Mingling with the Japanese People

The Japanese people are a very homogenous race. This is due to the fact that as an island nation, Japan was cut off from the rest of the world for many centuries. As a result, almost ninety-nine percent of the population is Japanese ethnicity. However, there also exist some minorities within the country, which consists of Korean, Chinese, Filipino, and Brazilian races.

The Japanese are an incredibly polite people. In fact, many locals are thrilled to have visitors to their country and are generally helpful to foreigners. On the other hand, there are still many that are not used to dealing with foreign people and therefore might be more reserved and reluctant to communicate with you.

Furthermore, foreign visitors are a rarity in Japan aside from the major cities, and thus you will likely have some encounters especially in some towns wherein the people might try to move away when you try to address them. Do not be upset by this; they are just worried that you might address them in English and they cannot understand or reply. A smile and a friendly “Konnichiwa” often helps.