dear OP,

too bad u didn't like your stay here in japan. having said that, i am interested in the TONS of businesses that had signs stating "no foreigners". you must have been very unlucky coming across so many establishments that declined foreigners, especially since we who live/lived here don't seem to have seen more than ten together.

noodle, where i live no tourists ever come, and i can't say that ppl stare at me. but perhaps i am just too grey.

on the number of foreigners in tokyo: 386,000
source

dude everyone has good and bad experiences when they got to a foreign country...everbody!!! No matter what...I know it was probably bad what happened to you and i hope you weren't hurt with the knife and you had the fright of your life...and i know this sounds dumb but you should have made due with what little time you had in japan, cuz most of here on this forum would have loved the chance you had to just be able to go to japan, you should have seen the positive in your situation and just gone out to sightsee which i'm thinking isn't a lot of money.

I'm sorry you experienced something horrible while being in japan, and it probably makes you never want to go back, but like so many people who have gone there are a lot of good things about japan. Please don't be so negative. You should have let everything go and enjoyed the rest of your time, even if you were pissed off (sorry if i'm not supposed to say words like that) :D

I had a Japanese friend that was mugged and beaten by 4 Japanese guys with sticks. I also have seen racism, mostly in my workplace. Japan isn't a magical place free from all Earthly problems. Racism is part of their culture, so you can't get too upset. Crime happens everywhere. I never felt unsafe or unwelcome there. If they don't want foreigners (probably caused trouble or was a "ugly" tourist) there usually is a reason because they will take your money like everyone else.
I wonder if the OP fits into this category. As for the mugging, maybe it was a misunderstanding and he gave his wallet to some guy asking directions to the knife sharpener's shop (OK, so this is unlikely but I know of one instance of something like this happening).
Japan is a polite, safe, society that makes me wonder what the OP did to have this happen (If it did).

May i ask what part of Tokyo did all of this happen in?

Oh, I've already heard that Japaneses are racists by foreigners living there, BUT I've also heard from Japanese people that foreigners don't really respect Japanese culture. But I still do believe that Japan is a good place, even though I've never gone there. They have a closed culture but they're also receptive. I can't assure you that this is true, but I do know people that LIVED there, and they do have good memories. Japaneses are afraid of foreigners, if you ask me, but I don't believe they would do something like that... Of course there's always horrible people everywhere, but it can't be all Japanese people mad, right? Specially because they are teached for being pollite and all that stuff.
Maybe you were just not supposed to go. ._.

I went on an exchange trip to Tokyo for 2 weeks last year.

The family I stayed with were telling me- yes, there is racisim. Not towards westerners so much- but to mostly Americans in general, and with good reason.

Americans (not all! But a lot) go to Japan thinking everything is Anime. They talk, act, and speak based on what they've seen in anime and it really offends them. Also, having not read up on the culture, they speak in ways that are acceptable in America, but not in Japan.

I was really pleased- the family were lovely. I was suprised at how much praise I got. All because I learned the customs and culture before going. They really appreciated it and said if I was even on holiday I was welcome to stay anytime.

Think about it. If a Japanese person went to America acting all 'badass' swearing the whole time, praising the KKK, thinking it's cool to call everyone fat and give guns to little children- you'd be apalled. I know that's a bit of an exageration, but it's the same princable. Don't trust the media without doing thoughrough research yourself.

i just cant help to wonder if the OP was wearing weird attires like loli, goth, chains, tattoos or colored hair...

all the japanese i know think that dressing up in these kinda things are for kids in akihabara.

hell even i feel compelled to smack some kids in my hometown when i see them go way over the top with their "fandomism" of japan. cultural ignorance is really annoying -__-

(could also have something to do with them always following me around with the excuse "ur cute and asian! are you japanese?")

what do you think of this poll?
result #99406 - WHICH COUNTRY HAS THE MOST RACIST PEOPLE? - BestAndWorst.com
8000 votes aren't that much, but still!

That poll is stupid... Seriously, who hates us more... The Japanese, or Muslims? :rolleyes:

Dunno xD but Norway is kinda friendly to muslims, they let in terrorist leaders and even give them free money

Put the poll asked what Country is the most racist.

Would you feel safer in Japan, or a Muslim country? :rolleyes:

that answer is obvious lol xD

The poll itself is quite racist "every single muslim country", yeh lets lump all of the islamic world together in one big group. 99% of people who voted on that poll have probably never been to the countries they voted as racist.

burkhartdesu, you deserve to be hated by muslims for being such an idiot!!!:cool:

:rolleyes: I think you're missing the point.

I'm just going to throw my two sense in here...by saying I think is total BullShhh as well.

When I was in Sapporo, a cd player and about 10 CD's of mine went missing. Later that day, I happened to bumb into a police officer at a Family King (i think it was a family king, but basically it was a family mart) and we started talking about random things, as I had never talked to a Japanese police officer before. He told me he was on break, etc, and we made small chat for a while. To make a long story short, I described the CD player and named a few CD's, and he said he'd keep a look out for them, and I gave him a number to reach me.

That morning, I received a phone call from him, saying he found my cd player on a park bench in Odori Park. Not only did he take the time to call a foreign american, but he also held it personally untill I was able to go pick it up from him.

So, I'm not saying you didn't get mugged. I'm saying that what your telling us about the police is BS. You might have even seen "No Foreigners" signs, as those are common (I think there is a thread about them) in small business to keep the flow of business running smoothly, usually due to the lack of Only-Japanese speaking staff.

So, I think you're lying. And there are tons of things I dislike about Japan, so I'm not in some anime obsessed fairy-tale world. (I hate anime, to be honest)

To be more accurate: The number of registered foreign residents reached 386,000 as of October 1, 2007, some 1.4 times more than the total figure ten years earlier.

This does not include the thousands that fly in daily for work and pleasure and probably doesn't include the thousands of exchange students studying there.

You're Japanese host family really said this? I find that pretty hard to believe. The idea that Japanese like westerners, but are "racist" against Americans is the opposite of my experience. The racism you will find in Japan is by far more directed at other Asians (Korean and Chinese, and isn't one way) than it is at Westerners, especially Americans.

The truth is the number of Americans that ACTUALLY come to Japan who are anime-obsessed is by far the minority. I would guess less than 1%.

The opinion your host family holds sounds more like one of the anti-otaku fan members of this forum than an actual Japanese person. I think most of Japan isn't aware of the popularity of and existence of otaku in the west, and I am not sure why they would pick on Americans. There are otaku all over the western world.

I don't think anything. It is not scientific.

The only reason I want to go is to study the effects of WWII there, not because of anime. (I want to be a war historian) And from what I've read, the Japanese are more kindly to foregin westerners who speak their language and tend to be racist to other Asian immigrants. And the cops there are definenitly more helpful there then they are here... :rolleyes:

I might gonny stay in Japan if there is a teaching position if I get a Ph.D in the near future.

And also, Japanese and Chinese universities are the last hopes in the world for liberal arts and humanities. This attracts me a lot.

Wow, what a story. Did you make an report to the police department about the mugging? What part of Tokyo did it occur in? Such a thing is so uncommon that if it were to happen, it would certainly made the news, though I've certainly not heard or read anything about any western tourists being mugged recently.

Yes, racism exists in Japan, but as MMM states, it is generally directed to people of other Asian ethnic groups, and not westerners. The only thing which I have experience which remotely relates to racism is being treated with a little less politeness by certain shopkeepers than a Japanese would receive. On the other hand, these shopkeepers were still more polite than the majority of those I dealt with in America on a daily basis.

Of all the cities I have visited in the world (which is quite a few), Tokyo is by far the safest and most polite. Being an American from Detroit, you should visit Paris next, and then tell us how it compares to Tokyo. I would be surprised if you make it back alive.

i hope you're wrong mate.going to japan is a life long dream of mine.:confused:

This isn't that surprising to me, honestly. My Aunt lived in Japan for 3 years and she wanted to stay over there, but moved back to the U.S. cause she couldn't stand all the racism. It's sad, really. I'll probably visit one day because I still want to, but it's not right for any country to treat anyone like that.

I will say this much, sure has a calm attitude for someone who seems to be a troll.

However, I don't mean to sound racist, or discriminate, prejudice, etc. but, where you come from also plays a very key role in how people treat you as well as what you wear and how you look.

Especially when it comes to what you wear. There are countries where, if you rightly give away the fact you're American, they will look down upon you as most countries see american as arrogant pricks that believe to be the center of the world. If you were wearing an american flag anywhere on your body, that could be one of the problems, dead giveaway.

Your accent plays another key role. Believe it or not, Americans have a very distinct accent that is easily recognizable, and it greatly differs from Canadians, though we're neighbors.

There are many other factors too, hygeine, eating habits, and what you say. You have to make sure your eating properly and within their cultural ways. One mistake and you can be considered disrespectful, however, I doubt they will be that mean.

How you speak too, the phrase you use could be insulting. When trying to say "It's nice to meet you", one could end up saying "Hello Monkey butt", but be completely unaware of it. No one wants to be called a Monkey Butt.

One last note, by calling a specific country Racist, you are being Racist. Every country is going to have racism in it, there's nothing that can be done about it. Everywhere you go you're going to get dirty looks and people are going to be rude. If you can't accept that and deal with it, then you might as well stay in your room and never leave your house again, since the very same stuff that happened to you in japan could happen to you on your own street.

Simply put: Suck it up, live life positively. Negativity is influential and runs on Karma. Murphy's Law: What can happen WILL happen. Get on with life and quit complaining my friend.

Sure it was stereotyping and not racism? I was just thinking about my Japanese teacher. She seems far from ever being racist to me, but, she has made a statement that could be seen as rude. She stereotyped instead, asking if my family had fried chicken for get togethers because I'm black. She just figured that's what blacks ate. I did correct her, though. Wasn't mad, more so amused.

IMO, there are different types of aways of being mistreated...the ignorance route or either the way where you're trying to act superior to someone else. Seems the "ignorance" route is the culprit. In other words, prejudice without literally meaning to be.

Idk about you guys, but I smell a Troll. :P Why would someone even bother doing this?

That was perfectly put, If i put forth the effort to feed this Troll, it would have come very close to this statement. :D

I guess to those not native to Canada or the US. I can tell the difference between a Canadian accent and some American ones.

Seriously, you can't blame someone on how they are bias against something that scarred them emotionally. It takes time for those problems to go away. Hypothetically going by if his story is true, I'd myself hold some grudges to trips to Japan. Obviously he/she has lost a lot of their self-esteem after quite some tragedy, to what was expected to be better.
Though I admit this is the first time I've heard anyone become this unlucky. So that's the point, he/she was just extremely unlucky.
Only way for them to change their mind is have enough courage one day to return, and not visit the same areas, and if so, hopefully have better company.
Generally, there are good and bad sides to everything, I wouldn't say Japan is nearly perfect nor any other country for that matter.
It is possible for any of those things to happen to anyone on any given time for the day. Anyone believing Japan is near perfect is quite bias already. Bad things do exist.

I think this is an outdated...not more than an outdated way of thinking. I don't know if it was ever true. I have been here and there in my days, and what I have discovered is that 1) most Americans are not "ugly American tourists" and 2) most people laugh at the fact that many Americans worry desperately about being seen as "ugly Americans" and act quite the opposite.

Just as we are able to separate our politics from our individual citizens, so can other people in the world. Bush's unpopularity in the US was no secret around the world.

I don't know people who wear American flags around, but people who wear American flags chances are ARE arrogant pricks.

Do you really think most of the world can hear the difference between an American and Canadian accent? I can't hear any difference (except for French-Canadians) unless you say "out".

Countries don't treat people a certain way, individuals do.

I am not the one who closed the thread, but I don't disagree with the decision.