Unpopular opinion, but someone needs to say it without the rose-tinted anime glasses on.
I’m a born-and-bred Singaporean Chinese guy. Served my two years NS, full Singaporean lineage, the whole package. Because of my line of work, I have to travel to Japan multiple times a year. And honestly? The reality on the ground is absolute rubbish compared to the polished image everyone eats up online.
The level of casual, open foreigner-phobia in Japan is insane, yet Singaporeans worship their culture like it’s flawless. Just recently, I was flat-out refused entry at a restaurant in Tokyo. The staff gave me that classic crossed-arm “No” gesture the moment I walked in. Why? They assumed I was from Mainland China. The moment I flashed my Singapore passport and spoke English, their entire attitude did a 180—suddenly smiling, bowing, and inviting me in. That’s when I told them straight to F off and walked out. The fact that your basic human dignity depends on which passport you hold is disgusting.
What irks me most is the massive hypocritical double standard in Singapore. Everyone here is so quick to be anti prc while boot licking up to Japan, US or Korea, all because of Western media framing and soft-power propaganda. You guys consume the aesthetic and completely ignore the actual societal rot and prejudice.
Contrast this with my actual boots-on-the-ground experience in China. Sure, social media paints China with a terrible reputation, and politically people have their views. But as an actual visitor on the street? I have never dealt with that kind of blatant discrimination there. In fact, it was the exact opposite. On multiple work trips to different Chinese cities, locals were genuinely welcoming. I’ve had strangers turned new friends buy me local food and beers for free, completely out of hospitality, just excited to share their culture and chat. No pretense, no passive-aggressive fake polite nonsense.
In fact they were interested to learn about Singapore and asked why I speak English, Mandarin and Malay. They were just curious.
Stop falling for the surface-level PR. Enjoy the food or anime if you want, but stop the cultural kowtowing to societies that fundamentally look down on foreigners. Wake up lah.
Never returning to Japan Again, Even If I Have To Quit My Job