EDIT: Debito.org is blocking me from embedding the images, so I'm hotlinking everything. Probably bandwidth costs... Sorry...

A few sad facts of life about racism in Japan.

The Japanese have led an incredibly sheltered existence in Japan. Thankfully, most of their modern citizens are keenly aware of their bigoted past and are slowly erasing the stupidity of their elders from the face of the communities in major cities, but this mindset of ethnic purity still persists today in many rural areas, specifically in northern Japan.

http://www.debito.org/onsenyunohanasign.jpg

One of the better reported instances of this is an onsen in Hokkaido.

After having to deal with constant barrages of unruly Russian sailors, the onsen just decided to unilaterally kick out and refuse all foreigners. If you didn't look asian, you were not allowed in.

When confronted with the issue of a mixed marriage couple, they refused entry to the husband (who had spent a decade in Japan prior to this) and unknowingly admitted a Chinese person into the bath house, who was then quickly asked to leave. The bath house justified their actions as non-descriminatory because they refused business to all but the Japanese. If they were to allow in an American or a Chinese person, it would be discriminatory to the Russians who were not allowed in. Er, what?

http://www.debito.org/monbetsuonsensign.JPG
In English or Russian, it's kinda hard to ignore the fact that you are not welcome at times.

Some bath houses are a bit less direct in shying away business...

http://www.debito.org/yuuransensidedoor.jpg

The normal entry fee for Japanese people is 360Y. So, paying 10X as much to take a bath for an hour just because you're a different color? What's worse? This or segregated water fountains? If you gotta choose either, there ain't much separating the two in terms of which is a shittier thing to do.

During the 2002 World Cup, this popped up again as many Koreans and international soccer fans invaded local towns and as soccer hooliganism is wont to do, cause a ruckus in several establishments leading others to outright reject foreigners from entry.

http://www.debito.org/pachinkodonkeysign.jpg
Sign outside of a Pachinko parlor.

http://www.debito.org/wordupbarmay2006.jpg

http://www.debito.org/edensign030707.jpg
Sign outside of a nightclub

The above sign actually reads "Entry absolutely forbidden to Chinese and Naturalized Citizens, Chinese War Orphans (zanryuu koji), and people with Chinese blood mixed in. ONLY PURE-BLOODED JAPANESE MALES PERMITTED"

In Misawa, a city in Northern Honshu (about 3 hours north of where I was staying...) is the largest US Air Force installation in Japan with over 43,000 working US soldiers and citizens on base.

Outside of the AFB's walls are many signs that their presence is not welcome.

http://www.debito.org/heartbeatssign.jpg
A sign on a local "snack" bar.

Snack bars are basically hostess bars where the girls talk to you, you buy them drinks, pay for their time, etc.; but they do so in lingerie, and not much more than an overpriced T&A show with no sex.

Well, understandably, the language barrier would keep me from bothering with the chit-chat, but to deny entrance for that reason alone is pretty fucking stupid.

My reaction to seeing this is a mix of shock and understanding. Japan is one of the few countries where the locals do not take to change well. Seeing a foreigner in their midst is like having a fleck of pepper in a sea of salt crystals. You stand out really obviously. Now, in my efforts to blend in, I did my part to be as amicable as possible to dissuade any accidental exclusions. Obviously in a lot of "big" places, cities, and the like this was never anything to worry about. No one at the gates of Tokyo Disneyland is gonna refuse you entry.
But in my travels to some of the smaller towns, I remained respectful of people's privacy, kept to myself, kept my head down and didn't loiter. When interacting with Japanese (ordering lunch, asking for items at shops), if I didn't already know what I was looking for, I made damn sure I had some default phrases worked out in my head to ask in case there might be any miscommunication on my part.

If you've ever run into a situation where you're stuck with dealing with someone who's speaking a language you don't understand, your instant fallback is to speak slow english. The Japanese don't know this trick. Not that it'd help, but they'll keep carrying on at full speed as if you understood everything. Honestly, you have to be ready for it.

Was what I did a "giving in" to their semi-racist expectations of my behavior? Possibly on some levels, but to a Japanese person with no English, I'm not doing them any favors by fumbling around looking like a doofus and butchering their language for the sake of getting a cheeseburger.

And I know that in my dealings with ordinary random Japanese people, although I was looked at oddly at times (300lb fat white dudes aren't exactly commonplace there...), I did my best to adapt to their culture rather than force them to adapt to my ignorance of their lives. In probably my most unique situation I encountered, I really had to fend for myself on one day when I was in Kakunodate visiting the Samurai houses. There were no gajin there. Just me. And I did my damndest to fit in and be as polite and respectful as possible in all situations. As a result, I was shown the same level of respect and dignity that I had offered to those I encountered that day. And in Japan, that's about the best you can aspire to achieve.

If you'd like to read more on this topic and where things stand today, check out http://www.debito.org for more information.