What does japan smell like?

March 29, 2005 7:49 PM

What does japan smell like?

I'm writing a novel, cliche of cliche’s, a cyberpunk thriller set in Japan. Anyway, I'd like to add lots of sensory details, lots of cultural details. What of the main characters is going to be this sort of goofy American otaku who goes there, basically because he’s a japanophile

If you can point me to online resources that sort of elucidate the Japanese experience, that would be great (I’ve already seen japanthefaq). Books would be helpful as well. I’d love to see something like full-anthropological studies about modern Japanese culture (like, what’s the deal with the obsessive politeness, what are the protocols involved?)

Personal experiences would be super number one good.

posted by delmoi to Writing & Language (20 answers total)

Speed Tribes, although no longer current, is pretty much required reading on the subject. If you like cyberpunk, you will fly through this.

I am also enjoying Wrong About Japan right now, but it's much less of a general survey. It does have two American protagonists, one of whom is a goofy, American, teenage Japanophile.

You can also learn a lot about the history and psychology of Japan by studying the history of manga, anime, or video games. As your main character is otaku, these topics would be particularly relevant.

Harukai Murakami is a wonderfully evocative Japanese novelist, but you may choose to stay away to avoid picking up too much influence.

As for my personal experience, I could go on for posts and posts about the smell of Japan (if you really want me to go off, feel free to email me). I have heard one American claim that Japanese food has no smell, but I can verify that as an urban legend at best. Food aroma (esp. tea) is particularly key to my memories of Tokyo.
posted by samh23 at 8:18 PM on March 29, 2005

I didn't notice it smelled different, but my first impression was, "Whoa. It's humid." I could actually feel the air -- that's how humid it was.

Don't forget the Cicadas! What would a story about Japan be without an annoying BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ from the trees?
posted by Amanda B at 8:20 PM on March 29, 2005

I remember the smell of pollen in spring being really strong, even in central Tokyo.
posted by Flat Feet Pete at 8:25 PM on March 29, 2005

Also, these jumped out from my bookmarks:

The Quirky Japan Homepage
Japanese Sex Slang
Japanese Courting Practices
posted by samh23 at 8:39 PM on March 29, 2005

Don't forget the Cicadas!

Or the bloody frogs, if you are near a pond or somesuch.
posted by carter at 9:48 PM on March 29, 2005

For me, Tokyo was the smell of the humid air hitting the dirty pavement.

The sort of faint smell you notice at the laundromat of slightly worn laundry, mixing with the scent of newly clean clothes.

I love Tokyo, just thinking about it makes me want to go back.
posted by o0o0o at 9:52 PM on March 29, 2005

My Own Private Tokyo, by William Gibson.
posted by newton at 10:55 PM on March 29, 2005

From this page:

We read alot about what Japan looks like, tastes like, and even sometimes sounds like. But what does Japan smell like? Here is a short list:
Flowers. Wood. Tatami Mats. Grilled Beef. Piss. Car Exhaust. Noodle Soup. Beer.

And from here:

All countries have their own distinct smells, such as spices in India or garlic in Italy. What does Japan smell like? "O-bentos"? Pork "udon"? No. Japan has always smelled like garbage -- burning garbage. But now that Japan is slowly eliminating the burning of garbage, this smell will hopefully become a smell of the past.

But those answers were really just an excuse to say "What a great question!" I would love to hear the answers for this from a lot of different countries.
posted by taz at 11:59 PM on March 29, 2005

What does Japan smell like? Does anyone else find this a strange question? I mean what does America smell like? It smells like a thousand different things, depending on what is under your nose.

As for details which seem authentic, I really don't think you'll be able to write anything that doesn't seem secondhand and recieved without coming and visiting yourself.
posted by dydecker at 12:00 AM on March 30, 2005

Some say that Canada smells like beaver.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 12:57 AM on March 30, 2005

After it rains, the part of Tokyo I'm most familiar with smells like an open sewer. I'll second the piss and car exhaust noted above, too, as a more daily nasal experience there. Elsewhere, there's definitely the tatami and charcoal, which are wonderful. And just-served-up ramen (the real stuff, not the add-water type)! And fresh-cooked rice!

Certain cold days seem to have a fresh smell that I've never quite been able to pinpoint. A cold smell? Maybe it's the ocean.

Check also on the summer humidity. Where I live, it brings out the smell of the forest, and of old wooden houses.
posted by Absit Invidia at 1:18 AM on March 30, 2005

Oh, and for the anthropological bit, I forgot to mention Order By Accident (from off the top of my head).
posted by Absit Invidia at 1:25 AM on March 30, 2005

Smells different wherever you are. Since about 3 days ago Kyoto residential neighborhoods smell like Jinchoge (Daphne flower), which has just come into bloom ahead of the sakura. I moved to the northernmost suburb of Kyoto in part to get first crack at the fresh air coming down from the mountain forests. There are neighborhoods here I can identify blindfolded. From about 100 meters I can smell the place where they roast soybeans, and about the same for the place where they make that really labor-intensive star-shaped candy. Tofu neighborhood, ramen stock...

You ever been to Uji where they grow tea. Walk down the center of the streeet and it smells like tea from all sides. In downtown Kyoto (smells like car exhaust, I guess, tea shops have devices that heat green tea and blow the smell out into the street to attract customers. I think most shoptengai (shopping arcades) in Japan have a shop with such a machine.

BTW, the word "otaku" as used abroad by anime fans seems to mean "wacky obsessed guy" rather than "creepy obsessed guy," which is the impression I get from its use here. Pathetic nerd rather than nerd chic; definitely not cool. Don't take me as difinitive on anything, though.
posted by planetkyoto at 2:28 AM on March 30, 2005

Japan definitely smells like car exhaust, at least in urban areas. When you get more suburban, you start smelling the untreated sewage lines that run under the streets. Of course, Japan has plenty of wonderful smells, too-- a yaki-imo (baked yam) vendor's cart on a cold day is truly glorious, as is the scent of freshly-made senbei (rice crackers). I, too, gladly extend the invitation to E-mail me if you'd like more specific answers.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:39 AM on March 30, 2005

Do us all a favor and actually spend some time in Japan if you're going to be writing about what it's like to be there. A few years ago I was given a book that was set in Tokyo, a sort of humorous futuristic thriller. Around the same time I was flipping through a Tokyo guidebook. Every single one of the 'authentic' details included in the thriller was taken straight from the Lonely Planet guide.

Sorry if this comes across too negative - I can't presume to tell you how to write, as I'm not a writer. But I am a reader, so I can tell you if I'm reading your book about what it's like to be a foreigner in Japan, I would like to read your perspective and filtering of that experience, not second-hand impressions of what someone told you on a message board... Seems like you could get more detail from a simple trip (not to mention writing a vacation off on your taxes) than from reading a thousand anthropological studies.
posted by Gortuk at 5:41 AM on March 30, 2005

In the cooler months, you can always smell oden--a vile, rotting smell that I can't stand, and yet feel strangely nostalgic for. Oden is simmered fish and other tidbits, sold from pushcarts in the street and convenience stores. The nearest local approximation is my compost bucket.

Walk down a residential street and you'll probably smell fish grilling, something like mackerel or sea bass.

Incense (nothing like patchouli or nag champa, mind you) is common in some nicer traditional shops. I can smell Kyukyodo now...

The smell of sewage--what I call "the smell of inadequate infrastructure"--can hit you anywhere at any time, including the Ginza on a clear day. It's usually very localized and transitory.

But I concur with Gortuk--you should visit. Knowing a thing and experiencing that thing are very different. Otherwise, how will you know which person in this thread is punking you?
posted by adamrice at 7:18 AM on March 30, 2005

Everything posted here is accurate except I can't believe nobody's mentioned tobacco smoke. It's better than it used to be (real No Smoking sections now) but coming from California, it can be shocking.

Also agree with Gortuk -- visit the place you're writing about. It's fun! Smells I remember include roasting tea, grilling chicken at yakitori stands, occasional sewage, and once I was standing next to a sumo wrestler at a bus stop and he smelled wonderful -- of nutmeg, like a fresh pumpkin pie.
posted by Rash at 9:51 AM on March 30, 2005

Do us all a favor and actually spend some time in Japan if you're going to be writing about what it's like to be there. A few years ago I was given a book that was set in Tokyo, a sort of humorous futuristic thriller.

It depends on how long it takes to write the book. Of course I'd like to spend some time in Japan, but, I'm not that rich. And I've only got 2.5 weeks left of vacation time as it is. And even if I did go, it would only be the "tourist" rout, so I wouldn't learn the details, the nitty-gritty.

The book recommendations, plus amazon's "also bought" are something that will help me a lot (so keep 'em coming, if anyone's still reading this thread)
posted by delmoi at 11:00 AM on March 30, 2005

I didn't notice it smelled different, but my first impression was, "Whoa. It's humid." I could actually feel the air -- that's how humid it was.

Don't forget that japan is bigger and has more climate regions that Americans typically suppose - I was in Kyoto in January and it wasn't particularly humid at all. For that matter, I've had this experience flying into Boston during the summer after being in, say, Colorado.

I think this also applies to the question about smells. This is going to vary heavily, by density of population, time of year, etc. When I was in Kyoto I didn't notice anything particularly surprising to my American nose, except when in and near restaurants. The smells there I don't think can be successfully described by someone without real, regular experience with them.
posted by advil at 3:03 PM on March 30, 2005

like smoke. in the fall, at least in yamaguchi-ken, farmers burn the remnant material left after the rice harvest. for days, weeks perhaps, there are thousands of little thatched pagoda-like structures burning in field upon field.
posted by RockyChrysler at 8:09 PM on March 30, 2005