Some questions about Tokyo and Japan in general.

Summery: I want to know more about Japan and surroundings, through a non American view.. or lack there of.

Well I am an American looking for something new.. From what I hear and see Japan is a great place to go. Now I only have tv and internet reviews to go by. I try to get reactions from quality sources. I was just wondering if I was correct by assuming the following when thinking of Japan:

Is very unique.

Are not afraid to be "different"

Love technology

Very social.

Embracing

Rich in history

Better than vegas and new york combined

I know it may sound racist, to make any opinion on a race without knowing anything about it personally but its not like I am doing it on purpose i am truely blind as to what life is like in Japan other than the media. I am willing to accept the fact that i am indeed ignorant of the life style of the non american.. im just 18. I would like to go not just to play games but to learn a lot about there. Like whats with the dragons. Why they eat rice. The women that dress up.. Like I said im sure this is all coming off as racist but I have just gotten so many mixed reviews I'd like to see for myself. I also do not understand why China doesn't like Japan.. Same with (South) Korea. I don't really see America at war with Canada or South America. Sure the Natives and the Mexicans had their bouts but were not as bad as modern times. Our schools did not teach us this. My teacher laughed at me when I told him pluto is no longer a planet as if i made it up. Well anyway where can i get some info on the Eastern world? I know youre going to say Wiki but they are almost always wrong. Google just gave me porn links in disguise. Anyone here ever been?

Also I found this on MySpace, how true is it?

"I've always loved Japan and I always wanted to go there, I've meet several Japanese people here and they all seemed to very hospitable and kind. A few days ago I was talking to my best friend Kristen who's Korean on the phone, we got into the subject of what classes we were going to take next year at my University and that's when I mentioned Japanese to her. When she asked me why? I told her about a friend I knew that lived in Japan for a few years through a "Japanese Exchange and Teaching program"(J.E.T.). I told her if I took Japanese 101 it would be a stepping stone to one day live in there.

I'm not sure exactly why but she seemed kinda put off by the idea, she told me that I probably shouldn't invest so much time and effort into going to a place that "doesn't want you there". She told me she had some family that lived there and they weren't taken kindly by the locals because they were Korean, then she went on to tell me about the way they treat Caucasians compared to other foreigners. As you might imagine I was quiet distraught about it and I refused to believe her so she sent me the videos as "proof". I also tried researching the subject a little and found out that "Japanese Only" signs on one of the videos were in fact real. It's true discrimination exists everywhere but there are laws against segregation in most countries, I'm not sure what to believe in anymore or if I should pursue my trip to Japan. I'm obviously not Japanese or even Asian for that matter so I'd like to hear your opinions on the matter.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xCeK0Trz9E0

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZoOuuzsLgCc

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5RJiOS_raN8

http://www.debito.org/misawaexclusions.html"

my computer wont play any of the utube likes so can someone tell me if it is aginst tos so i can delete them thanks.

is this a joke to you?RonMaverick804

He was only saying that Japan is a very clean place...

Hentai. That's all I have to say on this subject.supermetroidfan

No self respect? Your parents would be proud.

From what I've heard from all my friends: There's a duality in how they treat westerners. Typically on the surface you will be treated well, especially if you are white and from an English speaking nation and ESPECIALLY if you are from the USA (or of Dutch descent)

Other nationalities have mixed surface reception such as Indian/Chinese who are regarded well by some because those countries are a large source of Japan's culture.

However there are certain undelying discriminations, the Japanese are very hospitable to have you around so long as you are a visitor, if you try and intergrate into their soceity however, you'll find they find that invasive. Things like, when someone comments on your Japanese or how you use chopsticks, the comments sound positive but the underlying connations/tone suggest something like "Look, you can use chopsticks, monkey see, monkey do" etc;

The worst bit is you can't complain about the treatment either cos they will either deny it or you will simply perpetuate any negative stereotypes of your nationality as confrontational/unreasonable (arguing face to face is not really Japanese, to do so is considered brutish and neanderthalic)

There is also a further split between the older generations and younger, the older are often subtly discriminating on purpose whereas the younger generation is a bit more mixed, if they are saying discriminatory things or things their elders might say in a discriminatory way they might not mean any harm and sometimes have no idea they are causing offence (and then there are those again, who do it on purpose).

If you are only going for a short while then go ahead, you'll be treated well. (Tokyo is a tourism capital, so don't expect it to be as harsh as near a US base).

That last link is really interesting in and off itself, it's nice to see that he scores some victories along the way. Japan changes slowly, but always when it has to, with it developing socio-economic problems that are rapidly becoming unignorable you should see more adaptive processes adopted, in this case, western processes, western attitudes. Just don't expect it to happen overnight or even in our lifetime.

I also do not understand why China doesn't like Japan..RonMaverick804

Summery: I want to know more about Japan and surroundings, through a non American view.. or lack there of.

Well I am an American looking for something new.. From what I hear and see Japan is a great place to go. Now I only have tv and internet reviews to go by. I try to get reactions from quality sources. I was just wondering if I was correct by assuming the following when thinking of Japan:

Is very unique.

Are not afraid to be "different"

Love technology

Very social.

Embracing

Rich in history

Better than vegas and new york combined

I know it may sound racist, to make any opinion on a race without knowing anything about it personally but its not like I am doing it on purpose i am truely blind as to what life is like in Japan other than the media. I am willing to accept the fact that i am indeed ignorant of the life style of the non american.. im just 18. I would like to go not just to play games but to learn a lot about there. Like whats with the dragons. Why they eat rice. The women that dress up.. Like I said im sure this is all coming off as racist but I have just gotten so many mixed reviews I'd like to see for myself. I also do not understand why China doesn't like Japan.. Same with (South) Korea. I don't really see America at war with Canada or South America. Sure the Natives and the Mexicans had their bouts but were not as bad as modern times. Our schools did not teach us this. My teacher laughed at me when I told him pluto is no longer a planet as if i made it up. Well anyway where can i get some info on the Eastern world? I know youre going to say Wiki but they are almost always wrong. Google just gave me porn links in disguise. Anyone here ever been?

Also I found this on MySpace, how true is it?

"I've always loved Japan and I always wanted to go there, I've meet several Japanese people here and they all seemed to very hospitable and kind. A few days ago I was talking to my best friend Kristen who's Korean on the phone, we got into the subject of what classes we were going to take next year at my University and that's when I mentioned Japanese to her. When she asked me why? I told her about a friend I knew that lived in Japan for a few years through a "Japanese Exchange and Teaching program"(J.E.T.). I told her if I took Japanese 101 it would be a stepping stone to one day live in there.

I'm not sure exactly why but she seemed kinda put off by the idea, she told me that I probably shouldn't invest so much time and effort into going to a place that "doesn't want you there". She told me she had some family that lived there and they weren't taken kindly by the locals because they were Korean, then she went on to tell me about the way they treat Caucasians compared to other foreigners. As you might imagine I was quiet distraught about it and I refused to believe her so she sent me the videos as "proof". I also tried researching the subject a little and found out that "Japanese Only" signs on one of the videos were in fact real. It's true discrimination exists everywhere but there are laws against segregation in most countries, I'm not sure what to believe in anymore or if I should pursue my trip to Japan. I'm obviously not Japanese or even Asian for that matter so I'd like to hear your opinions on the matter.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xCeK0Trz9E0

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZoOuuzsLgCc

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5RJiOS_raN8

http://www.debito.org/misawaexclusions.html"

my computer wont play any of the utube likes so can someone tell me if it is aginst tos so i can delete them thanks.

RonMaverick804

As for why they hate Koreans and Chinese people it all has to do with history (and the feeling is very mutual). Japan was a very brutal occupier/invader and as a result managed to leave a bad taste in just about every country's mouth it ever fought with. It doesn't help that they've never apologized for those things either, and in fact pretend that they never happened. For example, this is one of the diet candidate's platform:

Tojo told a news conference one of her primary goals in office would be to settle issues from World War II that remain deeply controversial.

On Japan's mobilization of tens to hundreds of thousands of "comfort women" to serve in front-line brothels, Tojo said the government was not directly involved, a commonly held belief among Japanese conservatives despite evidence to the contrary.

She also said the often-cited death toll from the Rape of Nanking -- as many as 300,000 -- has been grossly inflated by the Chinese and it must be corrected.

Tojo said the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki went "beyond all the savage acts that occurred in history up until that time," and accused the United States of being racially motivated. She claimed the U.S. would not have dropped such bombs on other "white" nations.

Japan, meanwhile, went to war to "liberate people of color from the white nations in the world" who were colonizing Asia at the time, she said.http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070703p2a00m0na020000c.html

And then there's the big controversy with Japanese history textbooks in the way that they portray Japan during WWII. Japan also has a conflict right now with South Korea over who has the right to some small island off the coast of South Korea, which has the Koreans pissed off since the inhabitants of said island speak Korean and have Korean customs. So its a pretty ingrained, complex conflict, with all three countries using it advance their political agendas rather than doing anything to end it (for example: China loves to whip out the "Japanese are wronging us" card when Japan does something they don't like/when they need to control the populace, S. Korea put up a trade barrier against Japan, N. Korea loves to use Japan to reinforce its population of the need to stay isolated, and Japanese right-wing politicians love to use anti-gaijin rhetoric/platforms when campaigning (not much unlike the way right-wing US politicians use anti-illegal immigrant rhetoric and platforms)).

Korea and China don't like Japan because of Japan's imperial past. Korea was occupied by Japan for 50 years before and during World War 2, and Japan basically treated the place as a slave state. Japan commited many atrocities in China as well during the Manchurian invasion and World War 2, such as the Rape of Nanjing and thier chemical weapon program, which involved testing on Chinese citizens. Something that the Japanese government, even today, denies ever happening even though there is pretty clear evidence that it happened.ProudLarry

Summery: I want to know more about Japan and surroundings, through a non American view.. or lack there of.

Well I am an American looking for something new.. From what I hear and see Japan is a great place to go. Now I only have tv and internet reviews to go by. I try to get reactions from quality sources. I was just wondering if I was correct by assuming the following when thinking of Japan:

Is very unique.

Are not afraid to be "different"

Love technology

Very social.

Embracing

Rich in history

Better than vegas and new york combined

I know it may sound racist, to make any opinion on a race without knowing anything about it personally but its not like I am doing it on purpose i am truely blind as to what life is like in Japan other than the media. I am willing to accept the fact that i am indeed ignorant of the life style of the non american.. im just 18. I would like to go not just to play games but to learn a lot about there. Like whats with the dragons. Why they eat rice. The women that dress up.. Like I said im sure this is all coming off as racist but I have just gotten so many mixed reviews I'd like to see for myself. I also do not understand why China doesn't like Japan.. Same with (South) Korea. I don't really see America at war with Canada or South America. Sure the Natives and the Mexicans had their bouts but were not as bad as modern times. Our schools did not teach us this. My teacher laughed at me when I told him pluto is no longer a planet as if i made it up. Well anyway where can i get some info on the Eastern world? I know youre going to say Wiki but they are almost always wrong. Google just gave me porn links in disguise. Anyone here ever been?

Also I found this on MySpace, how true is it?

"I've always loved Japan and I always wanted to go there, I've meet several Japanese people here and they all seemed to very hospitable and kind. A few days ago I was talking to my best friend Kristen who's Korean on the phone, we got into the subject of what classes we were going to take next year at my University and that's when I mentioned Japanese to her. When she asked me why? I told her about a friend I knew that lived in Japan for a few years through a "Japanese Exchange and Teaching program"(J.E.T.). I told her if I took Japanese 101 it would be a stepping stone to one day live in there.

I'm not sure exactly why but she seemed kinda put off by the idea, she told me that I probably shouldn't invest so much time and effort into going to a place that "doesn't want you there". She told me she had some family that lived there and they weren't taken kindly by the locals because they were Korean, then she went on to tell me about the way they treat Caucasians compared to other foreigners. As you might imagine I was quiet distraught about it and I refused to believe her so she sent me the videos as "proof". I also tried researching the subject a little and found out that "Japanese Only" signs on one of the videos were in fact real. It's true discrimination exists everywhere but there are laws against segregation in most countries, I'm not sure what to believe in anymore or if I should pursue my trip to Japan. I'm obviously not Japanese or even Asian for that matter so I'd like to hear your opinions on the matter.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xCeK0Trz9E0

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZoOuuzsLgCc

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5RJiOS_raN8

http://www.debito.org/misawaexclusions.html"

my computer wont play any of the utube likes so can someone tell me if it is aginst tos so i can delete them thanks.

RonMaverick804

Everything you say is very subjunctive. I lived in Korea for 2 years, but Japan and Korea aren't that different socially. Asians countries are very homogeneous and don't always particullary like foreigners. You will definitely stick out like a sore thumb if you aren't asian. And you better know Japanese if you want to move there.

My view of Koreans on being different though is that they are all the same, yet aren't afraid to be different. It is kinda hard to explain. Most of them had the same values and life**** but they weren't afraid to act out.

And South Koreans don't hate Japanese. If anything it would be North Koreans. You should really look up the cultures before you go there. THere are a lot of oddball things that could offend asians.

Well my ex from France ( yeah i know voids what im about to say) Always told me how people here are very "private" I could understand what she means because when I see events like TGS I see people dressed up like the current fads over there and not having a block of people staring at them, but rather having a block of people also dressed in costumes and other designs. Do you know what would happen If I even stood on my door step wearing say a Batman outfit?.. I most likly get arrested on some bogus charge and then have my entire background checked to make sure im not a terrorist.

I've just been brainwased to the point I (and many other Amricans) see Japan as a bunch of smart people with cool HDTVs and other stuff that would take 30 years to come out here, and its all cool n stuff. I'm not saying Korea is not just as good because thats how many of my friends see the entire China/Japan/Korean countries. In order to stop the madness i no longer watch king of the hill starting yesterday.

is that how japan really sees America?.. No Hawii/ Pearl Harbor.. Kitty Kastle? wtf?

is that how japan really sees America?.. No Hawii/ Pearl Harbor.. Kitty Kastle? wtf?

RonMaverick804

That's from a video game...

I know it's every irritating anime nerd's fantasy to move there._Margulis_

I'd love to visit one day, though. ;)

We hate Japan(I mean, i'm korean) because Japan conquered us as a slave state. And the worst part is that they don't recognize what they did, they don't learn in school that they conquered korea as a slave state.

And they also changed the name East Sea, and now it's called Sea of Japan(it was a.ka Sea of Korea too).. they also insist that a korean territory(which is ours since the beginning of the history of korea)is their territory...

If you ask a japanese about their history during ww1 and ww2, they won't even know that korea was part of japan...

and during ww1 and ww2, i mean when korea was part of japan, japaneses could f**k korean women(though it was morally wrong, it wasn't prohibited by the law)

and culturally talking, if you're blonde or white, you'll be pretty popular in japan, i mean i guess in korea too...(i think in asia) why? because asians are losers that love blondes and white guys(though im not)

I'm not blamin japan in any way, but it is truewhat I'm sayin and most of the people think that I'm a f***in lyer because japan is more powerful than korea.. and some people even say that powerful nations are more confident...

I heard it'd be best to try China. Supposedly they're about to become the most powerful nation on Earth, meanwhile USA is getting ready to slump into another depression

I'vr lived in Japan for around seven years. It was an amazing experience. The culture is very very interesting. Over in Japan, everyone respects each other. It's a huge part of life there, you gotta respect one another whether you're a janitor or some hot shot CEO at Toyota. Along with respect, they live with honor too. I left my wallet loaded with around 40,000 yen once at a McDonalds and I returned a couple of days later to ask the management if it was still there and amazingly enough it was still there! Hardly any crimes ever occur there... Like two murders happen a year in that whole country. No joke. The food is great. And the technology is AMAZING. I had one of the fastest fiber-optic internet connections you can get in the whole world in my house! I could download a 2 gig demo off xbox live in like 10 minutes flat. Haha :) Anyway, you should really check Japan out. It's a great country. Don't just go to Tokyo though... Go to other places too. If you've got the money you should go to the Kobe region. OOO AND GO TO THE APPLE STORE IN KYOTO! THE ELEVATOR IS SO COOL :) THERES LCD TOUCH PADS IN IT :) AND ITS 4 STORIES TALL :)