It happened to us once in Kyoto at a local Yakitori restaurant. Also, when we asked for restaurant reccomendations from the hotel concierge she did warn us that some of the local restaurants did not like serving foreigners. Why? I am not sure, but I think it was more to do with not being able to speak Engish rather than out and out racism. Apart from this, I found the Japanese people to be most welcoming,

To comment properly I'd have to have been there. This has never happened to us during four extended periods in Japan totalling almost three years, including remote parts that seldom see tourists. It's too bad this happened a number of times on one single trip. I've read that it is not unknown in some hotels that foreigners are refused, but as Crellston says, the problem seems to be that the establishment feels it can't serve the customer well because of a lack of English rather than overt racism. Sometimes Japanese hosts are overly fearful of offending foreign palates, and are concerned the customer won't like Japanese food. A bit about such things is found in Alan Booth's book, The Roads to Sata.

Common? If you happen to hit a certain type of restaurants.

Yes, it has happened to us several times.

There seems to be certain local hangouts where outsiders of any kinds are not welcome. Foreigners are probably the super outsiders.

This is much like a feeling I get when I stumble into a locals (only) hangout in the U.S., especially in a small town where the whole eyes in the restaurant would turn to me and the waiter would reluctantly lead me to a table out of the way.

If I can get off on a tangent here, I've been to a restaurant in Chicago where they locked the door and only allowed certain customers in. I suppose a restaurant always reserves the right to refuse customers.

I have been avoiding this question because of its obvious bias but I have to ask......

When you say

"It happened a number of times that they were refused entry to a restaurant because they were not japanese."

Did the Japanese person tell them this various times?

Where are these restaurants in Japan so we can avoid your friends fate?

Don't you find it a little strange that your friends would be subject to this "a number of times" in a short trip to Japan.....or anywhere for that matter??????

Aloha!

I have been avoiding this question because of its obvious bias but I have to ask......

When you say

"It happened a number of times that they were refused entry to a restaurant because they were not japanese."

Did the Japanese person in these supposed restaurants tell them this various times?

Where are these restaurants in Japan so we can avoid your friends fate?

Don't you find it a little strange that your friends would be subject to this "a number of times" in a short trip to Japan.....or anywhere for that matter??????

Aloha!

Hi Hawaiiantraveler,

"Did the Japanese person tell them this various times?"

Yes. They were gesturing no with their hands/fingers while saying "not japanese, not japanese".

As for the restaurants themselves, I can't tell you where they were.

Both of them (married heterosexual couple) are part of "Doctors without Borders" and they were in Japan for their annual vacation from their workbase in Sudan.

It,s not a big deal and they simply went to another place. I just found it strange and thought that the best place to get an answer would be, of course, at Fodors'!

Interesting story.

Although I have no idea how them being married (would the restaurant staff be able to tell if they were unmarried just by looking at them?) or being heterosexual (totally baffled by that) has anything to do with how they were treated.

I've heard similar stories from friends of mine who visited Japan and were refused service. I'd like to think it's not an unfriendly gesture, but who knows?

And the comment about their experience in local US restaurants where customers gave strange looks...well, at least they served you. Restaurants certainly do reserve the right to refuse service but usually that's in reference to drunk or obnoxious people, neither of which I'm assuming the OP's friends were.

I've heard of this happening on some occasions, but in almost 14 years of living in Japan and eating in plenty of restaurants, never had it happen.

In my experience.......this is very common in Wales.

Lynda and I, had quite a struggle to obtain Sunday lunch during a recent visit to North Wales. Stopping at several pubs and restaurants, we were told that food was not being served.....only to watch the locals wander in for lunch.

I am a Scot and Lynda is happy to call herself a Brit.....but I think they assumed we were english !

So it's not unique to Japan.

tm,
in my experiences, unless it was a private club/restaurant(and there are many)I have never been refused service in Japan.

I have been told no at the door but when I started talking in slaughtered Japanese we have always been let in with a sheepish smile.

In my experiences it has been the hosts feeling of not wanting to disappoint their guests or to be embarrassed themselves for their lack of your language that, imho, makes them turn you away, not anything to do with prejudices.

That said I have run into the occasional local who still subscribes to the "gaigin" thing......okole pukas are everywhere in the world I guess

Aloha!

Having never been to Japan I can't comment but there have been occasions here (suburb of Chicago) where I have been "excluded" so to speak. Both times it happened on a golf course and involved Japanese playing partners I got paired up with those days. The first time I was with a threesome of ladies and on the 2nd hole one of them asked me to go one my own. What was remarkable was that she seemed scared to death. and was trembling and shaking when she asked me. Hmmm. Another time I was paired with a group of 3 men and they asked me to go on my own after the turn because one in their group was playing golf for the 1st time and they said he was very nervous. I was playing pretty good that day and they said he felt a little intimidated I suppose. Oh well I can understand that. They were just looking out for their friend. I still can't figure out about that gal however. . Also I have played several other times with Japanese people and have never had a problem. I sort of like playing with them as they are usually polite and more importantly observe the etiquette of the game.

One clarification about U.S. restaurants: Restaurants (as well as hotels) do not, and by federal law may not, refuse service to anyone based on their ethnicity or race. (Some parts of The Land of the Free used to have quaint laws that allowed restaurants and lunch counters to enforce Whites Only policies, but the do-gooders got rid of that in 1964.)

Was in Tokyo for a couple of months in 2005 and have not experienced being turned away . In fact in a few places, the staff took extra pains to explain how the food ought to be eaten. Remember clearly an occasion at a tonkatsu restaurant where the waitress explained to me using hand gestures the correct sauces to use and how to grind the sesame seeds and add it to the tonkatsu sauce. After the explanation she stood a short distance away to see if I understood and got it right.

I would think the better title for this post would have been

"Refused at a restaurant because they did not speak or understand Japanese"

I think some of us may carry our prejudices with us when we travel and expect others to act the same.....

I have, on occasions, seen restaurant staff getting embarrassed and flustered because of communication difficulty with non-Japanese speaking customers (and I was usually able to help out by translating). Perhaps, and I'm only guessing here, the restaurants in question may have had similar experience in the past and wanted to avoid it.
There was a recent survey among Japanese accommodation providers (hoteliers and guesthouse owners) and a significant proportion of them (about a quarter, I think) stated that they do not welcome, or even refuse, non-Japanese customers. Reasons cited include language difficulties and they don't provide facilities foreign guests usually expect (like private baths instead of communal one).
The fact is that Japanese tourist industry outside of popular places like Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima etc is still very much focused on domestic visitors and is slow to adapt to non-Japanese and non-Japanese speaking clients.

Anyone have any ideas why my firend and I (2 females) were repeatedly refused lunch service in Uruguay? We wandered from place to place which had diners seated, but were told we would not be served, or in one instance, we would only be served if we sat outside (there were diners sitting inside that restaurant).

Femi, just from the outsider looking in prospective I would think that they were busy on the inside tables or wanted to serve you outside.....or maybe the inside waitresses tables were all just too busy......what do you think it was from your observations, honestly?

In my experience, this happens at restaurants and night clubs in the big cities. They have their clientele that look a certain way (Japanese) and act a certain way (Japanese). Foreigners are too much trouble and not worth it, if they take you away from or irritate your client base.

I assume the same thing goes for ryokan, especially pricey ones, outside of the big cities.

People want to go to a traditional ryokan but they want a private bath, western breakfast, and the husband doesn't like fish, and they don't like sitting on the floor for dinner or sleeping on futons. And yes, they said they would be there at 4PM with dinner at 6PM but they decided to not show up until 8PM. And when they did arrive, they walked on the tatami mats with their shoes on - to the horror of other guests.

@ hawaiiantraveler

"I think some of us may carry our prejudices with us when we travel and expect others to act the same....."

Wow. I ever imagined one could determine another individual is a bigot when absent from the incidents.

I guess, hawaiiantraveler, that you're a better human that my friends since you seem to have this ability to judge without knowing...

May I just underline that both of them have been working for Doctors without Borders for the last 23 years in areas and in conditions that you could not even imagine?

But still, if it makes you feel better, you are right: they probably are bigots...

It is strange HT, your points have made me look at this from a new perspective. It may have been because it was at the end of the lunch period (?), and so they had reduced staff (?). I feel better about the rejection if it has a rational basis.

This certainly happens in Japan and perhaps elsewhere too. I have experienced this once in Osaka and I know of a Japanese restaurant here in NYC which turns down non-Japanese people, unless you go there with some Japanese regulars.
I've asked Japanese friends why this happens - the explanation I got was:
1) it's more likely in smaller towns than in cities like Tokyo which are more cosmopolitan

2) In smaller towns or with certain restaurants/ryokan/inns, staff is either uncomfortable facing foreigners who don't know Japanese, or are embarrassed that their bathrooms are too "traditional"/old style for use by foreigners; or that certain rules/customs followed within the ryokan may be too strange/onerous for foreigners to follow.

3) Of course, there are always those places that are either prejudiced or have preconceived notions about Americans, or Europeans or Chinese... where foreigners aren't welcome because the business just doesn't want to engage with foreigners. e.g. Americans are frowned on by some places in France, Italy etc. for being too loud or English soccer fans banned from various establishments. Not suggesting that Americans & English hooligans are similar, but the prejudice against them stems from a common stereotypical notion resulting in them becoming unwelcome.

re travelingmad's most recent post:

It's possible that English is not your first language, and that you do not understand the meaning of "prejudices." If so, then I'd encourage you to find out about the word, and I'd encourage you to understand that prejudice and bigotry do not mean the same thing.

If, on the other hand, English is your first language, then I would suggest that you are grossly out of line with your post, and I would encourage you to keep similar posts in that Lounge thing. I would also imagine that most of the participants in this, the Asia forum, would properly see your most recent post as a troll.

@ rizzuto

Prejudices, according to Webster:

a: (1)preconceived judgment or opinion (2): an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b: an instance of such judgment or opinion
c: an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics

So was out so much out of line?

And, to clear things up, English is my fourth language.

I only asked a question to see if what my friends experienced was common in Japan.

Some people answered and I thank them for doing so.

Others tried to hint that my friends had prejudices towards other people/races/countries.

Webster's definition of bigotry:
"a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices"

Hence my link between prejudices and bigotry.

Have a nice day anyhow.

Leightravelclub - I had to laugh at your experience in North Wales, I had a similar experience many years ago but my most recent experience of not being welcomed at a restaurant was in Edinburgh where, after waiting for an hour to get some service, I complained and was immediately asked "are you from London?" When I replied that I was, the response from the restarant owner was "well p*** of back there then, we don't want you up here!! "
I wouldn't have minded so much, but he was an Italian, not a Scot!!!

About Japan:
Years ago, I used to travel to Japan to meet with our Japanese vendors. Usually it's Tokyo or Osaka, but occasionally it's to smaller cities.
One of the cities was Matsuyama, where I witnessed service refusal to a European couple.

When I asked my Japanese hosts why, they said the place catered to locals only, and the proprietor and staff did not speak English and did not feel they could provide a "supreme level of service" to non-Japanese speaking diners.
Since I was with them (work colleagues) and they did the ordering, it was OK.

I haven't witnessed this in Tokyo or Osaka restaurants.

Lastly, there was a question about 2 females finding difficulty getting service at restaurants in Uruguay from Femi.

In 2007, I travelled solo in Buenos Aires and took the buquebus ferry to Colonia, Uruguay. I spent the day there and dined at 2 different places. Didn't have a problem as a solo female; in fact the locals were very friendly and helpful.

Femi, which part of Uruguay did this happen to you?

I posed this question to one of the MD's I work with today as he actually worked in Japan for a while. His reply echoes some of the others here who said its not that uncommon, esp. in more rural areas though not exclusive to them. The reasons he gave were twofold; one has to do with a language barrier and the other has to do with resentment towards US military based in Okinawa who have been involved with cases of sexual scandal towards local women. I think the OP posed a legitimate question and deserves dignified responses. She/he wanted to know if this was common and did not judge anyone nor even express any dismay or resentment. Its unfortunate that some here chose to be judgemental themselves while accusing the OP of the same. The pot calling the kettle black. It happens all the time.

Crellston: LOL!

Mistik: We did exactly the same thing, caught the ferry to Colonia on a day trip. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had explained why we could not be served, but most proprieters were pretty brusque. The place we finally ended up at was not very good, but there was no hesitation at all about serving us when we entered.

Femi - Your experience in Colonia was strange. We spent 5 days in Colonia a couple of months ago and there seemed to be plenty of females dining alone or together. Our biggest problem was finding a restaurant that opened before 9.00pm!

I was going to add some more to this thread, but I won't bother now that the dictionary has come out. Too bad.

> but I won't bother now that the dictionary has come out.

Disctionary ?

Anyway I followed this thread with curiosity. Being Japanese, I never really noticed/ never paid attention but thought the possible reasons given by the others are good ones, well.. possible.

Then I have this former Swiss colleague of mine who just returned from his bisiness + pleasure trip of 2 weeks from Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto). His background : had lived in Tokyo for 1 year that is 20 years ago + returned a few times since then. He took a colleague of his. He wrote to me yesterday :

" It was great to see again old friends and old historique sites....and still many places (bar etc) where they say "Japanese" only...my friend was shocked to see this kind of racism. Overall good that I did it (the trip)again."

" bar, etc " it's vague but obviously it happens. I'm not sure if this should be called racism, some sort of ? but it's not like saying "No Whites" "No Blacks", etc but "Japanese Only". I think there is a difference/nuance. If his colleague from Europe was shocked, I would certainly understand. But also this could be a cultural thing.

I can't say from the message what sort of places they have encountered "Japanese Only", bars ? Just a place to drink or bars with "girls"? Also could one of the places been a "soap land" (massage parlor with sexual service)? I can imagine some are "Japanese only". I think it coincided with the start of AIDS. For the Japanese then, AIDS was something coming from outside the country (an idea wrong or right) so many bars/sex service oriented places put the sign "Japanese Only" due to fear of AIDS. But this is a old story of 20(?) years ago. I don't know if this still applies today. Also this has nothing to do with getting refused at restaurants and other non sex oriented places.

There are several Japanese only "bars" in Thailand that will only cater to Japanese.

Definitely not racism but more like nationalism.

As for the "dictionary" reference the OP quoted Websters inre to the definition of prejudice as a response to Rizzutos hack at him/her. Getting back to the subject the idea of nationalism and its boundaries is interesting. My sense of nationalism would not go so far as to permit the exclusion of others from different nationalities to places I patronize. Indeed if I saw that happening I would no longer go there. If the root of this practice is the assumption that a person of a certain race or ethnicity is "better" or "superior" to those from other races or ethnicities then it is prejudice, at least to a degree.

My intention in posting this question was simply to seek knowledgeable persons' opinion on this situation.

I was quite harshly accused of having a bias, then the people who experienced this were accused of having prejudices, which was followed by me being a troll.

Talk about a nice welcome inviting you to post again in this forum...

Well, it looks like the situation encountered by my friends is more common than what I thought initially.

The reasons for refusal of entry seem to range between "not being able to speak other languages than Japanese" to "not being able to provide optimal service" to "some sense of superiority/racism".

If I ever get more detailed info, I will post back with reference.

Thank you to all who have "chipped-in" and provided some insight.

Much appreciated.

I thought it was common knowledge that the "Japanese Only" bars in Japan are owned or run by the Yakuza(Japanese Mafia)and you wouldn't want to go in a place like that anyway.......right? Am I wrong about this?

You can go to the hostess bars which are also run by the Y, and they'll take your money, or play pachinko in their parlors everywhere and they'll take your money but you can't go into their bars and establishments for some reason....Maybe something still lingering from WWII?

I would say to your traveling friends, "Study the history of the places they are visiting before visiting that place".

The Japanese have been "Japanese Only" for as long as there have been Japanese. Did you expect them to change for us?

Aloha!

"Did you expect them to change for us?"

I had not expectation.

I only posted a question.

Hawaiiantraveler: Just let it go. The OP just asked a question which has been vindicated by a good number of respopnses. Try some Aloha! yourself and stop trying to start and win an arguement. Mahalo. Sayonara.

I have been lurking, but really: "The Japanese have been "Japanese Only" for as long as there have been Japanese. Did you expect them to change for us?" is a bit much. Try substituting "white" for "Japanese".

And I'm not sure where all this talk about bars came from - the OP clearly says "restaurant". I've also heard that there are Japanese-only ryokans.

thursdaysd,

I didn't mean to imply that it was right, only that those are the facts.

jacketwatch, lol, I can hear you screaming at the computer screen all the way over here in Hawaii.

HT: Nice try.

HT - sorry, I read your post as support, not description.

Another lurker here who has been to Japan two times.

I can offer my opinion that I feel Alex's,mdn,crellston,mrwunrfl, rizzuto,HT,mistik, KimJapan's,nickn and Will James's explanations are probably closest to the truth about Japan on this thread.

The rude comments by the trouble making people who have never been to Japan such as jacketwatch should be taken as is for what they are and totally ignored.

LT: Its true I've never been to Japan, at least not yet. I did try to share my experiences with their culture on this subject haowever. You can have knowledge of culture w/o actually have been there and you do this through several avenues such as reading, travel documentaries and forums like this one. My opinion on your comment is you have it, for the most part backwards. In fact I don't think you could be more off base. We all have opinions and you are entitled to yours. Take care.

jacketwatch: Just let it go. The OP just asked a question which has been vindicated by a good number of responses. Try some Aloha! yourself and stop trying to start and win an argument. Mahalo. Sayonara

Very good. LOL! I got a chuckle out of that. Mahalo.