# Americans in the eyes of the Japanese **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177 "2010-05-29T13:34:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177/21 "2010-05-31T03:35:55Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > 1. Oh. That’s good enough for me! ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177/22 "2010-05-31T03:42:52Z")
What is a tall nose? ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177/23 "2010-05-31T09:18:48Z")
The opposite of a flat nose. Not a big one, necessarily. It’s more pronounced in profile, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177/24 "2010-05-31T09:57:01Z")
Well then I’ve definitely got one. ---
**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177/25 "2010-05-31T12:20:09Z")
Does ‘foreigner’ include people from other Asian countries in the above posts? ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177/26 "2010-05-31T13:20:56Z")
I’ve never heard of a club in Korea, anyway, that would exclude other East Asians. When they say “No Foreigners” they usually mean “white people” - although I have seen more specific signs that say “No American Soldiers.” ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177/27 "2010-05-31T13:59:24Z")
One of my sons is currently living in rural Japan teaching English. Americans are not despised there in his experience but like all others are looked down upon in general. He has, I think, proved himself by his huge efforts to learn and respect the cultural norms, but even then he is still and always would be a foreigner, just a better class of inferior, a bit less ignorant than most. OTOH American culture is strangely copied. Young women dressing like they imagine those of the West dress (just a few decades back), celebrating Christmas as consumer entity, etc. etc. … It is definitely odd but it is not despising America or Americans. ---
**Author:** ![chromaticity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@chromaticity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chromaticity)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177/28 "2010-05-31T16:35:28Z")
I would say that there are some weird ideas about America floating around. There are those who don’t care, those who actively dislike (few) and a few who are devoted to American ideas and trends. Overall I feel, the impression is that Americans are nice, but a bit loud and not so graceful socially. \*\*If I were to visit Japan how might my treatment differ based on my nationality/ethnicity? \*\* Unless you are from one of the Asian countries (each of which have their own set of prejudices and associations) if you are white and speak English probably there wouldn’t be much difference. As in any country there are bigoted asshats and really nice people in equal measure. \*\*Would I be able to have a fruitful visit without speaking Japanese? \*\* Yes, although you would have a much better trip if you can speak a moderate amount of Japanese. A little Japanese is not useful (unless you count people fawning over your “skills” as useful) \*\*If I were to visit Japan, where in the country should I visit? \*\* Tokyo, where you can get to see everything that you think of when you think of Japan. Some would suggest Kyoto, but personally I think it feels like a more old-timey place. Nothing wrong with that of course, but you probably wont get the whole picture. \*\*As a young, white, American male in Japan, would young Japanese females flock to me as my fantasies imply? \*\* Depends on your fantasies 🙂 There does seem to be a niche for blond blue eyed men (Apparently they look like big dolls, as per my friend). But with so many people milling around in Japan, your odds are of course better than say, the Australian outback. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-in-the-eyes-of-the-japanese/541177.md?page=1)