One word you'll hear a lot in Japan is "gaijin", which is the commonly used form of "gaikokujin" (outside person). The term gaijin refers to you and anybody else who is not a native-born Japanese. It dates back to the days when Japan was closed to most of the world, thus anybody who wasn't Japanese was most certainly an "outside person". Some foreigners in Japan are uncomfortable with the term and its implications of "us" (the Japanese) and "them" (anyone else). However, it should be noted that the vast majority of Japanese use the term without any intention of discrimination - it is simply the standard phrase to describe a non-Japanese. Ro & I agree with the latter, and rather pleased that we do stick out to such a friendly and helpful nation. Remarkable; t canary's tusks when it comes to kindness!