[slater-]

i'm from california. the funniest thing about paris was people repeatedly getting way too fucking close to me on the street. my hackles were constantly going up because some french person minding their own business was breaching my bubble. i wonder how this compares to personal space norms in japan.

[ethbr0]

I've spent more time in Paris than Tokyo, but my memory of Tokyo is that people had no problem being extremely close when necessary.

But they were also exceedingly polite, especially when in close physical proximity and with verbal volume.

I can absolutely see standard French expectations rubbing them wrong.

Which I guess is the point of the article -- no story you read about the wonders of Paris talks about the little nuances of being there. So people are informed about history/art, but little of the day-to-day.