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Originally Posted by mutiny1190
see thats what i ment. the schools and society and all. is it sociably acceptable to go over there with a full beard and really long hair? i wouldn't offend my host family?
and YFU is an exchange program. it stands for Youth For Understanding. they send a bunch of people all over the world to different countries. like my parents are going to host next school year and i might be going to japan this summer.
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I don't think long hair is a big deal, as long as it isn't halfway down your back, but, like I said, I'd shave the beard. In general, Japanese men don't wear facial hair nearly as much as in the west, and I have never seen or even heard of a high school student with facial hair. There may not be a rule, as boys that age usually can't grow a beard anyway, but anything that is considered distracting is discouraged. At many schools, students aren't allowed to color thier hair.
Just being a foreigner will be distracting enough, but facial hair is seen as "dirty" and a sign of poor hygiene by some people. I wouldn't call it "offensive" but I would assume my host family will 1) be surprised and 2) probably not think it was so cool.
I could be wrong, though.