Nevertheless, for a confession, the most basic and widespread phrase is “suki desu” (好きです, I like you), often followed up by “tsukiatte kudasai” (付き合ってください, please go out with me).
“Daisuki desu” means to really like or love something, so this has a similar effect as “suki desu”. For example, if you are confessing your feelings for someone, you might say: Suki desu! Tsukiatte kudasai.
Dating in Japan is a little different to what most of us are used to in the West, with one of the main differences being kokuhaku, which literally translates to "confession," but in the dating world it refers to the confession of love.
It is still a Japanese custom that the men are the ones who start the important conversations rather than the women, so the statistics come from situations where men try to tell their love to female partners. Looking at the data, 46.0% of men answered that on a third date, they wanted to confess to their crush.
Japanese are known to be shy, so once they become a couple, they flirt discreetly when in public. For example, you can see many couples walking hand-in-hand but not kissing much. Most Japanese feel embarrassed even just exchanging a small kiss on the cheek in public.
Never hugging or kissing
In Japan, touching another person's body is considered rude, even with friends or family. Hugging and kissing are mostly for couples.
That's because, as we mentioned earlier, the alternative aishiteiru is a more serious way to say I love you in Japanese. If you want to convey more affection, you can say, 大好き (daisuki) instead. Daisuki means I really like you. However, it's used more commonly to convey the idea of love than aishiteiru is.
After tallying up a total of 6,510 responses, it turns out that 33 percent of people surveyed are more likely to lean in for a kiss on the third date. Surprisingly, a lot of singles don't shy away from kissing on the first date either, with this option coming in at second place with 27 percent of votes.
There are all kinds of kissing all over the world, but traditionally, in Japan there has only been two kinds and they are the romantic kissing done by couples or kissing babies. Public displays of affection have always been frowned upon, and still generally are: a kiss on the lips is serious business.
Expressing Emotions: Displaying intense emotion is usually avoided in Japanese communication. This is especially the case in formal situations such as in the workplace or at school. People tend to avoid overt and intense displays of anger to preserve face.
In Japan, you're not likely to see too much public smooching going on. As well as being reserved and modest by nature, most Japanese people also believe that drawing attention to oneself in public is bad manners.
First thing first, you might want to know if the lucky one is single. How would you ask if he or she is already in a relationship? If she has a boyfriend/ he has a girlfriend? A natural, idiomatic way to say it would be 「つきあっている人がいますか？」”Tsukiatte iru hito ga imasu ka?”.
Nevertheless, for a confession, the most basic and widespread phrase is “suki desu” (好きです, I like you), often followed up by “tsukiatte kudasai” (付き合ってください, please go out with me).
Guys like girls with a good scent. Sometimes they even fall in love with a girl just because she smells nice. The scent is as important as appearance. Japanese guys especially like floral, soap, and soft citrus fragrance. Many say shampoo flavor floating out from a girl is quite nice.
This sounds a bit creepy but it's not so much telling someone you love them but rather the Japanese way of letting them know you like them and asking them out. One thing that is very different in Japan is that it is not uncommon for a woman to ask a man out.
Displays of Affection in Japan
Asian couples don't usually express affection towards each other in public. Public displays of affection between members of the opposite sex'such as kissing, hugging and holding hands — are considered rude. Even families rarely touch, hug or display physical affection in public.
No PDA (Public Displays of Affection)
In Japan, the social rules are vastly different and PDA is considered a big no-no. This comes down to two reasons; privacy and accommodation for others.
If you like a Japanese guy, you should at least give him an obvious hint (e.g. body contact, strong eye contact, a smile). And hopefully, he's going to notice your feelings and ask you out if he's also interested in you.
You can tell that a shy guy likes you if he gets extremely nervous around you. He may suddenly start behaving awkwardly or clumsily. This kind of nervousness comes from wanting to appear cool and do things right in front of you, but failing miserably at it.