I am from Brazil and I am half japanese and half Italian but Brazil is a mixed country so I never had problema with it HAHAHA Brazilian people say that I am full japanese because of my eyes but japanese people say that I am not because my hair ir not dark
+Enkee Natsag I am also quite a rare mix. Instead I am half Chinese and half Slovakian, living in London. If that was not unique enough, I am also an identical twin.....
+John M. Johnson indian are descendant of japanese people, i heard that some indian language have similarity with japanese language, well to me i don t see much similarity in the face, maybe more between people from south east asia and indian , but apart from pictures i never really met indian people, i like to do portrait but i may not be that good in similarity, in fact i m totally clueless sometimes i don t recognize a person because he s not wearing the same clothes, and i m not talking about people in other
The guy definitely looks half and half. Actually, he looks like anime come to life. The girl, though, at least to a paleface like me, looks 100% Asian.
Hey, I’m expecting a Hapa son in December... I’m proud and excited for the boy, but I see these “complicated Asian identities” online, and I worry... Please, do you have any basic advice for what a father needs to give a Hapa-child? I’m the tall white male with a beautiful, loyal, tiny Japanese wife. I’m at least glad to be bring the child into a healthy, loving home, but what else should I do to prepare?
I'm a three-way mix (only 1/4 Japanese), and oh boy. I've never literally gotten the "half babies are so cute!" thing, but as a kid I basically got treated that way when we'd visit family in Japan. So many little old ladies would come over and coo and fuss at me because I have curly, very Latina hair. I was literally having strangers come over and pet me like some sort of exotic kitten! So awkward.
Merci Océane but it's pretty confusing x) I mean, listening a language and read another one is a bit difficult xD mais merci quand même, je peux m'entraîner a parler l'anglais :D
Half chinese. Mom's white. My favorite response will be when she picking up my brother from while pregnant with me. Random woman comes up to her and says "isn't the darnest thing, you adopt a baby and you get pregnant yourself." My mom was so upset. With that being said, I do get asked a lot if I'm adopted when they see my mom is white.
i have been a victim of this. Mixed bloke here . I distinctly remember hearing someone at the airport as my mum where she adopted me. this question usually catches me off guard and a few times i have lashed out lol!.
I'm Thai/Norwegain and I refrain from using the words half or similar words. I've had quite the identity crisis that really made my childhood miserable. My mom never taught us Thai so at school in Norway we were expected to be martial artists and always eat rice and in Thailand we were the gorgeous foreign children who looked so European and beautiful and couldn't speak a word Thai. Living every day in Norway accepting the Asian stereotypes and embracing them (it's exotic being different, right? lol) and then coming to Thailand only to find out that we weren't Asian enough and couldn't even speak the language, and we were just foreigners (getting foreigner prices when mom got normal native Thai prices etc.). Being excluded from something you saw yourself as a part of. That split between expectations, perception of self and reality gave me quite the trauma. But things got much better. I went to Thailand on exchange and I'm finally content with who I am. I'm equally Norwegian and Thai, regardless of language skills or where I've lived. My mom is as Thai as anyone from Thailand and same with my Norwegian father.There is nothing illegitimate, mix blooded/half blooded or halfbreed about me. That's why I don't like the word "half" or other words made to describe children who have parents from different countries and parts of the world. It's tossed around like it's nothing, when in fact it judges someone as incomplete. I'm not half - it's not like my blood is divided into a Thai half and a Norwegian half. I am one person, with two countries, cultures and a more diverse gene pool. We shouldn't have to divide ourselves or having to choose where we belong. We are part of both and we can take the best from both worlds.Language is a lot more powerful than we think. If we start calling us "half" just because it's commonly used, we become half. Aren't we full human beings? If we divide people into race we create a subconscious division that's not supposed to be there. (We are all one human race after all
Hey, I’m expecting a Hapa son in December... I’m proud and excited for the boy, but I see these “complicated Asian identities” online, and I worry... Please, do you have any basic advice for what a father needs to give a Hapa-child? I’m the tall white male with a beautiful, loyal, tiny Japanese wife. I’m at least glad to be bring the child into a healthy, loving home, but what else should I do to prepare?
I went to Japan last week and got the "happa" nod from every non Asian looking person there lol. I also tried to speak Japanese to a girl I was sitting next to at disneyland, she looked at me all confused and said in English "No, I'm Chinese."
I talked to this old guy one time. He came up to me and started to complain about the Japanese.... He went on and on about radiation and WWII, then he asked me where I was from, so I said, "I was born in Japan... my mom is from Japan and my dad is American...")! He walked away...
well thats a little rude! and same with me, i was born in japan and my mom is japanese while my dad is american :) its so awesome finding half japanese people just like me
Yes its cool to meet other half people. We all kindof have our own race... mixed. lol Like when you take a test and sometimes it will ask about your racial background... check by the mixed category. lol
did he say sorry? i live in america, and everybody loves the japanese in my city. if i were you, i would've lashed right back at him. give him a good dig somewhere.
I'm half Japanese half Mexican... and everyone's like "what's my name on japanese?" even though I always tell them that i've been born and raised in México and I can barely speak japanese, but the only thing I want to say to those people who ask that is "B*TCH your name is the same! It doesn't change at all!" =.=
+MrTacoExplosivo true lol although im japanese and korean, I was born and raised in the states and everyone is just like " what's your name in korean?? how do you say your name in japanese?? Are you more korean or japanese??" It's so frustrating. My name is my name. It doesn't freaking change!
I'm half black half japanese. And I live in Japan and this is my dad who is japanese lol, that's not always the mom. And I usually get mistaken for being Filippino hehe :) Nice video ;)
Hey man, thanks for watching and glad you could relate! My Filipino friends sometimes claim Filipinos are the black people of Asia, so maybe that's why you get mistaken for a Pinoy hahah.
The "hapa nod" is totally a thing! It's happened way too many times. Sometimes I also give (and receive) the "hapa nod" from bi-racial couples with newly-born hapa babies. They must be wondering if that's what their kids will look like 20 (ok, 25) years from now. Great video!
Haha awesome video guys ! I'm half Japanese & Polish who was born & live in Paris now so seriously i get all of those same questions & confused from people haha. (i just laughed so much at the halfie nod & at the 「花が高いですね」 things HAHA). The identity crises happened to me, when i was back to japan for summer vacations at the age of 14, and people starts to talk to me in sort of strange english & saying 「日本語上手ですね」. I was kinda shocked when i see the differences back to when i was younger and people were talking to me in japanese without thinking about my looks? haha. And the other thing is that, i can speak french, japanese, english & little polish but i get many troubles when i was younger at school in France, cause i never get one language where i was strong enough to talk easly so it was hard for me back then. Anyway, keep doing great videos ;) you guys are funny ! お大事に～
You two are so nice to each other and the audience! It's very heartwarming. :) I'm actually not a hapa but I've met a few hapas throughout my life. Although... I actually come from a country that's literally half European and half Asian (Russia) but I look white to most people BUT I also grew up in a Chinatown in the U.S. So I'm like physically white looking but mentally and spiritually Asian. So whenever I talk to actual white Americans or even fellow Slavs, they're always a little surprised at how I talk and the way I think. So the hapa community is the one place where I can sort of relate but in a complicated sort of way.
Guys, just showed this to my half Japanese/half European/all New Zealander/now in America twin 8-year-olds. A great way to help them make sense of who they are, how they fit into the world, and that they are by no means alone. Thank you!!
I've had a bunch of these even tho I'm "pure" American (well, German, Russian, Cuban, so white anyway) and I speak Japanese pretty comfortably, so people assume I'm "half", they ask which one of my parents are Japanese, if I was born in Japan, etc. OR! if I'm with my husband in HI and we are speaking Japanese, places that have Japanese speaking staff get confused and speak English to me, speak Japanese to him, ask if I can speak Japanese, lol....actually since he looks a little bit Korean (tall, "high nose" and cheekbones) Korean people speak to him in Korean.....and then I answer back in Korean that he only speaks Japanese, which makes their brains explode XD
dont go around saying you are "pure" american because you are not, american is just a nationality not an ethnicity. you are just perpetuating the stereotype that all americans are white, when in actuality the US is very diverse and barely majority white anymore. besides it is offensive to people like me who are actually pure american.
I'm Cambodian/Thai and Puerto Rican. I get all of these comments all the time! People usually think I'm Filipino, Vietnamese, or Mexican. They don't even ask. They just come up and start speaking to me in their language. I even had one guy ask me if I was half black and when I said no, he said, "Come on. You don't have to be ashamed of what you are." I'm not ashamed. And I'm not black.
Elisa Rivera same here, Chinese people come to me and start speaking on their own language,....I wish i could speak chinease language but I can not, at workplace Indian people ask me why I have similar to Indian name? I have to explain all about my country geography culture etc again.....some time i get annoyed and say nothing about it.
being half Japanese and half white, its so refreshing to see people just like me ethnically. Ive only met one other person besides my sister who is half and half and I remember seeing her for the first time and feeling an odd connection. I didn't know at first until I asked her about it then felt such relief finally hearing it. Idk why, its just so strange but comforting meeting someone with a similar ethnic background.
Thank you! I relate so much. My birth father was Japanese and my mom is of English/French descent. My brother and I were even filmed for a telemundo commercial at Disneyland.
My challenge to all in regards to question 4 (half-ness) is that while by "blood" we may be half-half, but who we are is doubled: I, as a person (my cultural identity, my heart, my ethnic identity), am not half Japanese and half American (in my case) -- I am both. But thank you for this posting. I've lived with this "half-ness" or "both-ness" for 50+ years, and am proud. As I talk about this among people on both sides of the ocean and beyond, people generally understand and accept me for who I am.
Good to hear. We ourselves did discuss the idea about "half" as a term that some people would rather see described as "double". It didn't make the final cut of this video, but we were thinking to possibly put it in another video! Thanks for your comment.
Hi Max and Shizuka! I've been living in Tokyo for over a year now and have been really enjoying your vids!! Please keep up the great work! Fun stuff!!!
Such a great video! I'm half Japanese and half Swiss and I can relate to many things you said! We're three sisters and in Japan almost everyone assumes that we're half American. So a lot of people speak English with us.. Even if we answer in proper Japanese lol! As for my identity, if I get asked I always tell people I'm Swiss/ Japanese. I don't see the point to say I'm Swiss (that's were I was born, grew up and still live), because I'm not. I'm both. It's also very interesting to see how other halfies look like! I think I look pretty much half, but one of my sisters looks very white. :D
+kirakiranail Thanks for sharing! Glad you found the video too, that's why we made it. I guess I slowly started to realize that we weren't the only ones out there. All of us halfies kind of have funny stories, being part of both a Western world and an Eastern one. It's fun to be half/both :)
I am so happy to see you guys so happy, laughing about it. I was kind of brooding and miserable growing up mixed in US. Times a little different. I have no idea how my daughter will fit into Japan as half/mixed/double but yeah she is already getting the half ga kawaii and hana ga takai... Hopefully you will blaze a good trail.
I'm 5+ mixed ethnicities, Japanese included, and aside from having experienced all of these, the "halfie-nod" was most interesting of this list because I exchanged it with someone who wasn't of Asian descent, but we could tell the other was mixed. It's really interesting how there's a subtle language of acknowledgement like that.
you guys are the best, made me laugh out loud multiple times! My parents are both Brazilian but I grew up in the US, speaking Portuguese at home but with European ancestry-- so I look like any other US kid and I have no accent in English. I had to make Confushizuka "you're cool because you're you" my desktop background as a reminder that it just doesn't matter!! :)
+Rika Kelso It's literally called "That 70's Show" and Ashton Kutcher plays "Kelso". Maybe it's not popular in Australia? Lol Your second question is something private, but you can contact me about it on my social media.
Ohh! I thought you were talking about my first name! I was thinking 'Rika doll' nara shitteru kedo... I do know of that show! AHAHA Will do, check FB :)) ✌️
Being half Japanese is kind of strange. I'm Japanese and black and everyone thinks I'm Samoan or Filipino. I always get the exotic comment and the mom being Asian question. My mom is black though hahaha
I can relate to your comments. I'm half Japanese. Grew up there the first part of my life. It was my long hair that the Japanese commented on or wanted to touch. While walking down Haiwadori in Naha in the 70's an Obasan came up to me and grabbed my hair. Scared the wits outta me! Lol. I'm 50 now and just this past month went to a Japanese restaurant. The Japanese waitress commented on my hair. She said Hafu have nice hair. I didn't realize they call us hafu until recently. I always knew us as hapa.
hi love your channel. My husband is half Japanese but when I met him I had no idea. OOOps!! But we hit it off pretty much instantly, maybe the fact that I didn't treat him like it was an issue helped the relationship. I found out by meeting his parents, but long before meeting him I had already developed a respect for Japan so it only made him more attractive to me. hope that's not wrong. anyway I'm very glad he is also open minded, as I am Latina. We have been married near 17 years and still very attracted to each other. Id love to hear more about Hapa culture and possible visit my husbands family in Japan some time, so these are very helpful
I am half Chinese half Korean, and I had a friend once who was half Chinese half Japanese. Interestingly some people mistake me for being Japanese, I always take it as a compliment. I also had a friend who was half Japanese half Armenian, and she was very beautiful and tall
The half Japanese combos that I have encountered: Japanese Filipino Japanese American Japanese Mexican Japanese German Japanese Australian Japanese Canadian SO MANY COMBO!!!
I'm mixed: Filipino, Ecuadorian, german, and Irish. I am from Hawaii and as diverse as Hawaii is I have been asked almost all of these questions. most of the time I just turn it into a game and ask them to guess what ethnicity they think I am. it's never been an issue for me to be mixed but in Hawaii it's intriguingly relatable to interact with various persons and understand and appreciate each other's cultures. we are a big melting pot of culture, I love it!
you guys are lucky you at least look asian T^T I'm half Japanese and half white too, but I don't look asian at all.. There are people who can tell I am, but... most people can't unless I tell them and they stare at me for a long time..
RubyRose78 I like to think it helps when there is context, hah. So many people in Japan couldn't tell I was Asian; they thought I looked like Tom Cruise...
Lol, im doninican but with alot of different Asian races mixed in cuz of my great grandparents, and I had this funny awkward moment when I went in japan for a language intensive course where people kept touching my hair because they said it was soft and shiny and kept commenting about my eyes. Ut was funny because a friend of mines told me that they wetter arguing whether I had some asian in me because of my eyes n hair.... Right in front of me, haha XD
I have cousins that are halfie, but not Asian (though....they could kind of pass for it in some traits). They are actually half Caucasian, half Black Foot Indian. Personally, I think the mix ended up making for some very lovely kids! I'm so jealous of the hair the two boys got! It is /so/ silky sooth like my Uncle's. My cousin Vicky has the much paler skin (paler then me with my olive overtone, red under tone) but she has jet black hair and you can mostly see her Native American side in her eyes, cheeks and nose. Cousin Jared is also very pale with jet black hair, but he has a lot more of the slender boned side of our over all family, and the youngest is dark olive with light brown hair and also shows the Black Foot facial structure. People often don't know we are cousins, as we look nothing alike, but you /can/ see their mom in there too. And my nephews, cute little boys that they are, are also Caucasian/Native (Crow Indian). They took a lot after their dad who was Native, but at least one of them has a very red cast to his hair like mom. I can't wait to see what they look like when they are older ^.^ The oldest we can already tell is going to be super tall.
ya really. also my dad is the asian one. I'm a hapa but my dad is half chinese/half japanese. Grandpa is 100% japanese born in California and my grandma is 100% chinese born in China. My mom is white (french canadian and german mostly.) everyone thinks I'm hispanic. its quite hilarious
Hahahahahahaha I have to admit... I'm from Costa Rica and for me he looks more like a latino than Japanese... For me she looks totally Asian XD and I'm white (my parents are from Europe) so many people asks me if I'm gringa (US citizen) or begin to speak to me in english... and yes... I get the question "where are you from" and "where are your parents from" a lot... And even I was born and raised in CR I still have french accent (less than my parents) and for several years I worked in a call center giving assistance in french, so the accent got worse, so much that some people told me that feel I was playing as turist more than a local (is impossible do not have french accent when you parents speak french all the time)
maczu mangu true... but in CR many people call themselves whitr when they are not (it was a professor in my population class that openes my eyes on that) and sadly I don't look like a costarrican, so it happens a lot that people think I'm rich or gringa... less now than before... but it still happens sometimes when I'm in SJ that someone stops me and ask if I speak spanish o begin to speak in english...
maczu mangu the same as in USA people don't see Asians as part of them or China don't see their white population as part of their population... I'm a white latina... but many people don't understand that I'm speaking about metizos if I don't use the word latinos to describe them... And what is race? My friend married a mulato and have two children, both have the same skin color, but because the boy looks like his father people say he is black while the girl look more like mu friend and people say she is latina (they live in USA)... and they have the same skin color... So race is what people want to see... in my case I was born and live my life in a latino country, so I grow up thinking that meztizo is white and that I was ghost color skin girl (turist are normally tanned)... It was a teacher that told the class to stop call the mestizo white... when they are not (only a few mestizos are in reality white), that sadly think being white is better and bla bla bla and that is why they call themselves white when they are not... And is true... many people here say they are white but they have a nice canela color skin... And in my case... I learned that I'm still a ghost color skin girl even for white people, only albinos are whiter than me and I really want to have more color... have white skin is not really funny... :(
@er lo You can't tell if someone in Brazil is full Asian or mixed. You can be mixed and look Full Asian, African, or European. My great-great-great grandfather was Italian, and the rest is Japanese and i look full Asian as well when I'm also A European Brazilian
Whenever people ask me where I'm from they get really confused and think I'm lying because it's such a random and rare combination, not to mention I look strange but not in a bad way. I really wonder if there's anyone out the like me, it's strange knowing that you might be the only one of your kind and don't have a place you can truly call "home" and be accepted by the people. When people ask where i consider myself at home i just say Earth xD
+Lovasz I'm Eritrean and I don't find that combination weird, our people are refugees and are spread all over the world, sometime they end up all alone in a country with no other relatives to contact so it's normal it they end up marrying from a different race or something. I don't know about the Bosnians but Eritreans will always think of you as one of them where ever you go or no matter how you look, most Eritreans nowadays are mixed with green\gray eyes and super light skin and I never saw anyone commenting about them not being "African" or "Eritrean" so don't stress it.
My best friend is Korean-British and you can tell he's mixed by his eyes (who out offending anyone his eyes are quite big like not normal "Asian" eyes but they still kinda look like "Asian" eyes at the same time)and he goes through this all~ the time!! I showed him this video and he's like "I can relate!!" It's nice to understand it from your view point though I enjoyed this video
I can totally relate to this. I am an Asian/Spanish mix and most people think I am Persian or Arabic but I have heard some interesting guesses too but it depends on who looks at me. My dad is the Asian one btw.
Hi! This video and your other videos are great :) I'm hafu too, Frapanese, French and Japanese. But I've lived in the UK for more than half my life, so I have a British accent. So I get major confused face by westerners, very funny. I wondered if you could do one for those who are hafu, but want to move to Japan, you know to get back to their roots (kind of what I've done) the processes involved and what to expect? For example boring but necessary bureaucratic stuff like juminhyo or koseki tohon's. There's so much information online for those completely foreign and how to do things. But I'm sure as you know its a different story when you are hafu. Also I get called exotic, ha like a rare exotic bird.
This is interesting, great video. I'm an asian mix of Japanese and Korean born and raised in America. For number 9 I felt the opposite, I always felt like I was Japanese/Asian until I came to Japan I realized how un-Japanese I was and how American I actually am. Also I don't look half enough for most people to notice so I can be sneaky if I want.
Lol!!! The covert Korean in Tokyo and the covert cute Japanese girl in Seoul!!! As long as you can speak and write in both Japanese and Korean it works!!! LOL!!!
My grandfather is japanese, my dad is half black and half japanese and i'm mixed black and white. I have 1/4 japanese blood but people don't believe me because of stupid stereotypes😑Many of my family live in Kanzawa (Japan). So,i'm proud to be blasian😊
I find it interesting to see any variety of mixed ethnicities. My nephew married a Hawaiian lady who is genetically full Japanese so my great nephew is a Hapa ( never heard this term till your video). I remember the term "Amerasian" given to the kids whose fathers were soldiers in the Vietnam war. Nice video.
This is SSSSOOOOOOO on point! I'm half Japanese, half swedish. It wasn't even a thought to me until I went to school in Japan. However.... It was a little different for me because I look a lot more white. But, I relate to ALL of this! (My best friend is also a "hybrid" like I am. He's Indonesian and Swiss) our hall-ness is how we became friends.
I'm not Japanese but my dad is German and my mom is Mexican.I totally get you guys,I have blonde hair and blue eyes and people say I don't look "Mexican" lol
chiara light Very true. I went to Mexico this summer and there were plenty of European looking Mexicans and they spoke Spanish and on rare occasions an indigenous language.
It's not that people from the states are only exposed to Indios and not exposed to light skinned Mexican people. In the United States if you have light skin and a western last name you just get labeled 'white" you can go to El Paso Texas and come across white skinned people who speak no English. Only 38.2% of Texas population is "white non hispanic"
Those people who said that to you are very stupid, and very ignorant thing to say. Let me guess, Americans said that to you correct? lol My descendants are Iberian Portuguese, Iberian Spanish, French, Italian, Irish, Ashkenazi-Polish, Czech, Greek, Finnish, Egyptian, and Turkish. But my main nationality is Mexican-American. Nice to meet you fellow friend. ^^
I am half Korean/half Estonian in Japan, speak fluent Japanese and English, with ambiguous looks - and get all of these comments and then some ('oh, you do not look half Korean, you look half Japanese'... for example! haha). But yes, when people try to guess where I am from, I think I have gotten just about every single interpretation possible. I guess I am great at confusing people :D
I also get: "Youre half asian? Wait I cant see it.... wait... *stares intensely into my eyes and soul* ohhh now i see it, its in your eyes!" Or "Half asians are the prettiest" Im like : okay...? Thanks?
Its normal to get comments, everyone notices other people's appearance, and its very human to wonder which race they might be (I mean its not racist or hateful, its just normal). I've had that all my life too, people asking if I was Native American (I am part Native American), but there was no demeaning comments, they were just curious about my ancestry, and I can understand that. And of course it you tell them that you are half-Asian but it is not obvious, they try to see if you have Asian physical traits that they haven't noticed. Unless they make demeaning comments of course, then it not ok.
Sarah G They don't offend me at all. They have good intentions and I appreciate their curiosity but I just get a bit uncomfortable when someone I don't really know stares into my eyes for a while... or random free compliments. I really appreciate compliments but they make me blush and I don't know what to say(like ...should I return the compliment?)
+sunflag90 Yes for sure, it must be uncomfortable (and annoying), sometimes people just don't realise they are being a bit rude (in fact if it makes you uncomfortable you can just tell them, you don't have to let them do something that makes you uncomfortable). And I don't think you have to return the compliment unless you feel like it, just a thank you is perfectly fine. :o)
Hey! I just wanted to say that I can totally relate to your video. I'm Hapa (half white/ half Korean)...it's so nice to hear other Hapa's go through similar experiences *nod*
Lol I do the first one all the time. Person : Where are you from? Me : Birmingham :) Person : Where are you from originally?? Me: ... Birmingham, I was born there. :) Person : Nooo, like, where are your parents from? Me: Earth... ;)
lol can't believe TH-cam is showing me this now 🤣 good to know I'm not the only one ...I can totally relate, the number 2 ..."you dont look Japanese" "you look Mexican" OMG... or the one you dont look asian enough for castings, the hair and the nose thing ... gosh hahaha I'm laughing in "exotic" lol lol
The algorithm is a strange beast. It only showed me this now, and oh man. So much of this is things me and my fiance have experienced, him being Hapa and me being...well, half-Hapa, I guess? (my dad is one, mom's white). My fiance has a degree in theatre arts, but quickly found himself dealing with the "not white enough for white roles, not Japanese enough for Asian roles" thing and gave up any real hopes as an actor, and he definitely gets the "You look Mexican!" comment from people because of how dark his skin tone is, while we both have gotten the "You don't *look* Japanese!" And the "Which half are you *more* of?" question...my stepdad actually asked him something along those lines once, because stepdad's full (Hawaiian) Japanese, and it was his very round-about way of asking if he was used to eating Japanese food and things. I've gotten the "So exotic" thing before...even my own mother likes to tell me I'm exotic when commenting on my appearance, like the fact that I have mixed features that's the only thing that is attractive about me, and I have some very awkward childhood memories of visiting family in Japan and having random old ladies coming up to pet my hair because my very Latina curly hair was so unusual. My mother has also told a story to the opposite end of the spectrum: me as a very small child, knowing just enough Japanese to count to ten, happily counting the things in our shopping cart and making a white lady passing by demand to know "What on *Earth* is that child saying?" I'm just in general *very* confusing for people to look at...curly Latina hair, pale freckled skin, and eyes that split the difference between Latina and Japanese so that no one can tell what the heck I am. ^_^
They are both very beautiful people! No only because of the way they look, but the way they react to things. I like the fact that they receive people's curiosity politely and being very understanding about it. Thumbs up for you guys!
If it wasn't a big deal people would not try to question their race all the time or give them comments all the time on their mixed race. if it wasn't a big deal they would not have 11,000 views 200 likes and a whole discussion thread. Society is weird, it's not their fault that other people make it a big deal, it is not them... Especially in asian countries people make it a big deal there alot.
chinchillat505 Okay, so somebody should make a BIG deal and post a video of a mixed breed German Sheppard and Irish Setter dog because people in Japan have never seen one. lol
Because non-mixed people make such a big deal out of it. Being mixed is more common these days, but years ago almost EVERY time I met someone new, they would be curious about my background. I actually enjoy it because it's a good way to make for an interesting conversation. (Asian/White)
When I lived in Japan I saw a Hafu little toddler with a Japanese face and the most beautiful rust color hair. It was very exotic looking. My son is only a quarter Japanese but when he was about eight a classmate was walking behind him and said, "move it Chinese boy!" Lol
I'm asian, precisely chinese, but my parents went to italy, so i'm born and raised in italy (they meet there), i feel totally italian, i mean i speak perfectly italian and. I have an italian accent i love italy, but my aspect obviously is totally asian, yeah i know, but sometimes i just feel ankward, because people always ask me: do you speak italian? (With hand gestures) and i feel bad; sometimes i just want to be italian, but then i think, ha! I know two languages! And even thought i'm not half i feel like a mix of cultures!
Genmaichi But Naturally Id expect any Bilingual person of Bloody Japanese which we all know is Hard enough and to speak Italian on top of that.Youd expect the person to have their hands Full with that Let alone a third Language she's not only Fluent but to an Expert level as you can read.So Props to her and thats why i was so Curious
Yes yes yes 😂 this video is the best thing I've ever watched so relatable!!! Especially the " what are you” and " you're so exotic " .... Thank you for this video
Lol. This is the story of my whole life. Thank you for sharing your tales of being hafu! I am doing a project on my hafu life for my multicultural counseling class and I am including a link to this video. I had somebody get mad at me because he was ANGRY that "mixed people are so beautiful". Being the self-conscious person that I am, I felt awkard, ashamed and scared at the same time. Adding in my bountiful freckles, I definitely get #12 hard core.
pagi hari I respectfully disagree. Even if she looks full Asian to you, she’s half and she’s portraying her experiences in this vid. Not every wasian looks like a perfect mix
Me as a half myself, people see me as a foreigner in both countries. So she might look full Japanese to you, but Japanese people would think she's not full Japanese.
a totally relatable video... I'm half Japanese and half Bolivian, but I grew up both in Japan and the United States (& I currently live in the States), so when it comes to identifying myself, i can't really define myself from a specific country. And if you ask me, there's only 10% or less Bolivian about me (especially 'cause I forgot Spanish in exchange with Japanese) I'll say I'm Japanese because I have a Jp passport, but if you ask me what I am as a person, I'd say I'm international/diverse/any term that's got a similar meaning. And I barely have Japanese friends and growing up in Japan, I'd always hang out with my dad's friends/co-workers who were all from different countries but spoke English, so now I'm realising that there's so many things I don't know/never realized about regular Japanese people; whether it'd be their perspectives toward people like us hafus and even the way they interact when they get older (around high school and above) Anyone out there who can relate to me?
I had the tips of my dark brown hair blondish and even though more than 50% of the top of my head was dark brown I would get this question. "why do you dye the top of your head brown?" "is blonde your natural hair color?" "do you dye your hair?" and everytime I look at them like WTF and I got kind of pissed so I used to say sarcastically "yeah I dye the top brown." and people would say, "wow that's so cool" and then move on. even after I cut the blonde part off, people would come up to me and ask "I thought you were blonde". like I'm half Chinese and half white but not all white people are blonde anyway.
Right. MOST White adults aren't blonde. I'm fully White and I've been a brunette for my entire life. People are always asking me what my ethnicity is. I'm asked quite often if I'm hispanic or partially Asian because they assume I'm not fully white. I have darker features, olive skin, and almond shaped eyes. I do just look a little different and I think that's what confuses people.
This happened to me at work the other week. I was having a conversation with a Father and his son. At one point, the Father asked me where I am from, and I said "Michigan". And the father said, "No I mean where are you REALLY from"? His son then slapped his on forehead and said "omg I can't believe you just said that. The father was dumbfounded as he didn't understand why his son was embarrassed. I said..... "Ann Arbor Michigan?". The father said, "I mean where are your parents from?" his son slapped his own forehead again.
HAHA, the son was literally trying to slap some sense into him. Happened to my full-Chinese (American born) friend last week too at work, but no one to slap their forehead. Another halfie from Ann Arbor Michigan though? Wish I had known more when growing up! lol
I get that I used to think chinese werent in amercia. The internet changed that. I am chinese..it hurts when some people think only china has chinese. =_=
Oh my gosh this is so accurate...Most relatable Hafu video ever! When I went to Japan, people would just stare and stare and stare and I didn't know what to do so I just stared back at them until they felt awkward and looked away...
loved this video XD even though im not half japanese, im half canadian and half korean and most of these. The nod is definitely a thing and also the hair color,i have dark brown hair, the interesting i guess thing with me is my eye color because i have grey/blue eyes but i have the asian eye shape so people ask me if im wearing contacts haha
I was in the bathroom once at the library, and this lady asked me where I was from, then where my parents were from, etc., etc. and I said my mom was from China and she said I didn't have 'almond eyes'.
Hahah, if it were me I'd be thinking, "Okay...😐, I'm just trying to do my business here". Now that I think about it, something sort of similar did happen to me in a bathroom at the urinals once. Super awkward
My two little guys are hapa, and they are adorable! I think they'll have a richer and fuller life for the diversity, even if it's a bit confusing at times. The two young people in the video are great looking and have a great perspective about the whole thing.
Idk why I've never come across this before but god this is so relatable :'). I've grown up in Australia all my life but because both my parents are mixed (half indian/half chinese and then burmese/iranian/european) I apparently can't possibly just say I'm Australian when people ask me where I'm from haha
Woo so relatable! Im Half Japanese half Dutch and people always say like : 'You don't look Japanese but also not white..' like ok thanks! I can't really change my appearance.
I appreciated hearing you two talk about your experiences. My wife and I (Caucasian American and Japanese respectively) have a 5 month old daughter who will be growing up here in Japan. These kinds of stories are interesting and helpful to listen to. And you guys are pretty fun to watch, too. Thanks!
Some hafu people are good looking, others not so much. It all depends on the genetic lottery they get from their parents. Although I guess that is the case with any child born to any parents. For example, I do believe Hikaru Utada's son (who is half Northern Italian) will be physicly attractive when he grows up.
わかります!! 私は日本人 、黒人、あと白人のミクスなので、よく言われます. 特に日本に行くと言われるので時々嫌な思いもしちゃいます www I totally understand where you two come from. I'm mixed with japanese and white/black so i get "what are you??" or "THATS your natural hair color?" alot. Its kind of annoying. I'm so glad this video exists because hafus aren't very common where I live. Great video :)
This was great! Though am half Korean my mom was born in Osaka Japan. But I still get this all the time! I love that y'all addressed the nod!! 😂😂👍🏼 my lil nephew even asked me when does the questions stop, I told him never. 45 years and counting and I still get them lol thanks for this video!!
My husband is Japanese and I am mostly mixed European, "white". We met back in college in Tokyo. We now live in New York City. My husband and I can literally be holding hands and people do not think we are together. In the US, when we are waiting in line at restaurants, to buy tickets, etc., the staff will sometimes ask me to "wait my turn" because they think I cut my husband in line. Sometimes this works out well though, for example getting double free samples at the grocery store, jk! Thank you for making this video. May I ask, how did your parents encourage you to learn both languages? (I speak Japanese, but not natively. My husband speaks English, but not natively.) Did you struggle leaning kanji? Do Japanese people think your Japanese has an accent? (We have friends whose parents are both Japanese; they grew up in Japan, but went to international school and studied in English. They say they struggled with the language and kanji as adults.) If we do have children someday, we hope they are as happy as you two seem. We hope they would feel as comfortable in Japan as they do in the US since my husband's family is obviously all in Japan. Thank you again!
Jillian Randall Kohinata Well, everyone has a little bit of a different take on this, but basically, I speak Japanese, but not completely natively, since I learned it later on in life. I didn't like Japanese school when my mom took me, and she attempted to teach me after school throughout elementary school and I hated it :( I just liked to watch Japanese programming growing up, which at least made me attuned to pronunciation and listening! I gave up on Kanji, because I don't think I'll really need it since I can recognize the most commonly used characters, and just use my phone or computer to read one's that I don't know (Rikai-kun for Chrome). Plus I live in the U.S. now. The international Japanese friends that I made in Japan say similar things about struggling with Kanji as an adult, but their Japanese speaking level is native (maybe slightly different as some Japanese people tell them, but it's native). It seems like the Japanese/Half-Japanese people growing up in the US (or wherever) without some supplementary Japanese schooling won't be as good at Japanese, and the ones who grow up in Japan won't be as good at the other language. Unless they go to international schooling, in which case their English might even be slightly better. This always depends though. I have also found that those Hafu or Japanese kids who travel to Japan during summers to stay/live with their family speak Japanese much better too. I hope that helps, and I do hope they would be happy too! I feel blessed to have had good parents who helped bring me up in a welcoming environment. Maybe that's one of the important things to do :)
Jillian Randall Kohinata I'm really surprised when you say that people in the US don't think you're a couple. There are tons of mixed couples in the US, it's considered totally normal. The only exception would be maybe some small towns. But NYC is one of the most diverse cities in the entire country, with some of the most open-minded, international people. So you should fit right in.
LittleLulubee It's not that people are rude or against us being together. I just think people aren't expecting that we are together so when they look at us, their mind doesn't think "couple" immediately. I have to say that most of the experiences I mentioned in my previous post happened when living in Boston. But I have been holding my husband's hand in NYC and entering a hotel and had security step between my husband and I and ask if he(my husband) was with me. I have told newer friends I am married, have been hugging my husband in front of them, and then people will ask who my husband is. I do feel like we fit in; especially more in NYC or in Hawaii. I have seen Caucasian women with Asian men in NYC, but in our many years in Boston I believe we only saw 2 couples like us and maybe 1 H&M advertisement with a mixed couple like us. That said, I have personally never met another couple in which the husband is from Japan and wife is from America. I'm sure there are couples like that out there, we just haven't met them. We would love to hang out with another couple like our's since gender, language, and cultural differences means either my husband or I are the minority when we hang out with all Japanese or all American friends.
Jillian Randall Kohinata Wow, that's crazy! I can only come up with one theory about that: From what I've heard about Japanese people, they seem to be very against PDA (showing any physical affection at all towards a partner in public). I wonder if maybe when you grab his hand, or hug him, he acts a little stiff, or doesn't react at all? Maybe just because of his upbringing, he might feel shy about responding to that. So Americans might read those signs as him being more of a friend, instead of a romantic partner? I also know that some Japanese people tend to be very quiet, so maybe if he wasn't speaking to you, or showing affection, someone might not realize you're standing in line together? I don't know if either of those things apply to you guys, but that was the only guess I could come up with. Other than that, I suggest you guys go to some Japanese language meet-ups (www.meetup.com). You're sure to find mixed couples there. Also, have you heard of Japan Society in NYC? They have a channel here on TH-cam. They have lots of events that you could attend, where you would also be likely to meet mixed couples, I would imagine. And you could watch the famous TH-camrs Texan in Tokyo and Rachel and Jun, if you don't already know them. They're both mixed couples, with American girls and Japanese boys. They all live in Japan, but they talk alot about the issues with being bi-cultural, so that should be interesting for you. The Texan in Tokyo wrote some manga-style books about the subject, too. Hope that helps! Good luck :)
LittleLulubee Thanks you for caring LittleLulubee! My Husband is affectionate and will hug me in public. I tend to be more "shy" than the american stereotype and he tends to be less "shy" by Japanese standards so we balance each-other out and are quite comfortable both in America and Japan with hugging, joking around, and even short kisses in public. My husband will hug me, hold my hand, etc in public or around friends without me initiating. We do go to meet-ups together quite often. We usually find lots of students, housewives, workers, or American men in relationships with Japanese women. But we will still keep looking to meet people. NYC is much more international like you said, so we do feel we can meet a lot more people here, even if they are not exactly like us. I do love Rachel and Jun! They are a cute couple! I will lookup "The Texan in Tokyo" I had never hear of them. For anyone reading this post: I don't really think that Japanese people are actually "shy". Hugging in Japan is not a social norm the same way as it is in the US, so Japanese people just tend not to be comfortable with it (in general.) I have many Japanese friends who are much less shy than I am. They are very outgoing, sociable, and bubbly. They are extroverts, BUT they still wont hug (especially other Japanese people) in public because it's just not the normal thing to do. Not hugging doesn't mean they are shy, it means they socially conscious and can "read the air." For example, I am not a big "hugger." I generally do not initiate hugs, and only feel comfortable with hugs from my husband, my family, and sometimes my very close friends. (I grew up in Boston and need a little more personal space.) When we leave, my mother-in-law's home in Japan. She will hug me so warmly and tight and say goodbye until next time. To my husband, she will stand at a slight distance and warmly wish him a safe flight and to take care of his health. When we say goodbye, there is no one else around, no one else there to watch us, no one there to be "shy" in front of, but they still wont hug. She loves her son and has a great relationship with him, but she doesn't hug him because it's not whats done in Japan. However, when she comes to the us she might lightly hug her son goodbye because after a few weeks in the US watching my extended family hug each other, and being hugged hello and goodbye by my family, hugging becomes a little more of a social norm.
Hi guy ;) Thanks for nice video! I am 25% Spanish Japanese who has many problem as mixed blood . For example When I was in the airplane with my classmates (it's school trip ) , CA gave me a tax form in English . Even I talked something in Japanese... I don't mind my nationality anymore however I could understand what you guys saying
+Yoshira TV Same here! Now, I don't care whether I get handed an English form or Japanese form. It takes too much energy to mind that... haha. Keep your head up!
I am from Brazil and I am half japanese and half Italian but Brazil is a mixed country so I never had problema with it HAHAHA Brazilian people say that I am full japanese because of my eyes but japanese people say that I am not because my hair ir not dark
you must have the most gorgeous tan! I just grew insanely jealous xD
I was wrong
+Enkee Natsag I am also quite a rare mix. Instead I am half Chinese and half Slovakian, living in London. If that was not unique enough, I am also an identical twin.....
+Samantha Orr wow!!
+Midori anyway você é muito bonita!! Abs de outra ハーフ ;)
I am half Japanese, when I first got to California I got "Are you American Indian? This happened multiple times. LOL
+John M. Johnson what's your other half?
Exactly half Japanese, half Swedish.
OMG JAG ÄR OCKSÅ HALV JAPAN HALV SVENSK
+Rika Furude hahahahaahha
+John M. Johnson indian are descendant of japanese people, i heard that some indian language have similarity with japanese language, well to me i don t see much similarity in the face, maybe more between people from south east asia and indian , but apart from pictures i never really met indian people, i like to do portrait but i may not be that good in similarity, in fact i m totally clueless sometimes i don t recognize a person because he s not wearing the same clothes, and i m not talking about people in other
The guy definitely looks half and half. Actually, he looks like anime come to life. The girl, though, at least to a paleface like me, looks 100% Asian.
christopherscottb I'm Asian and she looks 100% Asian. Some Japanese girls have higher noses... so pretty
She looks hot.
Max looks European to me. Maybe closer to Eastern European (eg russians) though.
@@FinalLugiaGuardian He looks Eurasian. Even Arabs don't usually look like him.
It’s like my brother and I. He looks more Asian than I do.
I'm half japanese and half European and I get "half babies are so cute" "I wish I was a hafu" and it is really akward
Mao Aldred Aren’t you flattered?
Hey, I’m expecting a Hapa son in December... I’m proud and excited for the boy, but I see these “complicated Asian identities” online, and I worry... Please, do you have any basic advice for what a father needs to give a Hapa-child? I’m the tall white male with a beautiful, loyal, tiny Japanese wife. I’m at least glad to be bring the child into a healthy, loving home, but what else should I do to prepare?
I'm a three-way mix (only 1/4 Japanese), and oh boy. I've never literally gotten the "half babies are so cute!" thing, but as a kid I basically got treated that way when we'd visit family in Japan. So many little old ladies would come over and coo and fuss at me because I have curly, very Latina hair. I was literally having strangers come over and pet me like some sort of exotic kitten! So awkward.
@Danny Wade Most attractive Koreans are plastic.
I honestly love being half
Big thanks to Océane M. for doing the French subtitles!
Merci!
Merci Océane but it's pretty confusing x) I mean, listening a language and read another one is a bit difficult xD mais merci quand même, je peux m'entraîner a parler l'anglais :D
Half chinese. Mom's white. My favorite response will be when she picking up my brother from while pregnant with me. Random woman comes up to her and says "isn't the darnest thing, you adopt a baby and you get pregnant yourself." My mom was so upset. With that being said, I do get asked a lot if I'm adopted when they see my mom is white.
i have been a victim of this. Mixed bloke here . I distinctly remember hearing someone at the airport as my mum where she adopted me. this question usually catches me off guard and a few times i have lashed out lol!.
I feel bad
Lol 😂 oh gosh I’m sorry but that’s kinda hilarious
I'm Thai/Norwegain and I refrain from using the words half or similar words. I've had quite the identity crisis that really made my childhood miserable. My mom never taught us Thai so at school in Norway we were expected to be martial artists and always eat rice and in Thailand we were the gorgeous foreign children who looked so European and beautiful and couldn't speak a word Thai. Living every day in Norway accepting the Asian stereotypes and embracing them (it's exotic being different, right? lol) and then coming to Thailand only to find out that we weren't Asian enough and couldn't even speak the language, and we were just foreigners (getting foreigner prices when mom got normal native Thai prices etc.). Being excluded from something you saw yourself as a part of. That split between expectations, perception of self and reality gave me quite the trauma. But things got much better. I went to Thailand on exchange and I'm finally content with who I am.
I'm equally Norwegian and Thai, regardless of language skills or where I've lived. My mom is as Thai as anyone from Thailand and same with my Norwegian father.There is nothing illegitimate, mix blooded/half blooded or halfbreed about me. That's why I don't like the word "half" or other words made to describe children who have parents from different countries and parts of the world. It's tossed around like it's nothing, when in fact it judges someone as incomplete. I'm not half - it's not like my blood is divided into a Thai half and a Norwegian half. I am one person, with two countries, cultures and a more diverse gene pool. We shouldn't have to divide ourselves or having to choose where we belong. We are part of both and we can take the best from both worlds.Language is a lot more powerful than we think. If we start calling us "half" just because it's commonly used, we become half. Aren't we full human beings? If we divide people into race we create a subconscious division that's not supposed to be there. (We are all one human race after all
Hey, I’m expecting a Hapa son in December... I’m proud and excited for the boy, but I see these “complicated Asian identities” online, and I worry... Please, do you have any basic advice for what a father needs to give a Hapa-child? I’m the tall white male with a beautiful, loyal, tiny Japanese wife. I’m at least glad to be bring the child into a healthy, loving home, but what else should I do to prepare?
As a Chinese/White mixed woman...this spoke to me so deeply. Thank you
Great job putting all of this together.
Yeah, thanks so much! More to come.
I love this video so much. They explained, discussed, and laughed about all my life experiences I’ve always kept to myself. Love the halfu community!
THIS IS SO RELATABLE! Omg I love this video. Theres a guy at my school who is also hapa and we had that "oh you're hapa too" moment lol
Well in Japan it is sort of a big deal to them, especially considering anyone not all Japanese is a unicorn out there.
I went to Japan last week and got the "happa" nod from every non Asian looking person there lol. I also tried to speak Japanese to a girl I was sitting next to at disneyland, she looked at me all confused and said in English "No, I'm Chinese."
+Justagirlwithasmile lmao
+Justagirlwithasmile Hahaha, same thing happened to me at Tokyo DisneySea, except the couple was Korean
I talked to this old guy one time. He came up to me and started to complain about the Japanese.... He went on and on about radiation and WWII, then he asked me where I was from, so I said, "I was born in Japan... my mom is from Japan and my dad is American...")! He walked away...
well thats a little rude! and same with me, i was born in japan and my mom is japanese while my dad is american :) its so awesome finding half japanese people just like me
Yes its cool to meet other half people. We all kindof have our own race... mixed. lol Like when you take a test and sometimes it will ask about your racial background... check by the mixed category. lol
did he say sorry?
i live in america, and everybody loves the japanese in my city.
if i were you, i would've lashed right back at him. give him a good dig somewhere.
No, but he was a old man. I understood that he grew up in a different time and era. It didnt bother me that much. I just laughed it off and moved on.
Michael Taishi Singleton
he probably is more concerned hating other minorities like the hispanics/blacks/muslims anyways.
I'm half Japanese half Mexican... and everyone's like "what's my name on japanese?" even though I always tell them that i've been born and raised in México and I can barely speak japanese, but the only thing I want to say to those people who ask that is "B*TCH your name is the same! It doesn't change at all!" =.=
+MrTacoExplosivo true lol although im japanese and korean, I was born and raised in the states and everyone is just like " what's your name in korean?? how do you say your name in japanese?? Are you more korean or japanese??" It's so frustrating. My name is my name. It doesn't freaking change!
+Ada Red Wong Hola! xD
It changes a bit tho. If your name is Jorge, you would be called Horuhe in Japanese.
+MrTacoExplosivo lmao XD
a lonely dango Sep, siempre pasa. D:
I'm half black half japanese. And I live in Japan and this is my dad who is japanese lol, that's not always the mom. And I usually get mistaken for being Filippino hehe :)
Nice video ;)
I love hearing stories like yours. Appreciate your background man!
Hey man, thanks for watching and glad you could relate! My Filipino friends sometimes claim Filipinos are the black people of Asia, so maybe that's why you get mistaken for a Pinoy hahah.
Michael Stone Heeeey glad you enjoy the way I'm, that's not the same in my class cuz everybody is full japanese and i'm not they find me weird xD
Max D. Capo Yeaaah I also think so hehe
Big thanks to Sheentong Ren for doing the Chinese subtitles!! Xie xie!!
People think I'm Mexican but I'm half Japanese and black
The "hapa nod" is totally a thing! It's happened way too many times.
Sometimes I also give (and receive) the "hapa nod" from bi-racial couples with newly-born hapa babies. They must be wondering if that's what their kids will look like 20 (ok, 25) years from now. Great video!
I get the same thing, haha. I try to fight back a smile cause I can feel the parents looking at me curiously.
Haha awesome video guys !
I'm half Japanese & Polish who was born & live in Paris now so seriously i get all of those same questions & confused from people haha. (i just laughed so much at the halfie nod & at the 「花が高いですね」 things HAHA).
The identity crises happened to me, when i was back to japan for summer vacations at the age of 14, and people starts to talk to me in sort of strange english & saying 「日本語上手ですね」. I was kinda shocked when i see the differences back to when i was younger and people were talking to me in japanese without thinking about my looks? haha.
And the other thing is that, i can speak french, japanese, english & little polish but i get many troubles when i was younger at school in France, cause i never get one language where i was strong enough to talk easly so it was hard for me back then.
Anyway, keep doing great videos ;) you guys are funny ! お大事に～
You two are so nice to each other and the audience! It's very heartwarming. :)
I'm actually not a hapa but I've met a few hapas throughout my life. Although... I actually come from a country that's literally half European and half Asian (Russia) but I look white to most people BUT I also grew up in a Chinatown in the U.S. So I'm like physically white looking but mentally and spiritually Asian. So whenever I talk to actual white Americans or even fellow Slavs, they're always a little surprised at how I talk and the way I think. So the hapa community is the one place where I can sort of relate but in a complicated sort of way.
Guys, just showed this to my half Japanese/half European/all New Zealander/now in America twin 8-year-olds. A great way to help them make sense of who they are, how they fit into the world, and that they are by no means alone. Thank you!!
I've had a bunch of these even tho I'm "pure" American (well, German, Russian, Cuban, so white anyway) and I speak Japanese pretty comfortably, so people assume I'm "half", they ask which one of my parents are Japanese, if I was born in Japan, etc. OR! if I'm with my husband in HI and we are speaking Japanese, places that have Japanese speaking staff get confused and speak English to me, speak Japanese to him, ask if I can speak Japanese, lol....actually since he looks a little bit Korean (tall, "high nose" and cheekbones) Korean people speak to him in Korean.....and then I answer back in Korean that he only speaks Japanese, which makes their brains explode XD
What is "pure" American?
Are you a native American?
dont go around saying you are "pure" american because you are not, american is just a nationality not an ethnicity. you are just perpetuating the stereotype that all americans are white, when in actuality the US is very diverse and barely majority white anymore. besides it is offensive to people like me who are actually pure american.
OMG that is hilarious!
I'm Cambodian/Thai and Puerto Rican. I get all of these comments all the time! People usually think I'm Filipino, Vietnamese, or Mexican. They don't even ask. They just come up and start speaking to me in their language.
I even had one guy ask me if I was half black and when I said no, he said, "Come on. You don't have to be ashamed of what you are." I'm not ashamed. And I'm not black.
Elisa Rivera same here, Chinese people come to me and start speaking on their own language,....I wish i could speak chinease language but I can not, at workplace Indian people ask me why I have similar to Indian name? I have to explain all about my country geography culture etc again.....some time i get annoyed and say nothing about it.
omg i never thought the halfie nod happened to anyone else! XD
Just got it again the other day...
Dude your not alone on that "nod" lol ^^!!!
being half Japanese and half white, its so refreshing to see people just like me ethnically. Ive only met one other person besides my sister who is half and half and I remember seeing her for the first time and feeling an odd connection. I didn't know at first until I asked her about it then felt such relief finally hearing it. Idk why, its just so strange but comforting meeting someone with a similar ethnic background.
Thank you! I relate so much. My birth father was Japanese and my mom is of English/French descent. My brother and I were even filmed for a telemundo commercial at Disneyland.
My challenge to all in regards to question 4 (half-ness) is that while by "blood" we may be half-half, but who we are is doubled: I, as a person (my cultural identity, my heart, my ethnic identity), am not half Japanese and half American (in my case) -- I am both. But thank you for this posting. I've lived with this "half-ness" or "both-ness" for 50+ years, and am proud. As I talk about this among people on both sides of the ocean and beyond, people generally understand and accept me for who I am.
Good to hear. We ourselves did discuss the idea about "half" as a term that some people would rather see described as "double". It didn't make the final cut of this video, but we were thinking to possibly put it in another video! Thanks for your comment.
Hey nice to meet you the other day!!! Well I have to say I can relate to this very well!!! hahaha funny
Nice meeting you too! And I'm glad you liked it; I'll be posting some more like this soon :)
I'm half Japanese/German and i cannot even express how many times people have said "wow you would've been killed during World War II!"
Hi Max and Shizuka! I've been living in Tokyo for over a year now and have been really enjoying your vids!! Please keep up the great work! Fun stuff!!!
+Alex Guevara Thank you!! So glad you've been enjoying them! :)
Such a great video! I'm half Japanese and half Swiss and I can relate to many things you said! We're three sisters and in Japan almost everyone assumes that we're half American. So a lot of people speak English with us.. Even if we answer in proper Japanese lol! As for my identity, if I get asked I always tell people I'm Swiss/ Japanese. I don't see the point to say I'm Swiss (that's were I was born, grew up and still live), because I'm not. I'm both. It's also very interesting to see how other halfies look like! I think I look pretty much half, but one of my sisters looks very white. :D
+kirakiranail Thanks for sharing! Glad you found the video too, that's why we made it. I guess I slowly started to realize that we weren't the only ones out there. All of us halfies kind of have funny stories, being part of both a Western world and an Eastern one. It's fun to be half/both :)
I am so happy to see you guys so happy, laughing about it. I was kind of brooding and miserable growing up mixed in US. Times a little different. I have no idea how my daughter will fit into Japan as half/mixed/double but yeah she is already getting the half ga kawaii and hana ga takai... Hopefully you will blaze a good trail.
Thanks for the message. Hopefully I can do a small part by creating a community or something through this channel :)
I'm 5+ mixed ethnicities, Japanese included, and aside from having experienced all of these, the "halfie-nod" was most interesting of this list because I exchanged it with someone who wasn't of Asian descent, but we could tell the other was mixed. It's really interesting how there's a subtle language of acknowledgement like that.
I fkn LOVE that halfie nod!! It’s like “hey, we share the same experiences! We look similar!” Always a slight grin too
"Oh I thought you were Mexican!"
Omg I'm cracking up. I'm half Japanese and half Italian and I get that all the time. Hapa pride!
Gina Oshiro Makes me wonder if Mexicans are the original half Asians, haha
Honestly Mexicans and Hispanics can pass of as any race!
Max Capo I'm going to kill myself because because this comment.
Max Capo Have you seen the research on some Native Americans having part Chinese blood?
Max Capo that's because we are not a race but a nationality.
latinos are not a race either we are all a mix of a bunch of stuff.
you guys are the best, made me laugh out loud multiple times! My parents are both Brazilian but I grew up in the US, speaking Portuguese at home but with European ancestry-- so I look like any other US kid and I have no accent in English. I had to make Confushizuka "you're cool because you're you" my desktop background as a reminder that it just doesn't matter!! :)
+Sergio Bastian Lol you made that your desktop background!!! Hahaha, that made my day, thank you! And you really are cool because you're you! ;)
This makes me soo happy.I love being able to relate to other halfies!! (Half Japanese, half Australian here!) :P
So glad you found this vid! Yoroshiku :P
Also, your name makes me think of that 70's show, just FYI lol
Not sure which show you're talking about.. 🤔
Weird question: Do you have a dual citizenship for Japan and America?
+Rika Kelso It's literally called "That 70's Show" and Ashton Kutcher plays "Kelso". Maybe it's not popular in Australia? Lol
Your second question is something private, but you can contact me about it on my social media.
Ohh! I thought you were talking about my first name! I was thinking 'Rika doll' nara shitteru kedo...
I do know of that show! AHAHA
Will do, check FB :)) ✌️
Shizuka is very beautiful.
Being half Japanese is kind of strange. I'm Japanese and black and everyone thinks I'm Samoan or Filipino. I always get the exotic comment and the mom being Asian question. My mom is black though hahaha
Kiarri Takahahn That probably blows their mind haha. Defying those stereotypes
She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Mixed people always look good, but this girl, that face!
+Jonas Vloggar but but but she is missing two lumps of happiness
She is missing having me in her life :)
+Jonas Vloggar smooth as fuck
Soon as I saw the thumbnail I was like "Who the fuck is that, she's gorgeous as fuck."
Max is the really handsome one! Such a nice smile!
I can relate to your comments. I'm half Japanese. Grew up there the first part of my life. It was my long hair that the Japanese commented on or wanted to touch. While walking down Haiwadori in Naha in the 70's an Obasan came up to me and grabbed my hair. Scared the wits outta me! Lol. I'm 50 now and just this past month went to a Japanese restaurant. The Japanese waitress commented on my hair. She said Hafu have nice hair. I didn't realize they call us hafu until recently. I always knew us as hapa.
hi love your channel. My husband is half Japanese but when I met him I had no idea. OOOps!! But we hit it off pretty much instantly, maybe the fact that I didn't treat him like it was an issue helped the relationship. I found out by meeting his parents, but long before meeting him I had already developed a respect for Japan so it only made him more attractive to me. hope that's not wrong. anyway I'm very glad he is also open minded, as I am Latina. We have been married near 17 years and still very attracted to each other. Id love to hear more about Hapa culture and possible visit my husbands family in Japan some time, so these are very helpful
I am half Chinese half Korean, and I had a friend once who was half Chinese half Japanese. Interestingly some people mistake me for being Japanese, I always take it as a compliment. I also had a friend who was half Japanese half Armenian, and she was very beautiful and tall
Did anyone else think of "Texan in Tokyo" when that image popped out in the bottom right corner at 4:37?? :D
The half Japanese combos that I have encountered:
Japanese Filipino
Japanese American
Japanese Mexican
Japanese German
Japanese Australian
Japanese Canadian
SO MANY COMBO!!!
I'm half Japanese and spanish
I’m Japanese and Brazilian (btw don’t get confused with my profile, it’s someone famous 😂)
half japanese and korean lol
I'm mixed: Filipino, Ecuadorian, german, and Irish. I am from Hawaii and as diverse as Hawaii is I have been asked almost all of these questions. most of the time I just turn it into a game and ask them to guess what ethnicity they think I am. it's never been an issue for me to be mixed but in Hawaii it's intriguingly relatable to interact with various persons and understand and appreciate each other's cultures. we are a big melting pot of culture, I love it!
I watched this a couple years ago, but then again today! I'm not hafu, but I can really relate to most of these!! Great video!
Thanks!! And I’ve actually been watching your videos lately haha :) Arigato!
you guys are lucky you at least look asian T^T I'm half Japanese and half white too, but I don't look asian at all.. There are people who can tell I am, but... most people can't unless I tell them and they stare at me for a long time..
RubyRose78 I like to think it helps when there is context, hah. So many people in Japan couldn't tell I was Asian; they thought I looked like Tom Cruise...
Lol, im doninican but with alot of different Asian races mixed in cuz of my great grandparents, and I had this funny awkward moment when I went in japan for a language intensive course where people kept touching my hair because they said it was soft and shiny and kept commenting about my eyes. Ut was funny because a friend of mines told me that they wetter arguing whether I had some asian in me because of my eyes n hair.... Right in front of me, haha XD
Max Capo I have this problem as well, I don't look Asian at all. I'm a halfie
I have cousins that are halfie, but not Asian (though....they could kind of pass for it in some traits). They are actually half Caucasian, half Black Foot Indian. Personally, I think the mix ended up making for some very lovely kids! I'm so jealous of the hair the two boys got! It is /so/ silky sooth like my Uncle's. My cousin Vicky has the much paler skin (paler then me with my olive overtone, red under tone) but she has jet black hair and you can mostly see her Native American side in her eyes, cheeks and nose. Cousin Jared is also very pale with jet black hair, but he has a lot more of the slender boned side of our over all family, and the youngest is dark olive with light brown hair and also shows the Black Foot facial structure. People often don't know we are cousins, as we look nothing alike, but you /can/ see their mom in there too. And my nephews, cute little boys that they are, are also Caucasian/Native (Crow Indian). They took a lot after their dad who was Native, but at least one of them has a very red cast to his hair like mom. I can't wait to see what they look like when they are older ^.^ The oldest we can already tell is going to be super tall.
ya really. also my dad is the asian one. I'm a hapa but my dad is half chinese/half japanese. Grandpa is 100% japanese born in California and my grandma is 100% chinese born in China. My mom is white (french canadian and german mostly.) everyone thinks I'm hispanic. its quite hilarious
Hahahahahahaha I have to admit... I'm from Costa Rica and for me he looks more like a latino than Japanese...
For me she looks totally Asian XD
and I'm white (my parents are from Europe) so many people asks me if I'm gringa (US citizen) or begin to speak to me in english... and yes... I get the question "where are you from" and "where are your parents from" a lot...
And even I was born and raised in CR I still have french accent (less than my parents) and for several years I worked in a call center giving assistance in french, so the accent got worse, so much that some people told me that feel I was playing as turist more than a local (is impossible do not have french accent when you parents speak french all the time)
maczu mangu true... but in CR many people call themselves whitr when they are not (it was a professor in my population class that openes my eyes on that) and sadly I don't look like a costarrican, so it happens a lot that people think I'm rich or gringa... less now than before... but it still happens sometimes when I'm in SJ that someone stops me and ask if I speak spanish o begin to speak in english...
maczu mangu the same as in USA people don't see Asians as part of them or China don't see their white population as part of their population...
I'm a white latina... but many people don't understand that I'm speaking about metizos if I don't use the word latinos to describe them...
And what is race? My friend married a mulato and have two children, both have the same skin color, but because the boy looks like his father people say he is black while the girl look more like mu friend and people say she is latina (they live in USA)... and they have the same skin color...
So race is what people want to see... in my case I was born and live my life in a latino country, so I grow up thinking that meztizo is white and that I was ghost color skin girl (turist are normally tanned)...
It was a teacher that told the class to stop call the mestizo white... when they are not (only a few mestizos are in reality white), that sadly think being white is better and bla bla bla and that is why they call themselves white when they are not...
And is true... many people here say they are white but they have a nice canela color skin...
And in my case... I learned that I'm still a ghost color skin girl even for white people, only albinos are whiter than me and I really want to have more color... have white skin is not really funny... :(
So you speak Spanish , French, and English?
@er lo You can't tell if someone in Brazil is full Asian or mixed. You can be mixed and look Full Asian, African, or European. My great-great-great grandfather was Italian, and the rest is Japanese and i look full Asian as well when I'm also A European Brazilian
I'm a half Eritrean and half Bosnian which grew up in Germany and lives in London.
Whenever people ask me where I'm from they get really confused and think I'm lying because it's such a random and rare combination, not to mention I look strange but not in a bad way. I really wonder if there's anyone out the like me, it's strange knowing that you might be the only one of your kind and don't have a place you can truly call "home" and be accepted by the people. When people ask where i consider myself at home i just say Earth xD
+Lovasz I'm Eritrean and I don't find that combination weird, our people are refugees and are spread all over the world, sometime they end up all alone in a country with no other relatives to contact so it's normal it they end up marrying from a different race or something. I don't know about the Bosnians but Eritreans will always think of you as one of them where ever you go or no matter how you look, most Eritreans nowadays are mixed with green\gray eyes and super light skin and I never saw anyone commenting about them not being "African" or "Eritrean" so don't stress it.
Slavic African HAHAHA
Lola ??? Is that Leyla Aldobasic ??? Are you Bosnian Lola ??
wow that's unique haha
my father is bosnian too and my mother is polish and I'm living in Germany haha
My best friend is Korean-British and you can tell he's mixed by his eyes (who out offending anyone his eyes are quite big like not normal "Asian" eyes but they still kinda look like "Asian" eyes at the same time)and he goes through this all~ the time!! I showed him this video and he's like "I can relate!!" It's nice to understand it from your view point though I enjoyed this video
I can totally relate to this. I am an Asian/Spanish mix and most people think I am Persian or Arabic but I have heard some interesting guesses too but it depends on who looks at me. My dad is the Asian one btw.
Hi! This video and your other videos are great :) I'm hafu too, Frapanese, French and Japanese. But I've lived in the UK for more than half my life, so I have a British accent. So I get major confused face by westerners, very funny. I wondered if you could do one for those who are hafu, but want to move to Japan, you know to get back to their roots (kind of what I've done) the processes involved and what to expect? For example boring but necessary bureaucratic stuff like juminhyo or koseki tohon's. There's so much information online for those completely foreign and how to do things. But I'm sure as you know its a different story when you are hafu.
Also I get called exotic, ha like a rare exotic bird.
This is interesting, great video. I'm an asian mix of Japanese and Korean born and raised in America. For number 9 I felt the opposite, I always felt like I was Japanese/Asian until I came to Japan I realized how un-Japanese I was and how American I actually am. Also I don't look half enough for most people to notice so I can be sneaky if I want.
Lol!!! The covert Korean in Tokyo and the covert cute Japanese girl in Seoul!!! As long as you can speak and write in both Japanese and Korean it works!!! LOL!!!
My grandfather is japanese, my dad is half black and half japanese and i'm mixed black and white. I have 1/4 japanese blood but people don't believe me because of stupid stereotypes😑Many of my family live in Kanzawa (Japan). So,i'm proud to be blasian😊
+Azuree Ingvild Hjøllund Beck Heck yea, I am actually near Kanazawa visiting now. Mixed people ftw? haha
+Azuree Ingvild Hjøllund Beck you're complicated
Same, but my family is from Kyoto and Nagasaki.
I find it interesting to see any variety of mixed ethnicities. My nephew married a Hawaiian lady who is genetically full Japanese so my great nephew is a Hapa ( never heard this term till your video). I remember the term "Amerasian" given to the kids whose fathers were soldiers in the Vietnam war. Nice video.
This is SSSSOOOOOOO on point! I'm half Japanese, half swedish. It wasn't even a thought to me until I went to school in Japan. However.... It was a little different for me because I look a lot more white. But, I relate to ALL of this! (My best friend is also a "hybrid" like I am. He's Indonesian and Swiss) our hall-ness is how we became friends.
I'm not Japanese but my dad is German and my mom is Mexican.I totally get you guys,I have blonde hair and blue eyes and people say I don't look "Mexican" lol
chiara light
Very true. I went to Mexico this summer and there were plenty of European looking Mexicans and they spoke Spanish and on rare occasions an indigenous language.
It's not that people from the states are only exposed to Indios and not exposed to light skinned Mexican people. In the United States if you have light skin and a western last name you just get labeled 'white" you can go to El Paso Texas and come across white skinned people who speak no English. Only 38.2% of Texas population is "white non hispanic"
+shutup Germans and irish have been moving to South america since the 1400's
+chiara light Well said.
Those people who said that to you are very stupid, and very ignorant thing to say. Let me guess, Americans said that to you correct? lol My descendants are Iberian Portuguese, Iberian Spanish, French, Italian, Irish, Ashkenazi-Polish, Czech, Greek, Finnish, Egyptian, and Turkish. But my main nationality is Mexican-American. Nice to meet you fellow friend. ^^
I am half Korean/half Estonian in Japan, speak fluent Japanese and English, with ambiguous looks - and get all of these comments and then some ('oh, you do not look half Korean, you look half Japanese'... for example! haha). But yes, when people try to guess where I am from, I think I have gotten just about every single interpretation possible. I guess I am great at confusing people :D
I also get:
"Youre half asian? Wait I cant see it.... wait... *stares intensely into my eyes and soul* ohhh now i see it, its in your eyes!"
Or
"Half asians are the prettiest"
Im like : okay...? Thanks?
sunflag90 I'll take whatever comment, as long as it's positive, hah :P
Its normal to get comments, everyone notices other people's appearance, and its very human to wonder which race they might be (I mean its not racist or hateful, its just normal). I've had that all my life too, people asking if I was Native American (I am part Native American), but there was no demeaning comments, they were just curious about my ancestry, and I can understand that. And of course it you tell them that you are half-Asian but it is not obvious, they try to see if you have Asian physical traits that they haven't noticed. Unless they make demeaning comments of course, then it not ok.
Sarah G They don't offend me at all. They have good intentions and I appreciate their curiosity but I just get a bit uncomfortable when someone I don't really know stares into my eyes for a while... or random free compliments. I really appreciate compliments but they make me blush and I don't know what to say(like ...should I return the compliment?)
+sunflag90 Yes for sure, it must be uncomfortable (and annoying), sometimes people just don't realise they are being a bit rude (in fact if it makes you uncomfortable you can just tell them, you don't have to let them do something that makes you uncomfortable). And I don't think you have to return the compliment unless you feel like it, just a thank you is perfectly fine. :o)
I just got this exact response today lol.
WOOHOO !! I always get identity crisis ! half-Filipino half Japanese here :D nice video
Hey! I just wanted to say that I can totally relate to your video. I'm Hapa (half white/ half Korean)...it's so nice to hear other Hapa's go through similar experiences *nod*
I'm Japanese/Filipino and a little korean or so says my mom.. so yeah... I feel your pain guys
zeehee1231 people think I'm spanish thats why. they ask "what are you"
zeehee1231 Yeah, or are you saying it is not considered it as being half, because it's both in Asia but two different countries?
exactly
Yuuko Kanda LOL you are not spanish! hahahahhaahahahahahahhaha
shh shh its ok engine
Lol I do the first one all the time.
Person : Where are you from?
Me : Birmingham :)
Person : Where are you from originally??
Me: ... Birmingham, I was born there. :)
Person : Nooo, like, where are your parents from?
Me: Earth... ;)
What are you? I'm human. Then walk away.
It's interesting though to know the origins of people. Saying "I'm human" is very bland and doesn't tell much of a story.
Me I know. But what sort of human are you?
When you try your best to communicate but you attempt fails miserably lol
lfmaoooooooo what is your human origin
Yep...Earth!
lol can't believe TH-cam is showing me this now 🤣 good to know I'm not the only one ...I can totally relate, the number 2 ..."you dont look Japanese" "you look Mexican" OMG... or the one you dont look asian enough for castings, the hair and the nose thing ... gosh hahaha I'm laughing in "exotic" lol lol
The algorithm is a strange beast. It only showed me this now, and oh man. So much of this is things me and my fiance have experienced, him being Hapa and me being...well, half-Hapa, I guess? (my dad is one, mom's white).
My fiance has a degree in theatre arts, but quickly found himself dealing with the "not white enough for white roles, not Japanese enough for Asian roles" thing and gave up any real hopes as an actor, and he definitely gets the "You look Mexican!" comment from people because of how dark his skin tone is, while we both have gotten the "You don't *look* Japanese!" And the "Which half are you *more* of?" question...my stepdad actually asked him something along those lines once, because stepdad's full (Hawaiian) Japanese, and it was his very round-about way of asking if he was used to eating Japanese food and things.
I've gotten the "So exotic" thing before...even my own mother likes to tell me I'm exotic when commenting on my appearance, like the fact that I have mixed features that's the only thing that is attractive about me, and I have some very awkward childhood memories of visiting family in Japan and having random old ladies coming up to pet my hair because my very Latina curly hair was so unusual. My mother has also told a story to the opposite end of the spectrum: me as a very small child, knowing just enough Japanese to count to ten, happily counting the things in our shopping cart and making a white lady passing by demand to know "What on *Earth* is that child saying?" I'm just in general *very* confusing for people to look at...curly Latina hair, pale freckled skin, and eyes that split the difference between Latina and Japanese so that no one can tell what the heck I am. ^_^
They are both very beautiful people! No only because of the way they look, but the way they react to things. I like the fact that they receive people's curiosity politely and being very understanding about it. Thumbs up for you guys!
I don't understand why mixed people make a big deal about being mix.
Exactly! They make it a big deal when it's really not!
sweetzs100
Maybe I should make a BIG deal about mixed breed dogs and cats.
If it wasn't a big deal people would not try to question their race all the time or give them comments all the time on their mixed race. if it wasn't a big deal they would not have 11,000 views 200 likes and a whole discussion thread. Society is weird, it's not their fault that other people make it a big deal, it is not them... Especially in asian countries people make it a big deal there alot.
chinchillat505
Okay, so somebody should make a BIG deal and post a video of a mixed breed German Sheppard and Irish Setter dog because people in Japan have never seen one. lol
Because non-mixed people make such a big deal out of it. Being mixed is more common these days, but years ago almost EVERY time I met someone new, they would be curious about my background. I actually enjoy it because it's a good way to make for an interesting conversation. (Asian/White)
When I lived in Japan I saw a Hafu little toddler with a Japanese face and the most beautiful rust color hair. It was very exotic looking. My son is only a quarter Japanese but when he was about eight a classmate was walking behind him and said, "move it Chinese boy!" Lol
I'm 1/32 Japanese and my son is 1/62 Japanese, but we look full white
I'm asian, precisely chinese, but my parents went to italy, so i'm born and raised in italy (they meet there), i feel totally italian, i mean i speak perfectly italian and. I have an italian accent i love italy, but my aspect obviously is totally asian, yeah i know, but sometimes i just feel ankward, because people always ask me: do you speak italian? (With hand gestures) and i feel bad; sometimes i just want to be italian, but then i think, ha! I know two languages! And even thought i'm not half i feel like a mix of cultures!
GhostixXoX how can you write a comment in fluent english then
Captain Insane English doesn’t really count as a language to Europeans, it’s more like a basic skill.
Genmaichi But Naturally Id expect any Bilingual person of Bloody Japanese which we all know is Hard enough and to speak Italian on top of that.Youd expect the person to have their hands Full with that Let alone a third Language she's not only Fluent but to an Expert level as you can read.So Props to her and thats why i was so Curious
Yes yes yes 😂 this video is the best thing I've ever watched so relatable!!! Especially the " what are you” and " you're so exotic " .... Thank you for this video
Lol. This is the story of my whole life. Thank you for sharing your tales of being hafu! I am doing a project on my hafu life for my multicultural counseling class and I am including a link to this video.
I had somebody get mad at me because he was ANGRY that "mixed people are so beautiful". Being the self-conscious person that I am, I felt awkard, ashamed and scared at the same time. Adding in my bountiful freckles, I definitely get #12 hard core.
These two are awesome. They are so chill.
the dude i could tell he's half but the chick looks a 100% asian to me.. Lol
im asian and I could tell that she is half
にゃあエイリアンMeowAlien it’s her nose and her face shape that gives it away she’s half
Yeah, I was surprise when she said she's half. She looks full Asian. Maybe they should pick someone with more eurasian features for this video.
pagi hari I respectfully disagree. Even if she looks full Asian to you, she’s half and she’s portraying her experiences in this vid. Not every wasian looks like a perfect mix
Me as a half myself, people see me as a foreigner in both countries. So she might look full Japanese to you, but Japanese people would think she's not full Japanese.
Very interesting video, you guys are cool. Subscribed ^^
Thanks man
ビデオありがとうございます！！うれしかったです！あたしもアメリカと日本のハーフで自分以外のハーフはあんまり会わないんです！I was super happy to know that there are other people like me with the saming problems!
a totally relatable video...
I'm half Japanese and half Bolivian, but I grew up both in Japan and the United States (& I currently live in the States), so when it comes to identifying myself, i can't really define myself from a specific country.
And if you ask me, there's only 10% or less Bolivian about me (especially 'cause I forgot Spanish in exchange with Japanese)
I'll say I'm Japanese because I have a Jp passport, but if you ask me what I am as a person, I'd say I'm international/diverse/any term that's got a similar meaning.
And I barely have Japanese friends and growing up in Japan, I'd always hang out with my dad's friends/co-workers who were all from different countries but spoke English, so now I'm realising that there's so many things I don't know/never realized about regular Japanese people; whether it'd be their perspectives toward people like us hafus and even the way they interact when they get older (around high school and above)
Anyone out there who can relate to me?
I had the tips of my dark brown hair blondish and even though more than 50% of the top of my head was dark brown I would get this question.
"why do you dye the top of your head brown?"
"is blonde your natural hair color?"
"do you dye your hair?"
and everytime I look at them like
WTF and I got kind of pissed so I used to say sarcastically
"yeah I dye the top brown."
and people would say,
"wow that's so cool" and then move on.
even after I cut the blonde part off, people would come up to me and ask
"I thought you were blonde".
like I'm half Chinese and half white but not all white people are blonde anyway.
Right. MOST White adults aren't blonde.
I'm fully White and I've been a brunette for my entire life. People are always asking me what my ethnicity is. I'm asked quite often if I'm hispanic or partially Asian because they assume I'm not fully white. I have darker features, olive skin, and almond shaped eyes. I do just look a little different and I think that's what confuses people.
This happened to me at work the other week. I was having a conversation with a Father and his son. At one point, the Father asked me where I am from, and I said "Michigan". And the father said, "No I mean where are you REALLY from"? His son then slapped his on forehead and said "omg I can't believe you just said that. The father was dumbfounded as he didn't understand why his son was embarrassed.
I said..... "Ann Arbor Michigan?".
The father said, "I mean where are your parents from?"
his son slapped his own forehead again.
HAHA, the son was literally trying to slap some sense into him. Happened to my full-Chinese (American born) friend last week too at work, but no one to slap their forehead.
Another halfie from Ann Arbor Michigan though? Wish I had known more when growing up! lol
Glad the son was better than his dad
I get that I used to think chinese werent in amercia. The internet changed that. I am chinese..it hurts when some people think only china has chinese. =_=
that moment when the child is more mature than the parent....
Is it considered rude to want to know where your ancestors are from?
Oh my gosh this is so accurate...Most relatable Hafu video ever! When I went to Japan, people would just stare and stare and stare and I didn't know what to do so I just stared back at them until they felt awkward and looked away...
loved this video XD even though im not half japanese, im half canadian and half korean and most of these. The nod is definitely a thing and also the hair color,i have dark brown hair, the interesting i guess thing with me is my eye color because i have grey/blue eyes but i have the asian eye shape so people ask me if im wearing contacts haha
このチャンネルを初めて見ました！ハーフにとても興味があり検索して見つけました。最近、メンバー全員が日米ハーフのボーイズグループがデビューしました。ハーフということがブランド化しているな、希少化されてるなと感じました。ラジオでメンバーがアイデンティティの問題は思春期には誰もが通るよね、や、最近はハーフであることに誇りを持てると言っていました。
I was in the bathroom once at the library, and this lady asked me where I was from, then where my parents were from, etc., etc. and I said my mom was from China and she said I didn't have 'almond eyes'.
Hahah, if it were me I'd be thinking, "Okay...😐, I'm just trying to do my business here". Now that I think about it, something sort of similar did happen to me in a bathroom at the urinals once. Super awkward
when you accidentally go into the ladies room
*"ahh.! get ou- wait... where are you from..."*
alf-asian and alf-caucasian are beautiful mix
Stop fetishizing you hillbillies !
Thx, my dad is canadian and my mom is japanese!
That guy's so handsome 😍😍
and his accent in Japanese - *is dying* I need a moment now XD
Rere mexw hello Chanyeolllllll
fuck off, he's not korean you koreaboo
He’s gay
He looks weird.
My two little guys are hapa, and they are adorable! I think they'll have a richer and fuller life for the diversity, even if it's a bit confusing at times. The two young people in the video are great looking and have a great perspective about the whole thing.
Idk why I've never come across this before but god this is so relatable :'). I've grown up in Australia all my life but because both my parents are mixed (half indian/half chinese and then burmese/iranian/european) I apparently can't possibly just say I'm Australian when people ask me where I'm from haha
I'm quarter japanese and i get asked these questions a lot
Woo so relatable! Im Half Japanese half Dutch and people always say like : 'You don't look Japanese but also not white..' like ok thanks! I can't really change my appearance.
Haha, when people start to point out what pets of your face look like what race, I'm like "...eff..."
+Max Capo Parts*
+Hanna Miyashita wow but it makes u different and it's cute
+Hanna Miyashita Oh my flipping' god! I am half Japanese half Dutch too!!!! I finally found somebody like me!! I am so happy !
Omg really! I also never met someone before who is half Dutch and half Japanese. Which country do you live in if I may ask?
Those two are both gorgeous.
Mixed can be super attractive.
Ik. I am mixed but I lost that lottery
I appreciated hearing you two talk about your experiences. My wife and I (Caucasian American and Japanese respectively) have a 5 month old daughter who will be growing up here in Japan. These kinds of stories are interesting and helpful to listen to. And you guys are pretty fun to watch, too. Thanks!
I have a hapa son....now 21 yrs. old. It is amazing to me how often hafus are so very good looking. Mixing the races is often this way.
Some hafu people are good looking, others not so much. It all depends on the genetic lottery they get from their parents. Although I guess that is the case with any child born to any parents.
For example, I do believe Hikaru Utada's son (who is half Northern Italian) will be physicly attractive when he grows up.
OMF IM HALF JAPANESE AND HALF MEXICAN THIS IS SO ACCURATE IM CRYING
tbh, the number 1 thing i usually say to hapa people is: jesus christ you're really hot
Max is so gorgeous 😭
わかります!! 私は日本人 、黒人、あと白人のミクスなので、よく言われます. 特に日本に行くと言われるので時々嫌な思いもしちゃいます www
I totally understand where you two come from. I'm mixed with japanese and white/black so i get "what are you??" or "THATS your natural hair color?" alot. Its kind of annoying. I'm so glad this video exists because hafus aren't very common where I live. Great video :)
This was great! Though am half Korean my mom was born in Osaka Japan. But I still get this all the time! I love that y'all addressed the nod!! 😂😂👍🏼 my lil nephew even asked me when does the questions stop, I told him never. 45 years and counting and I still get them lol thanks for this video!!
My husband is Japanese and I am mostly mixed European, "white". We met back in college in Tokyo. We now live in New York City.
My husband and I can literally be holding hands and people do not think we are together.
In the US, when we are waiting in line at restaurants, to buy tickets, etc., the staff will sometimes ask me to "wait my turn" because they think I cut my husband in line. Sometimes this works out well though, for example getting double free samples at the grocery store, jk!
Thank you for making this video. May I ask, how did your parents encourage you to learn both languages? (I speak Japanese, but not natively. My husband speaks English, but not natively.) Did you struggle leaning kanji? Do Japanese people think your Japanese has an accent? (We have friends whose parents are both Japanese; they grew up in Japan, but went to international school and studied in English. They say they struggled with the language and kanji as adults.) If we do have children someday, we hope they are as happy as you two seem. We hope they would feel as comfortable in Japan as they do in the US since my husband's family is obviously all in Japan.
Thank you again!
Jillian Randall Kohinata Well, everyone has a little bit of a different take on this, but basically, I speak Japanese, but not completely natively, since I learned it later on in life. I didn't like Japanese school when my mom took me, and she attempted to teach me after school throughout elementary school and I hated it :( I just liked to watch Japanese programming growing up, which at least made me attuned to pronunciation and listening! I gave up on Kanji, because I don't think I'll really need it since I can recognize the most commonly used characters, and just use my phone or computer to read one's that I don't know (Rikai-kun for Chrome). Plus I live in the U.S. now. The international Japanese friends that I made in Japan say similar things about struggling with Kanji as an adult, but their Japanese speaking level is native (maybe slightly different as some Japanese people tell them, but it's native).
It seems like the Japanese/Half-Japanese people growing up in the US (or wherever) without some supplementary Japanese schooling won't be as good at Japanese, and the ones who grow up in Japan won't be as good at the other language. Unless they go to international schooling, in which case their English might even be slightly better. This always depends though. I have also found that those Hafu or Japanese kids who travel to Japan during summers to stay/live with their family speak Japanese much better too.
I hope that helps, and I do hope they would be happy too! I feel blessed to have had good parents who helped bring me up in a welcoming environment. Maybe that's one of the important things to do :)
Jillian Randall Kohinata
I'm really surprised when you say that people in the US don't think you're a couple. There are tons of mixed couples in the US, it's considered totally normal. The only exception would be maybe some small towns. But NYC is one of the most diverse cities in the entire country, with some of the most open-minded, international people. So you should fit right in.
LittleLulubee
It's not that people are rude or against us being together. I just think people aren't expecting that we are together so when they look at us, their mind doesn't think "couple" immediately. I have to say that most of the experiences I mentioned in my previous post happened when living in Boston. But I have been holding my husband's hand in NYC and entering a hotel and had security step between my husband and I and ask if he(my husband) was with me. I have told newer friends I am married, have been hugging my husband in front of them, and then people will ask who my husband is.
I do feel like we fit in; especially more in NYC or in Hawaii. I have seen Caucasian women with Asian men in NYC, but in our many years in Boston I believe we only saw 2 couples like us and maybe 1 H&M advertisement with a mixed couple like us. That said, I have personally never met another couple in which the husband is from Japan and wife is from America. I'm sure there are couples like that out there, we just haven't met them. We would love to hang out with another couple like our's since gender, language, and cultural differences means either my husband or I are the minority when we hang out with all Japanese or all American friends.
Jillian Randall Kohinata
Wow, that's crazy! I can only come up with one theory about that: From what I've heard about Japanese people, they seem to be very against PDA (showing any physical affection at all towards a partner in public). I wonder if maybe when you grab his hand, or hug him, he acts a little stiff, or doesn't react at all? Maybe just because of his upbringing, he might feel shy about responding to that. So Americans might read those signs as him being more of a friend, instead of a romantic partner? I also know that some Japanese people tend to be very quiet, so maybe if he wasn't speaking to you, or showing affection, someone might not realize you're standing in line together? I don't know if either of those things apply to you guys, but that was the only guess I could come up with.
Other than that, I suggest you guys go to some Japanese language meet-ups (www.meetup.com). You're sure to find mixed couples there. Also, have you heard of Japan Society in NYC? They have a channel here on TH-cam. They have lots of events that you could attend, where you would also be likely to meet mixed couples, I would imagine.
And you could watch the famous TH-camrs Texan in Tokyo and Rachel and Jun, if you don't already know them. They're both mixed couples, with American girls and Japanese boys. They all live in Japan, but they talk alot about the issues with being bi-cultural, so that should be interesting for you. The Texan in Tokyo wrote some manga-style books about the subject, too.
Hope that helps! Good luck :)
LittleLulubee
Thanks you for caring LittleLulubee!
My Husband is affectionate and will hug me in public. I tend to be more "shy" than the american stereotype and he tends to be less "shy" by Japanese standards so we balance each-other out and are quite comfortable both in America and Japan with hugging, joking around, and even short kisses in public. My husband will hug me, hold my hand, etc in public or around friends without me initiating.
We do go to meet-ups together quite often. We usually find lots of students, housewives, workers, or American men in relationships with Japanese women. But we will still keep looking to meet people. NYC is much more international like you said, so we do feel we can meet a lot more people here, even if they are not exactly like us.
I do love Rachel and Jun! They are a cute couple! I will lookup "The Texan in Tokyo" I had never hear of them.
For anyone reading this post: I don't really think that Japanese people are actually "shy". Hugging in Japan is not a social norm the same way as it is in the US, so Japanese people just tend not to be comfortable with it (in general.)
I have many Japanese friends who are much less shy than I am. They are very outgoing, sociable, and bubbly. They are extroverts, BUT they still wont hug (especially other Japanese people) in public because it's just not the normal thing to do. Not hugging doesn't mean they are shy, it means they socially conscious and can "read the air."
For example, I am not a big "hugger." I generally do not initiate hugs, and only feel comfortable with hugs from my husband, my family, and sometimes my very close friends. (I grew up in Boston and need a little more personal space.)
When we leave, my mother-in-law's home in Japan. She will hug me so warmly and tight and say goodbye until next time. To my husband, she will stand at a slight distance and warmly wish him a safe flight and to take care of his health. When we say goodbye, there is no one else around, no one else there to watch us, no one there to be "shy" in front of, but they still wont hug. She loves her son and has a great relationship with him, but she doesn't hug him because it's not whats done in Japan.
However, when she comes to the us she might lightly hug her son goodbye because after a few weeks in the US watching my extended family hug each other, and being hugged hello and goodbye by my family, hugging becomes a little more of a social norm.
I'm half asian and half white I glad to had chance to be both
Yay for hapas! Chinese mix here.
You guys are awesome. Im glad you have a positive attitude
Hi guy ;)
Thanks for nice video!
I am 25% Spanish Japanese who has many problem as mixed blood .
For example
When I was in the airplane with my classmates (it's school trip ) , CA gave me a tax form in English .
Even I talked something in Japanese...
I don't mind my nationality anymore however I could understand what you guys saying
+Yoshira TV Same here! Now, I don't care whether I get handed an English form or Japanese form. It takes too much energy to mind that... haha. Keep your head up!
@@MaxDCapo Do you consider peope who are 1/32Jpaanese and who have a Japanese great-great-great grandfather to be Japanese?