@teddydale Yeah, I agree. In cities like NYC everyone is different anyway. I guess that couple's behavior was hideous (even my caucasian friend who was with me commented on it) b/c of the underlying racism.
I wish Tokyo can be a bit like NYC in that regard. It's a big city too but ppl are so stressed out & strangers seem to communicate with each other only when some roles (e.g., vendor/customer) are assigned.