Off to Japan...

[Moristans]

Ok, first:

The service in Japan is consistently the best I have ever had anywhere I have ever travelled. Everybody from the common cashier to a manager at a super department store will go above and beyond to help you with anything you might need, at anytime. In three extended trips to Japan, I have never even met anyone so much as a cashier in a convenience store having a bad day.

As an example, we visited the Golden Temple in Kyoto the other day. We got a bit turned around and I walked towards a gas station, map in had, to ask for directions, I never even made it onto the gas station ground before an attendent was already halfway to me. On a busy weekend, I imagine he has to do that 20 times an hour. Not once was he impatient or show signs that we werent the most important thing he had to deal with at that moment.

Regarding tipping in Japan, you dont have to, period. The price you see on a menu, or the price you see on a product in any store, is the price you pay.

We did, apperently, have one semi-grumpy hostess seat us at a restaurant. Our Japanese friends complained, in a typically Japanese manner, but I never noticed a difference in service.

Why do they stare? I dont know. We are obviously foreigners so it depends on where you are in the country. In Nagano, which is fairly rural, they just dont see foreigners. In Kyoto, people barely noticed. Nobody is openly hostile regardless.

There is tons to get acustomed to in Japan. Its not an easy place to travel because very very few people speak more than a few words of English. Many places dont have English language signs, or menus, or anything that might help you figure out what the hell you are doing. Everything is as expensive as hell. Still, its reletively safe and you can spend a lot of time bumbling around without worrying.

Off to Harajuku today for some souvenier shopping...

[Moristans]

Also when you go into a store you don't have 10 people asking you every 5 minutes if you need help like they do here, I prefer to be left alone anyway.

Not sure how you would do in Japan Ulf. They dont harass you by asking if you need help, but practically every service person will acknowlegde your presence with some japanese form or another of `welcome to our store`, usually Irrashai masen! Think of any authentic sushi bar youve been to where every sushi chef yells when you walk in the door. Thats basically every business establishemnt in Japan.

[Ulfen]

10% tip is normal here. If you go to a good place here you get good 'euro style' service, but average places just blow - waiters don't make shit and there is no incentive to work hard when you are doing a minimum wage job.

I have to admit that it has been about 10 years since I was in Germany. It is possible things have changed or I am remembering incorrectly about tipping in restaurants. I do remember though my girlfriend at the time (she was German going to school in the U.S.) telling me that I shouldn't have tipped the barber I went to and that he was probably offended. I also remember walking into department stores without ever being asked if I needed help and she confirmed that its that way most places in Germany. Again its been awhile so maybe it is nothing like that anymore.

[Fretty]

Why do they stare? I dont know. We are obviously foreigners so it depends on where you are in the country. In Nagano, which is fairly rural, they just dont see foreigners. In Kyoto, people barely noticed. Nobody is openly hostile regardless.

I'm just not used to that concept I guess, as I live in Canada where multiculturalism is at it's highest. Not only do I live in Canada, but I live in the town of Markham, which is the rural outskirts of Toronto (20min drive to the heart of Toronto, due to traffic mainly). I've been here my whole life, I remember when it was primarily farmland, I remember when the mall was first being built, etc. As it's grown, we have seen the second largest influx of asians, more specifically Chinese, in the whole country (Vancouver being number one from what I've heard). The ratio in our "small" town of almost 600,000 people, Chinese residents make up 2/3 of the population. The other 1/3 is a mix of pretty much everything else the world has in it.

So as you can assume, seeing people of any culture here pretty much has no effect on me. If they are walking the streets with a map in hand and appear lost, sure I'll help, but in no way do they look any different to me than anyone else in Markham/Toronto.

At the same time, I have NEVER been to a place where I've been the minority. I have been to Bahamas and such, but on resorts, where of course it's no surprise to see tourists there, haha. I think I'd like to visit Japan, not just for the beauty of the land, but also for the cultural shock and the feeling of being distinctively the minority for the first time in my life. I think that would be quite the experience.

[1000xZero]

Why do they stare? I dont know. We are obviously foreigners so it depends on where you are in the country. In Nagano, which is fairly rural, they just dont see foreigners. In Kyoto, people barely noticed. Nobody is openly hostile regardless.

I'm just not used to that concept I guess, as I live in Canada where multiculturalism is at it's highest. Not only do I live in Canada, but I live in the town of Markham, which is the rural outskirts of Toronto (20min drive to the heart of Toronto, due to traffic mainly). I've been here my whole life, I remember when it was primarily farmland, I remember when the mall was first being built, etc. As it's grown, we have seen the second largest influx of asians, more specifically Chinese, in the whole country (Vancouver being number one from what I've heard). The ratio in our "small" town of almost 600,000 people, Chinese residents make up 2/3 of the population. The other 1/3 is a mix of pretty much everything else the world has in it.

LOL When I lived in Toronto it was at Yonge & Finch. Used to go to Markham all the time to the restaurants on Highway 7. Good Food up there especially the Asian food.

At the same time, I have NEVER been to a place where I've been the minority. I have been to Bahamas and such, but on resorts, where of course it's no surprise to see tourists there, haha. I think I'd like to visit Japan, not just for the beauty of the land, but also for the cultural shock and the feeling of being distinctively the minority for the first time in my life. I think that would be quite the experience.

I have been the minority. When I lived in the Middle East, I was not the norm at all. In Turkey, I've had people come up to me and touch my hair (It was Blonde) because they did not believe it was real. I have been asked to leave a restaurant and a video arcade because I was an American(BTW This was in Kifissia, Athens,Greece. One of the most unfriendly places in the world). It is funny when I explain to some of my friends who are minorities here but afterwards they say it is the same treatment.