Turning Japanese


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franzoir

-the smooth, the suave, and the shrewd
Sempai
Yo guys, first of all, after years of watching anime me and my friends have finally organised a trip to go to Japan later this June. However i heard some bad stories about Japan. People say because it is a private/traditional country its not very accepting of foreigners and im black so im even more scared to go.

So if you have been to Japan could you just briefly describe your treatment and your general experience. Much appreciated.

P.S Can someone link me to the learning japanese thread. I hear if you make the effort to speak their language its a good icebreaker.
 
I've never been to Japan but my sister has. Well being tall and black she stood out quite a lot (she said she was taller than most guys). Anyway the most painful part of the trip was the damage to the wallet!!!
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Where abouts in Japan are you going? Cause she went to Tokyo.

About Japanese. Learn how to say I wanna a pint and you should be fine!
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Then again they probably use the metric system or bottles!
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I have not been to Japan myself (I'm leaving july 7th for a two week trip with my japanese sensei and some of my fellow japanese students ^^), but as many people know I'm somewhat knowledgable. Now, i've talked with many japanese exchange students, and at least at their level they are very accepting of foreigners (or at least won't think too ill of you for simply being one). the older folk however, may be more prone to staring (along with their younger children), and don;t be totally surprised when some establishments won't let you in (some onsen mostly, especially if you have tattoes as that's a japanese no no.

at any rate, if you're only going to be there for a few weeks i doubt you'll notice it too much, you'll be to busy taking pictures and scaring the local populace (wittingly or not ^^), but for a good source of modern japanese experience by a foreigner (and ablack one at that), check out "Gaijin Smash" http://www.gaijinsmash.net/ . Az is a wonderful writer and will have you learning stff and rolling on the floor laughing
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.

and if you're interested in learning some japanese phrases, i'd suggest buying vol. 1 of the Genki japanese language book. after all, japanese will often find it kawaii or suteki if you can dish out a few meaningful phrases, but not so much for spouting random words and phrases from anime ( ala Sue from Genshiken).
 
QUOTE (perimiter @ May 29 2008, 01:04 PM) "I wanna a pint" whats a "pint"?
In british it just means "I want a beer", but a pint is just a unit of measure. Something equivalent to 16 oz or so I think. I mainly here it from places like the UK. A nice sized beer.
 
QUOTE (Barbobot @ May 29 2008, 11:10 AM) In british it just means "I want a beer", but a pint is just a unit of measure. Something equivalent to 16 oz or so I think. I mainly here it from places like the UK. A nice sized beer.
lol, i think the more confusing part was the "double a"

"I want(>)a a pint"
 
The Japaneses are not particularly racist or xenophobic, but have a strong 'group spirit'. So it can be difficult to be fully accepted in Japan, but you shouldn't have any problem as a tourist (less than in other countries, since the crime rate is low).
So enjoy the trip.

Of course, it's a generalization, with all the limits of a generalization.
 
Blimey this has turned into a pint debate! I suppose strictly speaking you wouldn't just ask for a pint, but would say I want a pint of Fosters etc. Like I was saying earlier if I said the same thing in America (or most countries for that matter) I would probably be given a 1/2 litre glass or bottle (not a pint
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). Anyway the original poster was British so I was pretty sure they would get it.

Like others have said you shouldn't face anything worse than the odd stare. Just don't go mental in a wild shopping spree! As an anime fan I'm sure that's easy to do!
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I hate lager, i swear you could freeze guinness and have it for breakfast. Im a spirit kinda guy, messes you up quicker.

Anyway thank for the prompt replies, so it's just old people and certain establishment to avoid (then again, that is the same in most countries).

Erm im going Osaka i think that central tokyo right? Dunno.

I also remember there being a learning japanese thread but i cant find it can someone post the link, i got 2 weeks to cram.
 
QUOTE (franzoir @ May 29 2008, 07:46 PM)I hate lager, i swear you could freeze guinness and have it for breakfast. Im a spirit kinda guy, messes you up quicker.
Easy with the spirits!
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Things can get nasty pretty quickly! Vodka-Redbull is an evil drink!


QUOTE I also remember there being a learning japanese thread but i cant find it can someone post the link, i got 2 weeks to cram.
Can't find the thread?
Learning Japanese

I would advice buying a phrase book though. Not sure if that thread is good enough.
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Osaka is actually quite different from Tokyo, probably the most different you get get while still being in Japan ^^;;. (osaka is south and west of Tokyo by quite a distance). and don't be surprised if their japanese sounds different from everyone else's, because it is. to get the idea, think of a west coast english (ie: normal english), vs. southern english. it's mostly in the endings of words.
 
i've been in japan for nearly 9 months now, and i'm yet to be denied entrance in any estabilishment whatsoever.. i know that such exist, but they seem to be few and aimed at a specific crowd i'm not part of:)

the "can't go in an onsen / sentou" part is true, but that works for both japanese and foreigners. And every now and then there are some places where you can go in even if you have a tattoo. Just don't forget to check / ask if it's ok, if you intend to go to one of those places.

The overall reaction to foreigners is either curiosity (mostly resulting in people staring at you, with someone occasionally talking to you) or fear, which results in them avoiding you. But they won't do anything wrong to you, and from my experience the curious types are a lot more frequent than the scared types
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however, i behave in a sufficiently japanese way, which makes things easier for me. I have no idea if skin color makes any difference around here.

At least in western Japan (where i'm living at) foreigners are welcomed a lot more often than not, so as long as you don't break too many rules, i'm pretty sure you'll be ok.
 
QUOTE (mamori @ May 29 2008, 02:14 PM) Osaka is actually quite different from Tokyo, probably the most different you get get while still being in Japan ^^;;. (osaka is south and west of Tokyo by quite a distance). and don't be surprised if their japanese sounds different from everyone else's, because it is. to get the idea, think of a west coast english (ie: normal english), vs. southern english. it's mostly in the endings of words.
I never would of guess it that, i thought that was a british thing only, when i went America they all pretty much talk the same unless you go deep south. (Im from london so i have a dull and dreary accent like news presenters)

The thing that i find hilarious from this thread is that people are saying Japanese people dont like tattoos, but one of my friends who is going has tattoos and they ARE visible. So to tell him or to leave him and let the fun ensue? (Latter me thinks).

Also Monsta666 i have got a phrasebook but im secretly hoping for my subconscious to kick in and speak fluent japanese after years of watching anime.
 
QUOTE (franzoir @ May 29 2008, 08:30 PM) Also Monsta666 i have got a phrasebook but im secretly hoping for my subconscious to kick in and speak fluent japanese after years of watching anime.
I have not been to Japan myself, but was taught the language last year by exchange professors from Japan. Just make sure as a foreigner you do not use informal Japanese (often used in anime) as it's apparently seen as quite rude. I've always been told that foreigners should use the most polite form of Japanese (unless of course, you're there for a long time and get very close to certain people).

I've only ever heard of the "non acceptance of foreigners" in long term situations. My highschool teacher taught in Japan for 6 years, and married into a Japanese family. And yet people would still referred to him as "foreigner". It was not really anything personal, just that he was obviously a white male and not Japanese, and could never truly be Japanese. So, I would think you shouldn't meet too many problems if you're there on vacation.
 
it's not that they don't like tattoos themselves, it's just that they don't like their meaning: in japan, if someone has a tattoo the likeliness that he has some connection to yakuza is pretty high, which makes most of the people around someone with tatoos become uncomfortable.

for example, this week the exchange students of the university i'm at went on a school trip, which included going to an onsen. When a friend of mine (who has a tattoo) entered the bath, a japanese man stood up and left. And obviously the owners of onsen don't like that.

And yes, try to avoid informal japanese.. for example, say "ikimasu" instead of "iku" (if you have basic knowledge of japanese you should know these forms of a verb), "desu" instead of "da", "watashi" instead of "ore" ("boku" might seem strange but it's not that rude, i guess), "arigatou gozaimasu" instead of "arigatou", etc.
 
QUOTE (Noshi @ May 30 2008, 05:58 AM) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNAJWA2gVHE

XD
NOTE!: both are actors.

I honestly have no real idea about racism there.
as far as I do know, then don't mind you at all when being there on vacation. They don't really like it though when you stay there and start living there.
lmao
 
My brother in law has lived in Japan for over twenty years. He was able to get along with most people there. He was about 6 feet 2 inches and red-haired when he arrived there and the biggest problem back then was that it was common for red headed foriegners to loose their swimsuits if they tried to go to a beach.

The biggest discrimination now is that if you are not ethnically Japanese that you must leave the country for one day every year.
 
QUOTE (snorky2k @ May 30 2008, 02:58 PM) My brother in law has lived in Japan for over twenty years. He was able to get along with most people there. He was about 6 feet 2 inches and red-haired when he arrived there and the biggest problem back then was that it was common for red headed foriegners to loose their swimsuits if they tried to go to a beach.

The biggest discrimination now is that if you are not ethnically Japanese that you must leave the country for one day every year.
explain the swimsuit and leave the country for one day part please
 
QUOTE (snorky2k @ May 30 2008, 08:58 AM) My brother in law has lived in Japan for over twenty years. He was able to get along with most people there. He was about 6 feet 2 inches and red-haired when he arrived there and the biggest problem back then was that it was common for red headed foriegners to loose their swimsuits if they tried to go to a beach.

The biggest discrimination now is that if you are not ethnically Japanese that you must leave the country for one day every year.
Does that mean all the japanese girls find red heads exotic and sexy? In that case I need to book the next flight to japan.
 
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