Another poll from Sugoren gives us a list of the top 9 things that Japanese women want their boyfriends to learn how to do well.
I was somewhat surprised by the order of a few items, but the content was pretty predictable.
9. UFO Catcher AKA Crane Games or Claw Games (so that guys can pull cute little stuffed animals and presents out of a machine at will)
8. Car Repair (to fix minor problems with a car. I know very few non-mechanic, non-car-mania Japanese guys that even know how to change a tire or oil so take that for what it is)
7. Outdoor Skills (so that they can go on outdoor and camping dates… very different and much easier than what our American readers might think of as “camping”. I hope you like yakisoba.)
6. Massage (to soothe those tired muscles)
5. Computer Skills (to help her with her computer problems)
4. English (if you teach English in Japan, here’s a good selling point… the reason most women gave was so that he could communicate for them while traveling abroad)
3. Musical Instruments (so he can play the guitar or piano for her)
2. Martial Arts
1. Cooking (some comments mentioned how much fun it would be to cook together, some Japanese women said they wanted a boyfriend who could cook because they can’t, and others just mentioned that a boyfriend that cooks would make a good husband)
I think this is a pretty general list. The car repair one is the closest I came to actually surprised because, as I mentioned, I know so few people outside of the car industry who can do that kind of thing. Also the guys who don’t work with cars but love cars tend to be a bit obsessive about cars meaning the girlfriend may take a backseat (so to speak).
As for cooking, suffice it to say that future husbands of Japanese wives could do well just to make a few dishes like the classic “dad” food sukiyaki.