japanese only

I love traveling. who doesn't? ok, maybe some people absolutely hate leaving the place they were born. I was very surprised when I came here for college to see how many people chose to go to a certain college just because it was close to home. like mummy's boy! but if I have to qualify everything I say, it would take forever. see how many lines that took? anywayyyyyy, I love traveling. so much to see, so much to do. but because of the limited time and cash that we have to deal with, it is always better if someone took you around. a trusty guide to keep you from getting jipped. hate getting jipped. a little bit is fine, especially when it costs way less than what it would in the states. but getting ripped off is not a pleasant feeling. who wants to be taken advantage of?

lucky for me, most pf the places I've been to were with local friends. fun fun! all the insider knowledge. but it sure sucks when you don't get the whole picture. like when in chinatown. specials are scrawled on chalkboards and pasted on the walls in chinese characters. I no speak no chinese. I no read no chinese. and there are also special menus, some of which have been decoded for me by friends where promotions are listed. I've managed to memorize some of them but most of the time I just prod the waiter until he tells me what's what. that of course only works when the server understands at least a little english. otherwise, you just end up paying more because you ordered from the wrong menu.

but I'm sure this type of discrimination happens everywhere. I've seen it happen in malaysia, thailand, india, and chinatown. but this is usually just a case of trying to scam a tourist. the most common being getting ripped off by the cab driver. but what I heard on the radio was 'a different animal altogether'. gaijin discrimination. I like a lot of japanese things. like the food, the architecture, the festivals, the ceramics, the manga, but not a big fan of the social structure. but I would love to visit japan. unfortunately I don't have any friends over there. and this discrimination issue is unnerving.

the radio report stemmed from the UN findings that racial discrimination in japan is deep-rooted. the radio piece was more from a 'white gaijin' slant. with most of the interviewees from western countries. the piece also stressed that japan wanted to keep the foreigners out. tourists are fine but don't try to assimilate further. fine with me. I just want to visit. not make japan my home. the 'white' discrimination issue seems to stem from the yankee stereotype, where yankee means something like gangster or a2a9. that is to say westerners are loud and like to get drunk and destroy property, among other things. therefore, they are barred from certain establishments to avoid upsetting the locals. this stereotype also makes it hard to rent in japan.

but there is also the non-white gaijin discrimination that I was not aware of until I started to look things up on the web. this seems so much more sinister than the 'white' type of discrimination. but is it surprising though? even in malaysia, westerners are generally treated better than locals or say tourists from china. double standard. it's all about the money right? western tourists are generally less stingy. but of course that is not always the case. my friends in the tourism industry tell me that some western tourists are so picky, and yet expect everything to be dirt cheap. don't expect to be pampered if you're only willing to pay pennies!! anyway, there is a more surprising aspect to this gaijin discrimination. the sangokujin controversy. where japanese residents of taiwanese and korean ethnicity are also treated as gaijin or outsiders and looked down upon. so it seems that no matter how entrenched you get into the japanese community, you'll still be considered an outsider if you're not of japanese ethnicity. you just have to be born a japanese.

makes me wonder how I would be treated in japan. over here in the states people often mistake me for japanese but I don't speak japanese. maybe if I keep my mouth shut, I can get away with it? pretend to be a very shy japanese girl? regardless, it sure would suck to be discriminated against.

back to the 'japanese only' establishments. some people (1, 2) justify this by saying that the exclusion is due to the language barrier. or that if you would try to understand japanese culture and act like romans when in rome, you wouldn't be denied entry. who knows? in spite of all this xenophobia, japan might have to cave in and relax their immigration policy.