On May 25, 2026, a post on China's SNS 'Xiaohongshu (RED)' asking, 'What habits and behaviors have you unconsciously picked up while living in Japan?' garnered many reactions from Chinese netizens.

The most common responses were habits related to communication unique to Japan that show consideration for the other person, such as 'always nodding,' 'nodding while giving a polite smile,' 'making facial expressions even when talking on the phone at home,' 'nodding and bowing even during phone calls,' and 'nodding and the "reading the air" culture. I really hate these two.'

Next, many people also empathized with changes in manners and speech, such as 'I started apologizing immediately,' 'Anyway, 'thank you' and 'excuse me' became my catchphrases,' and 'I became incredibly polite. I immediately say 'thank you' and 'sorry to trouble you,' and I keep nodding. My way of speaking even became softer, and my mother told me, 'You'll be taken advantage of eventually.'

Also, comments mentioned differences in traffic manners, such as 'waiting for taxi doors to open automatically and bowing immediately,' 'left-hand traffic became ingrained, and I find myself walking on the left even after returning home,' and 'I started bowing to cars that yielded the right of way... like when they stopped to let me go first.'

Furthermore, changes in food preferences and what the body accepts were also mentioned, such as 'yakiniku still means white rice,' 'I started drinking unsweetened tea, and I drink ice water normally too,' 'My taste preferences became lighter. Now I only want to eat things that aren't oily or too spicy,' and 'My tolerance for tobacco has greatly decreased. Now secondhand smoke is really intolerable. I can't stand people who smoke on stairs, walking and smoking, or spitting on the street.'

There were also comments regarding changes in interpersonal relationships, such as 'I started leaving a considerable distance between myself and the person in front of me in line,' and 'I'm bad at replying to messages (lol). Every day I feel like all my energy has been drained, and it's a pain to reply. Even if a message is sent, I treat it like an email, replying when I have time, or not at all. It's the same even for messages from people I like. I can talk a lot in person, but online I don't feel like talking at all.'

In addition, changes related to appearance were also mentioned, such as 'hair gel,' 'I came to like having bangs,' and 'always wear a mask if no makeup, always wear a hat if hair isn't washed.' Comments on changes in hygiene were also received, such as 'I started carrying a handkerchief. I've been using it ever since returning home,' and 'I started unconsciously bowing and saying thank you, and I also grew to like soaking in the bath.' (Translated and edited by Iwata)