Why is it that when I’m in Japan, I don’t see as much foreigners as I would think

9 comments

1. Foreigners are like one percent of the population so without tourists now we are a pretty rare sight. Also, the largest populations of foreigners are from Asian countries so they would be more likely to blend in with the “crowd of black hair”.

2. Foreigners (particularly western foreigners) tend to overestimate our presence in this country.

3. There are only approximately 3 million foreigners (2% of the population), with half of them coming from neighboring Asian countries (Chinese and Korean). If you are not from an Asian background, it will be more difficult to distinguish Chinese and Korean people from Japanese people.

   So, let’s pretend there are only 1~1.5 million non-Asian foreign residents, and they all live in different cities. unless you live in an area known to have a high number of foreign residents or in a touristic area, you are unlikely to meet another foreigner.

   Also, the total number of foreign residents is most likely the number of people who have PR/long-term visas; however, I know many foreigners who have PR but only visit Japan for less than 3 months every year, so the actual number of foreigners who live in Japan may be even lower than the official estimate.

4. “99.99 of what I see when I’m in crowded areas is a crowd of black hair of Japanese people lol.”

   This would probably be because 97.8% of the population of Japan is Japanese.

   Then, among the whopping **2.2** who are foreign residents, many of them are Asian, including Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. So they don’t stick out nearly as much.

5. Honestly compared to other Japanese cities you will see a lot of foreigners.

   But you have to be in certain areas to have to see them very often.

6. nah, we’re here haha.
   if you really wanna meetus you gotta look though. i suggest international events on meetup, or restaurants known well amongst foreigners ( i once walked into a mexican place in omotesando only to find it was 90% foreigners). same with a pizza place in roppongi with no japanese found XD you really just gotta find the spots~

7. Many left for better tax havens and jobs. Glory days over in Japan

8. Go to your local HUB. They’ll be there.

9. Depends on where you live and what crowd you are part of. I lived in Shibuya and would frequent the bars and clubs in that area and Roppongi. I would see lots of foreigners there. Especially Roppongi since it’s where all the embassies are.