It's happening and no one here in Japan has any say over this fact: The foreigners are coming. In droves. It's already a reality and the numbers are only going to increase between now and 2019 (Rugby World Cup) and 2020 (Tokyo Olympics). The cause-and-effect relationship is clear. You bid on giant international events, get selected as the host country/city, and this is the result. It would behoove Japan to prepare. As in, seriously prepare.
To be fair, there are strides being made. To be blunt, in rural Japan, these strides are nowhere close to being enough.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the reply given to me by the okami-san, the matron of a local inn in City A. In trying to book a three week reservation for a foreigner, I was told flat out, "If the guest can't speak Japanese we can't take him."
I posted this statement on social media and watched the storm of apologies and excuses fly through cyberspace. Some were embarrassed. Others were angry. Still others explained the reply by saying this was actually exemplary rural hospitality. The latter has left me wondering.
If not being able to communicate with guests means you can't offer the superior level of service Japan is known for--omotenashi--because without language too many things can go wrong, then interpreting the inn's intentions are fair game. As in, they can only offer this level of impeccable service to Japanese and Japanese-speaking guests. This was my take-away from the okami-san.
As opposed to, say, let's learn basic phrases in English so you can communicate with your guests.
Or, figure out how to use online translation services so if you don't understand your guest and vice versa, you can type in what you want to say onto your laptop/desktop and still get points across.
Or, hire a foreign-language speaker. Or, ask for assistance from an interpretation service.
All are legitimate options. None occurred to the okami-san. It's easier to say "no" if the guest doesn't speak Japanese.
This, you simply cannot say. Rather, you can say it (she did), but in doing so you make visible dots I will now connect. You prefer the status quo. You prefer the easy way out.
Here are the dots. City A is an easy 45 minutes from one of the cities hosting the Rugby World Cup. Will there be spill over from guests who can't find lodging in this rural host city? Of course. Is she going to turn these foreigners away as well? Unless she can find a way to communicate with non-Japanese speaking guests, evidently yes. Will this get posted online? Absolutely. Will people write reviews saying they couldn't get served? Damn right they will. Could this cause a sh*t-storm of criticism? (What superior service?!)
The dot of the need for lodging and the dot of refusal, once connected leads to hurt feelings, cultural insensitivity, and accusations of racism. The if-I-can't-communicate-with-you-I-can't-offer-the-level-of-service-I-want-to-exemplify message gets buried deep in translation. Foreigners will hear the "no" and little else. It doesn't matter there's no ill will. It doesn't matter it's meant with respect and not hostility. "No" hurts. "No" is final.
Rural Japan does indeed offer a level of hospitality and service that even the five-star hotels in major cities do not and cannot because they make connections with individuals. The small inns and hotels have the ability to connect with guests in ways larger hotels miss. It's these connections, forged out of superior levels of thoughtfulness and the desire to please, this is what we take home. This is what makes Japan stand out. Turn away the non-Japanese speaking guests and not only has rural Japan failed in providing the highly touted omotenashi, it allows us to assume we aren't wanted.
The foreigners are coming. This is a fact.
I've decided to visit this okami-san next week. For once, I really don't know what to expect.
