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Last month for Japanese Labor day weekend I made a little trip to Tokyo. I took the nigh bus at 10 pm and arrived in Shinjuku the next day. I then proceeded to head to Harajuku which is a unique but recently famous part of Tokyo. It's described as the place to be for young people, mostly teenagers and young adults. It is well known for "street fashion" which is a unique phenomenon perpetuated by people who go to Harajuku , especially on Sundays. They dress in all sorts of unique ensembles. Many combine gothic and punk elements . Some use alot of bright neon colors with lolita dresses and trinkets. It's a unique way of expression in a society that seems to celebrate sameness. The stuff is a bit costly tho. I just got a shirt and a pair of loose socks which are quite warm btw. Loose socks are like socks that are also leg warmers.
They had a viviene westwood shop that had some nice skirts but they looked kind of dime a dozen skirts not skrts that are worth 50 plus dollars. There were alot of Nigerians that set up all these hiphop themed stores there. So of course they saw me as there are few black ppl in Japan..period. But I didn't really like them. If I wanted to buy hiphop type fashion I could do it in my own country. Those stores are for Japanese kids who think black culture is cool. There's one guy on campus who has his hair cornrowed regularly albeit with extensions because his hair isn't long enough. So I didn't really like being around the Nigerian guys cuz they were a bit too pushy. And their Japanese was pretty bad too. It's funny how now of the actual representatives of American hiphop culture were selling this stuff. I think I saw one America black guy and he looked like a suited business man. The Japanese perception of other cultures is far more limited than people claim Americans are. Japanese know very little about slavery or race relations in the United States.

The closest thing that Japanese have is the issue of Ainu Japanese being descriminated against. Ainu are the original native people og Northern Japan. They're darker, hairier and have large deep set eyes. At some point the Japanese Invaded Northern Japan uprooting a civilization. Many Ainu experience the same treatment that Black people do in the states. They are ashamed of their color and differing appearance. Many Parents will not tell their mixed children that their kids are part Ainu because of teasing.
To some Ainu is not the desired term but address themselves as Utari instead because the name can be used to sound like "Ah Inu" which mean s Ah! a dog!
I've met a few japanese people who differ in skin tone, hair texture, and eye shape. Some of these kids came from Okinawa which was not always a part of Japan. They have their own dialect.

I almost got left in Tokyo evrnight for a tsupid reason. I paid 95 dollars for a round trip ticket but the ticket lady made a mistake as She only gave me one ticket. I didn't know it at the time since I thought they put you on a list so that each bus would remember you're name and seat number. That didn't happen but some girl who spoke English explained the situation and they let me on the bus..after all I DID PAY for a round trip. When I got back it was all snowy and much colder in Akita. It's snowing now. It just keeps on snowing.