Quote:
Originally Posted by GTJ
samurai007, given that rural Japan is where foreigner-exposure is the lowest and inherent racism the highest, would you say the "rural friendliness" applies to Japan for foreigners or just fellow Japanese? (Then again those variety show Tokyo guys that go out there and bother people with camera crews and annoying games that get in their way probably don't give fellow Nihonjin a good name either!)
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Yes, I meant rural Japan too. While their exposure to foreigners is less than urban Japanese (especially those who live in Tokyo), and that may translate into misconceptions about them, I encountered very, very little actual racism (Mainly just when I was trying to find a different apartment to rent). That lack of exposure led them to be more curious about a foreigner in their midst (what is he doing in our little town?), and sometimes concern for my well-being or wanting to help me out in some way. In the big cities, I only rarely had Japanese people start up conversations with me in a store, on the train, etc. (I suppose if I went to bars it may have happened more, but I don't drink alcohol). But in more rural areas, it happened a lot.
For example, a few weeks after arriving in Japan, I decided to take a bike ride to the next town over to the east on a beautiful Saturday morning. When I got there, I saw some kind of big event in the park there, with music and lots of people. I rode over to investigate, and when the people saw me, they were very excited! Turns out it was the town's Sports Day. They literally pulled me off my bike, gave me a free lunch, and entered me in 3 events before I even knew what was going on! They didn't know me at all and had no idea who I was, it was my 1st time in the town, but they were so happy that a foreigner came to their Sports Day, they treated me like a guest of honor!
Now, that's a more extreme example, but I can't imagine that kind of elation at a foreign stranger who wandered into a Tokyo Sports Day celebration. (Maybe I'm wrong, if you have such a story taking place in a big city, please share it!) But things like that just tended to happen to me in small towns where they seldom saw a foreigner, while in the big city, I'd go about my day, shopping, eating, taking trains, and people wouldn't usually even talk to me except the requisite "Irashaimase!" and such. They weren't mean or unfriendly at all, but it was just more guarded and businesslike. In the countryside, though, it was like you are almost a minor celebrity of some sort, just because you are a foreigner.