gaijin and j-people

[tuscan]

hello

ive been reading many posts on this website (verygood website) that say how much attention gaijin get from j-people.

can someone who has personal experience of this please explain what this means?
i mean, as an english guy, what should i expect? will j-men stare at me? ect, and will j-girls want to ask if i know bechkam?

im going to tokyo in feburary and whould like to know what to expect

many thanks

[nice gaijin]

if you're going to tokyo, don't expect too many stares or strange questions. Not many people will just stop you on the street and ask you weird questions. In what capacity are you going there? for study? work? travel?

[tuscan]

hi, im going on holiday for two weeks.

[nice gaijin]

yeah, two weeks in the Tokyo area, you aren't going to see too much special attention just by merit of you being foreginer. People in Tokyo tend to stick to themselves, and foreigners are not a rare sight in the city. Everyone's experience is different but you shouldn't get approached and asked bizarre questions at random, unless you're in Shinjuku and some Nigerian guy come up and asks you if you want to go to a bar with lots of beautiful women and karaoke... in which case please turn him down.

[Ewok85]

Originally Posted by tuscan

will j-men stare at me? ect, and will j-girls want to ask if i know bechkam?

My god! Its like you've already been

Pretty much, in a city full of people who wear suits or uniforms, have black hair and all speak Japanese you will stand out like a sore thumb. Just don't take it personally

[Silverpoint]

I dunno so much about the black hair. At times these days (especially amongst the younger generations and the female of the species) it seems like those who don't color their hair are almost becoming the minority. I sat on the subway a couple of times recently and did a count. The colored hair outnumbered black hair by about 3 to 1 (excluding younger school age kids who often have to keep it black).

[xerxes99]

I've been wondering about this topic myself. I'm going to be in Osaka for a year. I'm a big guy, 6"3", heavy set. I don't mind being different. I kind of enjoy it, But if i spend a year being a sideshow freak that may get old.

[Jack]

its good to stand out, instead of being another face in the crowd.

Hello J-newb Tuscan welcome to site and all.

[Mike Cash]

It's good to be able to choose when to stand out, instead of being another face in the crowd. When the element of choice is removed, it can be quite a different thing altogether.

[Silverpoint]

Wise words Mike.

[Ewok85]

On that note I wouldnt mind some photos of Japanese stations in full rush hour, and we can play spot the foreigner

[Kara_Nari]

That sounds like a fun game! I would like to play those games too....
If I ever get a digital camera I will post some pics of Korean subways in rush hour... you can play 'spot the foreigner getting pushed out of the way by the housewives' yeah, the foreigner will proably be me... I have rarely been on a subway with other foreigners, but I dont get stared at, coz I have dark hair. They just think im a fat one of them. Never been on a bus with a fellow caucasion. Makes me wonder where they all hide.
Even in Seoul, I didnt see too many on the subways. My friend there is Blonde, and she gets stared at alot. I know this is about Japan, but it was also about the attention etc, so Im giving my two cents worth about that.
I can walk into a shop and have a mini conversation, and its not until I stuff up that they realise im not Korean. Going to the Sauna is a bit odd... I get stared at for my tattoos before they look at my face, loud mutterings within ear shot, and then they look at my eyes and see im not Korean.

However on a downside I have been chased around a memorial war museum by shcool girls asking to have photos taken with them. Havent had the joys of being spat on, which happened to a friend of mine, also I havent had anyone stop their car and rip a cigarette out of my hand which also happened to another friend of mine.
Are you blonde? Or noticeably gaijin looking? Just wear sunglasses, and you should be ok if you keep your distance haha.

My experience with Japanese people not in Japan has always been pleasant. Working for an all japanese company always raised a few eyebrows when they realised I wasnt Japanese. Even then it took them a while to notice. Even the non Japanese clientele would ask what part of Japan I came from.... I really dont look asian at all.

Just walk around strutting your stuff pretending you're a rock star. I knew a guy in Korea who did that, and it worked wonders for his ego. He got to do stuff with the locals that most people dont get to experience, or wouldnt think to try.
Im a bit like him, except I dont do the whole rock star thing. Im just the foreigner with no job, bored and here for the hell of it. Works wonders.
Have fun! Superstar

[Minxie]

Originally Posted by nice gaijin

unless you're in Shinjuku and some Nigerian guy come up and asks you if you want to go to a bar with lots of beautiful women and karaoke... in which case please turn him down.

that has to be the funniest thing i have ever heard lol... is that by any chance you? or just someone you met when you went there *hahaha

[lv426]

Oh my god, a Nigerian fellow took me back to his cloths shop when I went walking down Harajuku on my own. He tryed to talk to me about foot ball, but I'm hopeless at anything to do with sport, and I dont like Hiphop or rap so that kinda rendered his whole cloths line usless lol.

Pluse when I went to Roppongi with a friend, one whole street with lined with black guys trying to get people into clubs. It was really weird, there seem to be alot of black American males employed to get gaijin into clubs.

Pluse me and my friend played spot the gaijin as well, it's weird. Why do we do that, we're gaijin!!!

[Minxie]

I'll def look out for that when I got to Harajuku with my cousin *hahahaha...

[Numark]

My favorite thing is when I went back to japan on my own, after I did an exchange program when I was 17. I went back when I was 19, and I loved when I saw exchange groups being all hearded together while I was just doing whatever I pleased. I would just smile at them and feel like the sh*t cuz I was on my own... haha

[lv426]

For like the first half of my trip to Japan all the Gaijin I heard talking were fellow English people, but as soon as I got the Tokyo area most Gaijin seemed to be Americans!

Weird!

[Limonette]

Originally Posted by Kara_Nari

Just walk around strutting your stuff pretending you're a rock star. I knew a guy in Korea who did that, and it worked wonders for his ego. He got to do stuff with the locals that most people dont get to experience, or wouldnt think to try.
Im a bit like him, except I dont do the whole rock star thing. Im just the foreigner with no job, bored and here for the hell of it. Works wonders.
Have fun! Superstar

That's funny. It occurred to me that the Japanese seem like rock stars to some of us but never the reverse. So maybe we can go to Japan and pretend to be rock stars - wouldn't it be cool if everybody thought of of each other as rock stars - that would be like - rock star heaven! You could be both the worshiper and the worshipee!

[Uncle Frank]

The first weekend I spent in the little town my girl was from, was like being a star. People drove slowly by and went around the block several times gawking at me. When we went into a resturant or tea house, it soon filled up with people trying hard not to look, but not succeeding. It was one of the few times in my life I felt famous, and I admit I loved every minute of it!

Frank

[Mike Cash]

Originally Posted by Limonette

That's funny. It occurred to me that the Japanese seem like rock stars to some of us but never the reverse. So maybe we can go to Japan and pretend to be rock stars - wouldn't it be cool if everybody thought of of each other as rock stars - that would be like - rock star heaven! You could be both the worshiper and the worshipee!

Fortunately, those days have pretty much vanished, but let me tell you that that crap gets real old, real fast.