Perhaps it's the geography of the country; the wide-open spaces of the Prarie, the vast cornfields in the midwest and the deserts of Nevada, Arizona, and Utah - Americans are comfortable with big. Big cars, big meals, big houses.
On the other side is Japan; 126 million people squeezed on to four main islands, with a total area 26 times smaller than the USA. The Japanese have learned to be economical with space - whether it be technology, houses or dioramas - which can be an issue when tall people visit the country. Heads are bumped on low doors, showers are too short, and train seats... well, it's cozy, put it that way.
This list, compiled by Bored Panda, shows tall people problems in this compact country, and we'd recommend bringing a helmet if you're over 6ft! Scroll down below to check out the list for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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My 6'7" Stepfather Is Visiting Japan This Week
The cool and informative blog Japanese Journey by a 29-year-old man called Johannes gives some interesting insights into the struggles of being tall in Japan and travel tips to deal with it. Even though the 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) German is of average height in his own country, the average male height in Japan is 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in), so he does stand out. Here are a few of his everyday problems of being head and shoulders above people almost all of the time.
Bumping your head: When your body height is above the Japanese average, you will very likely bump your head. Most of the time, you will be aware of low door frames and the like and therefore take care. In old buildings, such as the shops in higashi chaya district, the shop assistants may even tell you to take care. However there will be instances when you won’t be expecting things to hang that low and therefore be less attentive. Funny accidents are bound to happen.
My own favorite items to bump my head against are the handles in the Tokyo metro trains. They hang at the height of my forehead, maybe at 172 cm. In the perfect position for the heads of people like me. This usually happens up to five times per trip, then I start to get it.
Tall In Japan
6’3” Lived In A Traditional Japanese House In Japan For Two Months. There Were Lots Of Exposed Wooden Beams
Things don’t fit: Many things won’t fit you. At my size, it is not that hard to find fitting clothes or shoes. However things that are shared by everyone, such as toilet slippers in restaurants, will be too small. Same goes for the interior features such as benches, tables and sinks.
When I was sitting at at the table in my girlfriend’s parent’s house for the first time, I was surprised by how low but still comfortable the table and benches were. Fortunately it didn’t take me long to get accustomed to it.
Asked A Guy To Take A Photo Of Me And My Friends With Some Bathing Snow Monkeys In Nagano, Japan. Checked The Photo Later
Life Being Tall In Japan. Side Note: This Was A Hit With The Crowd And There Were Lots Of Giggles
Being asked about your body height: “How tall are you?” is a sentence I haven’t been asked in the last decade in Europe. In Japan things are different.
Maybe one out of three times when my girlfriend introduces me to someone, usually women, I hear it. And while this makes me somehow feel like I’m positively impressive, the reactions that are shown upon hearing “180 センチ” (1.80 m) are even more pleasing.
My Trip To Japan As A 6.3 Feet Guy Summed Up
I Recently Travelled To Japan
Seeing far ahead on busy streets: When I went out on a Saturday evening in Shinjuku, the first thing I noticed were masses of people. The second thing was that, even though the area was packed, I could see anything. “Legolas! What do your elf eyes see?” shouts Aragorn in the back of my head.
Because I was a bit taller than most of the other short people there, I was able to actually see the end of the road without a head appearing in my view. “So this is how basketball players feel all the time,” I thought and enjoyed the evening.
Shark Bait
In Japan, Tall Friends Duck Together
Everytime I Visit Japan I Feel Like I Don't Fit In... I Wonder Why?
We Came, We Saw, We Raised The Roof
Tall People Problems
Japan Wasn't Built For Me
Stayed One Night In This Hostel In Japan. My Head Connected With This Light 8 Times
If I Could Summarize My Recent Trip To Japan In One Photo, This Would Be It
I'm 6'4" and the struggle was real
Glad I am only 5”2”, tee hee. Sometimes being short is an advantage.
Hotels Suck
Loved My First Trip To Japan
The Free Brain Cell Removal Rooflines Are A Common Fixture In Japan
Being Tall In Japan
Another Problem With Being A Tall Man In Japan
Meanwhile In Tokyo
Just Got Back From A Trip To Japan. I Know I'm Tall. Didn't Realize Just *How* Tall Compared To All The Japanese Folks
Traditional Japanese Home. Clearing Doorways Is A Challenge
Just Found R/Tall. I'm Happy To Finally Be Among My Kind. Here's Me In Japan Trying To Fit In
I have known a number of Chinese/Japanese people that their parents are short, moved to the U.S. had kids and the kids are tall. Makes me wonder what's in the food.
So My Brother (6'7"), My Sister (6'0"), And Myself (6'4") Went To Japan... We Had A Hard Time Getting In
Big In Japan
Tall People Problems #5535 - On A Train In Japan
My Shower At My Hotel In Japan. I Am Not Pleased Nor Is My Neck
Being 6 Ft 3 In Was Pretty Tough In Japan
To Tall Guys Travelling In Japan: I Feel You, Brothers. I'm 195 Cm (6'4")
That's not his heel, just the bone on the sides, if you look closer you can see his heels are on the ground
Load More Replies...Well, there's your problem. Flip-flops. Take the damn things off and you'll be able to go anywhere. 🤡
Note: this post originally had 42 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
nobody understands your pain america because we don't know what imperial system means.
Conversion is trivially easy if you have a smartphone. There is no app to fix the problem these people are having.
Load More Replies...As a short person myself, Japan looks like an attractive place to visit. As an adult I have to climb on all my counter tops to get to things, I couldn't see my face in the bathroom mirror because it was too high up. America is not built for short people. Worst thing is the bus, I can't reach the hand rail above my head.
I'm in the UK and when i am on the bus, my feet dangle like i'm a child !
Load More Replies...It's NOT easy when you're big in Japaaaaaaan, oh you big in Japan. Tonight... ♬♪
I don't know....Europe wasn't made for short people either. Man those Armitage Shanks had me tip-towing LOL
These photos make me want to visit Japan. As a "short" person, I feel like I live in a world made for giants in the US.
As a short person living in a Europe I feel your pain.
Load More Replies...when Western thinks everything is small in Japan (and Asia), well, we have similar thought about you. You look huge for us. When 5'2" of me talking to my 6'4" European boss for 20 minutes, it's like torture. I hope he got me neck massagers for bonus
I hope he got one, too. My posture was totally f****d up in school because my friends were all small while I am just 5'11'''. I always had to duck to understand them right.
Load More Replies...At a whopping 5 feet (sadly I was not blessed with the “height” gene) I think I would feel pretty cozy in Japan. No longer would I have to rely on taller people to get stuff down from higher shelves for me.
I’m 153 cm and in Korea everyone thinks I’m short but I love japan because everyone else was also around that lol
I have been driving east Asian cars for eight years now. As an American woman at 5'1" tall, I have finally found a car engineered for my height. (1.55 m)
I want to be short so when im old i can be a small cute lil old lady im weird like that
Actually, they aren't all that short,j these are just pics of people on the tall side of the scale that would have trouble in a lot of places. I'm 1m71, and I fit right in, for the most part. (except shoes and some clothes, the body shapes don't match at all, lol)
I was going to say! Some of these pictures give the impression that everything in Japan, and Japanese people in general are really short when most of the scenarios depicted are showing people who are at least 6 feet tall or more, which is definitely on the higher side of human height measurements (bar the one station where they literally had cushions with warning lines on them, so clearly they KNOW it's a short roof).
Load More Replies...It reminds me of the scene from Lost In Translation when Bill Murray tries to use the shower. I'm 6'4 and have been living in Japan for 12 years and it really is no problem most of the time.
boyfriend is 6ft 2, He never had any real height problems in Tokyo, and the Japanese height is catching up with european height standards, we saw quite a few very tall Japanese people.
they'd probably change that eventually. last time I was in Tokyo, many of the youths I noticed are quite on the tall side, boys especially. genetics are changing?
i want to visit Japan but i dont want to have to worry about being knocked unconscious lol
When I complained about towering over the people of Mexico City at 185cm (6'2.5") my daughter who is 178cm (5'11"), and had already been there pointed out, "Yeah, people stare at you. But when you ride the Metro you're the only one who can breathe."
I'm below average height in Australia, but a little taller than average here in Japan. It's amazing. Everything is actually the right height for me. I can reach things, and don't have my feet dangling off chairs!
Being tall is a more of recent development as people started to gain more access to better food and medicine with in the last century.
Guess you are right, when you see an original uniform from the napoleonic army, you can see how small people were 200 years ago....
Load More Replies...I live in Korea, and although things are built a little bigger here than in Japan, they are built for someone around 5'4"-5'7" which just so happens to include my height. I love it. I buy clothes my size without going to the children's section ever. I am at a comfortable height for tables and chairs always. It was one of the aspects of culture shock I didn't expect. How much better life is when you are around the average height of a country.
Iam 6.3 and I would love to visit Japan one day .I don’t think doorways would be a big deal but if the hotel ceiling is too low that would be sucks lol
I am not Japanese, buy being an Asian, I am pretty offended by these photos. Go stay in your own country, if you cant stop complaining
My Japanese teacher stood 4'2". I stand 6'5". She told me that I was "Waste of material". Hai kashikomarimashita...
I'm lucky to have a hard skull, because I'm only 1'76m tall, and got in some of those situations myself.
For anyone who knows: would i be tall in japan at 5'4? Same height as sssniperwolf :D
This isn't a comment on the nature of Japan, this is an ego trip for people who constantly 'brag' about their height!
One thing I loved about living in Japan was that I could finally reach everything!
The thing is... those guys have it lucky... the REAL problem is being 6 foot tall... They CLEARLY see that the door is going to hit them square in the face... At 6ft you are EXACTLY the height to hit EVERYTHING with your forehead and you don't notice that... at leas the first few time...
I feel like there are better ways to campaign for that to stop than just not visiting the country - it doesn't really send a particular message and most people you buy stuff from aren't going to have whaling connections. It's not like the United Arab Emirates where the country is built on the backs of poor people and basically only good for the rich.
Load More Replies...I didn't have any trouble when I went to school in Hong Kong in 1969. Of course, I was only 5 at the time. Can ya spot me in the crowd? :-) Rhonda-Hon...e3c03a.jpg
Has the Olympic Village 2020 been built to the same standards ? Welcome to the basketball players of the world. Welcome to the Dutch competitors. What is the ingredient in the Japanese Cuisine inhibiting evolving to World standard height ?
Over dramatized. I’m 6 foot 3. I just visited over Christmas to see my fiancé and meet her parents for the first time, The biggest struggle was the beds.. My feet were never covered and there was usually not enough room on toilets.. The old traditional houses, that’s another story.. Those crazy staircases.
I lived in Vietnam for almost two years and had the exact same problem lol!
there are a lot of guys out there that are 5'4" to 5'7" who would be glad to trade places with you...look forward to getting into your 70's... bodies start shrinking when you get older...
I'm following a few tall celebrities from Japan and I'm just imagining them. Hahaha
If you are a woman, you buy clothes at h&m, shoes online or in men's section and end up hurting your back cooking or doing the dishes.
Load More Replies...🤣 Oh shut up you lanky pricks... just duck you dumb a*s bean pole... stop showing off... YOU chose to go to Japan.
Oh please! They love it, "oh no I'm too tall it's such a bother!!" You can still reach everything, you can still bend or bow and get smaller. Try being 5' 1" I can't just magically get taller to reach stuff, I can't see anything at concerts, I see only the top inch of my head in the bathroom mirror, I have to buy children's shoes and gloves which make me look like a child of course, because they're pink with flowers etc, I can't use the top shelf in my fridge, my feet don't touch the floor in any bathroom when I use the toilet, except American ones, I don't live there so... on packed transport I'm face to arm pit with everyone, especially gross in summer, plus everyone is breathing down on me gross, everyone thinks I'm 15 when I'm 34, all jeans and trousers are at least 5-6" too long, so yes tell me your awful life of having to watch where you go for a week on holidays?! I guess I can buy tax free runners.
nobody understands your pain america because we don't know what imperial system means.
Conversion is trivially easy if you have a smartphone. There is no app to fix the problem these people are having.
Load More Replies...As a short person myself, Japan looks like an attractive place to visit. As an adult I have to climb on all my counter tops to get to things, I couldn't see my face in the bathroom mirror because it was too high up. America is not built for short people. Worst thing is the bus, I can't reach the hand rail above my head.
I'm in the UK and when i am on the bus, my feet dangle like i'm a child !
Load More Replies...It's NOT easy when you're big in Japaaaaaaan, oh you big in Japan. Tonight... ♬♪
I don't know....Europe wasn't made for short people either. Man those Armitage Shanks had me tip-towing LOL
These photos make me want to visit Japan. As a "short" person, I feel like I live in a world made for giants in the US.
As a short person living in a Europe I feel your pain.
Load More Replies...when Western thinks everything is small in Japan (and Asia), well, we have similar thought about you. You look huge for us. When 5'2" of me talking to my 6'4" European boss for 20 minutes, it's like torture. I hope he got me neck massagers for bonus
I hope he got one, too. My posture was totally f****d up in school because my friends were all small while I am just 5'11'''. I always had to duck to understand them right.
Load More Replies...At a whopping 5 feet (sadly I was not blessed with the “height” gene) I think I would feel pretty cozy in Japan. No longer would I have to rely on taller people to get stuff down from higher shelves for me.
I’m 153 cm and in Korea everyone thinks I’m short but I love japan because everyone else was also around that lol
I have been driving east Asian cars for eight years now. As an American woman at 5'1" tall, I have finally found a car engineered for my height. (1.55 m)
I want to be short so when im old i can be a small cute lil old lady im weird like that
Actually, they aren't all that short,j these are just pics of people on the tall side of the scale that would have trouble in a lot of places. I'm 1m71, and I fit right in, for the most part. (except shoes and some clothes, the body shapes don't match at all, lol)
I was going to say! Some of these pictures give the impression that everything in Japan, and Japanese people in general are really short when most of the scenarios depicted are showing people who are at least 6 feet tall or more, which is definitely on the higher side of human height measurements (bar the one station where they literally had cushions with warning lines on them, so clearly they KNOW it's a short roof).
Load More Replies...It reminds me of the scene from Lost In Translation when Bill Murray tries to use the shower. I'm 6'4 and have been living in Japan for 12 years and it really is no problem most of the time.
boyfriend is 6ft 2, He never had any real height problems in Tokyo, and the Japanese height is catching up with european height standards, we saw quite a few very tall Japanese people.
they'd probably change that eventually. last time I was in Tokyo, many of the youths I noticed are quite on the tall side, boys especially. genetics are changing?
i want to visit Japan but i dont want to have to worry about being knocked unconscious lol
When I complained about towering over the people of Mexico City at 185cm (6'2.5") my daughter who is 178cm (5'11"), and had already been there pointed out, "Yeah, people stare at you. But when you ride the Metro you're the only one who can breathe."
I'm below average height in Australia, but a little taller than average here in Japan. It's amazing. Everything is actually the right height for me. I can reach things, and don't have my feet dangling off chairs!
Being tall is a more of recent development as people started to gain more access to better food and medicine with in the last century.
Guess you are right, when you see an original uniform from the napoleonic army, you can see how small people were 200 years ago....
Load More Replies...I live in Korea, and although things are built a little bigger here than in Japan, they are built for someone around 5'4"-5'7" which just so happens to include my height. I love it. I buy clothes my size without going to the children's section ever. I am at a comfortable height for tables and chairs always. It was one of the aspects of culture shock I didn't expect. How much better life is when you are around the average height of a country.
Iam 6.3 and I would love to visit Japan one day .I don’t think doorways would be a big deal but if the hotel ceiling is too low that would be sucks lol
I am not Japanese, buy being an Asian, I am pretty offended by these photos. Go stay in your own country, if you cant stop complaining
My Japanese teacher stood 4'2". I stand 6'5". She told me that I was "Waste of material". Hai kashikomarimashita...
I'm lucky to have a hard skull, because I'm only 1'76m tall, and got in some of those situations myself.
For anyone who knows: would i be tall in japan at 5'4? Same height as sssniperwolf :D
This isn't a comment on the nature of Japan, this is an ego trip for people who constantly 'brag' about their height!
One thing I loved about living in Japan was that I could finally reach everything!
The thing is... those guys have it lucky... the REAL problem is being 6 foot tall... They CLEARLY see that the door is going to hit them square in the face... At 6ft you are EXACTLY the height to hit EVERYTHING with your forehead and you don't notice that... at leas the first few time...
I feel like there are better ways to campaign for that to stop than just not visiting the country - it doesn't really send a particular message and most people you buy stuff from aren't going to have whaling connections. It's not like the United Arab Emirates where the country is built on the backs of poor people and basically only good for the rich.
Load More Replies...I didn't have any trouble when I went to school in Hong Kong in 1969. Of course, I was only 5 at the time. Can ya spot me in the crowd? :-) Rhonda-Hon...e3c03a.jpg
Has the Olympic Village 2020 been built to the same standards ? Welcome to the basketball players of the world. Welcome to the Dutch competitors. What is the ingredient in the Japanese Cuisine inhibiting evolving to World standard height ?
Over dramatized. I’m 6 foot 3. I just visited over Christmas to see my fiancé and meet her parents for the first time, The biggest struggle was the beds.. My feet were never covered and there was usually not enough room on toilets.. The old traditional houses, that’s another story.. Those crazy staircases.
I lived in Vietnam for almost two years and had the exact same problem lol!
there are a lot of guys out there that are 5'4" to 5'7" who would be glad to trade places with you...look forward to getting into your 70's... bodies start shrinking when you get older...
I'm following a few tall celebrities from Japan and I'm just imagining them. Hahaha
If you are a woman, you buy clothes at h&m, shoes online or in men's section and end up hurting your back cooking or doing the dishes.
Load More Replies...🤣 Oh shut up you lanky pricks... just duck you dumb a*s bean pole... stop showing off... YOU chose to go to Japan.
Oh please! They love it, "oh no I'm too tall it's such a bother!!" You can still reach everything, you can still bend or bow and get smaller. Try being 5' 1" I can't just magically get taller to reach stuff, I can't see anything at concerts, I see only the top inch of my head in the bathroom mirror, I have to buy children's shoes and gloves which make me look like a child of course, because they're pink with flowers etc, I can't use the top shelf in my fridge, my feet don't touch the floor in any bathroom when I use the toilet, except American ones, I don't live there so... on packed transport I'm face to arm pit with everyone, especially gross in summer, plus everyone is breathing down on me gross, everyone thinks I'm 15 when I'm 34, all jeans and trousers are at least 5-6" too long, so yes tell me your awful life of having to watch where you go for a week on holidays?! I guess I can buy tax free runners.