you won't have to worry about that. You're more likely to get awkwardness and staring from other foreigners (depending upon what country they're from, of course). If you do have to use a public bath, remember to check your room before you go and bring a towel/robe with you if they're provided (sometimes the towels are in the locker-room area before the bath proper). I'm not sure how much you know about bathing in Japan, either, but you may want to google a brief guide and read up on that.

What kind of JR pass did you get? It may just be for longer trips, yes. Individual tickets aren't hard to get, though. Most stations even have automated machines that you just feed the money into and it prints it off for you.

I'm fretting a bit over how to get to Nara from Kyoto, but it looks like it's 2 quick train trips, or a train and ferry. We'll only be there for a day, but we don't intend to hang around Hiroshima (we both feel a bit weird about being touristy over places with such memorial like status)

I googled some guides to make sure I was getting the bathing in order. So stool+clean self until soap gone, then soaking, then out for stool some more if I want but to end it on a soaking note? I hope there's signs! It's the Nishikiro Ryoken, I think they get western visitors often enough and the owner speaks some japanese. It's completely booked, but it's only got 11 rooms so it shouldn't be too many.

I guess I'm just nervous because I've got a pretty curvy body which, well, different to the japanese and...well, body hair? I mean I wax my legs, but I get ingrowns around the panty line and I have pubic hair. Urgh I hate standing out...also is it mixed genders or separated?

We got the, huh just called JR pass apparently, but the one for all of Japan barring the Nokomi and and and another line I have written down somewhere

the day before departure jitters! :O

The train ride from Nara to Kyoto is pretty simple! They're both major tourist stops, so it's easy to get from one to another. If you're really anxious about it, then you can peek at the route maps and time tables on JR's english site: http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/travel-information/routemap/

Yep, sounds like you've got the bathing order down! They'll usually have either detachable showerhead-type things to spray off with or a faucet that you use to fill one of the bowls they have their to rinse off, too. It's pretty simple!

That's understandable! I'm pretty curvy and have a pretty large chest (36 G), so I was pretty self-conscious about it at first. A good trick to try is to actually just fake it til you make it. If you tell yourself it's not big deal and act like it's not big deal, then it's not. It totally worked for me, at least, lol. ;) And pubic hair is no big deal! In my experience, waxing/shaving the bikini region isn't as common in Japan as it is in North America, so no one will think it's odd. It will be separate genders, too. There are some onsens that have mixed gender sections for families in addition to the sections for men and women, but that's the exception to the rule.

Oh, then you should be good to go, actually! You just won't be able to use any of the bullet trains, but the regular lines should all be covered. So, no worrying about buying other tickets.

Good luck! I hope you have a really fun trip! :D

oh this is all good! Thanks so much for the advice. I have read a bunch of reviews, blogs and some youtube videos to see what daily city life is (normal looking haha), but they're not so good for answering direct questions like fears on bathing, just kinda give a brief overview.
I will act like it's not a big deal and hope my mum doesn't want to bathe at the same time because come oooon Mum nooooo you're my mum.

I've told her no Onsen though. Noooo. I draw the line and I'm sure the Japanese will appreciate us not being all confused and in the way at an onsen. We'd probably do a really dumb foreigner thing, or get the order for things mixed up
Unless it's a private onsen just for us I guess.

Thanks for those route maps. For some reason they didn't show up on any google searches

You're welcome! I know it can be a bit intimidating, but I'm sure you'll do just fine. Maybe you can talk to your mom beforehand if it comes up and just let her know you feel weird bathing at the same time. I think she'd probably be understanding. Moms usually are. ;)

I think every non-Japanese person in Japan has done a dumb foreigner thing at one point or another, haha. As long as you're not being rude and are respectful, most people won't care and will be pretty understanding about it.

No problem! The link for the timetables is up here if you need that, too. It also has a route finder function: http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/travel-information/timetable/

That site is for the Kansai region, but from the sounds of it, that's mostly where you're going to be? If you'll be headed Tokyo-way at all, you can google "JR east english maps" and the same thing for that region should show up.

We've got a couple of days in Tokyo for arrival and departure, but the majority will be around Kyoto. I've bookmarked the places since we have wireless in all the places we're staying, and emailed them to mum because her smartphone is smarter than my smartphone (hah!)

There's a guided biking tour through kyoto and to some bamboo forests we booked that I'm very excited for because the guide speaks english and will throw information at us so we'll learn something at least. May or may not be with other visitors so it'd be fun to trade experiences while still there.

That sounds like tons of fun! Japan has some gorgeous scenery. Things should be getting really green and pretty right about now, and the humidity won't be as crazy as it would be if you went later in the summer. I hope you and your mom both enjoy yourselves!

re: the baths thing: acting like you have something to hide tends to catch attention more than if you act as if everything is peachy

as long as you're not posing like you're a model for a saucy magazine it should be okay i think

Thanks! It's mostly nerves I think. I'll just politely ignore anyone and soak ._.

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[ SECRET POST #2299 ]

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