M.H I don't think it would be disrespectful. Of course, I'm not Japanese, nor have I ever been to Japan, so I don't know how much weight my word holds, but I'd think it'd be more disrespectful not to know the culture and customs. At least the most important ones (such as shoes indoors, train etiquette, general manners, etc). Since I doubt anyone expects every tourist to know Japanese (maybe a little basic Japanese to help get by). Of course, knowing the native language is always a bonus wherever you go.
When I was on vacation in Japan I noriced that every single person there always wants to help. And they won’t leave or stop before you’ve been helped. Japanese people are truly the best!
I’ve been to Japan many times, and I have to say that while most people were kind in Japan, there were also others that were not. I feel like the more unfriendly ones I encountered were junior high kids who were on a trip with their friends. Understandable for kids their age, but they weren’t very keen on helping and you could see it on their faces. It wasn’t just once though as I’ve noticed this on multiple occasions. I just wanted to point this out, because I feel that while Japan is an amazing country for tourism (and I always recommend it), sometimes people are really romanticising it. Japanese people are polite, but staying long term in Japan is different from being a tourist. Don’t get me wrong, I love Japan...
@@片山和代-q3x when my sister had issues with her ears during our flight to osaka, we had to go to the hospital with only my wife having basic japanese. It was tough but people were very helpful in the hospital. then when we were about to buy her medicine. it was extremely difficult to find. we went to one pharmacy first, they didn't had it. then, a staff from that pharmacy went out of the counter, and lead us to another pharmacy which is like 5 minutes away from that place. We were shocked but we followed. then she left and we went in.. the next pharmacy didn't had it again. so the guy in the counter went out again and helped us! he lead us to another pharmacy. you wouldn't believe it that this happened 5 times until we finally found one. We were so thankful for those people who walked us to those place. In my country(Philippines), that will never happen and the person in the counter will just say no and look the other way.
First time in Japan in 2001,(pre smart phones, so no translation apps), after a long day out we thought to just go to the Mc Donalds near our hotel, but it was closed, the only place around that was open was a small eatery,(shokudo), and the whole menu was those placards, like sign boards hanging on the wall with each item in Japanese. We just walked in and stood there with this "deer in the headlights look" like, what do we do now? The lady behind the counter looked at us and we just like shrugged and asked"UM, what do you have?..." then she kinda tilts her head and says"Beefu bowlu?" And we were like, "YES! two please!" OMG we were so happy!
When I was in Tokyo I ended up in a restaurant with no English menus or staff, but a local diner that spoke English translated the whole thing for me! I found that Japan was one of the easiest places to navigate without any knowledge of the language because of the kindness of people around
I’m Japanese. We love you guys from abroad!! I hope y’all have a good stay in japan😊 Sorry for my poor English. P.S Thank you for a lot of good! ありがとう！ヽ(*＾ω＾*)ﾉ P.S part2 After 2 years I came back here and saw lots of warm comments. Im still learning English and gradually getting better . Now the Corona-virus epidemic is going on. I would like to see the return of such a happy everyday life, where people from overseas can fully enjoy sightseeing in Japan. (2021/08/24)
I went to Japan several times when I was in the service. The key is to remember you are a guest in their country and to be PATIENT and POLITE. If you are, people will often go out of their way to help you. If you get annoyed and impatient they will quietly disappear.
Our first time in Japan, we went to Kamakura and hiked from Kita-Kamakura down into the town. Wonderful hike passing by many shrines. At one point, we thought we were lost and an older gentleman stopped to help. We pointed on a map to Kamakura and he signaled us to follow him. He walked about half a mile out of his way to get us to the correct trail. Wonderful people in Japan.
Media potrays Japanese people as very laid back and simple. But I've noticed they're very stylish, funky and cool at the same time. Japan is freaking awesome 😎
Not sure laid back is the way to describe it. I would say more like passive and conforming, which is true generally. Of course, that's looking at it from the lens of a foreigner.
@@yuletak Yeah, I'd say both points are very true here. There is the surface level, and then there's the person underneath, desperate to be free, but don't really know how to. It's all a toss of a coin really from what I've seen if I am ever going to Japan soon.
@@danielwhyatt3278 Japan is far better than the US that is absolutely induvidualistic, disrespectful and obsessed with freedom and use freedom to go overboard and get away with everything. There's nothing wrong with conforming as long it is for the benefit of everyone. It truly reflects on Japan that conforming is good. The west almost always portrays Japan as passive when Japan is way more creative, responsive, and has topnotch quality goods and service than the rest of the world. The west just wants to make Japan look so bad. It's just that the major problem is the western people are law breakers who don't wanna follow rules. On top of that, you make matters worst just for a simple rule co'z you hate rules. You literally sue for simple things. That's why americans are extremely ill-mannered same goes for europeans co'z you're feeling over entitled
I went to a local tempura restaurant once. The menu was all Japanese and no picture. The owner was a lovely old couple. I just picked one with a middle price and smiled blankly when the owner said something... It turned out well, though. Delicious. Still don't know what I ate 😂
Most Asia country's restaurant does not need tipping. Why? It's obvious BECAUSE THE WAITERS DOES NOT WORK FOR THE CUSTOMERS. This is something I do not understand ever since I started studying in the US. Waiters work for the restaurant, so why are the customers who buy food, need to pay their wage? You don't go to walmart to buy grocery and end up paying tips to walmart employees for stocking.
The thing is that in the US waiters get a really bad payment and the employees expect them to get extra money for tips so they dont give their workers that much money. It is pretty rude to not tip a waiter cause they will get a rough time
A customer should be paying for the meal they've come in for, they shouldn't be responsable for the waiter's pay. That task falls onto the employer, the company the waiter is actually working for. There's something messed up about people in north america expecting tips. That goes against the entire point of tips. A tip is a reward for going above and beyond your normal job, for being exceptional, for impressing the client and being so hard working they leave a tip. A tip shouldn't be part of the pay. A tip is an act of kindness and respect. As a customer, you shouldn't feel pressured or forced to contribute to a waiter's pay. Sadly instead of tackling the core issue, which is the employer not actually paying the employer at all. What is pretty rude is expecting a customer that has already payed for his meal to pay for your wage. America, start paying your staff properly.
One of the best meals I've ever eaten was at a "restaurant" that operated out of an elderly woman's home kitchen in Greece. There was no menu, so she just lifted the lids off pots so I could see what was inside. I still couldn't choose, so I just shrugged, and pointed to her. She got the idea, and brought me some sort of stew. It was spectacular.
Me too! On Ithaca well before there was an airport. A teeny cafe in the back of someone's house, they lifted the lids, I'd smile and make yum noises. On Kefalania, again decades before it had an airport ,I was in a tiny village that had no hotel or restaurant. I slept on the beach, each evening knocked on someone's door made food signs and paid them a fair price for whatever I got. I got a hug from everyone in the village when I left!
@@triarb5790 That sounds just wonderful. Even though it is very diferent these days, I still really want to cross country travel someday by foot and hitchhike.
@@danielwhyatt3278I really hope you do. I love travelling and I am still finding out of the way places around the world, decades on from the Ionian islands experience. People the world over respond to respect of their culture, good manners and a ready smile oh and if you learn no other words in a language please and thankyou are a must! Plus I tend to avoid the "sights" and go in the opposite direction where the real sights are= the people!
@@kiyoshim9593 I find that hard to believe. I have worked with many people from Korea. While they language barrier makes they uncomfortable if you are patient they can be pretty interesting people.
I've had no problems ordering or eating in Japan. If all else fails, just go to McDonalds. "Big Mac" is a universal language, understood throughout the world.
Burrito Queen - Not everyone has time to learn the language before going, sometimes business people get sent to foreign countries at a moments notice from their employer. Thats why in this video he said the locals were used to not Japanese speakers whether they were there as tourists or on business. Sure maybe look some stuff up on your phone on the flight over but thats not gonna get you fluent in a 12+ hour flight. Now if you were to move to another country, obviously learn the language, but for a short visit? Nah...
I've been wanting to go to Japan since I was like 19 years old. I finally went when I was turning 27. I've been watching youtube videos about Japan in the meantime. They definitely helped!
i do this because i just dont want to make a mess, almost like a cat hiding its imprints although even at mcdonalds, arent people supposed to take their tray up to the trash can? in waiter based places sure, no return sign, have to leave plates (if they didnt pick them up already)
As a Japanese, my tip to first timer to Japan will be to buy Suica (IC card for public transportation) first, if you plan to take public transportations. It’s much more convenient than buying ticket everytime you take train or bus. Maybe it‘s already super normal thing to do, that I don‘t need to say it here. I dunno👋
I bought it 10 years ago and I am still using it every year I traveled to Japan. I don’t mind the card deposit of 500 Yen cause it’s really convenient.
MrSheepyNL Using JR pass in Tokyo is definitely unnecessary. Unless you are taking the bullet train to and fro different prefectures and combine with the subway in Tokyo and getting the JR pass will be worthy and essential. As a frequent traveler to Japan this is my experience. It cost around USD$250 for a straight 5 days JR east pass or 1 week pass ‘5days within a week’ for example you can only choose and valid which of the 5 days you intend to use within that week. The first time and also the only time I bought the JR Pass didn’t worth the money cause if I were to buy single trip ticket per time will cost me only $180 instead. And not necessary have to take airport express as you can get to the airport using normal subway from Tokyo at 500Yen Haneda to 800Yen Narita. All we need to do is to do some research and everything will be good not wasting money. Hope that helps.
@@Raphea7 If you do three or more trips on the bullet train, the JR pass is worth it as I seem to recall when I was researching last March. I spent 9 days in tokyo and only spent maybe 3000 or 4000 yen.
I confess. My first day in Japan I took a photo of what I wanted and showed it to the counter-girl. It was some kind of pork covered in breading and deep fried. It was a delicious lunch. I miss Japan so much.
Yes you can. I lived there for 2 years or so, due to my dad's work, and I always walked around alone without being able to understand or read anything. I SURVIVED.
My biggest tip is exectly to: Not be afraid to speak and ask japanese people for help, either ordering food, or directions on the street. Some of them know english, some don't but they are willing to help you no matter what. Some of them will even approach you, seeing that you are confused.
I went to japan in 2016 and with little to none japanese and little to none english. 1. be kind and smile 2. do what locals do 3. be adventerous it was the best trip of my life and I want to travel again to the north this time. Your channel is so cool and informative, very inteligent and amazinly filmed and edited. Thank you for the videos. Greetings from Argentina.
We are not english speakers, not even as second language, but most educated people in my country are generally able to pick clues from english speakers if said speaker speak clearly. Thats why simple order on eatery or small question about the products on supermarket can be handled properly by the staff. The only real difficulty is that most foreigners speak very, very fast, in some weird dialects, and dont attempt to use hand signals.
I think the part with speaking very fast, is something native speakers will do much more often as well as not using there hands to signal. I myself wasn't in Japan yet, but traveled to other countries and I have to say by using hand signals and gestures, a bit of English and maybe some local phrases you can come a long way. Also you can't expect that everyone speaks perfect English, I think that's an mistake Americans and Canadians will do a lot, and Europeans are less likely to make.
I do not tip personally and if i do, everyone gets the same amount, look up statistics about it, its origin, and you will think again about tipping, inequality is part of America still and its sickening in this day and age.
It’s not the servers fault tho because here in America servers get payed about $2.80 an hour and they rely on tips it’s a broken system but there’s nothing the servers can do about it
Short answer: yes. I was in Japan for 3 weeks and went to some pretty rural places and was still able to get food. Point and thumbs up boys point and thumbs up
Back in the mid 80's - my father went to Tokyo on business and I got to tag along with him. In order to eat at places besides the hotel and McDonalds....Remember no cell phones back then for taking pictures and English wasn't very common.- I would draw the characters next to the plastic food in the little glass box outside the restaurants front door and hand it to the waiter. The look on their faces sometimes was priceless - Most of the time we got what we saw in the window. Fun trip and fun times.
I would say hit the call button once and only once until the staff comes by. I made the mistake of not knowing what the button did and kept on pushing until the staff came by and took it out of my hand. I can laugh about it now, but it was quite embarrassing.
As long as you are able to laugh at yourself when you make this type of mistake, people are happy to help you learn the correct way to handle cultural differences. Unfortunately, far too many American's take an attitude with them when they travel out of the US and that can ruin their experience and leave a bad impression of American's behind when they leave!
7/11 stores are actually Japanese, and expanded to the U.S. They're way better in Japan because they started there. I guess when they expanded to the U.S. they didn't take the Japan quality with them. Womp, womp...
It’s so easy, there are pictures everywhere and “mock food” on display at restaurants so you can see exactly what you are getting. People are so friendly, polite and willing to help. Love the country, it’s culture and people. had a wonderful holiday there about 3 years ago, the food is amazing, such a pleasure to visit this wonderful country, everyone should travel to Japan, at least once in their lifetime.👏👏🇦🇺
Just got back from Japan after 3 weeks. Ordering food isn't a problem because almost all menus have photos that you can point to. The tricky thing is knowing what's inside stuff, so if you're avoiding meat or pork you might want to learn those words because the menus often don't list the items in English. The Japanese are friendly, patient people so don't be intimidated. Just do your best and you'll be fine.
Hey everyone. Thanks for all the comments. Here's my responses to a few of them. Title is kind of misleading. Sorry, totally didn't mean to confuse anyone. This title is an attempt to continue the first video I did about How to Survive Your First Hour in Japan. The number one question was how to get fed, so hence the title How To Survive Hunger in Japan. Some were wondering about food programs for the needy, and I actually have a video on that, it's part 4 of my Homeless in Japan series. Using Japanese or English to order. My original intent of the video was to teach about 30 or so Japanese words or phrases to help you order things in Japan. After experimenting with my brother and his wife, I realized that in popular tourist destinations like Tokyo and Kyoto, you don't need Japanese to get by. And in some ways, if you were able to properly say a few things in Japanese, it may make things more confusing as the staff would assume you have some basic Japanese when you only know a few key phrases. So for the purposes of helping a first-timer with no Japanese, I thought it best to show that you really don't have anything to fear when it comes to ordering and eating food. That being said, I still have a whole video's worth of content where key Japanese phrases about ordering and eating food could be taught. Any interest in that? Is it rude to not learn Japanese and go to Japan? I think it's always nice to learn some key things, like how to say hello and thanks. However, I think no one in Japan would expect you to learn basic Japanese before visiting. Because even if you studied for a month solid in a Japanese language school, you wouldn't be able to smoothly order in Japan using only Japanese is any restaurant. You could definitely do well in certain specific situations, but you would be stumped in certain places, as there would be no way to know all the kanji necessary (unless you're a fluent in Chinese) and there's simply so much vocabulary associated with food. My feeling is that no one will think it rude that you don't speak Japanese. If you're polite and try to follow the customs I don't think you'll run into any issues. Japanese are very forgiving to foreigners that make mistakes, but it is true that they would be offended if you're clearly not trying to follow Japanese etiquette on purpose. Food prices. I think food is quite affordable in Japan. Taxes are generally included in the price and there's no tipping. You can easily get a decent lunch for ¥500- ¥1,000 or dinner for ¥800-¥1500. Of course you can spend more or less, but I think that's a fairly decent range you can work with. If you ate a konbini, the cost would be much less. Tips for vegetarians, vegans, people on a special diet, etc... I've never had to do this, so I can't give any solid advice. I know there are a lot of people have posted content about this on RUclips, so I'm confident a quick search on RUclips will yield a lot of good results. One consistent tip I saw people offer was to have printed cards with both Japanese, English, and an illustration that you take with you that specify your food restriction, whether it be no meat at all, no pork, or no peanuts. Still the best advice I can give is observe the locals and do what they do. See how they order, see how they eat their food, see how they pay. Just copy that as best as possible. And that can be said for you entire trip, whether it's being quiet on the train, waiting in a line, or keeping your garbage with you. One other place I didn't mention was grocery stores. Like convenient stores, they have a lot of grab and go food. It'll be of higher quality than the konbini. Also, if you go after 7pm, the bentos, meal sets, and other ready-made items will be discounted. Okay, last tip that I'll pass on from other commenters. One good thing would be to learn about all the different types of Japanese foods. This may be something we make a video about. You have noodle dishes like ramen, udon, and soba; or meat dishes like yakitori, tonkatsu, or yakiniku; or rice dishes like tempura don or onigiri; or fish dishes like, well, sushi, but I think all of you know that. There are many types of dishes that'll be popular to locals in Japan that you may not encounter in a Japanese restaurant in your home country.
I am from India. I have learnt Hiragana and Katakana. I can read anything in Japanese, but can't understand it at all. I understand Japanese a little bit. It's my dream to come to Japan when I become self dependent. I request you to make a video about relationship between Japan and India. I am actually a fan of yours.
Hi, where I'm from is Pakistan. I'm 9yrs old. I & my sister(11yrs) started a channel of our own 'ORDINARYPAKISTANIBOY' & we got Akoi & Shin's channel in suggested videos. We like this channel & it's filming technique. We're learning. My grandad has visited Japan in 1992, 1994,1995. He admires the school children & the education system of Japan. My uncle visited Japan twice at the age of 18. He loved the Tokyo Disney land. And the technology. We request Akoi & Shin to visit Tokyo Disney land. We wanna see how different had it gotten from the 2004 one. ☺️
If you agree the title is misleading and you don't want to confuse people, then why haven't you changed it to avoid confusion? Also your rationalisation for the title makes no sense. If the number one question is 'how to get fed in Japan'; why isn't the title simply 'how to get fed in Japan'? Simply trying to buy food and surviving hunger as if you had no money or were homeless are completely different situations, so I can't see how you are making that leap from one to another. If you want to clickbait, at least be honest about it; especially when people have called you out for it.
The printed cards for special diets is a great idea! I've worried about that as I have some hard to avoid food allergies for Asian cuisine, and don't have enough Japanese to do more then say the names of things I can't eat, let alone explain that its an allergy and not a preference.
I remember I had a layover flight in Tokyo and my plane was late arriving and they actually held the plane for me and had a sign with my name on it waiting for me. Never in my life have I seen such hospitality! Japan is the best! ❤️
That's a lie. Why would they hold the plane for just 1 passenger? Who do you think you are? What about the other 300+ passengers on the plane who also have schedules, connecting flights to catch, etc? You made it just in the nick of time, but don't ever think they " held " the plane for you.
@@shizukamori6755 you seem to not know a lot about aviation. I'll teach you: If you check in to a layover flight, your luggage is usually transferred automatically from plane 1 to plane 2. That can happen pretty quickly, sometimes more quickly than you getting from airplane 1 to airplane 2. As soon as your luggage is on board, it can cause muchj more dealy for the flight to open the cargo doors again, look for the luggage and get it out, than just wait a few minutes for the passenger. Also, you don't know if he was the only passenger. Maybe he was just the last one.
We're just back from Tokyo and were there when you made this as all the White Day posters were up and we had to look it up to see what it was 😁. We got by fine with only arigato but it was interesting how few people spoke any English even just on the outskirts of Tokyo.
as someone with severe social anxiety who was legitimately planning on trying to survive for a week off of vending machines, this is so immensely helpful and i would die for you
While the vending machines in Japan are wonderful, dont be afraid to approach people there for help! I have no knowledge in the language, yet the locals are so helpful in helping me get my belly filled with all sorts of yummy stuff!
Cain Issues lmao have you not seen the scads of food vending machines they have there? Sandwiches, full hot meals, ramen, and self heating meals. Personally I’d feel bad for you if you went. You’d end up spending way too much money going out for every meal.
Sam ••• Lawson's, 7 eleven, Family Mart, etc is where I'd go over most vending machines, at least in my experience. Wash it all down with a strong zero and you good to go.
American convenience stores have no where near as much food as Japanese ones omg. Like for the most part all the have is candy, chips, drinks, and sandwhiches - not a lot of variety, but I guess it depends on where you live :/
In Japan you can just go to convenience stores to cook and eat all your meals yourself if you really want, lol. Like you saw, they have microwaves even for people to heat up ramen and eat it right there.
I've been to Japan. That trip was awesome! I didn't face any problem. We have relatives living there. My sister-in-law is Japanese. During my stay I was able to understand many Japanese expressions of everyday use very quickly. It was the most memorable trip I've ever had. Looking forward to visiting there again soon.
I've been to Japan two times now (5 weeks in total), by myself. And besides the small talk, I can't really speak any Japanese. But everyone was SO helpfull! I usually did go for the places that had pictures with the food, or to the chain restaurants that had the ticket machines. And like you said: I just look at the locals and try to do what they do. But still, mostly it was just awkward smiling from me and the staff whenever we would figure out whatever I would want to eat. And I would just eat whatever I would get in the end. Fun experience.
First timer? #Be polite and respectful, that often gets you much further than simply demanding or not caring about the local culture. # Dont smoke just anywhere. # Dont be afraid to try new things, no matter what your pre-concieved notions might tell you. Even tiny white fishies can be delish! (or eating an entire fried fish... Including skin, tail and head!) # And please, shut up while taking the train or atleast try not to scream at eachother. I might be rude but not any more than you'd be doing that on a buissy comuter train.
Zipp I'm always polite. I don't smoke. But I don't eat aquatic food. That includes everything from lakes, rivers and oceans. I won't be trying it and in fact, I don't even want to smell it. So it's McD's and KFC for me if I ever were to go to Japan or any other Asian country. For me, those places are at the bottom of my list of places to travel. In fact I'd rather see Antartica than go to Asia.
Read up on the food culture of japan, man. About a sixth of everything i eat when on a trip in japan has anything to do with the ocean and thats because i love raw fish. They have a great selection of vegetarian, vegan, meat or any other kind of fish-less dining experience you can imagine. Ever heard of Kobe beef? Ramen? Japanese curry? those are just three of the more famous ones.
Kobe beef: I'm sure it's good, but sorry, I'm not paying a huge sum of money to just eat beef. Ramen: Mostly served in a fish/seaweed stock with bonito flakes. Nope! Japanese Curry: Not happening! I hate the flavor of curry since I already hate Indian food.
Well. They have lots and lots of other foods... I mean you dont have to eat there, more food for others. And no, ramen isnt mostly served in a fish or seaweed stock. Try a miso ramen with pork, has no fish in it.
Oh, forgot to mention the barefoot scene! We were at a super sento (public bath house), so not having any shoes or socks on isn't as weird as you might think. It's definitely a must to have no shoes. Whether you want to wear socks or not is completely up to you, either way is fine.
LOL @ the part he piles up tempura. I think the biggest tip is to omit any unnecessary words when ordering or asking something. For example, you should say "tempura udon please" instead of "can i get tempura udon please" as it can create more confusion. they mean the same thing but more wordy/polite. using enough words to get your point across without sounding rude is key to effective communication in japan. also, body language and pointing will take you very far honestly.
Yes I see this all the time. Compare the levels of English in these sentences. "Pass me the salt please", "Would you mind passing me the salt." Second sentence has the word "would" which an english learner might interpret as something to do with 'potential'; the word 'mind' can mean many things in english (i.e. to look after/watch; one's inner thoughts; to be bothered by etc.); "passing" is in present continuous so it sounds like you're describing something that is currently happening, not something that you would like them to do for you. Its a small thing that we do as native speakers to be indirect because its more polite, but it involves some fairly advanced grammar.
Traveled there for a while. Using English, Chinese and comic only Japanese, I managed to survive and enjoyed the trip a lot. What I like the most is even when you talked to someone who don’t know English at all, they’re still pretty patient and trying to understand you through body language. Not just say that they can’t speak English and walk away. Also, pretty decent food anywhere. Like they are all at least good. While in US, I always walk into restaurants that have good decoration but really bad food and expect me to pay 30 bucks for dried chicken breasts plus 20% tips. In Japan, I feel like I must tip them because the service is so damn good. I tried once, but the waiter actually returned the money and said that he’s just doing his job.
This video remind me of the first time I visit Japan as a child with my mom. Everything was so new to me and I enjoy every minutes in Japan. I just love Japan so much.
Recently there are many English menu in Japan specially in Tokyo, so I think someone who even doesn’t speak Japanese, should be okay. but if you go to the countryside, it’s totally different story..
My experiences in the country is that even pizza places only write their menus in kana. My trick was to rope a reluctant waiter in to annunciate the pizza names so I could recognise them.
Yes, Japanese food is awesome! Being polite and respectful and gesturing/pointing to what you want is 80% of the effort in any foreign country. Also, following local customs is helpful too.
best tips is just to try it, try and fail. That is how i best learned how to get food and get around in Japan. Also as was pointed out in the video, take note of how the Japanese people go about it and copy them. There are plenty of good guides out there with phrases and word guides to help you get better with the whole "food/restaurant" part in Japan, so just studying these and take those guides with you on your mobile phone so you can easily refresh your memory with the phrases and words.
Of course trying and failing only helps you if you know what you did wrong. Otherwise you just keep failing. But yes, watching other people works for many situations. Like riding an escalator Japanese people stand on one side to let others pass by if they're walking. But the side you stand on is different in Osaka and Tokyo for example. How do you know which side? Watch what other people are doing.
My biggest tip is to always look up while walking. The first time I visited, my mother and I were unaware of the restaurants in bigger office buildings and were confused why we couldn’t find what we were looking for. Definitely look up when you’re hungry, the sings are always put up against the walls fo buildings and tell you where to find which restaurant
I literally started learning japanese so that one day when i actually go there, i can get by without too much of a hassle... I really would love to visit this country.
I suddenly started falling for Japan for last 3 years and will love to visit the country. Am overwhelmed with their tradition and culture. Very warm people like Filipinos.. ❤
Glad you are preparing for your future trips to Japan!! I’ve visited a number of times and love Japan so much!! During your prep, you may want to learn hiragana and katakana (Japanese “alphabets” for Japanese and foreign words, respectively). This is very helpful, especially for reading signs and menus. For instance, it will help you know from a distance if you’re coming upon a ramen or takoyaki shop or a karaoke box.
The best tip really is "watch what the locals do". :) I speak Japanese, but the first time I headed out to get some food by myself, I didn't really know what to do. I didn't know that I had to press a button for someone to come, or that I had to go up to the counter to pay. And it's different depending on the place you eat at, so - just watch what everyone else is doing! ;)
I'm going solo to Japan next year, and the Ticket Restaurant seems like something I would want to try out. Also going to prepare myself with basic phrases, and educate myself on most phrases used.
I was in Fukuoka and Tokyo earlier this year. And I feel like I will never be hungry while staying in Japan. Too many good food at every street corners, and almost everything at convinient stores are absolutely delicious and cheap. I miss Japan 😭
LOL I'm looking for the yen sign in the kombini food, and I can't find it, I don't even know how much anything costs :) All I see is the 50 and something that looks like a space invader lol. I can get a chocolate cream bun from the 7-Eleven here for about a quarter, it's sort of like a local twinkie (ie. it hardly qualifies as food, but it is cheap and filling.)
So many delicious bentos and onigiri, those cost like 200-500yen. I hate living here in the States where all the convenient stores are pretty much worthless.
S Missions in Canada hipsters have turned everything into a contest of who can make the fanciest and most expensive food. So the idea of $1 for convenience store food or $12 for a decent meal is definitely cheaper than here where going to a mid-range restaurant is like $16 plus tip and tax
This is so nostalgic. I remember the struggle i had during the first few days of my 14day solo travel in your country last December.hahah! The plan was that as much as possible eat at those authentic local restos/eatery. Upon arriving i realized there were so many to choose from. I saw department stores, food shops at train stations, those building that have floors dedicated to restaurants, every street corners and boy i got overwhelmed. The worst, i was intimidated ‘cos aside from arigato and konnichiwa i knew nothing about your language. So many times i tried to enter one but the moment i see that customers inside were locals i just backed out. Haha. (i am very shy person and im still working on it now that i want to travel). I know the japanese are nice people but i just dont wanna embarrass myself. Most of the time i would end up getting konbini food or those fastfood chains that got english menu or machine operated for ordering/paying so i dont have to talk (food areare all oishi also btw so no complaining). Then on my 5th day i decided to try this small udon stall in Piss Alley, Kameya, i think. Oh the courage i had to pull to ask the chef because i know they only have 3 options on their menu. I asked in english and was so relieved that he smiled and responded in broken english and pointed out the difference of each selection. Haha i was so happy eating my soba because atlast i am eating fresh local authentic japanese food! So my advice: Just go for it! Japanese people are nice so even if you dont know whats in the menu theyll be more than happy to help you. And all japanese food are OISHI so i think you can never go wrong! Haha!
D Dai I just go in and if the menu have a photo, i choose whatever that looks delicious. If the menu really have only Japanese word, i ask simple questions to see what it is. However i am good at recognising a few japanese food words. Maybe anyone that planned to go should learn a few words so that even if you can't speak japanese but at least you can understand what they are saying.
I made the experience that one little japanese sentence can help you enormously: Eigo ga wakarimasu ka. Every time we walked up to any counter anywhere in Japan, we said: Konnichiwa, Eigo ga wakarimasu ka? Almost every single time the staff was so helpful to get one of the colleagues who was able to understand and speak english. And the view times there wasn't any, sign language was perfectly helpful.
Lord Stummelchen eigo ga wakarimasu ka or 英語は分かりますか just tells them you understand english you can say nihongo ga wakarimasen or 日本語が分かりません instead to tell them you dont understand japanese
@@captainkencel1557 Nope. Cause of the ka at the end, it says, it is a question. So the people in front of me know that I wanna know if they understand english. to tell them that I understand English I would have to leave the ka away. Eigo ga wakarimasu. and to say I don' undertand put sen at the end. so Eigo ga wakarimasen. With that you were correct.
I born in Okinawa Japan, since when I was baby 👶 I grown up in Hong Kong, Now I'm 49 years old, my nationality is Japan, I never live in Japan and I don't know how to speak Japanese, so this is the time I must move to Japan and live there 😊
Well if you have them find the native words for those allergies. You only need a few sentences. We can't always expect the host to speak our own tongue.
With shy people its a different story. You can hardly order food from people who speak your language, imagine what a nightmare it would be to order something from Japan with no japanese whatsoever
@@kalechang4453 as a shy person it is true.. i went hong kong and even everyone can speak english i feel shy.. next week i am going to japan and im sooo nervous but this video made me feel a little bit better. i really dont want to just eat convenience store food...
I live out in Saitama. If I have trouble translating a menu and there are no displays/pictures/English. Sometimes a kind worker or other patron will speak into the Google translate app and that works better than just translating it. They will also sometimes just bring me something they'll think I'll like, especially if I've been there before. As long as you are kind and respectful, most people will respond the same way.
Very true, but it bears repeating. It's hard to break cultural norms, which would be to not ask for help, but in this instance they often will. Often someone is just looking for a chance to engage with me, but they don't want to be rude, so this gives a chance, too.
I know Chinese so reading kanji is not a problem at all, other than that I know zero Japanese. However, I do find that the Japanese like to translate English words into the Japanese alphabet, so by just using a hiragana/katakana to romanji chart, I can match the sounds from to see if it means something in English. For example, I once ordered a beef tongue skewer, but there is no kanji nor English, and google translate basically gave me gibberish, but from the conversion charts it roughly translates into tun-gu which is kind of useful albeit time consuming. Not the best tip, but you can certainly use it as a last resort if all else fails.
Going there next summer and so far no japanese and I was pretty worried cuz I didnt thing they'd understand english or spanish lol but after seeing this Im a bit relieved 😂
Japan is beautiful and American's do quite well in their cities. But if you are squeamish or arrogant about differences in cultures, you will be miserable if you travel into the countryside or into the back alley food ways. Be prepared to see things you have never seen before...do not take American expectations, just embrace the differences!
@ sortathesame You talk as if American cultures are superior to those of the Japanese. Also, have you yourself been to the countryside or back alleys to try their food there? They still serve healthy, whole-heartedly prepared and elegantly presented dishes as compared to American oily junk food served by rude and uninterested staff. Japanese are superior to Americans in the terms of food preparation ethics. In the US, you don't know what your burgers, hotdogs, chicken nuggets, etc. are actually made of and if they have been prepared in a hygiene way in the kitchen.
ktkska 888 , Are you actually trying to say that American's will find nothing different about the food in Japan? Of course they will! Which is why I suggested they keep an open mind and leave their critical judgement's at home! I LOVE Japan and find them to be wonderful hosts. And since I live in the US, I know exactly what our fast food junk is doing to us. No where in my comment did I say anything negative about Japan or their food. I stated that it is different than what American's can expect and if they want what they are familiar with they need to stay away from the type of places that a native might visit. And my opinion is based on being an American who had limited experience with finding chicken heads and feet mixed in with my noodles when I ordered in a restaurant! BTW, the soup was delicious, but I know of many American's who would have whined and complained and never eaten out in Japan again!
Could be helpful that menus are 'kanji'-heavy. I don't know any japanese but i tell visitors to china that if they get a menu with no pictures there's some tricks that help them identify some types of foods (although i think people should be adventurous and just choose random things anyway...) If you see 月 on the left side of a character, it probably is some kind of organ -- 肚 stomach 肝 liver 脑 brain 肫 gizzard (don't knock the brain till you've tried 蒜蓉脑花 -- barbequed brains smothered in garlic... mmmmm!) 虫 indicates bugs or more likely seafood (same thing, though, really) -- 虾 shrimp 螃蟹 crab 蝉 cicadas (look disgusting but SO DELICIOUS! Try them if you never have!) The left side of 猪 (pork) is usually some mammal, but not the basic meats, as beef 牛 and lamb 羊 have their own character so you might actually be ordering dog 狗 or something... but more likely just a hot dog. I can't think of other mammals you'd see on a typical menu. What else, the tops of 菜苔 is for vegetables. 鱼 as seen in 鲍 or the like is fish, and 鸟 like 鸭/鸡 is a bird. But again, if you're in a different country, my policy is to go random. If you're a picky eater or worried about accidentally getting something 'weird' then you can always go to kfc/mcdonalds.
Oh, boo! I do like mcdonald's every once in a while, but there's just so much good food in the world. I'm the opposite for sure, even if i don't like something much, i force myself to try and get used to it. Stinky tofu is one... it's not *that* bad, but i wasn't a fan until i forced myself for a few weeks every time i saw it on the street i'd buy a small bowl. I don't know about japan, but in china when you go to a restaurant the group orders and eats all the food together (i mean people don't order their own dishes, but agree to a few communal ones), so a picky eater will limit the entire party's choices. That's one reason i've forced myself to tolerate some things here, if i'm out with some people and they want to eat 'bitter-melon' with pork, i want to be able to at least have a few bites. Are your eating preferences different when stoned? I'd have thought smokers were usually more adventurous eaters, but i could see not being willing to scarf down some brains or entrails when high.
Well I sure don't want to limit everyones communal choices, soooo, I'll just order my own dish and everyone else can do the communal thing. Also I don't force myself to eat anything especially something called stinky tofu. Nope!!! I'm sure everyone seeing me gag and throw up will set a positive mood for the communal eating thing. And NO my eating choices aren't any different when I'm stoned. Your thoughts on smokers being more adventurous eaters is completely wrong. When I travel I'm there to see the sights, not to try freaky foods. I don't care about the food of the world, I just want to eat what I know I like, period.
Fair enough, there's no accounting for taste. When i get high i'm drawn to weird foods, or weird combinations, like a pregnant woman. The communal eating thing though, at least in china, is so ingrained they don't even get the concept that in western countries people just order for themselves. I mean of course they understand it but it seems radical. I've gotten so used to it here it's even begun to strike me as kind of strange. Even eating with other americans we do it chinese style. When in rome...
I told this to a friend of mine who visited Japan recently for the first time. Some subway stations do not have an English map, so if you are ever confused how much to pay for a ticket (assuming you know what line you need to take) simply buy the cheapest ticket and when in you're in the actual train there will be an English map. When you get off on your stop go the fare adjustment machine and pay the difference before exiting the station. Or simply buy a Suica card to avoid that.
I was alone in Japan for 2 days before being able to meet up with my Japanese friend and I was able to get by using Google Translate! I was able to ask locals questions and translate menus/packages using my phone camera. Anyone I asked for help from using the translate app was super kind and helpful!
The first time I visited Japan was in 2014 with my classmate. it was not that hard to order food at restaurant in Japan, simply because the list of the menu is attached with pictures and people there are very helpful. Oh ya, because I am Muslim residing in Indonesia, I don't eat pork, so the first time I need to remember was how to say pork in Japanese which is Buta Niku. So I keep the words in my head and always ask it to the resto employee every time I order food telling them " I dont eat ButaNiku" then they would pick the one of the food on menu that has no pork inside. Also, I dont like heavy meal on my breakfast, so I always bought Onigiri at local mini mart. Since it's quite hard to remember kanji for "Buta" I just asked man/woman on the cashier whether the Onigiri has pork inside. :) I like being in Japan, I hope i can visit Japan again. :)
The best tip I can give is to point at what you want and also try to ask for help , you will be surprised how friendly Japanese people are, they always tried to help me even when I didn't understand , one lady asked me where I was from to know my native language then used her phone to translate from Spanish to Japanese 😁😁
6:37A proper way to eat soba (buckwheat) noodles in Japan is to put some or all of the wasabi and the shredded spring onion (in a small container on the left) in the bowl of dipping sauce, if you want to, HOLD the bowl in one hand, dip some noodles in the dipping sauce, and... SLURP up the noodles (probably the most difficult part for non-Japanese people). Shichiji is usually sprinkled over HOT noodles, not COLD noodles. Well, of course, you can eat soba noodles in any way you like.
Good tip with the "kore onegaishisamu" when pointing to a menu, I would use that all the time, or if the menu wasnt infront of me and I knew the name of the dish I would say for example "chicken katsu onegaishisamu". Once I remember trying to ask for the bill but they brought me a beer instead, still worked out, who could say no to a beer. I miss Japan!
If you can learn hiragana and katakana before visiting it helps a lot when ordering as you can just read out the name to the staff and they will know what you want even if you don't know what the word means or even if you're not able to pronounce them correctly.
I´m from Brazil and I visit Tokio in 2017, great experience, I know just a few words in nihongo = japanese and was a great experience Nice people (the young people and the seniors too)and very polite. I love it.
Don't be too picky an eater, you won't always know 100% what it is you're eating. But the pictures pretty much everywhere will give you a pretty good idea, and even if they go full Japanese on you, you will still somehow manage by just nodding and smiling. As everyone's experience seems to be, the Japanese are generally very helpful. I remember standing in a station trying to figure out which exit I needed to take, and a random old lady just grabbed me by the elbow and took me along with her into the elevator, she took me outside, and brought me to a map, nodded smiled and then walked off. It was adorable.
A really good advice is honestly just to not worry! Having been to Japan two times, I can say I was quite worried when I first arrived on my first trip there - also seeing as it was my first trip without my parents (or someone speaking English or Japanese for that matter). Only myself and my Danish girlfriend. I was scared that I couldn't get properly by with just English at the time, but in reality there were absolutely no problems anywhere - even places where they didn't speak Japanese! TLDR don't worry, you'll be fine, Japanese staff are helpful :)
Tip/s (based on my personal experience) When I came to Japan last year I have almost zero knowledge of nihongo (japanese language) so what I did to cope up with the environment especially buying food is observing the locals and listening to what they're saying, I studied basic nihongo and uses google translate to translate the words that are new to me and that's how it helped me slowly cope up with the environment
This video is really interesting. Its a ideal to visit Japan someday. In my opinion, the ideal is knowing something of japanese (of course), but if you don't speak you could find ways to order food. Like gaijin (foreigner) in Japan we can communicate with the people. Its a matter of attitude and enjoy our trip!
I like to recommend for anyone traveling abroad that they learn a few choice phrases in the local language: "Do you speak English?" "Do you have an English menu?" "I am lost and can't speak (local language). Can you help?"
I spent a few weeks in Japan and got by with only "Yes" and "thank you very much". Most people who took my order didn't speak any English, but they seemed to understand at least the basics. What made it really easy was the fact that everyone who took my order went out of their way to make sure both they and I understood what I was ordering. That whole country gets an S+ for customer service.
This taught me quite a bit, keep making these types of video, I love them. Great job, thanks to your kids for helping and I know that your wife is a huge help with the editing. You two have great skills and a fantastic view of what interesting to know around the city.
Indeed. I have created a special bowing/nodding dance to entrance my clerks in a false sense of understanding while i quickly call for my japanese speaking wife to deal with the talking... its not very effective :(
FamilyMart and 7-Eleven are cheap and no tax. You really don't need a lot of money to travel Japan. The food quality is far better than frozen dinner in the US because those are made daily and many Japanese buy them for dinner.
Ouch, that must be hard. I really do need to make sure that when I do go to Jaoan for the first time that I actually have some Japanese language skills, or at the very least have a 'good' app with me. LOL
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I lived in Japan for 3 years pointing never failed me
TheUnicornDiet samee
pointing is rude in UK...
@@bektaskonca5189 not at menu items surely haha?
Could use Google Translate.
@@sharpie387 its considered rude in Chile too
I'm often in a country where I don't speak the local language. The pointing method always works.
True.
went to chine, used phone to haggle prices.
you mean the universal sign language? (pointing fingers) :)
I thought your friend (nobi-what's-his face) said that it is bad, ignorant, and disrespectful for a tourist not be able to speak the local language?
M.H I don't think it would be disrespectful. Of course, I'm not Japanese, nor have I ever been to Japan, so I don't know how much weight my word holds, but I'd think it'd be more disrespectful not to know the culture and customs. At least the most important ones (such as shoes indoors, train etiquette, general manners, etc). Since I doubt anyone expects every tourist to know Japanese (maybe a little basic Japanese to help get by). Of course, knowing the native language is always a bonus wherever you go.
When I was on vacation in Japan I noriced that every single person there always wants to help. And they won’t leave or stop before you’ve been helped. Japanese people are truly the best!
Yes that a s true,even though they do not speak English but will try and help..they r nice people
I’ve been to Japan many times, and I have to say that while most people were kind in Japan, there were also others that were not. I feel like the more unfriendly ones I encountered were junior high kids who were on a trip with their friends. Understandable for kids their age, but they weren’t very keen on helping and you could see it on their faces. It wasn’t just once though as I’ve noticed this on multiple occasions.
I just wanted to point this out, because I feel that while Japan is an amazing country for tourism (and I always recommend it), sometimes people are really romanticising it. Japanese people are polite, but staying long term in Japan is different from being a tourist. Don’t get me wrong, I love Japan...
@@mizocutie
Yes!!
Japan is not as good as everyone thinks
There is no doubt because I am Japanese
I know right! They made Wario!
@@片山和代-q3x when my sister had issues with her ears during our flight to osaka, we had to go to the hospital with only my wife having basic japanese. It was tough but people were very helpful in the hospital. then when we were about to buy her medicine. it was extremely difficult to find. we went to one pharmacy first, they didn't had it. then, a staff from that pharmacy went out of the counter, and lead us to another pharmacy which is like 5 minutes away from that place. We were shocked but we followed. then she left and we went in.. the next pharmacy didn't had it again. so the guy in the counter went out again and helped us! he lead us to another pharmacy. you wouldn't believe it that this happened 5 times until we finally found one. We were so thankful for those people who walked us to those place. In my country(Philippines), that will never happen and the person in the counter will just say no and look the other way.
First time in Japan in 2001,(pre smart phones, so no translation apps), after a long day out we thought to just go to the Mc Donalds near our hotel, but it was closed, the only place around that was open was a small eatery,(shokudo), and the whole menu was those placards, like sign boards hanging on the wall with each item in Japanese. We just walked in and stood there with this "deer in the headlights look" like, what do we do now? The lady behind the counter looked at us and we just like shrugged and asked"UM, what do you have?..." then she kinda tilts her head and says"Beefu bowlu?" And we were like, "YES! two please!" OMG we were so happy!
😂😂🤣
Funny story lol
Similar to my experience..went there in 2002...I couldn't eat beefy bowlu😁 either coz I'm vegetarian
That's such a sweet story! 😁
🤣👍
When I was in Tokyo I ended up in a restaurant with no English menus or staff, but a local diner that spoke English translated the whole thing for me! I found that Japan was one of the easiest places to navigate without any knowledge of the language because of the kindness of people around
@@VirtualHolocaust is this trolling?
@@VirtualHolocaust hahahaha made me laugh
VirtualHolocaust what do you mean by ”Blacks”
VirtualHolocaust
Lmao what-
@@kunai619 let me ask you this. do you lock your doors when you go to a black area?
I’m Japanese.
We love you guys from abroad!!
I hope y’all have a good stay in japan😊
Sorry for my poor English.
P.S Thank you for a lot of good!
ありがとう！ヽ(*＾ω＾*)ﾉ
P.S part2
After 2 years I came back here and saw lots of warm comments. Im still learning English and gradually getting better . Now the Corona-virus epidemic is going on. I would like to see the return of such a happy everyday life, where people from overseas can fully enjoy sightseeing in Japan. (2021/08/24)
Sa AxLot perfect English
Your English is good!
What do you mean? That was perfect English.
misshulagirl05 Thanks!!
dragasoni Thank you!!
I went to Japan several times when I was in the service. The key is to remember you are a guest in their country and to be PATIENT and POLITE. If you are, people will often go out of their way to help you. If you get annoyed and impatient they will quietly disappear.
That applies everywhere you go!!!
Feels like most places, but definitely more so in Japan. That is of course if you do speak the language.
Boy I want to go there soooon.
Yes! Glad other people get it! Wherever you go just remember you’re a guest in their nation and act as any well mannered houseguest would
Our first time in Japan, we went to Kamakura and hiked from Kita-Kamakura down into the town. Wonderful hike passing by many shrines. At one point, we thought we were lost and an older gentleman stopped to help. We pointed on a map to Kamakura and he signaled us to follow him. He walked about half a mile out of his way to get us to the correct trail. Wonderful people in Japan.
Guess it is okay as long as I don't act like mainland Chinese tourists!
Media potrays Japanese people as very laid back and simple. But I've noticed they're very stylish, funky and cool at the same time.
Japan is freaking awesome 😎
Not sure laid back is the way to describe it. I would say more like passive and conforming, which is true generally. Of course, that's looking at it from the lens of a foreigner.
funky???? Uhhh.....no....
@@yuletak Yeah, I'd say both points are very true here. There is the surface level, and then there's the person underneath, desperate to be free, but don't really know how to. It's all a toss of a coin really from what I've seen if I am ever going to Japan soon.
@@danielwhyatt3278 Japan is far better than the US that is absolutely induvidualistic, disrespectful and obsessed with freedom and use freedom to go overboard and get away with everything. There's nothing wrong with conforming as long it is for the benefit of everyone. It truly reflects on Japan that conforming is good. The west almost always portrays Japan as passive when Japan is way more creative, responsive, and has topnotch quality goods and service than the rest of the world. The west just wants to make Japan look so bad.
It's just that the major problem is the western people are law breakers who don't wanna follow rules. On top of that, you make matters worst just for a simple rule co'z you hate rules. You literally sue for simple things. That's why americans are extremely ill-mannered same goes for europeans co'z you're feeling over entitled
In America, eating salmon out of a 7/eleven is REALLY risky 🤣🤣
SpaceForceGames 711 has sushi too but i would not recommend getting that
In america everything is risky js.
kate s
In America walking into 7-11 is risky.
Good sushi for 3 dollars.
😂💚
I went to a local tempura restaurant once. The menu was all Japanese and no picture. The owner was a lovely old couple. I just picked one with a middle price and smiled blankly when the owner said something... It turned out well, though. Delicious. Still don't know what I ate 😂
Probably tender baby whale meat.
Goat penii
@@richardwilson2197 racist
Hey, it doesn't matter what you eat, as long as it's delicious 😂😂😂
classic japanese experience. I think I knew 30% tops of what I ate.
Most Asia country's restaurant does not need tipping. Why?
It's obvious BECAUSE THE WAITERS DOES NOT WORK FOR THE CUSTOMERS.
This is something I do not understand ever since I started studying in the US.
Waiters work for the restaurant, so why are the customers who buy food, need to pay their wage? You don't go to walmart to buy grocery and end up paying tips to walmart employees for stocking.
The thing is that in the US waiters get a really bad payment and the employees expect them to get extra money for tips so they dont give their workers that much money. It is pretty rude to not tip a waiter cause they will get a rough time
A customer should be paying for the meal they've come in for, they shouldn't be responsable for the waiter's pay. That task falls onto the employer, the company the waiter is actually working for. There's something messed up about people in north america expecting tips. That goes against the entire point of tips. A tip is a reward for going above and beyond your normal job, for being exceptional, for impressing the client and being so hard working they leave a tip. A tip shouldn't be part of the pay. A tip is an act of kindness and respect. As a customer, you shouldn't feel pressured or forced to contribute to a waiter's pay. Sadly instead of tackling the core issue, which is the employer not actually paying the employer at all. What is pretty rude is expecting a customer that has already payed for his meal to pay for your wage. America, start paying your staff properly.
+theclassicbeauties I couldn't said it any better myself. You are on point !
I live in the US, and I agree that tipping should not exist. Waiters should be paid enough for their job in the first place.
@@dumbasscentral1166 Thank you for bringing that point up. A lot of bad policies in America are rooted in racism.
One of the best meals I've ever eaten was at a "restaurant" that operated out of an elderly woman's home kitchen in Greece. There was no menu, so she just lifted the lids off pots so I could see what was inside. I still couldn't choose, so I just shrugged, and pointed to her. She got the idea, and brought me some sort of stew. It was spectacular.
That's nice.
Me too! On Ithaca well before there was an airport. A teeny cafe in the back of someone's house, they lifted the lids, I'd smile and make yum noises. On Kefalania, again decades before it had an airport ,I was in a tiny village that had no hotel or restaurant. I slept on the beach, each evening knocked on someone's door made food signs and paid them a fair price for whatever I got. I got a hug from everyone in the village when I left!
@@triarb5790 That sounds just wonderful. Even though it is very diferent these days, I still really want to cross country travel someday by foot and hitchhike.
@@danielwhyatt3278I really hope you do. I love travelling and I am still finding out of the way places around the world, decades on from the Ionian islands experience. People the world over respond to respect of their culture, good manners and a ready smile oh and if you learn no other words in a language please and thankyou are a must! Plus I tend to avoid the "sights" and go in the opposite direction where the real sights are= the people!
Are you sure you weren’t just in some random lady’s house?
Be respectful and friendly , you will get by in almost every country 👍
Not in korea
@@kiyoshim9593 North or South?
@@kiyoshim9593 I find that hard to believe. I have worked with many people from Korea. While they language barrier makes they uncomfortable if you are patient they can be pretty interesting people.
@@tstuff i had many bad experiences there. Like if I was a cockroach.
@@kiyoshim9593 I had a wonderful experience visiting Korea
I've had no problems ordering or eating in Japan. If all else fails, just go to McDonalds. "Big Mac" is a universal language, understood throughout the world.
LOL
No it isn't
You'll be missing a lot though...
No one goes to japan to eat Big Macs...how about people take the time to learn at least a little Japanese and show some respect for that culture
Burrito Queen - Not everyone has time to learn the language before going, sometimes business people get sent to foreign countries at a moments notice from their employer. Thats why in this video he said the locals were used to not Japanese speakers whether they were there as tourists or on business. Sure maybe look some stuff up on your phone on the flight over but thats not gonna get you fluent in a 12+ hour flight. Now if you were to move to another country, obviously learn the language, but for a short visit? Nah...
6:20 I was expecting the Jingle Bells Tune. Disappointed...
Same
same same, but then I immediately had doubts, why should they play this theme right now in this restaurant:
-no Santa around
-no Christmas-restaurant
Haha same
I was looking for this comment
I'm greatly disappointed
I’m not even going to Japan any time soon why am I watching this
Same I'm about to turn 17 and I still dont even got money let alone a job to help pay for a trip
@@tecate2127 well your 16. Deal with that when you're older. Like 21.
Justin I’m going on 33 and still haven’t been. My advice is blow the money on it the second you have it, or your life will pass you by.
I've been wanting to go to Japan since I was like 19 years old. I finally went when I was turning 27. I've been watching youtube videos about Japan in the meantime. They definitely helped!
same
The fact that you clean your own table is amazing. I do this anywhere I eat but only because Ive working in food service.
i do this because i just dont want to make a mess, almost like a cat hiding its imprints
although even at mcdonalds, arent people supposed to take their tray up to the trash can? in waiter based places sure, no return sign, have to leave plates (if they didnt pick them up already)
you show respect to the staff and to yourself by doing it.Well done.I also do it.
The only place where I don't clean my own table are places where I'm waited on at the table. In America. You're supposed to clean your table.
I also do this when possible, I would feel very bad/guilty and rude to just leave the table messy like that.
I expect ppl not to clean their tables if I'm a waiter cause it's my job
As a Japanese, my tip to first timer to Japan will be to buy Suica (IC card for public transportation) first, if you plan to take public transportations. It’s much more convenient than buying ticket everytime you take train or bus.
Maybe it‘s already super normal thing to do, that I don‘t need to say it here. I dunno👋
Akan Acan Thank you for your sharing! Next time I will go to Gunma, and I am wondering if the Suica card is still working there?
I bought it 10 years ago and I am still using it every year I traveled to Japan. I don’t mind the card deposit of 500 Yen cause it’s really convenient.
Or as a foreigner get the jr pass, especially in tokyo! Just came back from there and the jr pass really saved me sometimes!
MrSheepyNL Using JR pass in Tokyo is definitely unnecessary. Unless you are taking the bullet train to and fro different prefectures and combine with the subway in Tokyo and getting the JR pass will be worthy and essential. As a frequent traveler to Japan this is my experience. It cost around USD$250 for a straight 5 days JR east pass or 1 week pass ‘5days within a week’ for example you can only choose and valid which of the 5 days you intend to use within that week. The first time and also the only time I bought the JR Pass didn’t worth the money cause if I were to buy single trip ticket per time will cost me only $180 instead. And not necessary have to take airport express as you can get to the airport using normal subway from Tokyo at 500Yen Haneda to 800Yen Narita. All we need to do is to do some research and everything will be good not wasting money. Hope that helps.
@@Raphea7 If you do three or more trips on the bullet train, the JR pass is worth it as I seem to recall when I was researching last March. I spent 9 days in tokyo and only spent maybe 3000 or 4000 yen.
Anime has prepared me for this day
Sir you and I are both ready 😂
This comment is gold
SAME
Lol hopefully u don't get into a kamehameha fight with everyone u talk to
Geeks like us are good enough to survive in Japan. All hail subtitles.
I confess. My first day in Japan I took a photo of what I wanted and showed it to the counter-girl. It was some kind of pork covered in breading and deep fried. It was a delicious lunch. I miss Japan so much.
Tonkatsu. 😋
Tonkatsu!
@@Reiko9 Probably. No sauce, though.
Yes you can. I lived there for 2 years or so, due to my dad's work, and I always walked around alone without being able to understand or read anything. I SURVIVED.
But i don't want just to SURVIVE hollidays...;-)
Good man.
My biggest tip is exectly to:
Not be afraid to speak and ask japanese people for help, either ordering food, or directions on the street. Some of them know english, some don't but they are willing to help you no matter what. Some of them will even approach you, seeing that you are confused.
Yes most of them are very helpful. Now with smart phones and tourist SIM cards it's so much easier
Me in Japan : *Where are the subtitles* 😅
Anime has prepared you for this, just remember your training
@@FortuneBlackAnimations where are the cute anime girls
i was promised the anime girls
@@BamboosFaith at akihabara district Google it I guess?
Frost Ak Oh nice a filthy frank reference
Lmaooo
I went to japan in 2016 and with little to none japanese and little to none english.
1. be kind and smile
2. do what locals do
3. be adventerous
it was the best trip of my life and I want to travel again to the north this time.
Your channel is so cool and informative, very inteligent and amazinly filmed and edited.
Thank you for the videos. Greetings from Argentina.
We are not english speakers, not even as second language, but most educated people in my country are generally able to pick clues from english speakers if said speaker speak clearly. Thats why simple order on eatery or small question about the products on supermarket can be handled properly by the staff. The only real difficulty is that most foreigners speak very, very fast, in some weird dialects, and dont attempt to use hand signals.
langsamer sprechen englisch bitte.
I think the part with speaking very fast, is something native speakers will do much more often as well as not using there hands to signal.
I myself wasn't in Japan yet, but traveled to other countries and I have to say by using hand signals and gestures, a bit of English and maybe some local phrases you can come a long way. Also you can't expect that everyone speaks perfect English, I think that's an mistake Americans and Canadians will do a lot, and Europeans are less likely to make.
Bitte ausziehen nackt jetzt
satria amiluhur is you’re vegan, just go to the nearest park
I wish N. America had restaurants like this:
No tipping.
No server bothering you. (because they want a tip)
Did I mention no tipping ?
I do not tip personally and if i do, everyone gets the same amount, look up statistics about it, its origin, and you will think again about tipping, inequality is part of America still and its sickening in this day and age.
It’s not the servers fault tho because here in America servers get payed about $2.80 an hour and they rely on tips it’s a broken system but there’s nothing the servers can do about it
You’re cheap. Servers depend on tips and I understand if you don’t want to tip a server, but go to a McDonald’s if you don’t want to tip.
@@haleyclark9873 yeah, no where In america do servers make 2.80 an hour.
@@illogicalgarage8641 you're very wrong but ok
Short answer: yes. I was in Japan for 3 weeks and went to some pretty rural places and was still able to get food. Point and thumbs up boys point and thumbs up
Back in the mid 80's - my father went to Tokyo on business and I got to tag along with him. In order to eat at places besides the hotel and McDonalds....Remember no cell phones back then for taking pictures and English wasn't very common.- I would draw the characters next to the plastic food in the little glass box outside the restaurants front door and hand it to the waiter. The look on their faces sometimes was priceless - Most of the time we got what we saw in the window. Fun trip and fun times.
I would say hit the call button once and only once until the staff comes by. I made the mistake of not knowing what the button did and kept on pushing until the staff came by and took it out of my hand. I can laugh about it now, but it was quite embarrassing.
As long as you are able to laugh at yourself when you make this type of mistake, people are happy to help you learn the correct way to handle cultural differences. Unfortunately, far too many American's take an attitude with them when they travel out of the US and that can ruin their experience and leave a bad impression of American's behind when they leave!
😂😂😂😂
Did they say "yoink" when they took it?
No but they said " Ō Ūū wänn sstööpît mäthfäkkû". And walked away laughing. What does that mean?
@Aljeane A 😂😂😂
Their 7/11s are waaaaayyyy better than here in LA😂, fancy ones!
we dont have 7/11 in my country xD
Chey Jimenez yaaa 7/11s are like the last resort convenience store in Arizona 😂
7/11 stores are actually Japanese, and expanded to the U.S. They're way better in Japan because they started there. I guess when they expanded to the U.S. they didn't take the Japan quality with them. Womp, womp...
I would never buy prepared food in 7-/11 in the US. Not that they offer much in that department anyway.
They look so much cleaner and elegant for some reason. All you see in the US are crackheads asking for change or a cigarette lmfao
OMG...taking a pic of the item outside. Genius! Doh! Such a great tip. Thanks for making this video. Was great to learn how to navigate it all.
I was also thinking if you have an idea of what type of restaurant you're at or going to, you can google a photo of the type of food you want to try.
It’s so easy, there are pictures everywhere and “mock food” on display at restaurants so you can see exactly what you are getting. People are so friendly, polite and willing to help. Love the country, it’s culture and people. had a wonderful holiday there about 3 years ago, the food is amazing, such a pleasure to visit this wonderful country, everyone should travel to Japan, at least once in their lifetime.👏👏🇦🇺
-Ordering without knowing Japanese
-Staff speaks English
:0
-Staff doesnt speak English
-Get help from brother
:0
Great 10/01
Wheb they asked something in japanese i said. HAI HAI HAI
The staff that spoke to his sister in law definitely has English skills way above the average Japanese :0
🤣😂😂😂😂🤣
Just got back from Japan after 3 weeks. Ordering food isn't a problem because almost all menus have photos that you can point to. The tricky thing is knowing what's inside stuff, so if you're avoiding meat or pork you might want to learn those words because the menus often don't list the items in English. The Japanese are friendly, patient people so don't be intimidated. Just do your best and you'll be fine.
Hey everyone. Thanks for all the comments. Here's my responses to a few of them.
Title is kind of misleading. Sorry, totally didn't mean to confuse anyone. This title is an attempt to continue the first video I did about How to Survive Your First Hour in Japan. The number one question was how to get fed, so hence the title How To Survive Hunger in Japan. Some were wondering about food programs for the needy, and I actually have a video on that, it's part 4 of my Homeless in Japan series.
Using Japanese or English to order. My original intent of the video was to teach about 30 or so Japanese words or phrases to help you order things in Japan. After experimenting with my brother and his wife, I realized that in popular tourist destinations like Tokyo and Kyoto, you don't need Japanese to get by. And in some ways, if you were able to properly say a few things in Japanese, it may make things more confusing as the staff would assume you have some basic Japanese when you only know a few key phrases. So for the purposes of helping a first-timer with no Japanese, I thought it best to show that you really don't have anything to fear when it comes to ordering and eating food. That being said, I still have a whole video's worth of content where key Japanese phrases about ordering and eating food could be taught. Any interest in that?
Is it rude to not learn Japanese and go to Japan? I think it's always nice to learn some key things, like how to say hello and thanks. However, I think no one in Japan would expect you to learn basic Japanese before visiting. Because even if you studied for a month solid in a Japanese language school, you wouldn't be able to smoothly order in Japan using only Japanese is any restaurant. You could definitely do well in certain specific situations, but you would be stumped in certain places, as there would be no way to know all the kanji necessary (unless you're a fluent in Chinese) and there's simply so much vocabulary associated with food. My feeling is that no one will think it rude that you don't speak Japanese. If you're polite and try to follow the customs I don't think you'll run into any issues. Japanese are very forgiving to foreigners that make mistakes, but it is true that they would be offended if you're clearly not trying to follow Japanese etiquette on purpose.
Food prices. I think food is quite affordable in Japan. Taxes are generally included in the price and there's no tipping. You can easily get a decent lunch for ¥500- ¥1,000 or dinner for ¥800-¥1500. Of course you can spend more or less, but I think that's a fairly decent range you can work with. If you ate a konbini, the cost would be much less.
Tips for vegetarians, vegans, people on a special diet, etc... I've never had to do this, so I can't give any solid advice. I know there are a lot of people have posted content about this on RUclips, so I'm confident a quick search on RUclips will yield a lot of good results. One consistent tip I saw people offer was to have printed cards with both Japanese, English, and an illustration that you take with you that specify your food restriction, whether it be no meat at all, no pork, or no peanuts.
Still the best advice I can give is observe the locals and do what they do. See how they order, see how they eat their food, see how they pay. Just copy that as best as possible. And that can be said for you entire trip, whether it's being quiet on the train, waiting in a line, or keeping your garbage with you.
One other place I didn't mention was grocery stores. Like convenient stores, they have a lot of grab and go food. It'll be of higher quality than the konbini. Also, if you go after 7pm, the bentos, meal sets, and other ready-made items will be discounted.
Okay, last tip that I'll pass on from other commenters. One good thing would be to learn about all the different types of Japanese foods. This may be something we make a video about. You have noodle dishes like ramen, udon, and soba; or meat dishes like yakitori, tonkatsu, or yakiniku; or rice dishes like tempura don or onigiri; or fish dishes like, well, sushi, but I think all of you know that. There are many types of dishes that'll be popular to locals in Japan that you may not encounter in a Japanese restaurant in your home country.
I am from India. I have learnt Hiragana and Katakana. I can read anything in Japanese, but can't understand it at all. I understand Japanese a little bit. It's my dream to come to Japan when I become self dependent. I request you to make a video about relationship between Japan and India. I am actually a fan of yours.
next : how to escape rape and murder in india or pakistan or africa.
Hi, where I'm from is Pakistan. I'm 9yrs old. I & my sister(11yrs) started a channel of our own 'ORDINARYPAKISTANIBOY' & we got Akoi & Shin's channel in suggested videos. We like this channel & it's filming technique. We're learning. My grandad has visited Japan in 1992, 1994,1995. He admires the school children & the education system of Japan.
My uncle visited Japan twice at the age of 18. He loved the Tokyo Disney land. And the technology. We request Akoi &
Shin to visit Tokyo Disney land. We wanna see how different had it gotten from the 2004 one. ☺️
If you agree the title is misleading and you don't want to confuse people, then why haven't you changed it to avoid confusion? Also your rationalisation for the title makes no sense. If the number one question is 'how to get fed in Japan'; why isn't the title simply 'how to get fed in Japan'? Simply trying to buy food and surviving hunger as if you had no money or were homeless are completely different situations, so I can't see how you are making that leap from one to another. If you want to clickbait, at least be honest about it; especially when people have called you out for it.
The printed cards for special diets is a great idea! I've worried about that as I have some hard to avoid food allergies for Asian cuisine, and don't have enough Japanese to do more then say the names of things I can't eat, let alone explain that its an allergy and not a preference.
I remember I had a layover flight in Tokyo and my plane was late arriving and they actually held the plane for me and had a sign with my name on it waiting for me. Never in my life have I seen such hospitality! Japan is the best! ❤️
That's a lie. Why would they hold the plane for just 1 passenger? Who do you think you are?
What about the other 300+ passengers on the plane who also have schedules, connecting flights to catch, etc?
You made it just in the nick of time, but don't ever think they " held " the plane for you.
@@shizukamori6755 oh yea good point how could anyone ever do a good deed for another person?...absolutely unheard of
@@shizukamori6755 you seem to not know a lot about aviation. I'll teach you: If you check in to a layover flight, your luggage is usually transferred automatically from plane 1 to plane 2. That can happen pretty quickly, sometimes more quickly than you getting from airplane 1 to airplane 2.
As soon as your luggage is on board, it can cause muchj more dealy for the flight to open the cargo doors again, look for the luggage and get it out, than just wait a few minutes for the passenger.
Also, you don't know if he was the only passenger. Maybe he was just the last one.
@@jemand8462 , with his rude attitude, he did not deserve such a thoughtful reply. You're a good man or woman.
@@michaels3003 thank you so much, wherever you are, that's a big compliment :)
Ok well, I now need some "Men's curry on the meadow." Really just sounds like a perfect meal.
Endyo what would be the men's curry made off hmmmm I wonder 😏
We're just back from Tokyo and were there when you made this as all the White Day posters were up and we had to look it up to see what it was 😁. We got by fine with only arigato but it was interesting how few people spoke any English even just on the outskirts of Tokyo.
That's going to be my future band name
then you would like the concrete sushi... ah japan, dont change. (a video abroad in japan did in a sushi restaurant)
OMG AHAHAHAH
as someone with severe social anxiety who was legitimately planning on trying to survive for a week off of vending machines, this is so immensely helpful and i would die for you
Glompy Sings i had the same plan 😂 or the grocery store and make my own but they don’t usually have ovens lol
While the vending machines in Japan are wonderful, dont be afraid to approach people there for help! I have no knowledge in the language, yet the locals are so helpful in helping me get my belly filled with all sorts of yummy stuff!
Most vending machines are for drinks so even that plan would fail you
Cain Issues lmao have you not seen the scads of food vending machines they have there? Sandwiches, full hot meals, ramen, and self heating meals. Personally I’d feel bad for you if you went. You’d end up spending way too much money going out for every meal.
Sam ••• Lawson's, 7 eleven, Family Mart, etc is where I'd go over most vending machines, at least in my experience.
Wash it all down with a strong zero and you good to go.
Japanese are friendly and happy to help
At 6:19 I thought it would start playing Christmas songs. It sounds exactly like the beginning of Jingle Bells. No?
Yup, I was hoping for the melody to finish as well
I thought I was the only one noticing 😅
I almost sang the melody in my mind suddenly in the end I just realised I f@cked up 😂
😂
I miss Konbini so much..... I'm Japanese and studying in Australia. Although I really enjoyed cafes here, still I often miss Konbini food...😂
I'm Australian and about to visit Japan for the first time. I'm so excited for Konbini!! I've planned what I want to eat :D
Samee I miss Kom ibi :%
I understand... konbini in Japan is the best!
Study where?
@@rickylovesyou Now I finally returned to Japan but I was studying in Newcastle!! It's nearby Sydney.
I’m Japanese. I think this video is really helpful for visitors😊😊
Wow nice english
阿部繭子 one day I hope I can visit Japan.
My stepdad went there a couple of years ago
阿部繭子 thank you for confirming. American here
i like japanese people
Want to be friends? 😆
American convenience stores have no where near as much food as Japanese ones omg. Like for the most part all the have is candy, chips, drinks, and sandwhiches - not a lot of variety, but I guess it depends on where you live :/
In Japan you can just go to convenience stores to cook and eat all your meals yourself if you really want, lol. Like you saw, they have microwaves even for people to heat up ramen and eat it right there.
I've been to Japan. That trip was awesome! I didn't face any problem. We have relatives living there. My sister-in-law is Japanese. During my stay I was able to understand many Japanese expressions of everyday use very quickly. It was the most memorable trip I've ever had. Looking forward to visiting there again soon.
6:19 I was totally expecting Jingle bells. But I guess it's not Christmas yet
@KatyTheCatastrophy me three
Saaammeeeeeee
Me four
ME TOO
lol
I've been to Japan two times now (5 weeks in total), by myself. And besides the small talk, I can't really speak any Japanese. But everyone was SO helpfull! I usually did go for the places that had pictures with the food, or to the chain restaurants that had the ticket machines. And like you said: I just look at the locals and try to do what they do.
But still, mostly it was just awkward smiling from me and the staff whenever we would figure out whatever I would want to eat. And I would just eat whatever I would get in the end. Fun experience.
Jealous:)
I just strip and it works
o0Mystique0o I think you can go to any country and they will treat you nicely. 😜
First timer?
#Be polite and respectful, that often gets you much further than simply demanding or not caring about the local culture.
# Dont smoke just anywhere.
# Dont be afraid to try new things, no matter what your pre-concieved notions might tell you. Even tiny white fishies can be delish! (or eating an entire fried fish... Including skin, tail and head!)
# And please, shut up while taking the train or atleast try not to scream at eachother. I might be rude but not any more than you'd be doing that on a buissy comuter train.
Zipp
I'm always polite.
I don't smoke.
But I don't eat aquatic food. That includes everything from lakes, rivers and oceans.
I won't be trying it and in fact, I don't even want to smell it.
So it's McD's and KFC for me if I ever were to go to Japan or any other Asian country.
For me, those places are at the bottom of my list of places to travel. In fact I'd rather see Antartica than go to Asia.
Read up on the food culture of japan, man. About a sixth of everything i eat when on a trip in japan has anything to do with the ocean and thats because i love raw fish. They have a great selection of vegetarian, vegan, meat or any other kind of fish-less dining experience you can imagine.
Ever heard of Kobe beef? Ramen? Japanese curry? those are just three of the more famous ones.
Kobe beef: I'm sure it's good, but sorry, I'm not paying a huge sum of money to just eat beef.
Ramen: Mostly served in a fish/seaweed stock with bonito flakes. Nope!
Japanese Curry: Not happening! I hate the flavor of curry since I already hate Indian food.
Well. They have lots and lots of other foods... I mean you dont have to eat there, more food for others.
And no, ramen isnt mostly served in a fish or seaweed stock. Try a miso ramen with pork, has no fish in it.
Love that I'm watching this for no reason it's just so wholesome and interesting
Man, I like your videos. There is a calmness to it which is very soothing.
Oh, forgot to mention the barefoot scene! We were at a super sento (public bath house), so not having any shoes or socks on isn't as weird as you might think. It's definitely a must to have no shoes. Whether you want to wear socks or not is completely up to you, either way is fine.
Life Where I'm From Don't forget to clickbait that one as well!
LOL @ the part he piles up tempura. I think the biggest tip is to omit any unnecessary words when ordering or asking something. For example, you should say "tempura udon please" instead of "can i get tempura udon please" as it can create more confusion. they mean the same thing but more wordy/polite. using enough words to get your point across without sounding rude is key to effective communication in japan. also, body language and pointing will take you very far honestly.
Yes I see this all the time. Compare the levels of English in these sentences. "Pass me the salt please", "Would you mind passing me the salt." Second sentence has the word "would" which an english learner might interpret as something to do with 'potential'; the word 'mind' can mean many things in english (i.e. to look after/watch; one's inner thoughts; to be bothered by etc.); "passing" is in present continuous so it sounds like you're describing something that is currently happening, not something that you would like them to do for you. Its a small thing that we do as native speakers to be indirect because its more polite, but it involves some fairly advanced grammar.
There's also the chance that 'would' could be thought of as 'wood'. They sound the same to someone who speaks English as a second language.
I have learned how to order Ramen solely through Naruto.
Sneak: 100
Speech 100
now thats the best way to learn ...
8:32 just leaving it here so others can see
@Lord Ewok mad respect.SAME HERE.
Step 1 : Meet and find a japanese friend
good
Easy going there Q, that's obviously a good step 👌
Better: Find a Japanese boy-/girlfriend. You never learn a language faster than when your are in love..=)
@@uli1158 true but that would be hard considering I don't speak the language
Or a girlfriend ;) or wife
Traveled there for a while. Using English, Chinese and comic only Japanese, I managed to survive and enjoyed the trip a lot. What I like the most is even when you talked to someone who don’t know English at all, they’re still pretty patient and trying to understand you through body language. Not just say that they can’t speak English and walk away. Also, pretty decent food anywhere. Like they are all at least good. While in US, I always walk into restaurants that have good decoration but really bad food and expect me to pay 30 bucks for dried chicken breasts plus 20% tips. In Japan, I feel like I must tip them because the service is so damn good. I tried once, but the waiter actually returned the money and said that he’s just doing his job.
8:18 omg the grandma holding hands with her daughter on the right is so cuteee😭
You mean : kawaii
Ikr!!!
This video remind me of the first time I visit Japan as a child with my mom. Everything was so new to me and I enjoy every minutes in Japan. I just love Japan so much.
Recently there are many English menu in Japan specially in Tokyo, so I think someone who even doesn’t speak Japanese, should be okay.
but if you go to the countryside, it’s totally different story..
My experiences in the country is that even pizza places only write their menus in kana. My trick was to rope a reluctant waiter in to annunciate the pizza names so I could recognise them.
I was in a small city hours outside Tokyo ten years ago and did not have any problems. I even had little kids approach me to practice their English.
Yes, Japanese food is awesome! Being polite and respectful and gesturing/pointing to what you want is 80% of the effort in any foreign country. Also, following local customs is helpful too.
best tips is just to try it, try and fail. That is how i best learned how to get food and get around in Japan.
Also as was pointed out in the video, take note of how the Japanese people go about it and copy them.
There are plenty of good guides out there with phrases and word guides to help you get better with the whole "food/restaurant" part in Japan, so just studying these and take those guides with you on your mobile phone so you can easily refresh your memory with the phrases and words.
MageThief Great tips! 😊
Of course trying and failing only helps you if you know what you did wrong. Otherwise you just keep failing. But yes, watching other people works for many situations. Like riding an escalator Japanese people stand on one side to let others pass by if they're walking. But the side you stand on is different in Osaka and Tokyo for example. How do you know which side? Watch what other people are doing.
My biggest tip is to always look up while walking. The first time I visited, my mother and I were unaware of the restaurants in bigger office buildings and were confused why we couldn’t find what we were looking for. Definitely look up when you’re hungry, the sings are always put up against the walls fo buildings and tell you where to find which restaurant
6:19 I was really thinking it was going to play "jingle bells" HAHAHA!
Me as well
same xD
👌😏👏👏👏
Yeah
Even I thought the same
😹
I literally started learning japanese so that one day when i actually go there, i can get by without too much of a hassle...
I really would love to visit this country.
I'm starting to learn it too. I would also love to visit Japan.
I suddenly started falling for Japan for last 3 years and will love to visit the country. Am overwhelmed with their tradition and culture. Very warm people like Filipinos.. ❤
Glad you are preparing for your future trips to Japan!! I’ve visited a number of times and love Japan so much!! During your prep, you may want to learn hiragana and katakana (Japanese “alphabets” for Japanese and foreign words, respectively). This is very helpful, especially for reading signs and menus. For instance, it will help you know from a distance if you’re coming upon a ramen or takoyaki shop or a karaoke box.
The best tip really is "watch what the locals do". :)
I speak Japanese, but the first time I headed out to get some food by myself, I didn't really know what to do. I didn't know that I had to press a button for someone to come, or that I had to go up to the counter to pay. And it's different depending on the place you eat at, so - just watch what everyone else is doing! ;)
I'm going solo to Japan next year, and the Ticket Restaurant seems like something I would want to try out. Also going to prepare myself with basic phrases, and educate myself on most phrases used.
I was in Fukuoka and Tokyo earlier this year. And I feel like I will never be hungry while staying in Japan.
Too many good food at every street corners, and almost everything at convinient stores are absolutely delicious and cheap.
I miss Japan 😭
+Ramencafe why do people keep saying everything is cheap lol, it's crazy expensive :)
I meant to say food, snacks from convenient stores are cheap and delicious.
I know that Tokyo is super expensive.. :(
LOL I'm looking for the yen sign in the kombini food, and I can't find it, I don't even know how much anything costs :) All I see is the 50 and something that looks like a space invader lol.
I can get a chocolate cream bun from the 7-Eleven here for about a quarter, it's sort of like a local twinkie (ie. it hardly qualifies as food, but it is cheap and filling.)
So many delicious bentos and onigiri, those cost like 200-500yen.
I hate living here in the States where all the convenient stores are pretty much worthless.
S Missions in Canada hipsters have turned everything into a contest of who can make the fanciest and most expensive food. So the idea of $1 for convenience store food or $12 for a decent meal is definitely cheaper than here where going to a mid-range restaurant is like $16 plus tip and tax
This is so nostalgic. I remember the struggle i had during the first few days of my 14day solo travel in your country last December.hahah! The plan was that as much as possible eat at those authentic local restos/eatery. Upon arriving i realized there were so many to choose from. I saw department stores, food shops at train stations, those building that have floors dedicated to restaurants, every street corners and boy i got overwhelmed. The worst, i was intimidated ‘cos aside from arigato and konnichiwa i knew nothing about your language. So many times i tried to enter one but the moment i see that customers inside were locals i just backed out. Haha. (i am very shy person and im still working on it now that i want to travel). I know the japanese are nice people but i just dont wanna embarrass myself. Most of the time i would end up getting konbini food or those fastfood chains that got english menu or machine operated for ordering/paying so i dont have to talk (food areare all oishi also btw so no complaining). Then on my 5th day i decided to try this small udon stall in Piss Alley, Kameya, i think. Oh the courage i had to pull to ask the chef because i know they only have 3 options on their menu. I asked in english and was so relieved that he smiled and responded in broken english and pointed out the difference of each selection. Haha i was so happy eating my soba because atlast i am eating fresh local authentic japanese food!
So my advice: Just go for it! Japanese people are nice so even if you dont know whats in the menu theyll be more than happy to help you. And all japanese food are OISHI so i think you can never go wrong!
Haha!
D Dai I just go in and if the menu have a photo, i choose whatever that looks delicious. If the menu really have only Japanese word, i ask simple questions to see what it is. However i am good at recognising a few japanese food words. Maybe anyone that planned to go should learn a few words so that even if you can't speak japanese but at least you can understand what they are saying.
I made the experience that one little japanese sentence can help you enormously: Eigo ga wakarimasu ka. Every time we walked up to any counter anywhere in Japan, we said:
Konnichiwa, Eigo ga wakarimasu ka?
Almost every single time the staff was so helpful to get one of the colleagues who was able to understand and speak english.
And the view times there wasn't any, sign language was perfectly helpful.
Lord Stummelchen eigo ga wakarimasu ka or 英語は分かりますか just tells them you understand english
you can say nihongo ga wakarimasen or 日本語が分かりません instead to tell them you dont understand japanese
@@captainkencel1557 Nope. Cause of the ka at the end, it says, it is a question. So the people in front of me know that I wanna know if they understand english.
to tell them that I understand English I would have to leave the ka away. Eigo ga wakarimasu. and to say I don' undertand put sen at the end. so Eigo ga wakarimasen. With that you were correct.
I learnt a few basic words, and it helped so much. They laughed at me, but in a good way. 😆
I born in Okinawa Japan, since when I was baby 👶 I grown up in Hong Kong, Now I'm 49 years old, my nationality is Japan, I never live in Japan and I don't know how to speak Japanese, so this is the time I must move to Japan and live there 😊
Well this was randomly informative... I LIKE IT
What do you mean by "randomly"? Didn't you click on this video because you wanted to know about this stuff a bit more?
I came across this video randomly too. It was informative and I would love to have the chance to visit and try new things. :)
It's pretty improbable that one would end up hungry in a foreign country because of a language barrier.
At least if you don't have any allergies. Could be a bit more difficult with them.
Well if you have them find the native words for those allergies.
You only need a few sentences.
We can't always expect the host to speak our own tongue.
With shy people its a different story. You can hardly order food from people who speak your language, imagine what a nightmare it would be to order something from Japan with no japanese whatsoever
@@kalechang4453 as a shy person it is true.. i went hong kong and even everyone can speak english i feel shy.. next week i am going to japan and im sooo nervous but this video made me feel a little bit better. i really dont want to just eat convenience store food...
True. It's not so much an issue of being able to find food to eat as it is is to find the food that you were hoping to eat haha
God I wish I can go to Japan one day. Seems like my kinda country.
I am so in love with the entire series about Japan! Thank you very much for bringing the culture, the society and the life there to our homes!
I live out in Saitama. If I have trouble translating a menu and there are no displays/pictures/English. Sometimes a kind worker or other patron will speak into the Google translate app and that works better than just translating it. They will also sometimes just bring me something they'll think I'll like, especially if I've been there before. As long as you are kind and respectful, most people will respond the same way.
as anywhere else in the world. nobody likes douchebags :)
How is Saitama anyways?
Depends on where you are. I live past Omiya, so it's very residential and quite. The people are generally very friendly.
Very true, but it bears repeating. It's hard to break cultural norms, which would be to not ask for help, but in this instance they often will. Often someone is just looking for a chance to engage with me, but they don't want to be rude, so this gives a chance, too.
It also helps when they know you are a customer trying to give them money at the end of the process, lol.
I know Chinese so reading kanji is not a problem at all, other than that I know zero Japanese. However, I do find that the Japanese like to translate English words into the Japanese alphabet, so by just using a hiragana/katakana to romanji chart, I can match the sounds from to see if it means something in English. For example, I once ordered a beef tongue skewer, but there is no kanji nor English, and google translate basically gave me gibberish, but from the conversion charts it roughly translates into tun-gu which is kind of useful albeit time consuming. Not the best tip, but you can certainly use it as a last resort if all else fails.
yeah, learning hiragana and katakana is definitely the way to start if you want to have any chance of reading menus
You could download an app, there are many translators, just for a start
I have to go to japan before i die GOD!❤
Alexis Moreno same
Going there next summer and so far no japanese and I was pretty worried cuz I didnt thing they'd understand english or spanish lol but after seeing this Im a bit relieved 😂
Japan is beautiful and American's do quite well in their cities. But if you are squeamish or arrogant about differences in cultures, you will be miserable if you travel into the countryside or into the back alley food ways. Be prepared to see things you have never seen before...do not take American expectations, just embrace the differences!
@ sortathesame You talk as if American cultures are superior to those of the Japanese. Also, have you yourself been to the countryside or back alleys to try their food there? They still serve healthy, whole-heartedly prepared and elegantly presented dishes as compared to American oily junk food served by rude and uninterested staff. Japanese are superior to Americans in the terms of food preparation ethics. In the US, you don't know what your burgers, hotdogs, chicken nuggets, etc. are actually made of and if they have been prepared in a hygiene way in the kitchen.
ktkska 888 , Are you actually trying to say that American's will find nothing different about the food in Japan? Of course they will! Which is why I suggested they keep an open mind and leave their critical judgement's at home! I LOVE Japan and find them to be wonderful hosts. And since I live in the US, I know exactly what our fast food junk is doing to us. No where in my comment did I say anything negative about Japan or their food. I stated that it is different than what American's can expect and if they want what they are familiar with they need to stay away from the type of places that a native might visit. And my opinion is based on being an American who had limited experience with finding chicken heads and feet mixed in with my noodles when I ordered in a restaurant! BTW, the soup was delicious, but I know of many American's who would have whined and complained and never eaten out in Japan again!
"Easiest way to find food is to open your eyes"
Blind people: 🤔
That blows my esophagus 😂
The best comment ever
Bruh 😂
Not anymore. They have iPhones lol
Could be helpful that menus are 'kanji'-heavy. I don't know any japanese but i tell visitors to china that if they get a menu with no pictures there's some tricks that help them identify some types of foods (although i think people should be adventurous and just choose random things anyway...)
If you see 月 on the left side of a character, it probably is some kind of organ -- 肚 stomach 肝 liver 脑 brain 肫 gizzard (don't knock the brain till you've tried 蒜蓉脑花 -- barbequed brains smothered in garlic... mmmmm!)
虫 indicates bugs or more likely seafood (same thing, though, really) -- 虾 shrimp 螃蟹 crab 蝉 cicadas (look disgusting but SO DELICIOUS! Try them if you never have!)
The left side of 猪 (pork) is usually some mammal, but not the basic meats, as beef 牛 and lamb 羊 have their own character so you might actually be ordering dog 狗 or something... but more likely just a hot dog. I can't think of other mammals you'd see on a typical menu.
What else, the tops of 菜苔 is for vegetables. 鱼 as seen in 鲍 or the like is fish, and 鸟 like 鸭/鸡 is a bird.
But again, if you're in a different country, my policy is to go random. If you're a picky eater or worried about accidentally getting something 'weird' then you can always go to kfc/mcdonalds.
I'm not an adventurous eater.
I'm a super picky eater, so you final sentence sums up exactly what I'd do if I were ever to visit Japan.
Oh, boo! I do like mcdonald's every once in a while, but there's just so much good food in the world. I'm the opposite for sure, even if i don't like something much, i force myself to try and get used to it. Stinky tofu is one... it's not *that* bad, but i wasn't a fan until i forced myself for a few weeks every time i saw it on the street i'd buy a small bowl.
I don't know about japan, but in china when you go to a restaurant the group orders and eats all the food together (i mean people don't order their own dishes, but agree to a few communal ones), so a picky eater will limit the entire party's choices. That's one reason i've forced myself to tolerate some things here, if i'm out with some people and they want to eat 'bitter-melon' with pork, i want to be able to at least have a few bites.
Are your eating preferences different when stoned? I'd have thought smokers were usually more adventurous eaters, but i could see not being willing to scarf down some brains or entrails when high.
Well I sure don't want to limit everyones communal choices, soooo, I'll just order my own dish and everyone else can do the communal thing. Also I don't force myself to eat anything especially something called stinky tofu. Nope!!!
I'm sure everyone seeing me gag and throw up will set a positive mood for the communal eating thing.
And NO my eating choices aren't any different when I'm stoned.
Your thoughts on smokers being more adventurous eaters is completely wrong.
When I travel I'm there to see the sights, not to try freaky foods.
I don't care about the food of the world, I just want to eat what I know I like, period.
Fair enough, there's no accounting for taste. When i get high i'm drawn to weird foods, or weird combinations, like a pregnant woman. The communal eating thing though, at least in china, is so ingrained they don't even get the concept that in western countries people just order for themselves. I mean of course they understand it but it seems radical. I've gotten so used to it here it's even begun to strike me as kind of strange. Even eating with other americans we do it chinese style. When in rome...
I’m probably not gonna be visiting Japan anytime soon but i’m thinking about writing these down to a small notebook
Thank you so much!
I told this to a friend of mine who visited Japan recently for the first time. Some subway stations do not have an English map, so if you are ever confused how much to pay for a ticket (assuming you know what line you need to take) simply buy the cheapest ticket and when in you're in the actual train there will be an English map. When you get off on your stop go the fare adjustment machine and pay the difference before exiting the station. Or simply buy a Suica card to avoid that.
"Live ball, warm ball"... yeah, that was once offered to me as a young man in San Francisco, I knew enough to walk away!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💚
I was alone in Japan for 2 days before being able to meet up with my Japanese friend and I was able to get by using Google Translate! I was able to ask locals questions and translate menus/packages using my phone camera. Anyone I asked for help from using the translate app was super kind and helpful!
The first time I visited Japan was in 2014 with my classmate. it was not that hard to order food at restaurant in Japan, simply because the list of the menu is attached with pictures and people there are very helpful.
Oh ya, because I am Muslim residing in Indonesia, I don't eat pork, so the first time I need to remember was how to say pork in Japanese which is Buta Niku. So I keep the words in my head and always ask it to the resto employee every time I order food telling them " I dont eat ButaNiku" then they would pick the one of the food on menu that has no pork inside.
Also, I dont like heavy meal on my breakfast, so I always bought Onigiri at local mini mart. Since it's quite hard to remember kanji for "Buta" I just asked man/woman on the cashier whether the Onigiri has pork inside. :) I like being in Japan, I hope i can visit Japan again. :)
The best tip I can give is to point at what you want and also try to ask for help , you will be surprised how friendly Japanese people are, they always tried to help me even when I didn't understand , one lady asked me where I was from to know my native language then used her phone to translate from Spanish to Japanese 😁😁
6:37A proper way to eat soba (buckwheat) noodles in Japan is to put some or all of the wasabi and the shredded spring onion (in a small container on the left) in the bowl of dipping sauce, if you want to, HOLD the bowl in one hand, dip some noodles in the dipping sauce, and... SLURP up the noodles (probably the most difficult part for non-Japanese people). Shichiji is usually sprinkled over HOT noodles, not COLD noodles.
Well, of course, you can eat soba noodles in any way you like.
Good tip with the "kore onegaishisamu" when pointing to a menu, I would use that all the time, or if the menu wasnt infront of me and I knew the name of the dish I would say for example "chicken katsu onegaishisamu". Once I remember trying to ask for the bill but they brought me a beer instead, still worked out, who could say no to a beer. I miss Japan!
If you can learn hiragana and katakana before visiting it helps a lot when ordering as you can just read out the name to the staff and they will know what you want even if you don't know what the word means or even if you're not able to pronounce them correctly.
hachimaki there's a lot of kanji though. You would need to know some of that too.
I´m from Brazil and I visit Tokio in 2017, great experience, I know just a few words in nihongo = japanese and was a great experience Nice people (the young people and the seniors too)and very polite. I love it.
I've been wanting to go to Japan for awhile now, people seem genuinely friendly 😃
Don't be too picky an eater, you won't always know 100% what it is you're eating. But the pictures pretty much everywhere will give you a pretty good idea, and even if they go full Japanese on you, you will still somehow manage by just nodding and smiling. As everyone's experience seems to be, the Japanese are generally very helpful. I remember standing in a station trying to figure out which exit I needed to take, and a random old lady just grabbed me by the elbow and took me along with her into the elevator, she took me outside, and brought me to a map, nodded smiled and then walked off. It was adorable.
A really good advice is honestly just to not worry!
Having been to Japan two times, I can say I was quite worried when I first arrived on my first trip there - also seeing as it was my first trip without my parents (or someone speaking English or Japanese for that matter). Only myself and my Danish girlfriend. I was scared that I couldn't get properly by with just English at the time, but in reality there were absolutely no problems anywhere - even places where they didn't speak Japanese!
TLDR don't worry, you'll be fine, Japanese staff are helpful :)
Tip/s (based on my personal experience)
When I came to Japan last year I have almost zero knowledge of nihongo (japanese language) so what I did to cope up with the environment especially buying food is observing the locals and listening to what they're saying, I studied basic nihongo and uses google translate to translate the words that are new to me and that's how it helped me slowly cope up with the environment
At a tix machine, order the number 1 since it'll be their most popular.
This video is really interesting. Its a ideal to visit Japan someday. In my opinion, the ideal is knowing something of japanese (of course), but if you don't speak you could find ways to order food. Like gaijin (foreigner) in Japan we can communicate with the people. Its a matter of attitude and enjoy our trip!
I like to recommend for anyone traveling abroad that they learn a few choice phrases in the local language:
"Do you speak English?"
"Do you have an English menu?"
"I am lost and can't speak (local language). Can you help?"
LOL I laughed when you showed us your google translate of the menu
Thank you for this video. My trip to Japan is due in May 2019 and I’ll stay for 22 days. I can hardly wait.
This is cool & interesting. I appreciate these types of videos :) 👍
I spent a few weeks in Japan and got by with only "Yes" and "thank you very much". Most people who took my order didn't speak any English, but they seemed to understand at least the basics. What made it really easy was the fact that everyone who took my order went out of their way to make sure both they and I understood what I was ordering. That whole country gets an S+ for customer service.
This taught me quite a bit, keep making these types of video, I love them. Great job, thanks to your kids for helping and I know that your wife is a huge help with the editing. You two have great skills and a fantastic view of what interesting to know around the city.
conbini clerk: 温めますか?
guy who speaks zero Japanese: ummmm?!?!?!?!!?! *panic attack*
speaking is not really a problem since anime based language skill can take care of that, but reading kanji is a whole nother level...
Indeed. I have created a special bowing/nodding dance to entrance my clerks in a false sense of understanding while i quickly call for my japanese speaking wife to deal with the talking... its not very effective :(
*anxiety kicks in*
tried it once hahah i pointed outside lol i thought the clerk was asking if it was for takeout hahah
This is How to order food in Japan for a gaijin, i was thinking more in a survival situation with no money.
Tedd I thought it would be that at first too.
Same. I was so ready for some serious Bear Grylls type survival tips 😂😩
Yea haha
FamilyMart and 7-Eleven are cheap and no tax. You really don't need a lot of money to travel Japan. The food quality is far better than frozen dinner in the US because those are made daily and many Japanese buy them for dinner.
Tedd you know that thats relly racist?
Went to a back alley restaurant once and their menu was all in Japanese with no picture. Had to take the grandma outside and point at the display. 😂😂
Ouch, that must be hard. I really do need to make sure that when I do go to Jaoan for the first time that I actually have some Japanese language skills, or at the very least have a 'good' app with me. LOL