hmm i wonder how japanese treat non-Japanese asians?
i learn alot about stereotypes here than from actually living in Japan. :shrugs:
@Tokyo crew
Oct might be a little difficult for me…baby is due Oct 23rd! As long as it’s not the actual day of birth, I could maybe make it out for a FRB.
@Osaka crew
SSF4 loketest at Avion next weekend. I’m going, anyone else? I’m probably the only one still playing Super, but we can make it an outing complete with beasting on onions of blooming proportions.
Give us a time!
I’ll be at the Osaka loketest on the 11th, probably right from the start in the morning so I can get the new cards 
Haha, thanks man. Yeah, every day is a new discovery here. Though for a country that’s supposed to keep up this facade of politeness, people are pricks at times. Just yesterday, I held the door open for some middle aged woman and she kissed her teeth at me. Nonetheless, I’m having a good time here. I’d be depressed as hell if I let little things like that get to me.
Thanks for the reply, I really look forward to reading your posts. :tup:
I’m gonna be in Kyoto/Osaka next week so I’m gonna be at the loketest! I’ll probably get the first train in so I can get there when it’s the least packed, my friend’s not the biggest fan of Street Fighter. Looking forward to meeting some of you guys!
I just realized I have plans in Kobe Sat night. So I’m thinking I’ll be there right when it opens, play for a few hours, and then get a late lunch at Outback. Sounds like a good plan?
For those of you who travel home to America on occasion, does the food back home do a number on your stomach after eating Japanese stuff forever? I was only in Japan for 15 days, but I feel sick after eating every meal now that I’m back. Weird as hell
What time does Avion open on a Saturday?
This actually reminded me of something my friend said the other day. When Japanese people go abroad, do they see us the Gaijin since we are foriegners to them? Or do they see it they are the foriegners to the native people, so they are the Gaijin? It’s obviously a generalisation, but I think you get what I mean.
tl;dr, what is the meaning of a Gaijin to the Japanese?
Some people treat me really well, a few of them not so well. Thankfully the former is a much higher percentage, but it’s because I live out in the countryside with a notoriously “foreigner-friendly” area.
I’m sure if I was much more solid with Japanese (really trying hard to by studying a lot), I would probably see a lot more, but maybe I’m better off not knowing what is being said about me. There are a few instances (possibly general, not related to me being a non-Japanese Asian) where I felt like I was a little bit on the outside, like the occasional comment about being single and if I’m trying to hook up with a foreigner girl. I tell them the truth and say that I’m looking for a Japanese girl and they mean mug after that. :wasted:
Or when I meet the occasional person who patronizes me when I try to use Japanese. I remember one time when I met a co-worker’s husband, and I tried to talk to him in Japanese. I was struggling and the guy cut me off mid-sentence, saying to me fairly bluntly, “That’s enough.” I felt really awkward after that. But like I said, it happens only once in a great while. In both previously mentioned cases, I’m sure if I had blond hair and blue eyes like any other American, I’d probably be treated a bit differently.
I hope I can meet you someday wintermute, you seem like a pretty cool cat. You pretty much hit the nail on the head about Japan… it’s not a bed of roses and it has some glaring problems or oversights with customs and whatnot, but it’s got a lot of great stuff too. There are some foreign folk that come in thinking Japan can do no wrong… then there’s the chaps that hate all the differences Japan has and question their lack of common sense. It’s easy to fall into the trap of either extreme side… I just tell everyone that it’s probably best to keep an open mind, don’t take stuff so personal, but at the same time don’t get the illusion that Japan is some sort of utopia on earth. We can probably talk more about this over some yakitori or something. :razzy:
Logia: Gaijin is a less-polite way of saying “outside person”. Gaikoukujin means “person from another country”, and is the more PC version of “gaijin”. Yes, I’m giving the literal translation, but basically it can explain the culture behind accepting a foreign friend into a Japanese person’s circle of friends. In many cases, a lot of people in Japan have a bubble when it comes to friendships and “true friendships”. Of course, it’s not too hard to be a regular friend to a Japanese person, but to become a close friend (hanging out a lot, getting invites to more intimate parties) can take a lot of time… or it may never happen. Sometimes it’s solely because you aren’t Japanese. This was explained to me before… and I have seen it in action several times.
I think this is a big point. With the whole Gaijin discussion, I’ll just add that I am from the rural US, and, while people might (MIGHT) treat foreigners well there, foreigners are usually not able to become “uchi,” if that makes sense. I’m not downplaying the differences between Japan and other places, but it’s difficult for outsiders everywhere.
I have some good friends here in Japan, but they have either lived overseas or would like to live overseas. It’s kind of an issue of cultural acceptance.
Good stuff though, mute! I’ve only been in Japan for a short time… I feel like you’re seeing things on a different level that what I can perceive.
wintermute is actually omnipotent. has nothing to do with how long youve been here :lol:
Im pretty sure that if Japanese people went to another country with white people, some of them would probably be like “wow, so many gaijin here!”, without ironically realizing that they’re the gaijin.
Anyways, gaijin discussion aside, I’ll be there as early as I can be on Sat to meet up with people, get a cool IC card, and hang out. I’m totally down for outback steakhouse lunch, since I have to go to Umeda when I go to Kyoto (for plans afterwards) anyways. If we can make it for lunch, then we can get the lunch menu specials! Sounds like a plan to me!
Elstop - Avion opens at 9:30AM. I dunno if I can be there THAT early, but I will try to show up around then.
BTW Az, I still play SSFIV…but Reno not having gatherings and with your situation, its hard for us to meet up and play. 
Correct. Gaijin are “outside people” so when Japanese are abroad, we are still ‘gaijin’ to them. It goes back to the uchi/soto thing. Gaijin doesn’t mean “foreigner”, it means “non-Japanese” (more on this later). Gaikokujin means foreigner.
Literally gai (? - “outside”) jin (? - “person”) = “outside person.”
Japanese like to shorten words a lot. More than likely you have heard many of these:
Rimokon - short for rimooto kontorooru (“remote control”)
Depaato - short for depaatomento sutoa (“department store”)
Karaoke - kara (empty) + oke (short for ookesutora - “orchestra”) = empty orchestra
But gaijin isn’t really a shortened version of a “word”, so this excuse doesn’t quite work BUT it does explain how there can be some “innocence” behind its (modern) usage:
Some, if not most, Japanese people don’t know the origins of the words in their language. Most people know arubaito (part-time work) comes from the German “arbeit” (work), for example but beyond that they’re pretty clueless in that regard.
I would like to think that for this reason, the majority of people that say “gaijin” mean it in a neutral sense with no malicious intent. But the fact remains that this is not a politically correct term and is avoided on television (preferring to use gaikokujin - “outside country person”/foreigner instead.)
So, obviously enough people consider it offensive. Some people say it out of habit. Of those, some will apologize if called on it. But there are some people that insist it doesn’t have meaning.
Personally, I figure it can be as good or bad as the person using it. I mean, I have heard many people refer to themselves and other Japanese as “Japs” without bad feeling - which is basically what gaijin can sound like to us. If your point of view is if it’s not politically correct it is offensive, then ‘gaijin’ is an offensive word.
Originally, gaijin didn’t mean “non-Japanese” but rather ‘outsiders’ and ‘strangers’ (with the connotation that they were not friends). Foreigners were called ikokujin (“different country person”) or ihoojin (“different motherland person”). And before THAT these words were used to mean Japanese from different feudal states.
The way I see it, the “problem” with the word gaijin is that it brings out the Japanese attitude of “us and them” which really pisses a lot of people off. I think the foreigners that raise the biggest stink about the word “gaijin” are the ones that know a few hundred years ago it meant “stranger” with an underlying meaning of “potential enemy” but it’s 2010, not many Japanese think about or even know how words like kotobito, udokihito, etc. were formed, just how to write them to pass their entrance exams. So the word police would do well to un-clench their assholes a little bit.
Again, TV avoids it, using gaikokujin or (country)jin instead. Some people say “Gaijin-san” to make it friendly though, so my vote is that it’s basically as good or bad as the person intends it.
Hope that helps.
Kunai I agree with you 100% on all points and yeah it would be damn good to hang out sometime. I’ve really got to make it out to these SRK events, I’m letting you guys down…
Man, all this talk of hanging out makes me wish I lived in the main island. I’ve met some cool cats like forgenjuro and Paul(Reipin Pillage) but the rest of you are all so far away. Money for transportation’s also an issue. D:
Anyway, I’ve only encountered discrimination like twice since my stay here, and it’s not really out of hate or anything. I’ve been rejected from certain job opps because I was a foreigner, but it was their policy so I can’t say too much. Otherwise, I’ve been treated fairly well here. The first time I was here I couldn’t speak Japanese all that well, so some of the store employees would try to help me out by speaking either simple Japanese or as much English as possible. These days I can get by without feeling restricted in my Japanese so a lot of people don’t pay much attention.
That, or once they find out I’m actually American, their usual inital impression is shock. Not in a bad way, moreso they’re impressed that I can speak Japanese and sometimes they even try to start a conversation with me.
If I met anybody rude here since my stay, it’s moreso they’re just assholes than treating me like some filthy gaijin. Speaking of which, I think I’ve only been called that once, by the barber who cut my hair while chatting with me. And it’s like wintermute said, she didn’t mean it in a bad way, it was probably just the first thing that came to mind.
And I agree with Kunai as well. An open mind will take you real far here. 
Dont worry Aku we shall chill again one of these days, and it will be glorious!!!
I don’t like giving serious answers to “racism” questions because you need soooooo much context.
Personally, I think I get discrimintated against ALL the time, in a negative way. <—(yeah, I think there is negative discrimination and neutral discrimination).
Some of the shit is pretty rediculous, but for some reason, it only happens to me, and not other black guys I know, so I don’t even like bringing it up.
A) The stories make my Japanese friends sad and awkward.
b) It makes my gaijin friends in Japan confused because they rarely have these kinds of problems.
C) It makes my gaijin friends at home paranoid about racism which, at the end of the day, doesn’t really effect the quality of life.
Either way, no Japanese person wants to REALLY get inside my head. It’s pretty ugly in their now.
Haha, true enough. I’m saving up dragonballs in case I ever need to make that summon. But seriously, I’m still just adapting to life here. I’m still at the “you’re drunk and poor and tired at 3am but no problem Joyful has your back” stage. And I have to say I am amazed at some of the defense mechanisms that other foreigners (and myself) pull out when confronted with the reality of living in Japan. I want to talk about it with people back home, but I just don’t think I can find the words to make anyone understand.
And Cal, I hate to hear it’s rough right now. I hope shit straightens itself out. I’ve pulled some nasty looks and I’ve also pulled some “positive” racism in my rural community, but my skin is white, too. I dunno how your end feels but remember that it isn’t what happens to you that defines who you are… it’s how you respond. Hang tough man.
Best wishes from rural Japan.:rock:
ps: I’m in the boonies, too, Aku. I haven’t had the chance to chill with anyone from SRK yet. That totally sucks!
Edit: Actually, Aku, I’m in Yamaguchi. Hit me up sometime and we can hang if you want.
Oh, things are fine now. I get harrassed by the police at 7pm, I have Indian curry for dinner and it’s like nothing ever happened.:lol:
I mean, if I blogged this weekend, it would look rawrsome to most “normal” people. Life is good. I’m just saying, racism is in this country, different people get it in different ways, and everyone interprets it differently, hence I don’t feel comfortable talking about it.
Ah, I get ya. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around all the things that I’ve dealt with, and I haven’t even had that many negative experiences yet. But seriously… coming to Japan was probably the only smart thing I’ve done with my life. Good times 
Maybe someday I’ll be in a position to hit a tokyo meet up… but it’s not likely during my current contract. Sigh.