Fried Chicken and Sushi 348 Livin' in Japan as a black man

I remember feeling as frustrated with Japanese people as J seems to be.  It's easy to think that all people there are racist because of the way they treat foreigners.  One minute, you're treated extra special, the next minute you're treated like an alien from another planet.  Never as an equal.  It's really only because they have very little experience with foreigners and only know what they've seen in movies and heard on TV.  I never felt that Japanese people were trying to make me feel bad or hated me, but they just didn't know much about my culture.  Add to that, the fact that you're in the minority as a non-Japanese, they feel pretty comfortable pointing out differences between you and them.  I guess J calling it racism is one way to look at it, from his experiences as a black man in America, but it's not fueled by hate.  More of a lack of understanding and a curiosity most Japanese people have about foreigners.