Interesting to hear these reactions still happen. My dad would spend a couple of months a year in rural Japan in the 1960s and 70s, setting up factories. He thought in many cases he was the first white man they had seen, and sometimes children would run away in fear at the unexpected sight of a strange giant walking along a lane. Back then, after losing so much weight on the first trip, he would take blocks of cheese and some tinned western food to sustain him. Now, even living outside London in the UK, there are stores with a choice of natto varieties.
Nostrasia was my first trip to Japan, and I only visited cities, so a very different experience - I absolutely loved the place, the people and the culture, and plan to come back to see more of the country. I wish I had visited while my dad was still alive. We still have a number of handmade gifts from people my dad worked with all those years ago.