The American bar in Fukuoka that won't serve Americans
A couple of months ago, an exhausting business trip up to the mainland led me to an out of the way bar in Fukuoka. It was called Uncle Sam's and I thought pretty lame but why not? Not 2 seconds after my co-worker and I entered the bar the owner was on us like we were the Yakuza (Japanese gangsters) or something. In perfect "Engrish" the owner said, "NO NO! No Amelicans arrowed in my baaa!"
I looked at the American flags and all of the nostalgia strewn all over the place and asked, "This place is called Uncle Sam's but you don't allow Americans in the bar?"
"No! No Americans!"
"We work for (Insert well-known Japanese company here) and we just want to eat some food!"
"Hmmm....Werr okay. But no food! Only Dlink at baaa."
So that's just what we did. We sat at that bar and placed our well-deserved drinks on the American flag coasters. We figured that one time a group of Americans came in the bar and wrecked the place or got in a huge brawl.
It surely couldn't be because we bombed the shit out of Japan 50 years or so ago. (only half sarcastic) Think about this. Americans tend to think that the world revolves around them, what with all of the freedoms and privileges and everything even though our country is only 228 years old. Japan has records going back for at least 2000 years. If you think about it, 50 years isn't that long yet the Japanese people have all but forgiven us for the bombs. Except for the Uncle Sam's episode everyone I have met or at least run into has been extremely friendly and hospitable. It seems like Americans have a more difficult time letting go of their ancestors atrocities like slavery, (African Americans still hate all of us whities for what our great great great great ancestors did to them in the past whether our families had slaves or not. My family did not for the record.) the Japanese bombing Perl Harbor and even labeling all Muslims as terrorists. Some Japanese people talk out of both sides of their mouth, like the use of the word gaijin yet they swear they don't get American's issues with racism. The same country that will not allow foreigners to become full-blown Japanese citizens even if one is married to a Japanese Nationalist. Well whatever - we all have our flaws, countries AND people but the Japanese are all in all forgiving people.
I looked at the American flags and all of the nostalgia strewn all over the place and asked, "This place is called Uncle Sam's but you don't allow Americans in the bar?"
"No! No Americans!"
"We work for (Insert well-known Japanese company here) and we just want to eat some food!"
"Hmmm....Werr okay. But no food! Only Dlink at baaa."
So that's just what we did. We sat at that bar and placed our well-deserved drinks on the American flag coasters. We figured that one time a group of Americans came in the bar and wrecked the place or got in a huge brawl.
It surely couldn't be because we bombed the shit out of Japan 50 years or so ago. (only half sarcastic) Think about this. Americans tend to think that the world revolves around them, what with all of the freedoms and privileges and everything even though our country is only 228 years old. Japan has records going back for at least 2000 years. If you think about it, 50 years isn't that long yet the Japanese people have all but forgiven us for the bombs. Except for the Uncle Sam's episode everyone I have met or at least run into has been extremely friendly and hospitable. It seems like Americans have a more difficult time letting go of their ancestors atrocities like slavery, (African Americans still hate all of us whities for what our great great great great ancestors did to them in the past whether our families had slaves or not. My family did not for the record.) the Japanese bombing Perl Harbor and even labeling all Muslims as terrorists. Some Japanese people talk out of both sides of their mouth, like the use of the word gaijin yet they swear they don't get American's issues with racism. The same country that will not allow foreigners to become full-blown Japanese citizens even if one is married to a Japanese Nationalist. Well whatever - we all have our flaws, countries AND people but the Japanese are all in all forgiving people.
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I wrote about it here: http://funk.co.uk/2004/12/sex-slaves.htmlI used to belong to a London Aikido School - we were the Gaijin Ryu..
D.
Also in the Guinness factory tour, you empty out into a pub that serves you two pints of Guinness. I laughed because U2 was playing on the stereo. I said,"Only fitting to hear U2". And the clerk said,"Only fitting for you bloody American tourists". hmmpf... What are ya going to do, eh?