Photo: Pakutaso
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'Should I date this person?' Go hiking and you’ll have the answer, Japanese Twitter user says

21 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

One of the things that makes dating tricky is that first impressions can be misleading. Just about anyone can be reasonably polite and sociable over a fancy dinner or cup of coffee, so often it’s not until much later that deal-breaker-level compatibility issues rear their heads.

However, Japanese Twitter user @paya_paya_kun claims to have found a shortcut to finding out what a potential romantic partner’s true personality is like, and said shortcut is a hiking trail.

“I’ve heard that if there’s someone you’re thinking about getting into a romantic relationship with, you should go hiking with them,” @paya_paya_kun tweets. “When people get tired, their true nature starts to show, and some of them will get openly irritable or leave their companion behind if they feel like they’re not walking fast enough. On the mountain trails, you can see whether or not someone is capable of controlling their negative emotions even if they’re uncomfortable.”

The mention of mountains doesn’t mean you need to do full-on mountain climbing, and is really just there because Japan’s mountainous geography means almost all of its hiking trails involve elevation changes. @paya_paya_kun isn’t saying you and your potential boyfriend/girlfriend have to march to exhaustion, either. What’s important is simply to engage in an activity that’s physically, and by extension, mentally tiring, to see if the other person can still be pleasant and nice to be around in a situation less cushy than sitting in a comfy restaurant chair while someone cooks their dinner.

That might sound a little like the dubious logic of the old saying “If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you don’t deserve me at my best,” but what the @paya_paya_kun plan is really supposed to do is to find out if maybe even the “bad” side of someone’s personality isn’t all that bad. If your hiking partner is someone who can still be kind and considerate when their feet start to hurt and the coziest place to sit down is on top of a rock, there’s a good chance they’ll be kind and considerate in a lot of life’s other less-than-perfect situations too.

Other Twitter users saw a lot of logic in @paya_paya_kun’s advice, and even added a few suggestions of their own:

“I think that’s why some matchmaking services organize singles’ hiking events.”

“You’ll find out even more about their personality if it starts raining during the hike.”

“Or if you run into a traffic jam on the way back home after.”

“I think spending a full day with someone at Disneyland will also get you this kind of look at a person’s real personality.”

There is, however, one thing to be cautious about with @paya_paya_kun’s plan. As several commenters pointed out, the hike isn’t just going to show your potential partner’s personality to you, but also yours to them, so you’ll also want to make sure you don’t get crabby or whiny either during the hike if you want to leave a good impression.

Source: Twitter/@paya_paya_kun via Otakomu

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Illustrated Japanese Twitter debate asks if loving someone means letting their pain hurt you too

-- Chewbacca and Darth Vader show up in the mountains of Japan thanks to cosplaying outdoorsman

-- U.S. servicemen’s hike on Mount Fuji turns into rescue mission, netizens are awed and grateful

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

21 Comments
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His user name has kun in it but is it a guy or a girl?

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

I was having a great relationship with a woman. We both loved hiking together. Seemed like everything was going well. Then...we went camping. It was rainy, so she complained about almost everything. How the tent was set up, the tarp over the tent, how to start the fire...It was just a nightmare and I was just relaxed the whole time while she was just super stressed. Couldn't wait for the trip to be over to end the relationship.

11 ( +14 / -3 )

if there’s someone you’re thinking about getting into a romantic relationship with, you should go hiking with them . . .

In this day and age, is this particularly wise? Just today I read a European op ed about how angry everyone is right now. And a hike on a seldomly-used or remote trailhead just well may not be exactly the best thing. At least until you know him or her a little bit?

Just saying . . .

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

This tip is spot on. My buddy and I took our girlfriends hiking over 20 years ago and the girls' personalities really came out.

Halfway through the hike, my buddy's girl started to get aggravated and started to whine over some trivial things.

My girl on the contrary, only complained about being a bit tired but in a fun and joking way and had the positive attitude to keep going.

My buddy quickly dumped his girl after the hike and I ended up marrying mine.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

This is topical with COVID lockdowns. Also the Petito - Laundrie tragedy is where two younger folk really jumped into spending a lot of together with seemingly little personal space. Maybe they had spent time camping/hiking together and thought they could manage the next step up. I'm not across the whole sad story.

But, if I spend time with friends or fiance, in a tent or on holiday, I always say that we'll probably get on each other's nerves at some point, so there's no problem in spending time away for a while and re-energising.

Having said that, my fiance Patricia and I haven't had one argument whilst spending time together. I guess we read each other's balance well.

Take care all.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Sorry "Paya" but it takes more than just a hiking trip, it takes weeks if not months to all the true colors of a partner.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

sad and pathetic

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

I took a new girlfriend on a river canoe trip once. We took a little spill and got a bit wet. I laughed it off. She was not happy, and even less happy that I didn't take it seriously. That was our last date. I was so attracted to her, but by the end of the day I wanted to end it. I think she felt the same way.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

The idea of hiking has never appealed to me, I enjoy the comforts of home, but it doesn't for my partner either so I suppose it does work in a way. Neither of us ever want to go hiking, so we match!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I wholeheartedly agree with this idea. Let's face it: life is messy, and you want someone who you can rely on when that messiness comes up. Bringing someone outside their comfort zone is a great way to get a hint of how someone will react to bigger problems in life.

And as an avid hiker myself, it's a good chance to see how well a potential partner would tolerate my hobby.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Yep, this hiking thing is indeed a very good idea, if your date is easily getting irritated or worse, DO NOT continue dating!

Having said that, my fiance Patricia and I haven't had one argument whilst spending time together. I guess we read each other's balance well.

k3po,

be CAREFUL!!! Sounds like you need to test her some more, try saying NO to some things, like some movie or something insignificant, watch the reactions, can be VERY telling, just sayin!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

"He fell, I swear"

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Kniknaknokkaer

I have a 100% success rate getting laid after hiking dates (pre-marriage) so it worked for me!

'Course you have...

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I went for the camping test. My soon-to-be wife was a dyed-in-the-wool Kumamoto woman but had never experienced the outdoors. How quickly she adapted and learned to enjoy it - cooking on a camp stove whatever could be scavenged locally and peeing in the woods - impressed me, and 35 years later, we're still here. (Somehow, we have four indoor toilets now.)

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@Laguna that was hilarious! How quickly she adapted and learned to enjoy it - cooking on a camp stove whatever could be scavenged locally and peeing in the wood. (Somehow, we have four indoor toilets now.) I guess she is telling you I was fooled once but never twice and to make sure of it the result was the four indoor toilets!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Hopefully you know this potential dating partner well enough to trust them to go on a hiking trip! Or your dead body will be found by someone a few days later! Just meeting someone on social media / internet and then setting up a hiking trip for a first date should be a big NO!!!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

People can be miserable by themselves, they do not someone else that is miserable, too make their misery even worse, people should bring their best attributes to a relationship, if you do have any, you should forgo a relationship and work on your own issues, so you can be the best person when you find that special person

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I went hiking with my wife, but she still followed me home.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Going on a hiking trip, enjoying the beauty of nature, breathing fresh air, getting far away from civilization alone with a prospective life partner is a great way to find out if this person is or isn't a psychopathic homicidal maniac.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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