TOZAWA, Yamagata Pref. -- Cheerful laughter echoed through this snow-covered village in the Tohoku region one morning as a group of women sat down to chat over tea.
![News photo](../images/photos2002/nn20020108b9a.jpg)
"I saw an American speaking Japanese the other day and said to my husband, 'He speaks fluent Japanese even though he is a foreigner,' " one of the women says. "Then my husband said, 'You are a foreigner, too, aren't you?' " This triggers another burst of laughter from the women.