Will I be accepted in Japan?

I am currently attending college to teach English in other countries, having always found an interest in Japanese cultures and their language, I am now learning Japanese but am not fluent yet. My question is, if I went to Japan and taught English in elementary or high schools would I be socially accepted within the community over time? Having read a few posts on this forum it has given me a view of sudden racism within the country. Being a caucasian male from the US, it gives me a sense of uneasiness to go there. Would showing enough enthusiasm and willingness to understand the country be enough to become a respectable resident/is being an educated foreign English teacher a respectable profession in the eyes of the Japanese?
Also, I've seen numurous webiste organizations creating teaching jobs for special lessons and such, would it be possible to be hired by a normal school instead of special lesson schools?

nope no way they have had no contact with america for centuries so you will probably be lynched and drawn and quartered by the samurai overlords.... good luck!!

Sure,Japanese will accept you as English sensei foreigner.

They will not accept yout in the sense, that you would blend in or be considered "one of us". You will always be the exception, the dancing bear, the freak show. In rural areas a bit more so, than in big cities, where the sight of foreigners is a bit more common.

The best, you can hope for, is, to become "the communitie's own gaijin" in the sense, that they would say something like: "Yeah, yeah, foreigners are smelly, but ours is not that bad" If you can live with that, welcome to Japan

Ha, ya I wouldn't mind being know as foreign, because well I would be. My main hopes are to just make friends with the surrounding community and not be looked down upon as an "oh that guy.." In my small town it is very common to know most of the cummunity and make small talk to bankers, cashiers, etc you see most of the time. I would just like to experience this same friendliness/acceptance in whichever city I choose to reside in, in Japan.

nanook said:

" Yeah, yeah, foreigners are smelly, but ours is not that bad "

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Of all the loose J chicks I've bedded,they always say that White guys have strong body odor smells like butter

You know, it isn't 1/10th as bad as those of you who never venture outside the tradtional dancing bear jobs think it is.

When you make your foreignness your sole reason for being in a situation, quite naturally it becomes the focal point of your presence. Put yourself in situations where your foreignness is incidental to the task at hand and it becomes nothing more than a footnote.

Michigander87 said:

I am currently attending college to teach English in other countries, having always found an interest in Japanese cultures and their language, I am now learning Japanese but am not fluent yet. My question is, if I went to Japan and taught English in elementary or high schools would I be socially accepted within the community over time? Having read a few posts on this forum it has given me a view of sudden racism within the country. Being a caucasian male from the US, it gives me a sense of uneasiness to go there. Would showing enough enthusiasm and willingness to understand the country be enough to become a respectable resident/is being an educated foreign English teacher a respectable profession in the eyes of the Japanese?
Also, I've seen numurous webiste organizations creating teaching jobs for special lessons and such, would it be possible to be hired by a normal school instead of special lesson schools?

Click to expand...

Don't worry. Japan will welcome you without any doubt. But some remarks for you:

1. If you become a high school teacher, be careful about girls' mini-skirts
uniforms. Very nice to view, but if you keep watching it, you may have
troubles. Needless to say, "touching" is usually prohibited.

2. Radio gymnastic exercises is still common at many schools at the morning
before first class. Teachers must do better than kids. So learning
gymnastic exercise must be your first challenge. Examples can be checked
at Hollywood movie "Gung Ho" (1986). So Good luck.

3. Argument/Debates do not work out in the class. Better not try.

4. When you begin to speak Japanese language, Japanese will speak to you
in Engrish. So communication must be tough always.

5. But if you can sing Japanese song at karaoke, more than enough in the
school/community.

6. I recommend you to go to countryside/rural area, you can become scarcity
value because you are "RARE". Sometimes people may treat you like a
Panda, but don't piss off. No harm. You may be able to see more Japan
than Tokyo. But sometimes boring.

7. Others: Almost all of Japan is the other way around from the West
because Japan is located at opposite side of Eurasia continent. e.g....
- Japanese girls are pigeon-toed, while the rest of world duckfooted.

More and more... BUT GOOD LUCK & ENJOY JAPAN.

pls NOTE above is half joke.

Michigander's last activity here was Oct 28th.