Racism Against Foreigners in Japan, and Data Plan Woes

On a popular forum for webmasters, we posted a thread asking what to do in Japan and questions on mobile phones and data plans. Immediately, before they answered our questions or shed some tips,  everyone warned us about being ready to experience racism outside of Tokyo. It seems that the Japanese, according to some people who have frequented the country often, do not like foreigners that much outside of Tokyo.

Since 2/3 of the Japanigans team could easily trip facial recognition systems into believe they’re terrorists, we’re a bit worried. Not about the racism mind you, but about getting a mobile data plan so we can have “teh internets” while on the road. Supposedly, getting a mobile phone, let alone a data plan, is somewhat of a challenge for foreigners. Since none of us speak Japanese, we’re most likely going to have some communication problems with the locals.

A solution for all of the above is to get a personal tour guide that can translate and take us around Japan (although that will be quite costly). Thundergod, the adventurous one of the group, tells me (Fallout) that I worry too much. This is true, as I tend to over-think matters quite a bit. In any case, perhaps getting lost in a foreign country might for a couple of days might actually be a thrilling vacation after all.