Men arm hair

Hey! I went to Japan and I got a job offer. But I am worried, are Japanese (specially the women) disgusted by arm hair on men. I mean, maybe I have a lot of arm hair (see this pic: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/3/20120827011829.jpg/). I am asking this because I was with a beautiful Japanese woman (my interviewer for the job :P) and when I rolled up my shirt sleeves she couldn't help but squeak with a terrbile face. It sounded like ‚¢‚¢‚¦ (which happens to be Japanese for NO). I know Japanese men don't have much hair on them, but are Japanese repulsed by arm hair. I do not have a hairy chest or back (for the record).

I don't think you have to be concerned about it. That particular individual simply must have been surprised, not disgusted but just did not expect it. I guess she was not used to seeing hair on arm. I don't think she meant to say "no." I must say that was unprofessional of her to let out a squeak like that :(

As I clicked on the link to look at the photo, I did not let out any yelp, for the record. (From a Japanese woman)

I know a couple Japanese males that have even hairier arms than you, and both of them have GFs.

So if they can get dates regardless of the "condition", I bet your love life will not be impossible because of hairs on arms.

If the girl is so repulsed by hair, she must be very shallow person and not worth the time anyway.

Many Japanese men have arm hair, some quite a lot.
I really recommend not rolling your sleeves up during any future interviews, she was probably as surprised by that as anything else. No matter how warm it is, that's something a Japanese job interview candidate would never do. You got the job this time it looks like, but it wouldn't have helped any.

Individuals here have preferences just like in any country- perhaps she personally has a thing about arm hair- it doesn't mean all Japanese do.

Hey ! Thanks for the answers. I am relieved that I would be able to socialize with the Japanese (and not cause them to squeak and run away every time I roll up my sleeves :D)

@AK, Sira: I had already completed my interview and the girl was just an HR interviewer, showing me around the town (yes since I was a gaijin, she was showing me the supermarket, medicine store and the company dorm) and it was quite hot. So I think it was nothing unprofessional from my side or her sueaking (which was quite cute :D). Sira, but still thanks for your interview tip :)

Don't worry about it.

You may notice in japan that some guys even women shave their arms.

What are you worried about?
It is nothing compared with a Japanese surgeon I met at a local hospital in Kyushu.
I, a Japanese male, even noticed.

I would call the hair on the photo you showed baby fuzz, compared to mine..

On the other hand it would have never occurred to me to roll up my sleeves in front of an interviewer, even a junior level one, in any country....no matter how hot the weather..

I have walked around Japan--as a tourist--with bare arms and no one has fainted or screamed in horror...

As a matter of fact I was the guest of a Japanese family (my best buddy in North America) for a few days once and the first time I used the bathroom sink to shave, all the women of the family, grandma, mother and teenage daughter.. came in one after the other, apologized, looked around and left.

My buddy told me later that they wanted to see how hairy I really was...they apparently were a bit disappointed that my chest and back, while hairy, didn't look anything like a gorilla..

As a woman (not a Japanese woman, though), I'd say you're fine in terms of body hair. Your hair appears to be brown anyway, which blends in better with your skin. Everyone has body hair - some just have longer or more visible hair than others.

I think it's probably just her - some people find any sort of body hair really repulsive and others don't care.

I had a man tell me that I should shave my arms once, because he believed women should be hairless except for their eyebrows and head-hair. I didn't even know people did that sort of thing. It happens to all of us...

that's nothing! lots of japanese are much harier than that!! It sounds like you dont know japan very well, after you come here visit an onsen, you will find that the japanese like any nation come in all different shapes and sizes (and textures?) Even though the average person is probably less hairy than in other parts of the world, Japanese hair is usually black and thick so when you do see someone with hairy arms it is more noticeable than your light brown arm fluff, so this really isnt something you need to even waste time thinking about. One guy in my work is really hairy so much that it is on his knuckles and coming out the top of his shirt. Everyone makes jokes that he is sexy because of it so I think many Japanese find that attractive in a masculine kind of way rather than disgusting.

As a matter of fact I was the guest of a Japanese family (my best buddy in North America) for a few days once and the first time I used the bathroom sink to shave, all the women of the family, grandma, mother and teenage daughter.. came in one after the other, apologized, looked around and left.

My buddy told me later that they wanted to see how hairy I really was...they apparently were a bit disappointed that my chest and back, while hairy, didn't look anything like a gorilla.

Love it! It's been a while since somebody made me laugh here :-)

Hi forum! I found an interesting viewpoint. "They" say your "arm" does not fit the "metro sexual herbivore" by the young generation (and we are talking about 20-25 here, I am 23 years old). Yeah, I might be rough, but I say they have become more girlish. Hair, which is a symbol of manhood, simply doesn't appeal to the new age there.
What you guys think ?

@britt I think you should just get on with living in Japan and stop reading about Japan. The japanese and foreign media love analysing Japan and finding new terms to describe stuff, in my experience for every new stereotype the media get excited about there are so many exceptions that don't fit with. As with any country Japan has a diverse group of people with a diverse range of tastes. If some straight male journalist writes a new piece claiming to know the sexual tastes and preferences of an entire nation of Japanese women then you just have to laugh.

Hey, it's true. Here arm hair are not appreciated at all. After all this time living here. I found out. Even my Japanese colleagues at office asked me to shave that thick hair. They said it didn't look nice. Most of the guys and girls in Tokyo think like this.