This paper explores everyday feelings of exclusion experienced by Western immigrant parents of preschool aged children in public park playgrounds in Tokyo. These parental feelings of exclusion and unbelonging arose from negative encounters with the majority population where children's visible bodily differences led to unintegrated play. The paper argues that this sense of exclusion is socially problematic as immigrant parents feel negative emotions when using public playgrounds, turn away from local public space mobilities towards online play dates with their countries of origin, and focus more on private home centred play through a style of self-segregation as coping techniques. © 2018, © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

exclusion parents playgrounds public space Encounter

Japan social exclusion migrants experience public space Tokyo [Kanto] Honshu Kanto psychology coping strategy immigrant population