Ignorance is a virtue

OP should just tell the old lady, "it's okay, you are going there before me anyway". You can't reason with the religious nut-jobs like her.

Crazy people nowadays...

I could be wrong, but I've always been under the impression that tattoos are quite often frowned upon or are even associated with the yakuza in Japan, and particularly in more rural areas? This isn't pure speculation on my part. I live with two male Japanese exchange students, and before I took a trip to Japan last year asked them about it (I'm a girl and was thinking of getting a tattoo). Whilst I was over there, I very occasionally saw a guy with a visible tattoo, but I believe it can still cause problems in day-to-day life, particularly in the workplace and in some of the more traditional onsen (public baths). I never - ever - saw a tattoo on a girl. My housemates told me that were I to get one in a visible place, this would be really shocking to quite a few people (although I don't know how true that would have been in Tokyo, I spent a lot of time in very rural locations where I suspect this would have been the case). So, I can't help but think that the lady's dramatic reaction wasn't in response to the subject matter of the transfer, but rather to the fact that OP (not sure if they're a boy/girl) had what seemed to be a tattoo on show. Of course there are exceptions (cue masses of people telling me about the masses of Japanese friends they have who have tattoos). Just saying. Probs nothing to do with Mickey Mouse.

lol and you'd think japans more accepting of weird things...

Mickey is awesome, she is not, people are scared of the unknown, what do you expect from her?

Had she scrubbed it off you with a sponge, you'd have a Deadmau5 on your hands.

ALL PRAISE THE DARK PRINCE! Really though, that's ****** up OP, especially since it was Mickey Mouse. I have real tattoos on my arms and no one has said something like that to me. Just ignore them, they aren't important.

Illuminati thats why she said that

To be fair, mickey mouse is the spawn of satan...