MMike wrote:
> Our gaigin were almost all Chinese and Korean.
> >
>
> I have to say, in Kobe, where there are a higher ratio of westerners,
> the proportion is getting even higher. I am seeing more and more
> foreigners here. Not sure why.
>
> Maybe because I am wearing blinders half the time when I walk anywhere.

It used to be you couldn't walk down the street without bumping into
one; but that was over ten years ago. And the great thing was very
likely you knew the person or knew you would eventually know them and
could say hi; very rarely do gaigin tourists go to Kobe. After the
earthquake the population declined, then the recession hit its stride
and it declined further (I think rent prices had as much to do with
that than anything else).

John W.