[sarasi]

I lived with a British-born Chinese woman for a while when I lived in Yokohama, then a Chinese Canadian when I moved to Tokyo. Neither of them ever complained about ill-treatment- what they did say was that people often assumed they were Japanese, and then got confused for a few seconds when the ethnic Chinese people didn't understand them. (Same with my third generation American Japanese friends who don't speak much Japanese.) Then when the Japanese people clicked, they were treated like any other foreign visitors and tourists, i.e. mostly with politeness.

If you had been with the group that let their kids destroy the sand patterns, then you might have been included in the "those uneducated Chinese" comment. Since you weren't, you will be treated on your own merits for the most part.

Even Caucasian people in Japan occasionally run into discrimination in Japan, so no-one can guarantee you you won't. However it's pretty unlikely, and at least you will blend in more until you start speaking!