Go Tokyo Your Experience
In recent years, a unique culture called “itai bag” has become popular among anime and idol fans in Japan. This culture involves attaching a large number of badges or figurines and other merchandise to bags to express fervor for specific works or characters. However, a recent interesting topic has emerged among Japanese netizens: Is it only young people who carry itai bags?
This question does not stem from the fact that older anime or idol fans feel embarrassed, but rather because itai bags often weigh several kilograms, making it indeed somewhat difficult for older individuals to carry such weight when going out. Let’s take a look at more discussions on this topic.
A Japanese doujin artist named Abu shared a topic about his wife on platform X, saying, “Only young people carry pain bags…”
When he asked her why, his wife simply answered, “Because they are too heavy.” This conversation sparked widespread discussion among netizens.
Pain bags, decorated with badges or dolls, are very common in Japan’s anime and idol culture.
Some people are even willing to spend up to 1 million yen to decorate such a bag.
The wife of the otaku believes that older fans of anime or idols don’t carry bags because they find it embarrassing, but rather because their bodies can no longer bear the weight.
The more decorations on a pain bag, the more it shows love for a specific work or character, so even if it contains nothing, the pain bag is already quite heavy. Additionally, when everyday necessities are added, the weight becomes considerable.
Here are some reactions from Japanese netizens regarding the weight of “ita bags”:
Indeed. Every time I see someone carrying a super large ita bag, I feel that their physical strength and wrist strength are extraordinary.
After all, a badge is just a piece of metal, and to carry these badges, the bag itself must be very sturdy.
Really, the weight of the badges is far beyond my imagination, and combined with the weight of the items inside the bag, my shoulders can hardly bear it; I often end up with numbness.
So every time I participate in an event, I always find marks on my shoulders like those from the Survey Corps when I shower.
To achieve perfection, it’s quite common for a heavy backpack to weigh over 10 kilograms. Therefore, whether male or female, those who carry heavy backpacks are very admirable.
I once saw a person carrying three heavy bags at an event, it was really too heavy, I even suspected it was made for bulletproof protection.
Just like mini skirts are only worn by young people, because as you get older, you fear the cold and increasingly want to reveal less.
Indeed surprisingly heavy… Is this the weight of love for idols…?
It’s really too heavy, so I simply dismantled some keychains.
If paper and cloth are used as the main materials, the pain bag won’t be that heavy.
I used to be accustomed to taking my iPad out, but now I don’t anymore; this is probably a sign of aging.
This cultural phenomenon has led people to reflect more on the ways of loving idols and their works, while also reminding us to pay attention to our physical burden when expressing our hobbies.
