Makura said:
So how do people REALLY treat "Gaijin" over there? I've heard many conflicting reports.
It's pretty much the way I put it. It is a person to person sort of thing, but you can really sort of count on the general generational response. If they're 50 and up, there's a pretty good chance that they will want nothing to do with you. I attribute this to lingering resentment from World War II. These people either lived through or had parents who directly experienced WWII still carry over some of that old American devil mentality. Plenty of them have gotten over it, too, so you may find some very nice and friendly elderly Japanese, but that's a pretty general rule.
Your middle-aged Japanese, particularly businessmen, can really vary in their responses/opinions. It really runs the full spectrum. But if you're on a train full of businessmen, and there is some room to manuever, then it's pretty much a guarantee that there will be something of a no man's zone around you.
The young Japanese, basically from their 20s down, think you are super cool. Just by being American, you are certifiably awesome. There's very little variation here. Sure, you can find some who don't like foreigners, but for the most part, to Japan's youth American = cool as hell. I would guess that they probably aren't QUITE as friendly in more rural areas, but that is how it works with most countries anyway.
Draff said:
I'm at the opposite end. I love the food there... (I also like curry
). Maybe not the rest of Japan, but Tokyo certainly has any type of food within subway-distance. And if you're lazy, chances are there's some microwaveable or packaged version of it.
At anyrate, I always have fun when I go. The atmosphere there is totally unlike anything here. That being said, sometimes it gets a little too crowded for my tastes, and yet it still manages to stay spotless (and yet sometimes I have a hard time finding a trash can).
I also disagree with Japan being lifeless. Walking through Shinagawa station or Shibuya shows how much energy just runs through the country; everyone's always rushing somewhere.
And this is true. That's not exactly what I meant by lifeless though. I was talking on a sort of deeper level. I would never argue that Tokyo is not high energy, crowded, busy, or bustling. I was talking more about the soul of the city, which it just doesn't seem to have, at least compared to a city like New York or Rome or San Francisco. It's just a sprawling mass of stuff and people that is just sort of "there."
Also, I came to feel the same way about the food. After about 4 weeks of being there or so, I really started to learn where to look for good food of various types. I also got real good at finding pretty good bargains. So after a while, variety no longer proved to be a problem, but after a couple weeks, I had been getting really tired of the same types of stuff.
How they keep litter to a minimum while having virtually no garbage cans is still a mystery to me.
