70% of Japanese inns without foreign guests wish to keep it that way

[bologna]

More than 70% of inn operators responding to a survey whose lodging facilities were not used by foreign tourists last year are not willing to accept such guests, an Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry survey showed Thursday.
The poll, in which the ministry received responses from 43.9% of the 16,000 inn and hotel operators in the nation, was conducted to assess how foreigners have been received domestically.

Of those who did not have a single foreign guest last year, 24.9% said they would like foreigners to come, while 72.3% said they would not. Asked why they are unwilling to have foreign guests in a multiple-answer format, 75.7% said they were unprepared to receive visitors in foreign languages, 71.8% said their facilities were not suited for foreign guests and 63.4% cited concerns about whether they could handle any problems that may occur.
The survey comes at a time when the government is mounting a major campaign to draw more tourists from abroad.

Japan’s countryside is dotted with thousands of small, old-fashioned lodgings called “ryokans.” Many are family run and offer only traditional Japanese food and board, such as raw seafood delicacies, simple straw-mat floors and communal hot spring baths.

Some such establishments have barred foreign guests in the past, leading to lawsuits and government fines for discrimination.

Tokyo is currently spending about 3.5 billion yen per year on its “Visit Japan Campaign,” which aims to draw 10 million foreigners to the country for trips and business in the year 2010, up from 8.35 million last year.

Campaign spokesman Ryo Ito said in general Japanese inns have been accepting of foreigners, noting that some now take foreign currencies and have staff that can speak multiple languages. He said the dire state of the global economy was more of a concern.

“The business environment has become very harsh,” he said.

The government survey was done by mail earlier this year, and 7,068 establishments responded.
:sick:


http://www.japantoday.com/category/...oreign-guests-wish-to-keep-it-that-way-survey

 

[jupiter999]

I just wonder how is the living there to strife...?
Is it very expensive a living for a single like me for a single day there?
How's the waiter/waitress salary over there for a single day by the way...?
Just curious...

 

[fr0stbyte]

I love Japan.. And their cities.. And their women.. And their anime.. And let's not forget.. Their porn. But I'm reluctant to go there.. I'm afraid of the "discrimination" I've been hearing a lot about. If I ever choose to work there, I'd be treated as a second class citizen (according to the JPEPA treaty between Japan and my country..) which is not a good thing, IMO.

They should develop more plans to attract tourists and make Japan a friendly place for foreigners.

 

[jupiter999]

I love Japan.. And their cities.. And their women.. And their anime.. And let's not forget.. Their porn. But I'm reluctant to go there.. I'm afraid of the "discrimination" I've been hearing a lot about. If I ever choose to work there, I'd be treated as a second class citizen (according to the JPEPA treaty between Japan and my country..) which is not a good thing, IMO.

They should develop more plans to attract tourists and make Japan a friendly place for foreigners.

True or not...?
Oh man... Too bad... Then it would mean that I got no chance to go there, live there, find a creamy Japanese girlfriend just like Tada Mizuho there...
I'm daydreaming again...:dozingoff:

 

[buttcheeks]

I doubt many foreigners could even find one of these ryokans, so it's not an important thing, and so it's the owner's loss for being a-holes. Personally, I've never run across blatant discrimination any place here. In fact, being a foreigner has saved my ass many times in brushes with the wrong people (police and yakuza).
However, to be blunt, I am white. Japanese put on a different face for me than for a asian foreigner. Plus I speak the language well.

 

[jupiter999]

I doubt many foreigners could even find one of these ryokans, so it's not an important thing, and so it's the owner's loss for being a-holes. Personally, I've never run across blatant discrimination any place here. In fact, being a foreigner has saved my ass many times in brushes with the wrong people (police and yakuza).
However, to be blunt, I am white. Japanese put on a different face for me than for a asian foreigner. Plus I speak the language well.

You speak Japanese well? You live there for quite some time?

 

[Devian]

But, I don´t know, is that xenofobic sentimient, also among the youngster japaneses?
I hope that new generations of japanese people lost that xenophobia a little...:sick:

 

[chickensaw]

I just wonder how is the living there to strife...?
Is it very expensive a living for a single like me for a single day there?
How's the waiter/waitress salary over there for a single day by the way...?
Just curious...

Uhh...no idea what your use of "strife" is, but Japan has one of the highest costs of living (the cities, anyway) in the world.

And no, you will not be able to get by working in a restaurant (unless you are in management).

 

[buttcheeks]

And no, you will not be able to get by working in a restaurant (unless you are in management).[/QUOTE]

ha ha ha. If you're a manager, you're there 24/7. Forget about life outside of work. Unless you learn the language, as a foreigner, you're stuck with the english teaching thing. Some people dig teaching, me.....no way. There are other ways to make a living, but you got to be able to communicate.

Been here 15 years, and although I speak the language well, I often wonder if I'm communicating!

 

[jupiter999]

Been here 15 years, and although I speak the language well, I often wonder if I'm communicating!

Why u wondering yourself on this??
You just say you speak well...

 

[jupiter999]

Uhh...no idea what your use of "strife" is, but Japan has one of the highest costs of living (the cities, anyway) in the world.

And no, you will not be able to get by working in a restaurant (unless you are in management).

err, I mean "strife for a living"...

 

[jupiter999]

You can speak every language in the world, but the only language you ever really "know" is your native tongue. It's too hard to get down all the cultural subtleties of a language after childhood. At least, that's what I've seen.

Unless you want to blend into the culture or community that you are in right now, or in the future... As for me, know the language is very very good already... Maybe I'm too "childish" in the sense of this thinking, but this is my opinion...

 

[stonedcultist]

....

Why can't they set there minds this way; inns+foreign guests= money. Not a loss on both sides. Unless learning foreign languages or hiring someone who can cost more than what they earn....

 

[Axandra]

Just a thought: be careful what you wish.

Right now, the said owners see foreign tourists as a nuisance due to their own communication problems; you know, like missing the wood for the trees. Granted, a ryokan is nothing like a hotel but nevertheless...

But not to worry: if the economy keeps going down the toilet and the oil prices heading to the sky, people will travel less... even Japanese within their own country. (Well, it's actually already happening.) So they might change their sometimes narrow views.

 

[buttcheeks]

More foreign guests = fewer Japanese guests
foreign guests are 'mendokusai'
they don't know the 'rules' and customs, and thus will bother the other guests, and bring down the reputation of the inn. Less money and less hassle is better, I guess.

 

[jupiter999]

Culture is a tremendously important part of the Japanese life, I guess...
Wish to know more...

 

[glower]

Problems for Tourists

I've been to Japan as a Tourist 5 times - was actually in Osaka last week for 8 days.

One of the biggest hurdles for tourists - and therefore for ryokans, hotels and any other accommodation - is the difficulty of finding said accommodation.

Maps provided for tourists to Japan, even if in English - are seldom accurate enough for one to locate accommodation, and do not appear to follow the "standard" of orienting North to the top of the page - in fact, maps seldom show compass references.

Language is not the biggest problem - finding one's way about is!

 

[jupiter999]

I've been to Japan as a Tourist 5 times - was actually in Osaka last week for 8 days.

wow, what an enjoyable life...

and do not appear to follow the "standard" of orienting North to the top of the page - in fact, maps seldom show compass references.

Language is not the biggest problem - finding one's way about is!

surprised to read this...? i thought Japan are good in standards...

 

[cattz]

I've been to Japan as a Tourist 5 times - was actually in Osaka last week for 8 days.

One of the biggest hurdles for tourists - and therefore for ryokans, hotels and any other accommodation - is the difficulty of finding said accommodation.

Maps provided for tourists to Japan, even if in English - are seldom accurate enough for one to locate accommodation, and do not appear to follow the "standard" of orienting North to the top of the page - in fact, maps seldom show compass references.

Language is not the biggest problem - finding one's way about is!

Huh? Found it pretty easy myself really, even with just the basic of basics as far as comprehension/language skills at the time.

Wasn't looking for stuff like an onsen or ryokan to begin with, so yeah..

No different then anything else really. Some stuff you know isn't going to happen like the clubs a-lah http://www.nightwalker.co.jp/ and the like.

 

[guy]

The ryokan owners for the most part aren't being outright discriminatory even though the polling makes it appear that way. I'm sure if you were a shop owner in an area where some teenagers had a reputation of having bad behavior, you would be weary about allowing them in.

The problem here is perception: I'd be willing to bet that a substantial amount of those ryokan owners believe that hosting foreigners requires special treatment or additional effort, when in reality many tourists consciously try to adapt and make "as little trouble" as possible (wherever they go, not just Japan). As it is, there are organizations that are making ryokans foreigner-friendly by helping the owners understand that, aside from some communication barriers, foreigners aren't as mendokusai as they sometimes have a reputation of being.
See: http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=6665

But it goes both ways. Many ryokans do have "rules" that seem arcane to foreigners. For example, meal times included with lodging, curfews, and shared spaces with other guests. A number of ryokans don't even have any bath/shower facilities and instead provide tokens to a nearby onsen; and as if having to leave the ryokan to bathe is strange enough, stripping down in front of complete strangers is more than enough to send many foreigners packing. It's just a cultural thing and has nothing to do with discrimination.

Maps provided for tourists to Japan, even if in English - are seldom accurate enough for one to locate accommodation, and do not appear to follow the "standard" of orienting North to the top of the page - in fact, maps seldom show compass references.

This is an interesting one. Rather than the Western standard of always orienting maps with north facing up, many Japanese maps (the ones that are posted on walls or mounted on signs) are usually rotated according to the direction the sign itself faces. That is, when looking at a map straight-on, up on the map is in front of you, down on the map is behind you, and left and right on the map are to the left and right of you as you look at the map. This is the same as in GPS units that rotate the map in the direction of travel. Or even FPS games (like GTA) that rotate the birdseye map as you look left or right.

It might seem odd but it's actually much easier to use. On the other hand, maps that are oriented to the north only help if you happen to carry a compass with you at all times, or are very good at reading the position of the sun.

Of course when it comes to folded paper maps or books, none of it matters. But then at that rate you're probably more worried about finding a specific address, which is a completely different can of worms, and one that deserves its own crash course altogether.