Quote Originally Posted by yukio_neko^_o
Now if we are talking New York City vs Tokyo, or are we talking Shikoku vs Amarillo Texas?
It would be interesting to compare both. All the experiences I have shared on this forum are based on people in Tokyo. I think there is no so much differences with the Japanese countryside, where people are only slightly more likely to point their finger at foreigners or say "gaijin, gaijin !" (the fact is, it happens in the suburbs of Tokyo too).

From what I hear, there is a world of differences between big cosmopolitan US cities (New York, L.A., Chicago...) and the "remote" counrtyside.

Now the question is, why is there such a big gap in attitudes between rural and metropolitan areas in the US, but much less in Japan ? I thought it could be because of the extreme cosmopolitanism of big US cities (so people don't care when they see somebody different anymore), but I see many foreigners in Tokyo every single day, in the street, on the train, at the fitness club, etc. It's normal, as there are 2 million foreign residents in Japan, and almost 17 million foreign visitors (tourists, business people...), including almost 2 million Westerners, most of whom are to be found around Tokyo and Kansai. So, even in this very cosmopolitan environment, the Japanese still act strangely with foreigners. Why ?