No gaijin allowed.

[JohnBraden]

Originally Posted by RickOShay

Just send them to Colorado where you can walk into a clinic complain about pain in your pinky finger, and walk out with your weed and prescription for "medical" marijuana.

Sad to see you're not "located" in Shizuoka anymore....

[RickOShay]

Originally Posted by JohnBraden

Sad to see you're not "located" in Shizuoka anymore....

Yeah, I was sad to leave, but honestly Japan was only intended to be a chapter in my life (it turned out to be a much longer chapter than I had anticipated however, which was great). I will always be able to visit, and being married to a national, the prospect of living there again is not unrealistic, but we chose to settle down in the US, and life is pretty good here for both of us actually. There will always be something i miss thought about either place, so it is really a no win for me, but I am content with the flexibility of my position.

[tokusatsufan]

Well I don't HATE the UK either,I just think it has untapped potential. Makes wrong decisions on a few things.

[tazzy]

As someone who has lived in Amsterdam before it would be awesome to do away with all those annoying pothead American tourists- of course this is just looking at the surface, they probally bring a lot to the economy.
What is annoying though is its banning all foreigners, not every foreigner in the Netherlands is a tourist, some live there. I very rarely went to such places but it was nice to know I had the freedom to do so if I wanted. This is a very bad move.

Perhaps the government should just ban marijuana instead of this half-assed small step. However, I don't like the idea that foreigners visit our country just for marijuana.

Do away with one of the policies that makes the Netherlands a step above most other countries?
Turn the Dutch youth onto drugs?
Nah, Holland has something right, what should be done to stop the tourists is other countries copying the Dutch, not vice-versa.

[DragonNL]

I have no problems with foreigners visiting coffeeshops here. But I don't live in Amsterdam... so I can't really say anything about it.

Anyway, if I just take a look at our own coffeeshops I'm beginning to understand why foreigners aren't allowed to visit certain Japanese cafe's and clubs...

[JeremyX]

Sigh... I'm really beginning to view travel as unrealistic. The majority of nations seem to be becoming increasingly xenophobic, especially towards Americans (not that I blame them, considering how America behaves). It just seems too dangerous to travel.

I really did hope that the world would move towards tolerance and equality. Fewer things like this, not MORE things like this.

[DragonNL]

Ofcourse nuisance and criminality won't be tolerated. Travelers have to learn to behave themselfs. If you can't do that, then you better stay away. I can understand that..

[tokusatsufan]

Originally Posted by JeremyX

Sigh... I'm really beginning to view travel as unrealistic. The majority of nations seem to be becoming increasingly xenophobic, especially towards Americans (not that I blame them, considering how America behaves). It just seems too dangerous to travel.

I really did hope that the world would move towards tolerance and equality. Fewer things like this, not MORE things like this.

It's true there's a lot of resentment towards Americans but some people are racist and some people will judge you regardless of colour or nationality. That's the same everywhere. We do have prejudices,but some of us can put them aside and some of us can't. I think holidays would be alright. It's not like the tour guide's gonna punch you and tell you to get off the bus.

[WingsToDiscovery]

Originally Posted by JeremyX

Sigh... I'm really beginning to view travel as unrealistic. The majority of nations seem to be becoming increasingly xenophobic, especially towards Americans (not that I blame them, considering how America behaves). It just seems too dangerous to travel.

I really did hope that the world would move towards tolerance and equality. Fewer things like this, not MORE things like this.

I don't think you'll get outright discriminated against unless you either have visible tattoos, or you're acting like an ass, in which nobody from any country would like you. And it's definitely not "dangerous." You're safer in Japan than America.

You may experience some dumb stuff though, like I was at TGI Friday's on Saturday with 3 Japanese friends, and I was the only one who got an English menu even though I was speaking Japanese and can read the Japanese menu. I ended up ordering off the Japanese menu on purpose.

[GoNative]

Originally Posted by JeremyX

Sigh... I'm really beginning to view travel as unrealistic. The majority of nations seem to be becoming increasingly xenophobic, especially towards Americans (not that I blame them, considering how America behaves). It just seems too dangerous to travel.

I really did hope that the world would move towards tolerance and equality. Fewer things like this, not MORE things like this.

Basically this is rubbish. There are so many countries that are relatively safe to travel in (especially comapred to living in a crime riddled country like the US ) that you could barely do them all in a lifetime. Show respect for the local people and their customs and you'll rarely go wrong.
The real problem is many people who travel see it as some sort of license to act out like they never would back in their home country.