Poll: Ever been to Japan?

[loc978]

Not just yet, but a buddy of mine is stationed in Oki, and we have plans.

 

[OverweightWhale]

Yup, went during the summer of 2007. I went to see my Brother who was stationed on the Marine base at Mt. Fuji.

 

[RaDeuX]

Yes, I was born and raised there for a few years.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I lived in Yokohama for about a year. Except for the stress over university coursework, I loved it.

I want to go back. Badly.

 

[Jelly ^.^]

I went a few years back in high school with the rest of my japanese class. It was really fun.

We did all the sightseeing stuff, i bought a replica katana, got slapped by a japanese pimp in a cowboy suit, walked over an exhaust grate thing which was blowing warm, pooey air up, my friend almost got mugged by big black people in shinjuku and we almost got arrested for 'thinking about stealing' from a music store for picking up cds, looking at them and putting them back'

Brilliant times! ^.^

 

[Chase Yojimbo]

When I travel the world, Japan is one of my stops, I may even choose to retire there.

 

[Aeroastrix]

I'm graduating from high school this upcoming friday (CLASS OF 2011! I beat the Apocalyspe baby!) anyways, I'm going to attend CC for 2 years then transfer to a University, within those two years, I plan on traveling, one place I plan on going to is JAPAN!

so ye
http://wtfcontent.com/img/130494600811.jpg

 

[Tax_Document]

I'm there now. For the second time.

No, and I never will. Because they're racist. And they hate white people. And their culture is really annoying.

I hope that's sarcasm.
It is right?
I'm not good at detecting it.

Sadly, he's right, I went there and didn't even get served at a few restaurants, people pointing and laughing, pushing you in crowds, ignoring you (At shops and such), they're incredibly nasty people.

And their culture is over-rated.

 

[LCP]

I'd go, but Idk how I would be treated because I'm Hispanic

 

[Fwee]

Hopefully I get a chance to got there some day.

 

[vxicepickxv]

I'm there now. For the second time.

No, and I never will. Because they're racist. And they hate white people. And their culture is really annoying.

I hope that's sarcasm.
It is right?
I'm not good at detecting it.

It's not sarcasm. And the intensely racist and xenophobic culture is well documented.

Well, so far, no one here has been half as racist as you.

Make no mistake, I'm not racist.
And yes, the sources are quite accurate and up-to-date.

I take it your making reference to the No Round Eye signs.

 

[Berethond]

I'm there now. For the second time.

No, and I never will. Because they're racist. And they hate white people. And their culture is really annoying.

I hope that's sarcasm.
It is right?
I'm not good at detecting it.

It's not sarcasm. And the intensely racist and xenophobic culture is well documented.

Well, so far, no one here has been half as racist as you.

Make no mistake, I'm not racist.
And yes, the sources are quite accurate and up-to-date.

I take it your making reference to the No Round Eye signs.

In addition, the signs that say "No Foreigners", "Only Japanese Allowed", "No Russians Permitted", and my personal favorite, "Members Only" (Only japanese people can be members.)
Oh and until around 1990 anyone seeking Japanese citizenship had to take a Japanese name.

 

[SillyBear]

Nope and I don't want to. It would be very low on my list of places to visit. Way too crowded, way too technologically dependent and nothing about the culture intrigues me.

 

[OctoH]

Go there every other year...though not for Japan itself. Narita just happens to be a stop on the way to the home country, and sometimes it is nice to spend a few evenings in the city when I can space my flights to have downtime.

 

[Toriver]

I live there, so yeah, I've been.

Its not all anime and pocky.

Its racism and awkwardness.

They hate foreigners, their culture is based around being awkward in front of other people, and deep down inside most of them is a lunatic waiting to come out.

I've lived here for over a year now and I've seen the sights. Tokyo is cool. Climbing Mt. Fuji was nice. The Cherry Blosom festival at Hirosaki castle was pretty. But thats really the problem. The country is beautiful, but because i'm a foreigner (5'10" 230lbs of military) I stand out, people notice me, and immediately tag on the stupid problem causing asshole stereotype.

My year here has been interesting, but once I leave I probably won't come back.

Yeah, it is definitely more than anime and Pocky, and honestly I would love to have all the weeaboos come out here to visit and see how quickly they would be shunned by everyone around them until they woke up to that truth. The entire country is not Akihabara, and Tokyo could essentially be its own country and culture. The same can be said for Okinawa, probably even more so than Tokyo, given its unique history that for the great portion of history was completely different from the rest of Japan; it was its own kingdom, the Ryukyu kingdom, until the 19th century, and completely independent from Japan until the 1600s.

Though in regards to the racism, I would disagree. Pretty much every Japanese person I've ever met, while they may or may not actually harbor racism in their minds, has been quite outwardly friendly if you make the effort to talk to them, and they are happy to show you cool and interesting things about their country. You pretty much have to have done something to make them act "racist" towards you. Most of the racism complaints I hear are from military folks, and TBH, they don't often do their best to show that they're interested in the country at all, and I often hear racist remarks about the Japanese from them as well. Further, many Japanese may like the USA and Americans in general just fine, but just don't like our military (I would actually figure this to be the majority view), primarily due to the whole US bases on their land issue. And over time, they've gotten pretty good at telling who is and is not military before even talking to someone. So they could be just showing some apprehension or hostility towards the US military, rather than any real racism against white people. Others, who may not be able to tell all that well, may just assume any foreigner they see is US military, and just may be unfriendly to any foreigner for that reason.

But for anyone, if you take the time and make the effort to show even a little interest in the country and its culture outside of games, anime, and manga, for even a little bit, you can make a big difference in their own perception of foreign people and culture, and help improve our image here even more. Most Japanese are not really racist, it's just that they literally don't understand or are just nervous about possibly having to speak a foreign language. Making mistakes in public, for any reason, is frowned upon here, so they get really nervous about possibly making any sort of error in their English and embarrassing themselves in front of you and any other people who may be around. And most Japanese people I know of are at least somewhat introverted, so you have to be the one to speak up and make the effort to make friends. They won't often reach out to you and try to get to know you, but it's not because they don't like you or don't want to be friends. It's just a cultural difference that you have to get used to if you come here looking to make friends.

On another note, if anyone has any more questions about living here in Japan but outside of Tokyo, feel free to PM me and I will do my best to answer.

 

[Chemical Alia]

No, and it ranks pretty low on the list of places I'm interested in visiting. Not that appealing to my interests.

 

[The Lunatic]

Nope. No intention to.

Can't help but think people who "Make it their goal" are kinda... Well... Let's say "Typical".

 

[Erana]

Yeah, but not for the reasons you're thinking.

I'm an Asian Studies minor, and Japan is one of the most accessible East Asian countries. It didn't have tons of cultural revolutions and social fallouts that resulted in the theft or destruction of cultural treasures and artifcacts like much of the region, so there's a lot to see. With all the other cultural influences...
Well, my professor always said that if you want to see well-preserved ancient Chinese architecture, go to Japan.
Its safe, has a good relationship to America, and is about the size of New England, so you can get a great feel for what the country has to offer without traveling all that far.

Blah, blah, its a great place for someone with an academic interest in East Asia, blah. The geekiest thing I did was go with some other students to a gashapon store, while hitting an arcade on the way. I have a widdle gundam and a pokemon center GBA that I got for 400 yen. :3

 

[jadias]

Nope and I don't want to. It would be very low on my list of places to visit. Way too crowded, way too technologically dependent and nothing about the culture intrigues me.

You realise there's a lot more to it than Tokyo, right? Try the Japan Alps if you want to get away from it all. Heck, go to Hokkaido! There is some AMAZING countryside in Japan, if you care to look for it (and I don't mean climbing Fuji in tourist season).

Have a look here - this is what I'll be doing this winter and this is in Japan!
http://i-cjw.com/

No flashing neon signs, no crowded subway trains, no Pocky. Just beautiful wilderness (and awesome climbing!).

I'm planning a winter ascent of Fuji, too - quite different from sticking to the tourist path in the summer!

 

[Nimcha]

But for anyone, if you take the time and make the effort to show even a little interest in the country and its culture outside of games, anime, and manga, for even a little bit, you can make a big difference in their own perception of foreign people and culture, and help improve our image here even more. Most Japanese are not really racist, it's just that they literally don't understand or are just nervous about possibly having to speak a foreign language. Making mistakes in public, for any reason, is frowned upon here, so they get really nervous about possibly making any sort of error in their English and embarrassing themselves in front of you and any other people who may be around. And most Japanese people I know of are at least somewhat introverted, so you have to be the one to speak up and make the effort to make friends. They won't often reach out to you and try to get to know you, but it's not because they don't like you or don't want to be friends. It's just a cultural difference that you have to get used to if you come here looking to make friends.

I agree with this! I think they're inherently a little xenophobic so you have to be the one to make the effort. But if you do, a lot of Japanese people are genuinely interested in what you have to say. I had a great conversation with a young girl who was fascinated by my red hair. Her English wasn't great but she seemed fascinated by the fact I came from the other side of the world.