Looking at the website, it was apparent that two gaikokujin were available for rental. One Australian with dark hair and a smirky smile and one American with a beard and blue eyes.

Turns out they are the co-founders and they have had many clients between them… too many, in fact. If you’re a gaikokujin in Japan get in touch with these guys. They’re looking to add some folks to their roster. You can visit their website at gaikokujin-rental.jp.

Although they are in their early goings over at Gaikokujin Rental, I thought it was an interesting idea. I also had no idea what it was they were doing, so I sent them an email asking if they’d be willing to do an interview. They were very gracious and got back to my questions super quickly. What follows is said interview, and it includes stories, success stories, and information on what the heck all this gaikokujin rental stuff is all about.

#Interview START

1. Who started gaikokujin-rental.jp?

Two guys, one Australian and one American. Both have called Japan home for a handful of years: Six and ten respectively.

2. Why did (you) start it?

“Why has someone not?,” is what we have been asking ourselves for years. Peer to peer business in Japan has always been BIG. Big for both client and contractor. Yet it seems every year the market is not adequately accessed, and unfortunately for many the public space for self-promotion is in, we feel, terminal decline.

For-hire platforms available at present are largely top-down corporate to individual, not peer to peer, and we think peer to peer is important and remarkable. We think it makes for new economy.

Also, we feel Gaikokujin Rental serves as an alternative meeting space to the usual foreigner/Japanese social venues which exist in Japan today.

Author Note: Oh, so it’s like AirBnB but for people and their skills/time. Now I’m starting to get it.

3. How long have you been renting foreigners?

Gaikokujin Rental officially launched on November 29, 2013.

4. It looks like you have two people being rented out. Who are they?

They are the co-founders, Austin and Adams.

5. Are you looking to add more people to rent out?

We are actively looking to add more foreigners as well as increase Japanese readership at our site – We wish to bring as many people together and build as many success stories as possible. To this end, we have invested energy and time into the idea, sustainability and scalability of Gaikokujin Rental.

Author Note: There’s a contact form on their website if you’re interested.

6. What kinds of things have you done? I need a bedtime story.

Austin:

I once had a woman hire me to look after her children and clean her house.

I was hired by a Japanese women to go shopping with her and pick out a birthday present for her husband because he was a foreigner.

I was asked to attend a bonenkai with a group of salary men and speak only English with them.

I was asked by a young Japanese couple to come to Kyoto and take pictures of the two of them.

Author Note: Now Austin tells a story:

Well, it started around 8:00 on a Friday night. I got off from work and was asked to meet my client at Nagoya (Meieki) station. We engaged in small talk for a few minutes, after which she asked me if I could do two things. The first was to check some English paper work which she had been given by her boss. I was asked to explain it and help her with some possible answers.

After that, she wanted me to join her for dinner. My client enjoyed eating spicy food but none of her friends or family enjoyed spicy food. We had exchanged mail previously and found that we both had a liking for spicy food. She had already found one of the spiciest Nabe restaurants in Nagoya and made a reservation.

After making our way to the restaurant we entered, took a seat and decided what we wanted to eat. I then helped my client with the paper work which had been mentioned earlier after that our meals arrived and we chatted while we ate. She asked me some questions about what it was like living abroad ( because she was thinking of doing the same one day).

And also asked me questions about my country. The rental period was for 2 hours. So after the 2 hour period was up we talked about the possibility of meeting again, paid the check and went home.

Adams:

I’ve had clients ranging from housewives to businessmen to ramen chefs to entrepreneurs to bohemian outcasts – a motley cast of characters. Once I was asked to work in a Ramen shop to take orders from Russians, because apparently the Ramen shop Master “couldn’t understand the Russians.” I’ve done interpretation work between Italian businessmen and a Japanese apparel firm, but most of the work involved making reservations at onsens for the Italians.

I’ve been in front of and behind the camera for modeling and photography work, behind a desk as a freelance journalist and webshop master, a private mail courier for digital products, Santa Claus… YES, Santa Claus, an English teacher, a flyer boy, a bar server, and a BIG buyer of Switzerland-made outdoor clothing for a Japanese Trading company.

7. Have you run into any problems while running this service?

Yes, but not the kind one would bemoan about. Actually at present there are simply too many orders to fill for our current line-up of two foreigners. This is the scenario we envisioned, and to ratchet up both the supply and demand we are working in earnest to promote our service via virtual channels, magazines and ultimately word-of-mouth.

8. What’s the best success story of someone using gaikokujin-rental.jp?

It would be difficult to only talk about the best success story and not mention all the really good ones. On the Japanese side of it, students have increased their TOIEC scores, hobbyists have procured parts and various nick-knacks from abroad that otherwise could not have been gotten, local businessmen have been fed detailed information on foreign market trends, party-goers have been entertained, and the list goes on.

On the foreigner side of it, success is in the MAGIC. The magic being that once your profile goes up online at Gaikokujin Rental you can get paying customers who deal with you directly. Furthermore, your new customer is an in-road into their own network – ehem, your new network.

9. What are you hoping to achieve with gaikokujin-rental.jp?

In a word, symbiosis. We want to turn the disconnect between peer-to-peer business into uber-connection! To us growth means lots of little success stories the length of Japan, new networks forged, smiles, and satisfied customers. We plan to make this happen by staying online as a professional go-between for that all-important first connection between Japanese and foreigners.

For Japanese, we hope to attract anyone and everyone, including businesses, who seek to employ foreigners in one way or another.

For foreigners, we hope to attract everyone from young transplants to long timers to even those residing abroad who perhaps offer services via the Internet, and in general anyone here who seeks odd-jobs, freelance stuff, part-time work, one-off arrangements, and basically new money and customers. That’s teachers of all sorts, musicians, caregivers, models, IT people, photographers, artisans, entertainers, self-proclaimed ambassadors and more.

#END interview

So there you have it. At first I thought Gaikokujin Rental was some kind of joke. Something someone put up as a kind of commentary about how “differently” gaikokujin were viewed in Japan. Or, at the very least I thought it was a hobby that a couple of dudes set up because they thought there was an opportunity to make some extra yen.

It turns out, in my opinion, to be a pretty smart business idea. Of course, they have to find new people on both sides (Japanese and gaikokujin), and they are eventually going to have to deal with the problems that come with bad experiences, etc., but in Japan I can see this business model working. Anywhere else? Not so much. Just imagine if there was a “Rent a Norwegian” company in America, where you would get your Norway-related needs filled. There would be a small mob outside the Rent-A-Norwegian office demanding that this racism stops.

In Japan, however, I doubt this is going to be seen as racism. There’s actual need for gaikokujin-related tasks in Japan, as was illustrated in the stories above. A Japanese person needed an opinion from a foreigner about a gift for her foreign husband. Some people needed someone who could speak English. Another person just wanted to eat spicy food with someone (which I can attest to, Japanese people don’t know what “spicy” really means).

I hope they keep on trucking along and start to grow and do okay. Maybe we’ll see if we can meet up with them and see what they’re doing the next time we’re filming in Japan.

Website: http://gaikokujin-rental.jp

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So in my one and a half years in Japan and studying at two different universities, it seems that for the most part Gaijin students tend to fit into three major groups – and three very differing approaches to Japan. I’m not saying one is better than the other (or, more importantly, I’m not saying one is worse than another), but it is interesting to see how people slide into various “gaijin roles” after they’ve spent some time here. I hope that by reading this (these stereotypes, essentially) you can look inside yourself and notice if you are falling into one of these categories. Maybe you’d rather be something else! Now you have the power to notice what you are becoming.

Type 1: the “Gaijin?”

The Hollywood version

Motto: When in Rome do as the Romans do

And thus when in Japan, do as the Japanese do.

This person is probably the one you find with perfect keigo mastery. The one who goes “Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu” or the person who can seiza properly for 20 minutes without collapsing.

Often can be seen in Japanese university student clubs, especially the very “Japanese” ones such as karate or judo. Probably has hopes for living / working in Japan in the future. His goal is to immerse himself in Japan and try his best to integrate – be a member of Japanese society – as much as possible.

Pros

If you’re looking to experience Japan then this is obviously good. Furthermore, if you really want to practice your Japanese (and particularly your keigo) then this would be a great way of going about doing your business.

If you’re also looking to make Japanese friends then this is perhaps one possible way to do it. More on this in the third section but there are actually many foreigners who leave Japan after a year or more without any Japanese friends – and this approach might avoid it.

Cons

Probably the hardest out of the three to do. You have to be fluent in Japanese to at least a near-native level and be able to “空気を読む” (lit. reading the air or social situation) which may be hard too. And it takes time – a lot of it.

Furthermore, once people know that you’re a foreigner, you’ll have an giant “gaijin” tag superglued onto your head. If you look vaguely Japanese, then maybe it’s possible. But even then, unless your accent with all the intonations are correct – you are gaijin. If a Japanese person mucks up their keigo, he or she is “poorly-educated”. If a gaijin mucks it up, it’s cute – but very “gaijin”.

Every small non-Japanese thing you do will reinforce your status as a gaijin – so being fully “integrated” is extremely difficult to say the least, so expect to be pretty stressed out at times if you decide to take this path.

Type 2: the “Gaijin gaijin”

Motto: I’m not Roman so why should I care?

If the above person tries to remove the gaijin tag stuck to his head, this guy takes advantage of it. He knows he’s a gaijin, they know he’s a gaijin, and he makes sure that they know that he’s a gaijin.

Basically, he is everything that the Japanese expect from a “gaijin” – brash, extroverted, frank, loud, “kuuki yomenai”, whatever.

Everyone knows him and he almost is a campus mascot. Inwardly he probably revels in the attention too.

Pros

Through assuming the gaijin stereotype, you get awarded “gaijin space”. Basically, you won’t be accepted as part of Japanese society but you will be accepted as a “gaijin”. This means that you can often do what you want (with some limits) – keigo? Who cares? Hierarchy? What’s that? The Japanese assume that you don’t care or don’t know, so don’t worry about it!

This is also the other way of making Japanese friends – after all you’ll be known throughout campus and so you’ll have a tremendously wide social circle of people who know you (and who you don’t know). Get to know them and the problem is solved.

If you’re the feminist/gay/environmentalist/etc activist type too this approach may be good. Because the gaijin status does accord you the right to be vocal about things – whether the Japanese listen is a different question though.

Cons

How some people may see you

Not everyone is going to take well to you – because you will be indicating that you’re really different from them. Some people will find an gaijin extrovert overpowering and some people can’t forgive the lack of keigo. But you will be attracting the more internationally minded Japanese so there is a give and take.

This requires some finesse and charisma to it too. You can’t just be the critical brusque foreigner that says uncalled-for stuff all the time. That’ll earn you discrimination (as it would in the rest of the world). Also, doing this would pretty much disqualify you from joining many Japanese student clubs (with their strict hierarchy) – there would simply be too big a culture clash.

Aside from this, this is not recommended for people who dislike being the center of attention – obviously.

Type 3: The “Ghetto Gaijin”

Motto: “I am in Rome?”

From my experience this is really the default that a majority foreign students find themselves in. Basically, gaijins who clump with other gaijins – and there are many. If you go to any university with a sizable foreign population there’s usually a very obvious “foreign table” at lunch in the cafeteria.

For the most part this can’t be helped. Because you’ll likely be living in a dorm with other gaijin. If you’re taking classes in English they’re likely to be populated with other foreign students (maybe not so much for grad school). This is not to mention language barriers – if you can’t speak Japanese then you’ll be limited to interacting with other foreigners, and perhaps a limited number of Japanese who can speak your language.

There’s other things too like “soto” and “uchi”, shyness etc. But those have been written about to death already so I’ll skip that.

Pros

This is extremely ironic, but lots of people come to Japan and end up making lots of friends from other countries that aren’t Japan. So it isn’t rare that people go away from Japan with an extremely diverse group of friends and people to visit all around the world. Plus, having classes, discussing and interacting with other foreigners is, in its own way, a form of “global education” too.

But the main reason why gaijin clump is that to be frank – it is much easier than the above two approaches. After all, this does not require any Japanese ability and in school you’ll likely be together anyway. Plus there wouldn’t be any need to deal with culture shock etc.

Cons

If the point of coming to Japan is to experience it, then this approach cuts out half of the experience.

In addition, the best way to learn Japanese is to use it and be exposed to it continually – if someone is mainly speaking English with Japanese only being used in the classes then it’s really no different from Japanese classes you would get back in his or her home countries. Lots of “ghetto gaijin” go back home with an improved level of Japanese – but it would certainly be better if they were using it more regularly when they were in Japan.

To Sum Up

I think from what I’ve observed, the first one or two months many foreign students start with the “gaijin?” approach – they try to join student clubs, go for international exchange parties etc. However as time passes more and more drop out of the clubs and as the Japanese tend to clump, the foreign students do so too and “ghettoize” themselves.

Anyway, there is no “superior method” among the three here. Your personality type, Japanese ability, interests and even how your classes are arranged will affect greatly the method which you will choose. And there’s probably other sub-types and mixes and whatever that can be talked about too. But just pick the one that fits you best or maybe one that was written about in this article. But no guarantees though – your mileage may vary.

Have you heard about the crazy gaijin-related incident that happened today? I wouldn’t be surprised if you have; it’s getting a ton of media coverage at the moment. Rightly so, too, as this level of crazy deserves talking about. If you haven’t, here’s a quick run-down of the events that took place:

Apparently, a British man was visinging the Japanese Imperial Palace (皇居 or kouyo) with a Spanish tour group this morning when he decided to take a brisk swim in the palace’s moat, possibly to retrieve someone’s bag that had fallen in. When workers tried to approach the man (via rowboat) to tell him to knock it off, instead of complying, he threw largish rocks at them and swam off. Eventually he became such a nuisance that 50 law enforcers were called in to apprehend him with a motley collection of ballistic shields, safety barriers, and whatever other stick-like things were handy. And, if that’s not ridiculous enough for you, palace officials felt it necessary to report that “the Emperor was in the palace, but it was unlikely he saw the nude swimmer”.

So my question to you guys is: Why do you think he did it? Is he just crazy, confused, and foreign, or is there another possible explanation for his behavior? Share your theories with us!

Now that I’m back from Hawaii, I finally had the chance to wade through all the emails I decided to ignore until now (sorry if that was you!). A decent number of them were people worried about racism in Japan; mainly, they were worried that people in Japan would treat them poorly because they were, well, gaijin (that means foreigner, in case you didn’t know).

A few of these emails made reference to the infamous “no gaijin” signs which are supposedly littered all around Japan. When I searched around the internet for more information on this, I was surprised with what I found…

Well, actually, not that surprised.

First off, it’s not that bad. In fact, it’s the opposite. There is so much talk going around the gaijin world about anti-gaijin sentiment, or the “no gaijin allowed” signs…thankfully, a lot of this talk is done by people who don’t know much about Japan, or have never been there. A few rumors have spread around, they’ve gotten bigger, and people pass the word on until it becomes a bigger monster.

Now, I’m not saying that racism isn’t a problem in Japan. In fact, where isn’t it an issue? As a gaijin, you will stand out, and in a country that is 99% Japanese, you will be interesting and people will be interested. Does that mean people will treat you poorly? No, not necessarily. Will you get a lot more attention than if you were Japanese? Definitely.

I found a couple vides via JapanProbe the other day. I thought they were absolutely hilarious, though it seems as though JapanProbe’s commentors thought it was pretty insensitive and mean. I can’t help it, though, I’m a Dave Chappelle fan.

[yframe url='http://youtube.com/watch?v=VGaKYtI_flI']

And commercial #2

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owLnfQQ3heI']

This sort of moves me into my next topic: “No Gaijin Allowed” signs.

If you search for “No Gaijin Allowed” in Google, you’d probably expect to come up with a bunch of hits. If you search for it in an image search, maybe you’d expect tons of “no gaijin” signs chained onto restaurant doors (so that those dirty gaijin can’t rip them off and steal them). Instead, I found almost nothing. My normal Google search consisted of “No Gaijin Allowed” tshirts, and the image search came up with things that had nothing to do with anything. I wasn’t too shocked, though, I did expect to see more.

The reason for this? Those signs aren’t really that prevalent. I’ve been all over Japan, and I try to go to as many different places as I can. I have not once seen a sign like this. When reading about people’s experiences who have seen these signs, they explain that these signs don’t necessarily mean “No Gaijin Allowed.” Instead, they mean “We don’t want any trouble from Gaijin, so be respectful” or “We can’t speak English, and we don’t want to be bothered with body communication.”

Still, there is some anti-gaijin sentiment. I’m not denying that. Gaijin don’t always make a good name for themselves, and the few bad apples ruin it for everyone. Since gaijin stand out so much in Japan, one misbehaving gaijin can make all gaijin look bad. Every once in a while a story like this will come out. On top of this, there is some bad blood between the older generation that fought in the war and anyone not Japanese. Even that is turning around though, and I’ve never had a bad experience with someone of the older generation. Still, I can see some potential problem. On the other hand, our War veterans sometimes have bad feelings about Japanese, so it’s not like it’s any different.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that the “anti-gaijin” mentality isn’t as prevalent as a lot of people think. Japan’s a friendly place, and as long as you try to keep in mind that you are in another country, and you need to follow some of their cultural guidelines (like taking off your shoes, damnit!), you shouldn’t have any trouble. If you don’t make an effort, though, and think that you can get away with anything…well…then you might get some anti-gaijin sentiment. I warned you, though.

So what about you? Have you ever had any experience with this?

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