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Thanks a lot Mani. We'll see what happens. I'm sure we'll meet up sometime regardless.
To respond to some random comments:
I'm pretty sure these guys were actually affiliated with the mob. They were probably low level dudes on their way home from the pub, but the size of the tat that I saw and the way those things are seen here was convincing, at least to me. Also the tough guy was spectacularly beefy. At one point he lifted me off the ground like I was a house cat and shook me to listen for change. Fortunately the beer in the front pocket of my hoodie made noise in the plastic bag it was in and he didn't hear my wallet. He did try to take the beer, but not very hard.
Another random detail while I'm at it: It was probably really dumb of me, but the guy kept prefacing his 'money money' requests with 'you're my friend' and a grin, so sometimes after the friend part I said 'okane okane,' just joking around. I really think that the key to my success was not acting scared and keeping up the image of just kidding around with the guys.
Towards the start of the second meeting with them, the tough guy did put his hand in his pocket with fingers extended, shaped like a gun and pretended he had one. It was not convincing, especially considering the gun laws and where we were standing and I'm pretty sure he was just messing around.
On the issue of tattoos, they're extremely taboo here. Recently, especially among younger people, there has been some acceptance, but like madnessman mentioned, they still will bar you from gyms and onsens. They are also just socially unacceptable and will garner you dirty looks and bad impressions from lots of people. This tat was enormous, covering more than the large portion of back that I saw and more. I had never seen anything like that in this country before, and what I gather is that it's a dead giveaway.
I don't live in a ghetto area at all, at least I don't think so. It's a pretty nice little neighborhood outside central Hiroshima City. We were also standing at a lit bus stop just meters from a train station. I agree that they were probably not legitimately trying to mug me and were just fucking around, but I certainly think they were Yakuza. Like I said, probably a few affiliated guys on the way home from the pub.
I was scared as hell last night, but I know I got a good story out of it. Thanks for all of the supportive responses.
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Glad to hear you're ok, but as I might be thinking of living in Japan myself sometime in the future, this kind of scares me. I mean, I know nothing did infact happen to you, but still as you say, it seemed like things could have escalated if you didn't play it right.
Is there anybody else who is living or have visited japan and experienced anything like this? Is this perhaps something to be more wary of in some particular places in Japan?
The last time I visited Japan I went home a couple of nights/early mornings in Tokyo and Osaka all alone, and I can't really say I felt any different than walking home from the town where I live.
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On October 06 2010 00:51 VarmVaffel wrote:
Glad to hear you're ok, but as I might be thinking of living in Japan myself sometime in the future, this kind of scares me. I mean, I know nothing did infact happen to you, but still as you say, it seemed like things could have escalated if you didn't play it right.
Is there anybody else who is living or have visited japan and experienced anything like this? Is this perhaps something to be more wary of in some particular places in Japan?
The last time I visited Japan I went home a couple of nights/early mornings in Tokyo and Osaka all alone, and I can't really say I felt any different than walking home from the town where I live.
Japan is a very safe country. Nobody will tell you otherwise. I'm just leading a very exciting life since I got here. You generally won't be hit by a car, and as a foreigner you should probably have no contact with the mob.
If you have any questions about moving to Japan, just PM me. I can give you some advice regarding whatever. I won't pretend to know stuff I don't know about, though I will be able to find out information about things that I don't have firsthand experience with.
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On October 06 2010 01:01 thopol wrote:Show nested quote +On October 06 2010 00:51 VarmVaffel wrote:
Glad to hear you're ok, but as I might be thinking of living in Japan myself sometime in the future, this kind of scares me. I mean, I know nothing did infact happen to you, but still as you say, it seemed like things could have escalated if you didn't play it right.
Is there anybody else who is living or have visited japan and experienced anything like this? Is this perhaps something to be more wary of in some particular places in Japan?
The last time I visited Japan I went home a couple of nights/early mornings in Tokyo and Osaka all alone, and I can't really say I felt any different than walking home from the town where I live. Japan is a very safe country. Nobody will tell you otherwise. I'm just leading a very exciting life since I got here. You generally won't be hit by a car, and as a foreigner you should probably have no contact with the mob. If you have any questions about moving to Japan, just PM me. I can give you some advice regarding whatever. I won't pretend to know stuff I don't know about, though I will be able to find out information about things that I don't have firsthand experience with.
Alright, didn't really have the impression of anything else, but then again, I haven't been there a long time.
I am planning on spending a prolonged time there, but most certanly not before I graduate next year, and probably not within a couple of years after that either. Nevertheless, thanks for your offer!
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Nice dodge! You microed your way out of there better than I probably would've.
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On October 05 2010 01:34 gods_basement wrote:
I dont think they're really in the business of assassinations and the like; that seems to be a hollywood fabrication.
Forgive me for quoting a somewhat old post, but I felt this is something I had to correct.
The Yakuza, while more open than other mob organizations, is still a mafia, and thus engages in things like:
Assassinations (Bank managers, typical important people)
Sex trafficking (Tricking girls from impoverished countries/situations into coming to Japan, where they're forced into the sex trade. Buying unwanted girls from China.)
Blackmail/Extortion: (Threatening to reveal a company's dirty secret at a stockholder's meeting.)
The list goes on, but you get the idea. The quote above is what they would like you to believe no doubt. I'm not entirely sure of the level of acceptance they have in Japan, but I'm quite disgusted that they're able to operate out in the open like that. Perhaps it has a lot to do with fear and "implied passive aggression".
I'm glad you managed to get out of there alright, and managed to keep your cool. I hope I'd be able to keep the same level of composure in a similar situation. I had planned to live in Japan sometime in the future, so this worries somewhat.
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Most of japan is very pleasant. Just as long as you remember to get on the womans car in the metro if you are a woman. Unless you don't mind being felt up.
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I've been following your Japan blogs since the beginning - great stuff. Definitely sounds like a sketchy situation to be in, you were brave to shake it off and pretend it was a joke. Be careful, is Hiroshima really all that safe for foreigners anyways? Heard some weird things about it before.
Keep writing, your stories are fresh.
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Nice dodge. I would have just feigned the Tourist position, pretended to not understand then smile and kept walking. Honestly though.. . . Japan is a safe country and all but you really shouldnt have random conversations with drunk youths by bus stands at odd hours of the night. . . . .
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On October 06 2010 11:29 dogabutila wrote:
Most of japan is very pleasant. Just as long as you remember to get on the womans car in the metro if you are a woman. Unless you don't mind being felt up.
you'll get felt up everywhere in japan (as an attractive woman, or at least have a nice ass)
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My friend only told me about the trains.
Then again she's only 20 and looks even younger then that.
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EPT
