[steven]

In his defense, MMM, I do get stares pretty much wherever I go. I live in the inaka, so it's an everyday thing with little kids. Also, I think a lot of adults have seen me in the local newspapers or tv or wherever else I've been, so some people have the "it's really him" look on their faces... or the classic, "he has a car?!" look.

Even in my trips to Osaka, people do look at me. I tend to try to go to cafes that don't have the "welcome tourists!" sign on them, so when I go in the owners sometimes stare at me and wonder what the hell I'm looking for or tell me they don't have a bathroom in borken English and funny stuff like that. Once the conversation starts, then everything's normal, though. I can say this though, people look at me a lot less than they did when I was here on a trip about 5 years ago. I have noticed more foreigners in Japan since then, too.

I'd like to ask Nyororin a question: Have you noticed any changes in Japan as far as this topic goes over the 11 years you've been here? If so, what kind of things strike you the most?