Probably worth noting that the vast majority of Japanese people carry a gene that prevents them from producing BO. They tend to see BO as a foreign thing, because they don’t deal with it on a daily basis. Their antiperspirants are often minimalistic powder cakes that you need to mix with water to apply. They are often unscented, because they don’t need to worry about masking BO every day. And they can be downright difficult to find in stores, because they just aren’t frequently used by anyone except foreigners.
The common perception among native Japanese people is that white people smell like sour milk. Because when you don’t encounter BO in your day to day life, you aren’t nose-blind to it. Then you come across a white tourist who has BO, and sour milk is the closest approximation you can think of since you don’t have a baseline “this is what BO smells like” to compare it to.
Yea, that gene most East Asians have (~80% for Japanese iirc?) causes much fewer sweat glands, so much reduced BO production. Not none, but enough that a BO smell can’t be picked up until a few days without washing (which would be sacrilegious to do anyway). But even if not what we think of as BO, they can definitely smell too. Get on a crowded train in the summer heat and…it’s not always so nice lol.
Can confirm on deodorant being so rare tho. Every pharmacy seems to have only a single option tucked away.
That’s exactly how it’s viewed in Japan.
Smell like shit (BO, etc)? Go wash yourself, you stink.
Smell like a pine tree from cologne? Go wash yourself, you stink.
Probably worth noting that the vast majority of Japanese people carry a gene that prevents them from producing BO. They tend to see BO as a foreign thing, because they don’t deal with it on a daily basis. Their antiperspirants are often minimalistic powder cakes that you need to mix with water to apply. They are often unscented, because they don’t need to worry about masking BO every day. And they can be downright difficult to find in stores, because they just aren’t frequently used by anyone except foreigners.
The common perception among native Japanese people is that white people smell like sour milk. Because when you don’t encounter BO in your day to day life, you aren’t nose-blind to it. Then you come across a white tourist who has BO, and sour milk is the closest approximation you can think of since you don’t have a baseline “this is what BO smells like” to compare it to.
Yea, that gene most East Asians have (~80% for Japanese iirc?) causes much fewer sweat glands, so much reduced BO production. Not none, but enough that a BO smell can’t be picked up until a few days without washing (which would be sacrilegious to do anyway). But even if not what we think of as BO, they can definitely smell too. Get on a crowded train in the summer heat and…it’s not always so nice lol.
Can confirm on deodorant being so rare tho. Every pharmacy seems to have only a single option tucked away.