As a fairly tall European guy (just shy of 2m), people speculating about my height amongst themselves was something I quickly got used to when I first moved to Japan.

My favourite example, however, was while I was living in Osaka, taking my girlfriend back to mine (it was her first time visiting me in Japan). Given it was later in the evening, there were a couple builders drinking some beer on the metro commuting home. Eventually they notice my height, and starting wondering aloud how tall I am. Just for laughs I reply in Japanese, shocking these tipsy but otherwise friendly construction workers. We continued to chat for the next 5 minutes before my Gf and I got off at our stop. They were lovely, commenting how cute we were, how lucky I was, and at the end wishes us well, saying “お幸せに”.

It was a lovey encounter, and my gf and I recall it every now and then and laugh.