Japanese peoples hatred for the sun

In Sweden to be outside and get tanned is seen as a good thing. It makes you "look healthy" and such and if you have been outside of the country and don't come back tanned people will call you out on it. You will almost be made to feel ashamed that you aren't tanned. 
You had the chance to be out in the sun but you didnt take it?!
Of course you can get a tan in Sweden to if you really work it, and in the summer if you are not outside you are totally wasting your time. You are letting your summer run out in the sand. So to show that you've been outside enjoying the summer and sun you should allow yourself to get a tan.

But in Japan people hate tans. They want white skin at all costs! Why? Because as I think you know being white shows that you are rich because you don't have to be out all day in the sun to work. Sure but that doesn't really work in todays world I think. You can just walk around with your UV-umbrella that is a very cheap investment even the worst payed person around could afford.
Even so people hold on to this notion that white is beautiful.

Until just a few days ago I actually couldn't put my finger on why tanned skin is considered desireable in my country. I could only think of reasons like the ones above. But then I heard that it is because having a tan probably means that you have been traveling to another country, which means that you have money to travel which means that you are not poor!
So on both ends it all comes down to the money. Wow, what a world.

Anyway, I've probably mentioned before how a lot of Japanese people cover up during the summer. They buy special umbrellas that are supposed to protect them from UV rays. They wear long gloves that cover half their arms. They often wear long sleeved shirts and long pants even when it's hella hot.

Light version of what I was mentioning

But it's not just Japan. My Vietnamese friend showed my how motorbikecyclists wrapped up like they were going to a nuclear plant! My friend said that it's normal and it's to protect yourself but, no, that way of doing it is not to just protect yourself it is perposefully to keep your skin white.

Couldn't find the pictures my friend showed my so I got this one, which could also be considered a lighter version of what mentioned

Also you may have seen the face-kini's that some people from china (?) used to protect their skin with.

Facekini!

Honestly I think this is going too far and I really feel like you are ruining your summer by spending the whole time carrying an umbrella or wearing thick layers of clothing, or trying to get a facekini over your head.
Just put on some friggin sunscreen and get it over with! It's time to start caring about your skincolor wether you want it to be tanned or pale and just enjoy what you can of summer.

Japanese people staring at you

If you are a non-asian person in Japan you are going to get stared at a lot. Or are you? Maybe Japanese stare more at asian-looking foreigners?

Let's take a look at this!

I am a non-asian foreigner in Japan. I live in Osaka which is a big city where there are both tourists and foreigners living, working, studying etc. In short, people of Osaka have seen foreigners. They know what they look like, and therefore, most of the time, they wont stare at you.
Now say I lived in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere where foreigners are barely ever seen, yes people would stare at me. But here in the middle of it all I am, to most people, just another foreigner.

It's not to say I don't get stared at, it happens sometimes. Mostly it's children that take a stare at me. One time some children even started walking backwards after passing me just so they could get a bit more time to look at me. But even when it comes to the kids who have no shame in staring, most don't do it!

Now I have the tendency to look down on the ground when walking etc so it might be that I don't catch people staring at me. But even so, I think it has more to do with what kind of personality you have, rather than where you look.

Why?

Because I have a friend who actually is half Japanese and they look no different from any Japanese person. They fit in here like I never could, yet they constantly tell me about how people are staring at them.
They can just be walking down the street, standing around waiting etc and then tell me: "Did you see that person looking at me?" They are always very serious about this and tells me what they think the person was thinking about them when staring like that.

In all honesty I have never seen anyone stare at my friend. And the times when she tells me someone was staring at me I haven't noticed it either.

This friend always says to me: "If people stare at me here I can't imagine what it would feel like to be you!"
But if you were me, with my personality, you wouldn't see any stares!

So, do you get stared at in Japan as a non-asian foreigner, or as a foreigner in general? - Yes, but only as much as you lead yourself to believe ;)!

Japanese people think I'm cool??

It's been a while since I started my school life at Osaka Sougou Design Senmongakkou and I guess I am just starting to get used to things. I still forget what we are supposed to bring to lessons a lot of the time. Still haven't really figured out what I can eat for lunch that will acutally get me full (and the nearby convenience stores don't really have a wide selection of things to choose from). Still haven't talked to everyone in my class, but atleast I have memorized their names now and I can tell that they all are really nice people!

Even though I haven't spoken to everyone yet, there are some people I talk to and among them there is one, the first one that spoke to me during our first real school day. They said that day that they had seen me during our entrance ceremony and that they had thought I looked really cool.

Me?

Cool?

No,no, you got it all wrong. Anyone can see that I am not cool! Haha.

Still they kept telling me I was cool. I guess I thought that when they get to know me better they will realize that I am not cool, because anyone can see that I am not! And that's ok!

But no, this person is still telling me that I am cool. They have also said that my blue eye, blond hair and accent when I speak in English is cool.
Sometimes they have just told me I am cool several times in a row and I don't really know how to answer.
I guess it's just this persons personality, but maybe it is that in Japan people that are clearly foreigners look cool to Japanese people even if they would be seen as totally uncool in their home country?

In Sweden I have never been considered cool and I never will. Which is totally fine. It is not something that I am aiming for, ya know! But coming to Japan and getting these words thrown at me just isn't something I am used to and it gets me thinking about this stuff.

So if you want to be cool doesn't really matter how you look or what kind of personality you have, just come to Japan and you might just find some outgoing Japanese person that wants a foreign friend that will tell you how cool you are!