POPULAR JAPANESE RESTAURANTS, SICKOF OBNOXIOUS WESTERNER TOURISTS, APPLY “GAIJON TAX”
The first time I ever spent any real time out of America, it was to Western Europe back in the late 1990’s. I visited Italy for several months, then France, England and Iceland much more briefly. But I quickly realized as an American that I didn’t want to engage with other Americans abroad. Why? Because the vast majority of them were utter tools, and I didn’t want the locals to associate them with me. It seems this “ugly American” attitude problem has only gotten worse in the years since. And it’s gotten so bad in Japan, some Japanese restaurants are charging westerners, Americans in particular, a “gaijin tax.”
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THE GAIJIN TAX COULD HIT RUDE WESTERNERS WHERE IT HURTS, IN THE WALLET HARD
Gaijin, of course, means foreigner in Japanese. So this literally means it’s a foreigner tax, or that local Japanese patrons of these popular restaurants pay the regular price; gaijin pay more. Why? Because foreigners are so consistently obnoxious and disrespectful that Japanese restauranteurs have decided to get paid for the trouble and insult. And they’ve been dealing with a lot more than ever before. In just the last 13 years, the American dollar has gone from exchanging 77 yen to 161 yen. That means the dollar goes far, even on a budget. But attractions like UNESCO World Heritage Site Himeji Castle (in Hyogo) are about to charge anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 yen over base price for any foreigners.
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GAIJIN TAX IN RESTAURANTS, ATTRACTIONS, AND EVEN ENTIRE JAPANESE CITIES?
That kind of adds up, and fast. And with restaurants, that could add up even faster, 3 times a day for tourists, or Westerners. The gaijin tax is going to bite, fast and hard. And it appears to be a universal sentiment over in Japan, as the governor of Osaka is considering applying it as well, in terms of the tourism fee for gaijin who want to stay there. That alone will prove a major money windfall for Osaka next year, during the 2025 Osaka Expo.
