Lived in Japan for 4 months during a university exchange program. I got laid 42 times with 42 different girls in that time. Japanese girls are all about foreigners, and particularly white foreigners. Gave a few of them my herpes but that's their problem now.
I love watching movies. I very much like watching foreign films as well. My favorite (modern) Japanese movie is Kikuchiro, starring Takeshi Kitano. Just saying, I have learned of Japan alternative to anime. I love Anaki too. But is that too American to be called a Japanese film? Samurai Fiction is awesome too! My #1 favorite all-time Japanese movie is Seven Samurai. Nothing will remove this movie from #1 spot! It is an epic that showed every film maker how it's done! It doesn't have to be about samurai for me to like it. But others I could mention are The Devils Claw; The Hidden Blade; Chusingura (watch this instead of Akira Kurasawa's 47 Ronin, and pair it with The Hidden Blade.) Blade Of The Immortal was a very good adaptation. The Hidden Fortress, classic! Yojimbo, classic! Watch anything with Toshirô Mifune one of the world's greatest actors of all time!!
The hardest part for me, I lived in Japan for 8 years, was that people are not open…they hide their true feelings and you never really know where you stand. Many things in Japan are wonderful, but since human relationships are the most important part of life I think foreigners struggle.
Tatemae will eventually drive most foreigners in japan insane. I was in japan a few times. I had common japanese phrases ringing in my head for a few days after I left because these phrases are constantly repeated by everyone. Felt like a broken record in my head. With that been said, I like many aspects of Japan and I will be back again for holiday but never to live.
Even native Japanese like me suffer from how to have a strong connection with them. Superficially they seem open but I don't even know the true feelings they have. I mean It's not only your problem.😅
@@tsdfghjkl This is a joke, right? Suppressing your true feelings/opinion is so normalized, people who are in discomfort or in need can not even express themselves, or maybe they don’t even know how. I love japan, I was born and raised here, but it sure has this twisted, fucked up side of it. Don’t be triggered and act like the Tatemae is a beautiful thing, we all know you go home and talk shit about everyone that you didn’t agree with. Don’t you think that’s unhealthy/toxic? Real human communication is not suppressing your self and saying “either is fine”, it’s “agree to disagree” and moving on, or compromise and find a mutual ground. That being said, I think it’s we japanese people that needs to learn from other countries, to once and finally “stand up for yourself”.
I just recently visited Japan for the first time, staying in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. Every day, westerners gravitated to my wife and I for conversation. Many of them have been living in Japan for 10+ years. The social isolation they feel was obvious.
This is very true. I live in Japan but I learned before moving about the isolation. There are many places that have meetups where people with similar goals come to meet with others, this is one solid option. Another option that allowed me not to be isolated was joining a club, for me, Karate helped me a lot. Made a lot of friends in different prefectures. The hardest part is to start by attempting to check out clubs or meetups.
Business traveller (20 + short trips) ...the expats gravitate to us for conversation .. maybe its the "new kid in town" phenomenon but I feel their boredom and loneliness
So y'all gringos don't do Japanese things? Like, do you not go to meet ups to meet people? For example, learning a traditional art, watching sumo, doing martial arts. I live in America and go to martial arts if I can 4-6 times a week. That can take all my free time.
You can feel his pain. That's how I felt when I was there. To have dedicated massive amounts of time to learning the language, to love a country SO much and to love it's people too, but without reciprocation. You'll never be in the club, and always kept at a distance. Almost like there's no point in being enthusiastic or hopeful.
I live in a neighborhood where the people here simply dont care about others. If your not one of them, they will act scared, women will shun you, etc. That said, its a nice neighborhood and peace of mind, and otherwise a really good neighborhood. That's how i think about Tokyo. Great place, but dont expect to be super integrated. It is possible to have plenty of friends and meet great people though. I consider it just another place to live and learn new stuff, and then definitely combat its very real downfalls.
Yes I have been in Japan 28 years and there is so much passive discrimination here. It sucks the motivation to improve my Japanese speaking ability right out of me. Like the two people who got their N1 told me -“why did it bother getting N1…nobody ever talks to me” Yep 👍
@@shizuokaBLUES I hear all you guys stories and I feel your pain. my plan for Japan I'm keeping in a very limited scope. even just being there several times, at least for me it is very punishing when you feel alone and there's thousands of people around you literally and you just want somebody to talk to or your friends are not available and it is very difficult to randomly meet somebody... and then the language barrier hits you hard. With all the factors included like what area you're in or what are your activities, it's either somewhat doable or nearly impossible. So what I plan to do is have Tokyo be my new home, but I will immediately start trying to travel as much as possible or go so hard socially until I have a large group and multiple options around me no matter how long it takes.. feeling lonely in a place like Tokyo is amazingly awful. I have no issue with Japanese women, I have plenty of Japanese female friends, but they can also be the absolute worst. most of the Japanese women that I know is actually from the states or was due to a direct introduction. I love Tokyo and many things about Japanese culture, but we all know there are some serious roadblocks.
“Why are you leaving?” “So I can lose this look of impending doom and fear in my eyes” That girl from Korea will do so much better when she goes back home, good luck to her and her new business.
@@luisbendezu6372she looked miserable and unhappy. Didn’t find anyone she could click with and met a wall when trying to better her life. For he, Japan was a polite prison.
Yeah especially because her reason wasn’t… real? Like all she had to do was switch her visa. Lots of people start businesses 2-3 years after initially working at combinis and going to language school.
I have lived here for 8 years, own a house, and have a Japanese wife. There's really two kinds of foreigners who live here: Ones who want to live their life like they did in their home country while still living in Japan, and ones who accept and understand Japanese culture, the do's and don'ts, and find their place within Japanese society. As a gaijin, you will ALWAYS be a gaijin no matter what. So if you can accept this, it honestly becomes very easy to live here. My advice for people who want to move to Japan and want to stay a long time would be one, whatever you do, at all costs, avoid working for a Japanese company as best you can. This is probably one of the hardest things for foreigners to do, as we all need money to survive and getting a job with a company is the easiest way to do that. Starting your own business or working for a close friend/spouses business is the best solution in my opinion. Japanese work culture is probably one of the worst things about Japan, so whatever you do, avoid working at a Japanese company, or if you can't don't stay at one for long and look for a way to support yourself. Second piece of advice would be to live in the countryside. Japanese cities are crowded, busy, and expensive, while the countryside is essentially the opposite. You will also find some of the friendliest and most welcoming people in all of Japan out in the countryside. Again, I've lived here for 8 years, and because I don't work for a Japanese company and I live in the countryside, I could never EVER see myself leaving. I love living here soo much and feel very very lucky to be able to happily live here.
Just came back from my Japan trip, and fantasizing about living in Japan. This video is a good reality check that traveling vs living are two very different things. Thank you for this video!
I have visited Japan for over a decade and loved it. This year went there to stay for at least 2 months to see if I’d actually like to live there for a while. I didn’t. Maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s my free spirit. But I came back certain I wouldn’t like to actually live there.
Good job, Takashii-san. I'm originally from the US but I've lived in Japan now for over 34 years altogether - almost half my life. I plan to stay. But I enjoy listening to other foreigners and hear their reactions to Japan. It reminds me of the time I first came, way back in 1978! And, yes, you need to learn Japanese, just like in staying in any other country!
I’ve been living here in Japan for 4 years and 2 months now. My contract is about to end in 5 months and I decided not to extend anymore for the reason that the work is physically tiring and I’m kinda worried about my health in the future. This is my second job since I came here and I kinda realized that jobs for trainee foreigners are physically tough. But when my Shachou finally asked me about my extension, it finally hit me. I’ve been dreaming of living in this country since I was in HS and I’ve been learning Japanese since College. It’s so hard to let go of the comfortable lifestyle here. Japan taught me how to be comfortable going out alone, eating at the restaurant alone, enjoy my own company and discover things about myself that I never knew. But at the same time my mental health got worse. When you got so much time being alone, you think about unnecessary stuff and overthink about the future. But cheers to us foreigners for always finding beauty and positivity even when life gets rough 🎉
It's one thing I wish to experience if I get to travel to Japan, from what I've seen, it really seems to be a great place to just hangout outside, walk to parks and see festivals. I know my vision is biased because of animes. But, I've got a friend who's currently there and he really can appreciate exploring outside and visit. Maybe it's because we grew up there, but in our country, hanging out outside (mainly alone) isn't as fun, or as safe. You're lucky if you live somewhere where the view isn't bad. I'm sure, a lot of it has to do with the fact that I have a dreamy vision of Japan but, I'm sure it's partially real. But I realize too I could probably never live there because, a lot of things that are part of the japanese life style and culture wouldn't work with me. Even though I'm an introvert, I would suffer from being too isolated, and even though I like the culture of respect, I dispise the culture of not expressing ourselves as much as we need to. And obvisouly, the work culture, being waaay more chill where I live, free time is too important for me.
Wait I‘m confused, if you went to college and are close to retirement, how are you a trainee? Foreign trainees in Japan are young blue collar workers from deceloping Asian countries who work in Japan for a limited time (5 years maximum) and then return to their home country. They are not permanent immigrants, therefore they can‘t receive pension. Also, no company would hire someone close to retirement as a trainee anyway. And why would you do a physically though blue collar job if you went to university? This is the first time I heard about something like this.
@@mojabaka I apologize for the confusion. Cos my shachou used the word 退職 (taishoku) which means retirement but it says u can use this word when quitting a job. I’m still 28 yrs old. When I came here I was under TITP visa (3 yrs) then now, ssw. I have the option to extend up to 5 more years. Although I can change jobs, it would still fall under the category Industrial Packaging (physically tiring any company u go huhu). Unless I take the pro-metric exam to change my skill but I don’t have the energy to do that haha and my japanese skill? Even tho I said I’ve been studying since college, my JLPT level is still at N3 but really tho, my conversational skill and kanji is still at N4. I’ve got so much time to study but too tired and unmotivated. It’s ironic how I was better at studying in Japanese and my japanese was better back when I was in my country than coming here in Japan.
@@jonas8993 well, you can read thousands of things that people post about their experiences living here but it would still be different if you experience it yourself. But in the end, it will still be “Heaven for tourists, Hell for workers” 😅
@@pyodesu Yeah I see... I guess the only thing to do is make the most of what we can have and chose to do and to go where we feel like :) Sometimes I'm overthinking, possibilities of careers, places to go, life conditions ^^
It's hard living in Japan. I'm half japanese living in Japan and it's tremendously hard to live here without getting any of your identity changed based on people's judgement. I'm never fully accepted here despite my Japanese nationality. People seem to care so much about "my other half" and they completely forget my other half is actually japanese
All sympathy tough I look Japanese and still treated differently. I recommend you to travel, and/or tour around your own city. Japanese are more opened to strangers, which is strange, but that's how they are, and I feel rather relieved than my daily life.
Even if your parents are Japanese, but you grew up overseas. The Japanese people also think you are foreigners, Some Japanese people have told me that, so, they said they don’t want to be friends with local Japanese people. I’m a foreigner in Japan, I totally understand your feelings. So, I think I will leave Japan one day.
My filipino cousin is half Japanese, lives in Japan. People always seemed to treat him fairү until thеү ⵏеаⲅn he's not full Japanese that's when people start to get awfuⵏ ⵜо him. Same in korea and china.. thеsе соuntⲅiеs аⲅе so сⵏоsеd minded
Completely agreed with you I’m also half Japanese half Mexican but even my Japanese family see my Mexican side. Never felt like part of my Japanese family.
@@baeber well I’ve left another lengthy comment here, so I’m just gonna copy past it, if you don’t mind. I lived in China for 5 years and I loved being an outsider in general! However it was not comfortable for work relations or business communication. BUT people have to admit that they get to enjoy a big chunk of culture and lifestyle without being bound by social rules that don’t apply to foreigners (like having family or a certain status for example). Most of these things are a heavy weight on an actual Asian that has to fall into a certain category and find a place in a world. There are prons and cons to this. Now being back in my homeland I kind of hate being involved in so much social things. I don’t wanna care about politics for example. Living in China I did not care about it cause I was a guest and it was not for me to judge or decide anything. I enjoyed not being drugged down into social dilemmas and could just continue my peaceful life. I also enjoyed being avoided sometimes in a public transport, but it was only sometimes. Most inconvenience was brought to me at a work place but there is still way to get around it and get comfortable even In there superficial weird environment. Of course there is a big difference between Japanese and Chinese people. With Chinese person, you still being a foreigner, can make a genuine connection on a deep level and they will invite you to family gatherings etc. with Japanese, as I heard, not my experience, it’s very hard and almost impossible (however I do think it’s just coming from Americans, as an Eastern European person it’s just takes more effort and actual actions to form a connection rather than just talk “nice” things all the time) So I do think people complaining about how they perceive as foreigners are a bit privileged and don’t really realize that.
I know a lot of younger japanese people don't want to keep sticking with japan's indirect culture, but if nobody speaks up, nothing is going to change. I understand respecting your elders, but japanese culture takes it to like a feudal level.
*_I'm half-japanese and I lived and worked in Japan for 5 years from 2005 to 2010... then I left Japan and went back to Philippines for good because of severe sadness that I felt in the last few months of my stay in Japan. It's so hard to meet someone that you can socialize with consistently._*
I agree! I lived in Japan for 6 months as an exchange student. I think if it wasn't for my foreign friends and classmates everything would have been so lonely and even when I got them sometimes I felt so sad I can't explain why.
Might be unfitting here, but I am an exactly opposite case, being "ethnically" Japanese, having japanese nationality and being born there, but I lived most of my life in Germany. When I am in Japan I often feel as if the Japanese expect me to be "normal", which I can't be (Different culture, customs and so on) so they get confused/weirded out and distance themselves from me. That is the case even though I speak Japanese fluently and without accent, so it isn't a problem of the language, but of things like my body language. I think Japanese people are very strict to fellow japanese and expect one to be 100% conforming to the norm. They do not realize why I cannot fulfill their expectations, and sadly I feel they are not forgiving whatsoever. Also, I never got along with the ambiguous, "never talking about what they think" mindset Japanese have. For the reason that you never know what they think (you are not allowed to speak out what you think) and only showing "friendliness" to hide your true opinion, I feel very uncomfortable around Japanese. I tend to avoid them even though I am technically "one of them", but I always felt isolated. I think it is a nice country if you can fit in the society, but for me, that is sadly not the case. I really like Japan as a visitor, but I just can not get along with the way the society is.
Interesting, I have the same feeling but with france. I grew up in france and speak it fluently with no accent, exactly like a native. But my parents are english and i'm also autistic so I never learned the customs and body language and attitudes, I never learned my place in short. If I had an accent I think people would be ok with it, but since I sound like a native I constantly get punished for not meeting the same standards as natives.
When I first came to Japan as a master’s degree student, I tried to speak Japanese with new friends, but they didn’t make any effort to understand what I was trying to communicate. Instead, they got up from their seats and walked away, leaving me alone. Honestly, this left me with a very negative first impression of what living in Japan for the next two years might be like. As a foreigner, I agree that if you can’t speak Japanese, you may be treated differently. I will graduate in 22 days and then return to my home country, Thailand. From the first day until now, I haven't made any Japanese friends because I was afraid they might treat me the same way. The only person I spoke with was my academic professor, discussing both academic research and the challenges I faced while staying here. He understood what I went through. Even though I have now achieved the N2 level in Japanese, I have decided to return to my home country because I fear that living in Japan may not meet my expectations, as well as my interactions and relationships with locals here.
I'm a foreigner whose lived in Japan for 8 months now and will be leaving in 4. Let me just echo what many people in this video said: if you are planning to live in Japan, LEARN JAPANESE. I say that as someone that didn't, and my experience here has been incredibly isolating. Personally, i'm introverted and its mostly been fine, but it does get lonely and difficult at times. I know others that knew even just enough japanese to have basic exchanges with people, and their experience living here is vastly different/more fun than mine because of it. Edit (because there is confusion): Firstly, I DO speak some japanese, it’s elementary but I can get around on a daily basis just fine. Moreover, when I say “learn Japanese” I mean learn to be conversationally fluent, if you plan to live here long term (3+years) I have met foreigners that have been living here for 5+ years and know less Japanese than me, but they’re fine. This is just my opinion on the matter from someone that has first hand experience.
I am in the same boat. But it’s a chicken egg situation right? I’ve been here about 8 mos. and my experience has been sort of negative. So I don’t see myself staying long and therefore don’t see the benefit of making the investment to learn the language.
I agree. I am a university student in Japan, but my program is in English. I think although I can attend my class in English, it is definitely necessary to learn Japanese, because I am facing a lot of difficulties in my social and mental aspects without Japanese. Visiting for a short while is wholly different from staying for a long time.
@@tokyoNeedleDrop Understandable. Personally, I've since learned a decent amount of the language & kanji given the time, and plan to continue, but that's more because I've made it a personal goal of mine after my experience here
I hung out with Japanese friends and I had the best time ever with them in Japan. Because they taught me how to enjoy life in Japan. I’m French, Being able to express myself in Japanese to make jokes in western way and being understood, I could finally be myself.
You’ve really developed as a interviewer and RUclipsr. You seem more comfortable in-front of the camera and seem more confident when your speaking with these people. Good Job
As a foreigner in Japan who is from another Asian country, I totally agree with the first Korean woman. I’ve been in Japan for years and speak Japanese. However, I nearly have given up on being real friends with Japanese, unless they lived abroad or speak foreign languages well. As some people said in this video, Japanese people always think you are a foreigner, and judge your Japanese level, and they hide their real thoughts to keep their politeness on the surface. Some of my friends lived in Japan for a decade and they all have left Japan, we have such feelings that most Japanese are too fake to communicate with. If I get a chance to move to a Western country, I’ll leave Japan. Visiting Japan as tourists, it would be great; but working in Japan for a long time as foreigners. NO!
The thing is, I hope you find somewhere nice, but a LOT of countries it is difficult to make friends in once you are an Adult. I am a New Zealander. I lived away from New Zealand from 20 to 29 years old. When I came back, to my birth city even, I found it almost impossible to make any new friends. I gave up trying years ago.
I couldn't agree with you more, but it seems to me that only Asians are subjected to this kind of judgment. We are supposed to speak Japanese flawlessly.
I love how learning a new language makes you almost create a new persona, great example is the Swedish guy, his mannnerism's and tone changed when he started speaking Japanese. It could also be that he is slightly embarrased to speak, but I've noticed the reservation and politeness that comes with just speaking the Japanese language, it's fascinating to me.
Its scientifically proven that we have a different character with each language. Different thought connections, different context. Lol sounds like different operating systems are installed
@@nutzeeer well they kind of are. In your mother tongue you'll probably always know more idioms and slang words used in your region than with your second language. That alone can make your speech, even when translated word for word, totally different than if you'd spoken in your second language from the get go
Ever ask yourself, why would you need to learn Japanese in a culture that seems to want to learn English? I went to Japan and learned the reason. The reason is foreigners are not acceptable to Japanese at all and you have to learn it. Alot of lies here but I decided not to learn it and sold my 1k worth of books. Iam not integrating with a culture that only seeks to dominate mine and there is no quid pro quo with them.
He is not shy or insecure, it's part of really immersing yourself into a language. You can speak it by words, or you adapt your mannerism to completely fit in. Japanese people for example tend to do a lot of sound-driven conversationing, while your opponent talks you constantly nod and make noises assuring your opposite you're listening and following. It's what makes you blend in with the crowd instead of looking like a foreigner that learned the language.
I heard a similar thing from a guy I chatted for a few minutes years ago. He was an American guy who worked and lived in Japan for a total of 15 years. He also married a Japanese lady, had kids. He said "You are always like a permanent visitor or a guest, and can never fully integrate into the society". I imagine, that "permanent outsider" feel and treatment would affect a lot of people who wanted to live there permanently.
Trust me it is better than minorities that get treated in white nations. I live in England and white folks treat minorities like shit and there is a lot of institutional racism.
I stayed in Japan for 6yrs, worked as a graphic artist designer in big corpo. I can speak fluently Japanese language, but even that I never felt comfortable in this country. I’m an Australian, where the people very open and friendly so was very hard for me to make any relation or find any friends. I found Japanese people as a very hermetically sealed. It’s a good country to visit, but not for living. I returned to Australia to completely different lifestyle. Do I have any intention to come back ? No, I don’t think so.
The Japanese may be closed off and unable to form meaningful deep relationships with. They may or may not be closet racists, but at the very least they keep to themselves. Compared that to drunk or just disgruntled white Aussies who adaciously racially abuse people of Asian origins on the streets. Happens all the time. In the "civilised" part of Australian society (e.g. workplace/corporate world) people are nice on surface but pretentious and insincere.
The Japanese will be able to stay unique as a result of the things you described. The Western nations are losing their culture and unique identity due to globalist forced agendas. I miss having a distinct identity.
I think this video did a great service to everyone. I am not planning to go to Japan, but I learned a lot about the interpersonal relationships about the Japanese culture. Of course not everything. You helped people to learn how to better enjoy Japan and you helped any Japanese people who care to learn, how to be more receptive to foreigners, which I think there are not many. The biggest part i will take away is, " You will never be Japanese." I think that is sad. I know that it's not everyone in Japan, but it seems that it's enough that it made one woman mention it who is Japanese. That says volumes to me. Basically it says, be like us when you come here, but you will never be one of us. Basically not very welcoming. It has changed my whole opinion of Japan. Which is good. Because I am one of the people that over romanticized Japan. 🙏
Thanks for this video. This is so real. It sets me back to 1997, had the same experience. Lived in Saitama. Bank, relationships, working environment. Was fluent in japanese and decided to settle in south korea in 2008 instead. Had the great living experience in SK and could visit and go skiing in Japan whenever I wanted. Quit Korea for family reasons and law changes in 2014 and still miss it.
The you'll never be Japanese hits hard and is true. I remember forcing myself to lower my Japanese speaking level to be the good gaijin to hang out with. As soon as they understand you actually get what people are whispering or say behind your back it creates a wall.
One of my teachers in my junior high school has recently moved to Japan. When I reached out to her, she said, "Japan is a very nice country if you're going here for a vacation, but if you are going to live here, well that's another story." But still, I am glad that she got by and is starting a family there with her husband. What I like about this video is that you are exploring both sides; the good and the bad. Great video, Takashi san! 素晴らしい! ✌
as a Japanese I think many foreign countries are the same to me, America, UK, Australia, Malaysia. It is nice to go for a vacation but after working there for a while it is all different. if hearing profanities isn't a problem the first thing in the mornings, people are less nicer when your novelty value runs out. even got robbed by a neighbor thereafter, reason being the perception that Japanese people are rich! but after living abroad in 7 different societies for 20 odd years I guess it is the same everywhere for many foreigners. especially when the culture is different, especially when u dont speak their language and spent some time diving into the norms of every society as deep as u can. what is ok to you cam be rather terrible to some, whats routine to my culture might be horrifying to you. some ppl really took offense of any culture which is different, lets accept that. but little do anyone realize; NOBODY OWE ANYONE ANYTHING. People like to talk as if the world owes them the very moment they are born.
@@MrNajibrazak Yeah man the worst is when your background, which you may not even give a shit about yourself, causes you to get robbed or shat on by other people Thanks for your anectdote it's interesting : D
As a Japanese, we are introvert also me,when I went to Philippines everyone was friendly and spoke to me. That’s courageous acting to talk with strangers for Japanese. Especially, Tokyo has the coldest mind.
TS 9:22 i would love it if you could interview that lady again and ask her if her experience in Australia was what she thought it would be. after 2 years there.
I ‘m Japanese, left Japan 10 years ago. As Korean lady had mentioned in the video, many of Japanese seek for very small happiness and can’t think of big future dream thing especially recently. As some people said this phenomenon as”Galapagos syndrome” or “lost 30 years after bubble economy”, I feel clear deterioration of Japanese is on going. Now Japan is becoming quite behind in terms of many kind of civilization such as IT, Electric Vehicle, governmental systems, unnecessary legal restrictions etc.,because of heavy conservatisms of all nations. Now, number of young students studying abroad became 1/20 comparing to that of 30 years ago. Now foreign tourists is increasing enormously in Japan mainly because of low Yen rate, and Japanese hospitality of OMOTENASHI, which is good thing for tourism. But Japanese peaceful conservatism which evoke people flock of blind sheep may negative for most of foreign habitants in a long run.
The Korean girl nailed it, if you don't have a clear goal, or a clear picture of what living in Japan actually is then you're gonna have your life drained. The advantage of foreigners is that they have a place to return, the locals don't have much of a choice, or they have a choice but I wouldn't recommend it.
not sure what she means by that. What goal? Most people go to experience a different culture, meet new people , try out new things, make some folding green while you are there. What more do you want ? You are not going to be running for Mayor or Governor of Tokyo, you won't be joining the Yakuza, you won't be starting up pachinko parlor or a ramen resturant. You literally have no political power as you cannot vote.
This isn't really a Japan exclusive thing. If you have no goals, then you struggle, and that's 90% of the population of native people to their country. And I seriously doubt anyone going to Japan doesn't have a goal. You can't just up sticks, get a visa with no reason, and start living there. Unless you're rich, maybe
@@user-qm7jw I studied and spoke Japanese. I thought that would help me break through but it didn’t. I also pretty much followed customs. I don’t have trouble in my own country making friends. I just figured Japanese people feel more comfortable with other Japanese people.
@@carolsakaguchi3739 it's not just in Japan. For example, when I was abroad in the United States, Americans hung out with other Americans, and international students hung out with other international students. I would say more than 90% were split between Americans and foreigners. And during a group presentation, all of them were Americans except me, but they didn't share some information with me. And when you go to the streets, even amongst Americans, whites were only with whites only, blacks were walking with blacks, Hispanics were hanging out with Hispanics. this is the reality, even in America, which is known as a melting pot of races.
I could identify with what the Swedish guy said about never being accepted / being treated differently. I speak Japanese fluently (have now been speaking for 25 years) with a pretty natural accent. My wife is Japanese. I'm very familiar and comfortable with culture, customs, etc. I'm submissive, polite, and 空気読める. Nevertheless, I always felt I am considered always as 外人 first and foremost instead of being a human being named Justin. I lived there 2005-2009, so things may have changed a little, but I left Japan in 2009 at the height of severe anxiety for being treated as an alien so much every day. Japanese have a real difficulty in getting past the color of my skin and look of my face as non-Japanese. It's a very serious mental block for Japanese, sadly.
> my wife is Japanese It's Good you're being mistreated. You're destroying what you love by mixing the two races together. Hopefully you will never have children because you'll rob them of their identity. This is why the Japanese give foreigners hard times because they want to preserve their cultural and ethnic identity. Those in the west mostly don't see it like this anymore because the governments promote ethnomasochism (the pleasure of destroying ones own people)
Funny, I was there the same amount of time and they say that young ones are easier. Older are more likely to know and understand English. Both sets don't want us English there. I for one will not go to a place I'm not wanted. Plenty of places will accept foreigners better.
@@memyself8043 Exactly. The American media presence is much higher than the English. If you're a European that's fluent in English to the point where you have no accent left, you're just statistically more likely to sound American. Why would you not?
I spent just under a year living in Japan back in 2009. I moved there on a spouse visa after my partner at the time left Australia to move back to her hometown (Himeji). I was essentially living with her and her family most of the year, and I worked in a small izakaya a friend of mine owned in Osaka. The big thing for me was pretty much what the Swedish guy was saying. Despite falling pretty comfortably into the culture, being fairly fluent in Japanese, and being in a long term relationship to a Japanese national, I always felt like I didn't belong. That's not to say I wasn't welcomed, but you'll always be an outsider, and usually treated as such. I'm sure it's improved over the past 14 years, but that's the big reason why we ended up moving back to Australia. Absolutely amazing place to visit though. I've always said, if you have any interest in travelling, Japan easily tops the list of must travel destinations.
I think the dynamics between Koreans and Japanese are already complicated so I’m sure it also affects dating 😂😂 it’s a fun topic maybe for a future vid!
When one of the guy was asked of this question” what do you not miss about japan”, and answered “being a foreigner”, it broke my heart. I’m a Japanese who lived in a foreign country for 7 years. And totally understand how it is to be seen as an outsider. btw, the country I stayed is Malaysia. I learnt their cultures, histories and languages before even moving there. Guess that wasn’t good enough
migration is in general not a good experience , I'm french , lived in the US and Brasil and since I had a choice, I came back home crawling. Leaving your culture is hard, trying to be accepted by another culture is hard, dealing with other people's flaws is harder than tolerating your own, if you have children it's very painful to accept that they will ose your culture and identity. That's why I think we should stop pushing this globalization. An experience in a foreign country is interesting but pushing people to move forever is very oversold. In the end I don't think it's a good thing.
@@backintimealwyn5736 as an american i apologize for our ignorance and racism but your leader much like ours is horrible i hope as future generations learn more about the world we can have a more peaceful country free from oppression and opening our borders
@@backintimealwyn5736 It seems only anglo-countries like US, UK, Australia, Canada, etc... have true multi-cultural societies. For all its faults, the Brits have been the best at setting up multicultural societies. Yes, I know we have issues, but our issues are ones of too much freedom and wealth. Countries like Japan are silly. They're a great place to visit, but why the F would you want to be Japanese? The work hours are long, your freedom/choices is limited because your ability to create wealth is limited, to climb the corporate ladder is next to impossible. Its all about nepotism over there. I agree with you about globalism but not for the same reason. Globalism is allowing the rich to get richer. The wealth gap between the ceo and janitor is getting ever wider.
thank you for these interveiws my son wants to do animation for a living. he loves anime and is almost brown belt in karate after 10 years. i want for him to study in a safe country where he can grow into adulthood without the fear of bad people while he studies towards his goals. we dont know any japanese yet. and i want to retire early also in a society that is clean and safe. he still has to learn how to cook and clean for himself cause his mother baby him to much. im thankful these interviews cause they shed new light on the difficulties we must overcome.
The same thing that attracts you to Japan - its alien and fascinating culture - will in the end push you out. I found a second home there, and the experience profoundly changed my life for the better.
That's not why I liked it, 32 years ago, I was hated in my society because I was a hikikomori. I found solace in video games, and I told myself I would one day go to Japan where I thought I belonged and become one of the first gaijin devs. Now I went there and I tested them against themselves in trying to make use of an abandoned office under the akiya program. I found that they are seriously racist and disappointed me in every way possible. They will not compromise even in the face of law or racism. They even hated my favorite decade (the 90s) because it didn't benefit their real estate bosses. Even though it cemented world love for them. They are selfish and self centered, and the politeness an consideration a facade. Now I only wish for the demise of their economy. I had to use shutoku jiko to obtain my land and I'll likely lose it due to their racist ignorance and greed. The amount of waste is incredible and they don't respect nature, mottainai.
@@leoninagaki3709 not Japan's demise as a country, just it's influence, because it lied to me for 30 years and I don't want what disease they have spreading to the rest of the world. As the asahi shimbun once said "it isn't the 80s no more and the dream of a Japanese future for the western world is dead". I never worked for a company, I sought to move one to Japan. It is sad how nationalist Japan is under the guise of preservation. America liked the blend of culture seen. In blade runner but mortified the selfish Japanese. Yet Japan still clings to the secret axis fueled idea of Japanese cultural dominance. It will never be, and blade runner was the best the future would have offered us both. Not good enough for Japanese ensures their own demise.
@@leoninagaki3709 generalising japan is a lot more acceptable than other countries as it is one of the least diverse and therefore his opinion makes sense
I lived in Tokyo for 2 years and loved my time there. I could visit Japan over and over again, it's always a treat to visit. But I don't think I could ever live in Japan long term again, especially now that I have a family.
As someone who’s been living in Japan for almost 3 years-and now thinking about leaving, here’s my opinion: As a background, I’m a PhD student who started off as a Master’s student in Japanese university. What I like: - Everything is so orderly and organized. You literally just have to “follow” any rules or regulations that are given to you, and other people are the same. You don’t have to worry about people breaking the rules that will causes you inconvenience. And this goes for almost everything small like throwing trash or something like driving. - It’s super clean. I have never been to anywhere cleaner than Japan-and I have been to more than 20+ countries - The nature and scenery is very pretty. All of the seasons in Japan offers an astonishing beauty, and you’ll find new places to visit everytime What I don’t like - Actually the sides of coins from the previous statement. Everything is too orderly and organized. People are not used to something different, and it’s very hard to voicing opinion in the environment where you’re supposed to “follow”. - Human relationships is very complicated. It is very hard to get above “surface level” of relationships here. People are very private and not used to being vulnerable. This is a very very lonely environment. -Working/Studying culture. This is no secret that people in Japan working and studying like crazy. And it’s true - Nomikai (drinking party) every celebration in Japan will almost always involves nomikai. And it’s not your typical drinking party. People who generally don’t drink (like me) will find it difficult to socialize because their social interactions based on drinking.
Advices from the Spanish girl were spot on. I really identify with them. Btw. Big thanks Takashi for talking about all those issues. I think this is very important to talk about it in an honest and open way - among foreigners and among Japanese as well. Understanding each other's point of view and cultural background is simply crucial for good social relationships.
Based on my personal experiences residing in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, I encountered the greatest challenges in Japan. Without proficiency in Japanese and an understanding of their cultural intricacies, one easily feels like an outsider. In contrast, both South Korea and Taiwan extended a remarkably warm welcome. The people in these countries were open and enthusiastic about assisting foreigners like myself, and English proficiency was noticeably higher than in Japan. While Japan is undeniably a beautiful and friendly country with exceptional cleanliness, my preference leans toward living in South Korea and Taiwan.
One of my buds from Stanford went there (and still there) as translator for the State Dept and Embassy , and teacher in a local gakuen' (or high school). What the 2nd Korean lady said is true until today: if your work visa says you are a teacher, you HAVE / WILL be a teacher, and CANNOT divert to work say, a waiter part-time . The J local companies wont allow. Which is the reverse in the US, a work visa means WORK, at anything, and cannot be only one industry.
It's interesting to hear the same opinion as I've had being a foreigner in Japan. The work culture is honestly not so great. I'm sure it does depend on the company you work for, but the amount of unspoken "rules" in society is what really is the most difficult in Japan. The best description I could offer someone who has never worked in Japan and wants to is, it's not the fantasy land you think it is of anime and Manga with super friendly interactions. It's like a double-edge sword. If you go along with the "group think" of how everyone behaves in public and society, you'll blend in but the moment you try to be yourself, people will judge you very much. This is just my honest feedback as a foreigner who has worked in Japan before for a couple of years.
Quite a few normie reasons for not wanting to live in Japan in this video and in general. I agree with you on the work culture and norms being uncompromising, but the fact that it's hard to fit in and being ostracized just makes me want to move to Japan right away. I love being an introvert and I'm already kind of a loner in my own country, so no difference there. If you're perfectly content with yourself and not worried about sticking out like a sore thumb, Japan is perfect in my eyes. If you're a teeniebopper and always worrying about what others think, that could be a major hiccup. People high in agreeableness trait I'm sure will probably go there trying to navigate a land mine field, lol.
Finally, someone who tells it the way it is. Japan is very, very, very quirky and very, very very different than ANY other country in the world, including other Asian countries. If you are a dude, be wary of marrying a Japanese girl, they can be brutally cold. Word to the wise.
@@musicfirst5020 Not to mention that a significant number of foreign men that marry Japanese women end up having their children effectively kidnapped by Japanese women, with no recourse to see their children again.
Different and not in any good way. You'll never find common ground even as hikikomori. I was always different myself so I never saw the exotic as an allure, so I saw it for what it was immediately. The countries toxic and unless you like torture, should go to another one. People always think different is better aren't that, they're normal. Japan is basically a pedophilic china. It isn't that unique. There are about 5 countries in the area almost identical. I second the wife thing, worse decision ever for a western man to marry one. They act like kids, they are tyrants when they think they have authority over you. You'll never be equals, and you always know nothing. Great if you want to marry a 10 year old retarded woman. Japan in general.
@@VesperAegis I have the exact same views as you. I'm already disconnected from society in the UK so it makes no difference what country I go to. Anything will be an improvement lol. + I'm not social and don't care about making friends. My only life goals are early retirement and finding a wife who will follow and build a family with me.
I tried to settle in Japan together with my best friend of 22 years. It was nearly impossible. The bureaucratic navigation alone was something like from that Asterix and Obelix movie where they visit the Roman office. I can choose between a tourist visa for 1 month or work visa for a year with a catch of having to go to the immigration office each 3 months for a stamp of renewal with a letter of recommendation from my employer and 2 letters from native Japanese people who are recommending me to stay and "vouch" for me. Then there was the whole thing that in order to renew my working visa each year I had to leave Japan for at least a month during that year split in the four weeks which meant trips to Korea. It was a hassle to even find a place to live because so many places are downright "no foreigners" policy for moving in. I left after a year and a half. My friend stayed, he studies at Waseda University, has international C levels in Japanese language and has been gulping down the culture since he was 15 and still it is incredible hard for him to stay because of the above reasons. (The study visa is only an option if a person is 36 years and younger). Add to it the constant feeling of being observed and never fully included and the fact that it is nearly impossible to penetrate that polite barrier the Japanese people have around them and that they never really let you know what they truly think or feel and it was a bizarre feeling of complete loneliness I have never experienced before in my life.
After watching these videos your comment is probably the closest to the truth. Another thing I noticed is that the people in these videos are always on the younger side. I wonder how much they will be able to stomach before eventually going back to their home countries. It would be cool to see the opinions of foreigners that have been living there for decades and not just a few years.
Oh, I don't miss the bureaucracy! Or my guyjin card with my fingerprint and photo which made me feel like a criminal. Or the banking. Or that feeling of always being watched, even in the gym when it was hard enough for me to be naked in public!!
The young lady at the start is wise. I like her answer about not going backwards, hence she won’t go back. I travel in medical imaging. It’s so calming to know I will move on and learn more in my terms.
I stayed in Japan for 11 years. I left a year ago. I have no regrets. Sure there’s stuff I miss, but it was the right choice for me. I tend to agree with some of the stuff that’s already been said here: it’s hard to make really good friends because people are private. Also working in a black company that didn’t respect it’s workers and then a white company but where I experienced sexism was enough to tell me all I needed to know to tell me Japan is not where I want to pursue a career or raise a child. Also the stuff that had drew me to Japan in the first place lost its charm. There’s only so many purikura you can take and yakiniku and karaoke parties you can join before you realize how overpriced it all as. Talk about throwing your money down the toilet. Still the most beautiful and clean country I have ever seen in my life though hands down.
11 years in japan, and sexism and racism barriers never gave way. Thats a long time to spend in one place, just to get up and move to another country and start all over.
@@bevs9995 yeah it’s a long time but I had a great time! Zero regrets! Knowing when to close a chapter of your life is important. Also I had a dream to live in another country and I’m living there right now so it was a good trade off. :)
Sorry to hear about the sexism and troubles you faced during your time there! I hope you live a happy life in whatever country you're in now! Lots of love to you!
For those using the language card.... I have a friend with perfect Japanese who lives there for 12 years. Same story! No friends, no connections, nothing. So don't put pink glasses on thinking knowing the language will help you.
Don't you think that it might be an issue with the person rather than with the whole country? I see foreigners with Japanese wives or husbands, kids, friends, careers. On the other side I've heard that opinion about being alone in Japan as a pretty common thing. Even for the native Japanese people. Though it's definitely not an easy way.
Well that's just one person's experience that you're mentioning. Not saying it can't be that there are more people experiencing the same or a similar thing, I can very well imagine so, but to take your friend's story and simply conclude that learning the language doesn't help at all doesn't seem right.
@@olodesu it's definitely all of them because most Japanese will not think for themselves. They have a very group mentality to prevent breaking their false harmony. When the time comes inevitable that your interests run counter to most Japanese you will find no allies and be forced to either fatally compromise or leave.
So, I’m a Japanese/ American that has been living in Japan for almost 18 years. My first 11 years were spent here in visits lasting around 2 or 3 years while also returning to America. My job in Japan didn’t require me to know a lot of Japanese, so I didn’t learn as much as I should have. I did have 2 years of Japanese in college, but most Japanese people could pick me out as a foreigner because my English sounded like it came from a textbook. Now I’ve been living in Fukuoka for about 7 years as an Assistant Language Teacher in elementary and junior high schools. I talk to kids in English and, during break times, in Japanese. Though my Japanese has improved, all of my conversations use basic Japanese. The only things I don’t like about Japan would be that my job is on a yearly renewal system which is very frustrating having to potentially look for a new job every year. Second, I notice that even though my Japanese is getting better, people don’t usually correct me when I make grammar mistakes. Kids, on the other hand, have no problem correcting me. Though I enjoy living in Japan, I may have to leave to get a better job to support my family in a way that will improve our daily lives.
For a single person with no other financial obligations, it’s not a bad job. Average about $1600 to $2000 a month before expenses. Some teachers have other approved jobs to boost their income. How long you work depends on the contract between the company and the board of education. Right now I work from 8:20am to 4:00 pm, but if I have no classes scheduled after lunch I can leave at 2pm. Next year my contract has me working 8:50~4:30 with no option to leave early. Contract details can change every year.
@@chiyoleetch2041 I don't know how anyone lives on $24k/yr , even after Taxes , in any part of Japan. Sounds brutal. $24k is enough for rent and rice. That's about it, lol.
Not in the Philippines though. Almost (not all) every foreigner here is a CELEBRITY to my countrymen. Especially if you're western white everyone is tom cruise, Korean white? instant kpop celebrity, or some nigerian with a little bling, pfft easy. They will all bow down and accommodate you like gods amongst men.
It's very difficult to merge or fully understand what it's like to be in a japanese culture, especially with what they said that no matter what happens 'you'll always be a foreigner' in Japan. I'm half japanese and growing up, they never saw or put importance the fact that I'm still half japanese. My siblings and I was always.... always considered foreigner for them. Immediately, that put a huge strain on personal identity at such a young age. It was alienating that we decided to return back to my mother's country. I even once asked my father if he would ever decide to return to Japan to retire, and he said no. He felt that he would just end up being depressed or sad if he returned there as an old person, since japanese people like to keep to themselves and mind their own business, but he's now very used to interacting socially with people and couldn't spare the idea of even losing that part of his social life. It's a beautiful and economically powerful country, but socially speaking, they're still behind times unfortunately...
been here in japan for 4 months.. i agree with the guy from sweden,for the people who're studying japanese here in japan, you really need to force yourself in a situation where to you need to speak japanese. i'm the only foreigner in my work place so it's really tough for me and i need to focus to listen to what they're saying. i don't have friends here asides from my workmates, so when i travel, i'm always alone and i'm force to talk to japanese to ask some questions.. but hey, its really fun to interact with japanese.
Wow the quality of the videos, the honesty, the whole vibe, I love every content of this channel. It clearly shows the creators puts a lot of work and his heart into each video.
I lived in Japan for 2 years and they were some of the most memorable years of my life. I lived in the countryside, learned to speak conversational Japanese (not fluent by any means but enough to get by), and that was enough to make wonderful, life-long friends who I still keep in touch with and visit. I loved living where I did, I felt safe and comfortable and while my wage wasn’t much, the cost of living was very affordable and I managed to save a lot. However, the work culture is what was difficult for me. My work environment was stressful and misogynistic and constantly having to mask/not speak my mind about certain topics was exhausting. I often say I would love to buy a home one day in the prefecture where I lived previously, but I couldn’t work in a similar work environment like that again.
The entire country is exhausting trying to fit in, it really isn't worth it. Once I learned enough Japanese I heard a lot of disrespect towards my race and I've found nobody is accommodating to any differences. It's really hard living in such a place and when you realize their countries just a mix of Chinese and American influences you choose either of the other ones, it's inferior.
4:40 This Korean woman is saying, "It seems like Japanese men don't like Korean women very much. Otherwise, it seems like it's just me that Japanese men don't like Korean women very much." But the English translation says “Korean women don’t like Japanese men”?😮 이 한국여성분은 "일본남성이 한국여자를 별로 좋아하지 않는것 같습니다. 그게아니면, 저한테만 일본남성이 별로 좋아하지 않는것 같습니다" 라고 말하고 있습니다. 그런데 영문번역은 "한국여자는 일본남자를 좋아하지 않는다"라고 되어 있습니다?😮
In Philippines, when you learn to speak our language, learn our culture, learn our ways, people here will treat you like a part of their family. It doesn't matter if you are a Latino, Hapones, Amerikano, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabo, Afrikano, Judeo, Koreano, Eurepeano, Asiano, Bumbay, Indiano, Italiano, Australiano, if you learn the ways of Filipinos, they will treat you like family. My own family have so many foreign blood relatives. We embrace people from other countries. Race, religion, culture, traits, traditions, we accept them all. My Chinese and Japanese relatives believe in Buddha. My relatives in Saudi Arabia and in Arab nations somehow adopt the belief of good living in Islam. My relatives in my father side are Protestants. My relatives in my mother side are Roman Catholics. My Canadian and USA relatives are Presbyterians. I love them all because they are my relatives.
I always thought as Phillipines as the Mexicans of Asians , you guys are so much like us, family , friendly open to meeting good people, good food , culture
Mexicans are like that too. You dont even need to speak spanish, just say you like the food and the alcohol and thats it, you are one of them. Koreans are very well accepted in mexican society because of that reason, they already come from a spicy food culture and they are used to big amounts of alcohol lol.
The Swedish gentleman interviewed second, came across as one of the most balanced and thoughtful people I've ever seen on this channel. He was quietly and unassumingly impressive because of his balanced views seeing both sides of positives of being in Japan and negatives but accepting each according to their different rationales while providing examples and personal anecdotes of these things, for example the benefits of Japan as well as the challenges posed by being a foreigner and being absolutely honest about each to proportional degree. And: Excellent advice: Learn some simple things in public: Queuing, Bowing and fitting in with how the society works. As well as the strongest advice to learn the language to be able to interact with people successfully! It was a particularly interesting interview and thank you very much to this man for his sound advice for others to learn from.
You can tell by *how* he spoke (including mannerisms) that he's incredibly perceptive, which is so helpful when you immerse yourself in something unfamiliar to you.
@@Roaming725 To know your own personal filters and also without them is challenging so it's impressive to see. It was good almost all those interviewed emphasized learning Japanese! The interview reminded me of an author who did interviews to Londoners and New Yorkers call Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now - as Told by Those Who Love it, Hate it, Live it, Left it and Long for it. by Craig Taylor for the former and a similar title for the latter city. The different types of people in a city and their interview and personal stories. Very good interviews by Takashii.
As a foreigner I wouldn't have no issues practicing the local culture as far as speaking the language , bowing , beeing polite as much as I can , queueing , and stopping at red light ....Also I fully understand how a culture can value conformity as a cohesion mechanism to be stronger as a group ( a thing that is totally dead in France right now ) , however the thing the puzzles me about Japanese work culture , is how they can think hard competition can generate ANY sort of innovation , not saying that Japan doesn't innovate , Japan did countless times , but I think they misplace the core reason of that innovation , which is more to be placed in the originality of misfit characters , than competitive conformity .....You can clearly see it in archeologic periods , when you get mass extinctions , the natural niches are less cluttered by animals competing for the ressources of the niches , and quickly adopt weird forms , and diversify creating thousands of weird new species ,so to speak innovate in a zoological terms , whereas in the end of each zoological periods , conform branches of well established phenotypes compete HARD for ressources and you get less and less species ( similar to the appropriation of market niches by giant corporations that ate every little company , which everybody can agree on is an innovation killer ) ...How can you THINK about a new idea when you care more about conformity , are busy working HARD on well established processes that you just have to apply as efficiently as possible , and thus have NO TIME or inclination to think out of the box ? The general IQ of Japanese people is VERY high but I'm really puzzled about how they seem to not be able to put in perpective that competitive manner of functioning in society , and try to relax a bit on it , not in a way to degrade the cohesive nature of Japanese culture , but create pockets of "air' to breathe with less constraints .....
It’s not just Japan. It’s never easy to live anywhere in the world as a foreigner. It gets slightly easier as you spend more time but still it’s never easy. I speak this from my own experience as I’m a Korean who has lived in England for 20 years. The first 5 years was extremely difficult here, then things got slightly better but I struggle with depression from time to time. Now that I’ve spent decades here, I feel there’s no room for me to go back but at the same time, I fear of dying here alone as I’m getting older. I know a lot of people tend to romanticise life abroad but it is a huge commitment as it will completely change your life. It’s literally everything - language, culture, food, friends and family.
This is a good episode to reveal the truth , the merits and the shorts in Japan society n cultures , from the view of foreigners ! Appreciate the foreigners speak openly n their friendships & contributions to the society . Thank you for TAKASHii efforts n hard works ! Please continue to bridge the gaps 👍❤️🙏
It won't bridge nothing. The bigotry is exclusively Japanese. Takashi is like all Japanese, he only wants information. Neither he nor any other will do anything productive with it, at least not for any foreigners. He wants information for tactical advantage towards what the nihon see as an enemy in their midst. I don't know how many were seemingly listening to me only to completely ignore my concerns. Took me a bit to figure why they were bothering.
I wish I could have made japan work i studied so hard but when i lived there my childhood trauma overcame me and I couldn't make friends and got so isolated and depressed. I have since healed wirh hard work but now I am too rooted to try again. Love Japan and it's people. Miss it.
I’m moving to Japan soon… I’m suffering from severe depression to the point I think about taking my own life every single day. I’m really scared I’m not going to make it. Life is so hard man
It's always valuable to hear different perspectives and reasons for why people may choose to leave a particular country. Japan has a unique culture and way of life, so it's interesting to learn about the experiences of those who have lived there.
I’m Spanish. I lived in Japan for almost 12 years before I finally left. But my main reason to leave was simply that my family lives in Spain and that’s too far away. I now live in the UK and it’s so easy to grab a cheap flight and go and see the family over the weekend. If I didn’t have a family, I wouldn’t have left Japan, though. I like all the positive things they’ve mentioned in the interviews. I don’t think I’ll come back to live here, but I visit often. Right now I’m writing this from Hakodate 😂 ❤
Me mudaré a Japón el año que viene con mi pareja y con intención de vivir en Japón durante años, (ya estuvimos allí uno entero), y lo que más me preocupa, por no decir lo único es estar tan lejos de familia y amigos… creo que eso me hará dudar si volver, por lo demás yo estaba súper agusto viviendo en Japón , claro que mi pareja también es español, no es lo mismo ir solo, pero vamos que no tengo problema con no sentirme nunca japonesa del todo, porque no lo soy, la verdad eso me da igual jaja
Thanks for your fine work, Takashi san. You hit all the hard topics! Really great to hear what people think as locals, native, foreign, tourists… thanks man!
I lived in Japan 6 years. And I loved it. I lived in Fukui city, Kasugai Aichi and Osaka. I love living in the countryside suburbs and city. The advice I would give people is don't expect things to be like your own country. You should be open to the new experience you will have. The things that I did not like in Japan were kind of small. I left because I went back to school. I plan on moving back someday soon.
I love your content. I'm watching from Windermere, Florida USA. I will be visiting soon with my wife and son and watching your videos have helped me understand the Japanese way of life more. I always do research before visiting a country and think it is imperative to do so. Thank you!
I agree with the first girl about how to learn japanese. Dating a Japanese person will give you a lot of motivation to do so and to keep learning lol. Even making Japanese friends will help a lot but if you are closer to someone then you will literally desire to learn, been like that for me. Obviously, don't date a Japanese person just for that.
@@Maidaseu ah of course there will be people coming here totally missing the point. No, I literally said in the end that it should not be the main reason. It's not the most enjoyable way because it's the hardest way. Because there will be clash of cultures that won't be so problematic among strangers or just friends, but it will force you to learn to communicate better because you will have to deal with relationship issues and you will be forced to learn how to express yourself better so your Japanese lover will understand you and you will understand them, simply because you love them. I don't know why It needs to be said but apparently it has to be said. This is not to encourage dating Japanese people for any wrong reason, just like foreigners wouldn't want it if Japanese dated them just to practice english.
Comment le faire quant tu comprends que les japonais se fichent de l'amitié ils ne font aucun effort si tu ne maitrises pas quasi parfaitement leur langue? c'est IMPOSSIBLE!
@@marc9080 Of course it's impossible when you expect to get friends in Japan the same way like in western countries. My japanese is awful and yet I have a Japanese boyfriend and friends. But it took a lot of time. Japanese friendships develope very slow. of course it's not for all but it was in my experiences and with many others. Just because it's impossible for you, it doesn't mean it's for others. Also, you putting every Japanese person in one bag is probably why you can't make any friends. They are people and different like in any other country.
@@ganndalf202 Yet many of them have no issue generalizing foreigners, even with many assuming that people are English speakers just because they're not Asian. Not to mention all of the snide remarks many make about foreigners misbehaving in Japan, yet many of their own people are doing the same if not more in some cases.
I am a university student in Japan, but my program is in English. I think although I can attend my class in English, it is definitely necessary to learn Japanese, because I am facing a lot of difficulties in my life. Visiting for a short while is wholly different from staying for a long time.
I also studied in a English program in Japan and I feel like I get stuck in a gaijin bubble. Somehow, people in the English program aren't interested to improve Japanese. I really have to go out of the way to speak Japanese more.
@@セイデン Yes! By the time the students in English program figure out they want to find a job in Japan, many are in a situation that they last minute cram Japanese language or start the job-hunting process too late. Or simply think they can find a bilingual (Eng and JP) company which is so competitive. I am graduating soon but I may stay in another two years in Japan for graduate school so let's practice!
After living in South Korea for 5 years I moved to Japan in August 2015 until April 2018. The language barrier and social isolation were less of an issue for me as much as the poor working conditions and financial stress. I worked for two different ALT despatch companies which ended up being some of the worst experiences of my life. I'd love to return to Japan some day to further study the language but I don't think I could ever work there again.
Get a real job then. Working as an ALT past your early 20's is like working in fast food or retail past high school and complaining about how shit it is. Of course it's shit, you have nothing to offer them so they give you a job a monkey can do.
Great video as always! Having visited Japan 7 times, i really do feel that we as tourists are very lucky. We get all the best parts of Japan, without having to get the hard working environments etc. Being self-employed with a family, i think i could easily live there, but having a job in Japan would take away a lot of the good stuff and i think it would be difficult to enjoy Japan the same way.
I totally agree with you. I’m just self employed so I don’t need to worry about the dark side of Japanese culture lol Especially all my friends from uni are really struggling with that and I feel I’m super lucky. If I need to be a salaryman here, i would leave 100%
@@takashiifromjapan Check out Kurosawa's movie masterpiece Ikiru. It's about an older salaryman who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He realises his life has been wasted in an office and so he decides to quit the job and change his life for his remaining time. He wants to do something useful before he dies and he builds a children's playground. Wonderful movie and a real tear jerker. Let's face it...nobody says on their deathbed My God, I wish I'd spent more time in the office!'
Takashi, I’m glad you aren’t stressed and enjoy the work you do on your own terms. I love visiting Japan too, but it saddens me in the mornings seeing people dreading their arduous work routines and long shifts. I notice the retired men in the onsens during the day are so happy and relaxed compared to the middle aged working people. I hope you can spread the idea through your videos of a positive work/life balance for Japanese people so they can enjoy their beautiful country even more.
This is true. I had a great time living in Japan. But I worked for myself, earned on average over $5000 net pm. Also had a lot of free time. Also I was based outside of Tokyo which I think made a big difference. It was easy to make good Japanese friends. And I had no problem in dating either. Had to leave Japan in 2019 to sort out a family issue and got caught up in the covid pandemic. So will only return later this year. So not sure whats it like now but my life in Japan before I left was fantasic. :)
Yes, learning Japanese is very important if you want to live in Japan. I lived in Japan for 8yrs. I learned Japanese before moving to Japan by listening to MP3s, but today you can use RUclips! I was able to learn more Japanese by hanging out with ojisans in small bars outside of Tokyo. If you go to the rural areas, you will meet people that have never spoken to a foreigner. In the tiny bars you are guaranteed to be able to speak to locals and they may even buy you drinks. They will love talking to you. I left Japan because economic opportunities are very limited there. I love Japanese people, but the corporate culture is hard to deal with. I would definitely live there again if work/life became more balanced. Of all the 24 countries that I have visited Japan was one of the best. I love the ancient architecture and walking through cities like Osaka, Hiroshima, and especially Kyoto. There is so much to see! Japan is not expensive if you avoid Tokyo. Tokyo is way overrated anyways. Go to Kansai and you'll be happier. Also, go south. I was actually shocked at how much more expensive Toronto was compared to Osaka.
Tokyo is expensive, but because of US inflation, it is (mostly) cheaper than even the US rust belt states lol (as long as you don't have to pay rent). $8 for a ramen lunch? Sheesh. It's $12 or $15 in most US places, minimum.
@@aw2031zap Japan is definitely not cheaper than some rust states. But is more exotic. Noodles aren't everything, and I couldn't get a decent hot dog in Okinawa.
02:35 After 13 years living abroad, and having Korea as my "home base" even now (moved to Japan 4 months ago), this is what let me know that I will not be here longer than my current work contract. Old systems, it takes forever to get anything done, there are a mountain of procedures and redundant steps, and all the on-boarding was focused on doing things "how they are supposed to be done" rather than any focus on what is truly practical and important. What takes 30 mins in Korea takes 10 days in Japan...at 4 times the price. I feel a bit relieved actually - I don't get major honeymoon phases or care much about travel and culture and all that - I just do my job, see how people live, and if it's worthwhile I'll learn the language more and start developing roots and integrate. Japan always seemed like this mysterious, wonderful country that I would absolutely fall in love with and start building long-term plans once I'm here - but 4 months have been enough for me to analyze the place and know it's super interesting and a great place to explore, but I will not be wasting any time going deep into the language and building a life here - I'll learn enough to get by, do my job, hopefully meet some interesting people....but I'd rather use my extra time to continue developing Korean and other languages, and make plans elsewhere. I'm super happy to be here, but in terms of Japan long-term: Nope.
This was such a great video, thank you! I would love to visit at some point. Also, the Spanish girl had the best advice, I think no matter where you travel, go with no expectations and just see a place for what it is. When you romanticize a place, you’ll always be let down. I moved to London from Canada and in the media and entertainment industry it’s portrayed as so clean and proper…I was shocked when I moved to London, so dirty and not friendly really. After 2.5 years I’m moving back to SE Asia for a bit 😊
As a European I could never get used to their work culture, kind of like America I guess. It's all work work, work. In Europe we value our free time more and work to have money but nothing more. Many countries here get mandated holidays yearly, i get about a month of holiday per year guaranteed as well as bank holidays off. I could never live in places like America or Japan where the work culture is too dominant in life, it's not very healthy for your well-being in my opinion.
It is amazing to watch this as everyone was using English as a second language during the interview! Most of them can speak 3 languages, which is the norm for spme travellers and students alike! During my travels, I managed to speak French and Russian and a smattering of others, i.e., Vietnamese!
I love that they keep their city clean and stick together, here in diverse America people pretend to be friendly but will backstab you the minute you turn your back.
As a Japanese person, I believe that most Japanese people are generally averse to interacting with others. Even between Japanese people, they tend to avoid getting too close. This is a cultural norm that is the opposite of what is found in countries like the United States and Canada. I was really shocked by their communication when I first visited Canada. It's as if Japanese people see communication as a duty, while Canadians see it as a pleasure. It is not so much a matter of whether someone is a foreigner or not. It's simply the way they communicate in Japan. And I think that this group-oriented value system is more common in Asia than in other countries outside of Asia
BS I was in philippines, Taiwan, South korea, and I'll tell you they don't act like people here in japan. They are MUCH more friendly. They don't act human here and it's sad.
English is a more comfortable language to speak. It lends itself better to casual conversation with strangers. Japan has different ways to say things based on who you are talking to. English has that a bit, but it is not as pronounced.
I read many comments about being an outsider and feeling you don’t belong. I understand that, but I felt like that everywhere, even in my home country. At least in Japan, most people don’t care. I’ve been called things in my hometown, Barcelona, for walking next to my bf (not even holding hands). I never had such experience in 12 years in Japan. I lived 9 years in the UK & I had been thrown lit cigarettes to my face because I was wearing a mask 😷 (for the hay fever). Noone would be that vocal or aggressive in Japan for simply wearing something different. In my own country, Spain, they frown at times if I speak Catalan outside Catalonia. I never had any bad experience in Japan because I spoke English or Spanish. So there’s people like me who always feel like they don’t belong anywhere. If you are like that, perhaps you like Japan because at least in Japan most people mind their own business. You may not belong, but you can be yourself. It sounds contradictory, but that’s how I felt it.
Noone will go against you, and no one will support you in Japan, if you need help, if it's not official supported it won't happen. You'll have to put up with a lot of disrespect in Japanese as well. You can be yourself, but good luck getting a job doing that unless you integrate into a western style company (which i tried to start one there), or form a bubble of like minded friends. If you do that, you might as well live in a western society like Mexico or Caribbean or any other Spanish speaking country in South America. Japan will not adapt for any reason other than economic advantage.
I guess it just depends on your luck, when I was a bit younger I was on a date with Japanese woman in Shibuya and as we were getting off an elevator an older Japanese guy asked my date why she was with a white pig(He assumed i didn't understand Japanese) and I have unfortunately been subject to a variety of different racial slurs in Japan, in fact I was even attacked once but the police didn't take it seriously at all. I also know people who have had their entire lives ruined from a false accusation from a Japanese person without evidence...
Damn, you had a tough life. But overall i feel you, Me having same issues in my own country, like not fitting in, catchin a lot of looks since a kid, same was in another country. and that's one of the reasons why I'm planning to move to Japan
Same here. In Japan, I feel I can simply be myself. And, yes, in Japan, you are a weirdo simply because you are a foreigner, but, hey, there are also many Japanese weirdos, and Japanese ppl treat weirdos with at least superficial kindness and understanding. That's enough for me. I am a Chinese and I dislike many things in my home country. Chinese ppl are of so closed and rigid minds. There are always thing/ways you should act/speak/think! In China, I always need to pretend, but the really hard thing is to keep myself not be converted to a typical and dull Chinese. You met 10 of them and find 8 or 9 of them are of basically the same mindsets, and the same things to be brought up in conversations! Someone above talked about "a bubble of like minded friends," and you can image in China you have a huge, near national-sized, bubble! It gives a great deal of identity and security if you are (or converted) into the bubble, but it just sucks otherwise.
I have been to Japan many times and also can speak japanese very well as I used to live in Osaka before. Personally I think Japan is very good for holiday or short visit only because as a foreigner I find its very difficult to socialise with Japanese friends which makes me feel isolated.
It's a beautiful country with many beautiful people and I miss many things about living there, like the honesty and generosity of it's people. Once, my scarf dropped as I was running for a train and a girl found it, chased after me, went through the turnstyle and gave it to me, already neatly folded. People would go blocks out of the way to help me home the first few days. So sweet! My friend left her handbag in a park in Tokyo and when she went back, it was not only still there, but it still had all the money after 3 hours. But Japan is also very stressful, with so many rules which people don't tell you and aren't in the guidebooks. You feel you are always doing something wrong or upsetting someone, and you never feel you can learn what that thing is because people won't say, or if they do, they already seem angry and frustrated - not putting change in someone's hand, using both hands to give and receive, not putting a gift on the ground while waiting for the train, knowing that someone finished work early so they are waiting for you to realise but they didn't tell you... It's usually a foreigner who has been there longer who will tell you the rules. I always tried to be respectful and fit in, but often my senses told me something was up and I never felt relaxed. I think that is also due to being a foreigner - you are always different. I have had friends there for over 10 years, married with kids, and they will always be a foreigner. We can never earn people's trust or respect. Also, it was hard to tell if people wanted to be friends with you as a person, or as a free English lesson.
Watching this video and reading the comments, Japan seems like the passive-agressive land at its core, when it comes to actually living the and building relationships (or not building, because of that same reason).
Good synopsis of the culture. Japan has lots of domestic abuse situations....the country isn't nearly as polite as being told in these interviews. Additionally people will talk about you behind your back and you can get blacklisted.@@silviaaa
@@nicolasprieto6117 Japan and Australia (or really any western country for that matter) is extremely different than Japan. Australia is just one example, the closest countries to Japan culturally are Taiwan or Korea, and moving from any of those countries to a western country (especially a multiethnic one) will cause extreme culture shock.
I've been here nearly 6 months and have travelled across almost all of Japan (I'm currently in Okinawa after beeing in hokkaido, so now I'm warm again), your videos have been very interesting to me over this time, thank you for making them! I'm excited to go back to tokyo in a few weeks.
I agree. Japan is a great place to visit. A beautiful country, nice people, hospitable, clean, safe, advanced infrastructure and public transportation, healthy food and cuisine. But for me, an American born citizen of southern European descent, being a foreigner living long term in Japan, isn’t for me, or anyone who suffers from home sickness.
These folks were all pretty young. Would've been cool to see some older folks that weren't students - and in different parts of their life. Like, it's expected many have to leave after school visas expire. But I'm curious about adults that have already worked or lived there for many, many, years. Like...do they want to retire in another country because of retirement benefits, or something like that. But anyways, keep up the great work! :)
It was interesting to hear the swedish guy because I lived in southern sweden for 6 months and also felt really lonely and that it was hard to truly connect with people, even thought I got to level B2 of swedish before I arrived there. I also often hear this kind of comment about my own country, Portugal.
Så tråkigt att det var kyligt i Sverige. Jag hoppas att du mår bra nu o har ett gott liv! Kom tillbaka till Sverige och prova att bo i en mindre stad i norra Småland till exempel, där är de ofta vänliga och öppnare!
I'm an American living in northern Portugal, who was recently naturalized, and I can confirm this. People here are very friendly, generous and willing to help; in general, I find them much easier to interact with than people in America. But you get this sense that you're somewhat of an outsider and that people look at you differently once they know you're an American. I'm still learning Portuguese; I can have basic conversations. I'm trying to involve myself in Portuguese culture because it's my heritage, so it's important to me. But friend groups here, especially with the younger generations, feel very closed off. No one has been rude or hostile to me, but I feel that I'm being kept at a distance. Maybe when I become more fluent, they'll warm up to me.
As an American who prefers isolation and minimal socialization often it sounds like you all are simply growing up to realize what is specific to a society or culture at a given time vs human nature.. I would say you won’t realize what human nature actually is until at least 30 years old as an American. People do a lot to bring color to life daily with friends and activity but you may be delaying the toughest lesson you will learn- how to truly be happy on your own ..
I think people who move abroad to ANY country are going to have a hard time fitting in. I don't think it's specific to Japan, or Sweden etc. Hell, after reaching adulthood it's pretty tough for most people to make friends even in their home countries.
I'm a foreigner living here in Japan for 20+ years. have no problem with this country. probably will die here. I think it's much better here than my own country the Philippines. It's safer, cleaner and you just need to adapt to their culture so you won't have a hard time.
Travelled a lot in Sout East Asia, Indonesia , western tourists usually mix with eachother, the Japanese travellers travelled often alone, you could not talk with them so easily, I felt sorry for them , they looked so lonely
TOKYO GUIDEBOOK
takashifromjapan.com/tokyocompleteguide
Great guidebook Takashii 😊 I enjoy watching your RUclips channel.
Lived in Japan for 4 months during a university exchange program. I got laid 42 times with 42 different girls in that time. Japanese girls are all about foreigners, and particularly white foreigners. Gave a few of them my herpes but that's their problem now.
is it free ?
I love watching movies. I very much like watching foreign films as well. My favorite (modern) Japanese movie is Kikuchiro, starring Takeshi Kitano.
Just saying, I have learned of Japan alternative to anime.
I love Anaki too. But is that too American to be called a Japanese film?
Samurai Fiction is awesome too!
My #1 favorite all-time Japanese movie is Seven Samurai. Nothing will remove this movie from #1 spot! It is an epic that showed every film maker how it's done!
It doesn't have to be about samurai for me to like it. But others I could mention are The Devils Claw; The Hidden Blade; Chusingura (watch this instead of Akira Kurasawa's 47 Ronin, and pair it with The Hidden Blade.) Blade Of The Immortal was a very good adaptation. The Hidden Fortress, classic! Yojimbo, classic! Watch anything with Toshirô Mifune one of the world's greatest actors of all time!!
hey do you know umehara?
The hardest part for me, I lived in Japan for 8 years, was that people are not open…they hide their true feelings and you never really know where you stand. Many things in Japan are wonderful, but since human relationships are the most important part of life I think foreigners struggle.
Tatemae will eventually drive most foreigners in japan insane. I was in japan a few times. I had common japanese phrases ringing in my head for a few days after I left because these phrases are constantly repeated by everyone. Felt like a broken record in my head. With that been said, I like many aspects of Japan and I will be back again for holiday but never to live.
Even native Japanese like me suffer from how to have a strong connection with them.
Superficially they seem open but I don't even know the true feelings they have.
I mean It's not only your problem.😅
@@silveriver9 what phrases is that?
The fact that east Japan is very tatemae is the reason I struggle with it. On the other hand, going west I was blown away how kind people were
@@tsdfghjkl This is a joke, right?
Suppressing your true feelings/opinion is so normalized, people who are in discomfort or in need can not even express themselves, or maybe they don’t even know how.
I love japan, I was born and raised here, but it sure has this twisted, fucked up side of it.
Don’t be triggered and act like the Tatemae is a beautiful thing, we all know you go home and talk shit about everyone that you didn’t agree with. Don’t you think that’s unhealthy/toxic?
Real human communication is not suppressing your self and saying “either is fine”, it’s “agree to disagree” and moving on, or compromise and find a mutual ground.
That being said, I think it’s we japanese people that needs to learn from other countries, to once and finally “stand up for yourself”.
I just recently visited Japan for the first time, staying in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. Every day, westerners gravitated to my wife and I for conversation. Many of them have been living in Japan for 10+ years. The social isolation they feel was obvious.
This is very true. I live in Japan but I learned before moving about the isolation. There are many places that have meetups where people with similar goals come to meet with others, this is one solid option. Another option that allowed me not to be isolated was joining a club, for me, Karate helped me a lot. Made a lot of friends in different prefectures. The hardest part is to start by attempting to check out clubs or meetups.
The fact that they had a conversation with you made you think they’re socially isolated?
Are they foreign people wants to live in Japan?Japan population is discrease.
Business traveller (20 + short trips) ...the expats gravitate to us for conversation .. maybe its the "new kid in town" phenomenon but I feel their boredom and loneliness
So y'all gringos don't do Japanese things? Like, do you not go to meet ups to meet people? For example, learning a traditional art, watching sumo, doing martial arts. I live in America and go to martial arts if I can 4-6 times a week. That can take all my free time.
You can feel his pain. That's how I felt when I was there. To have dedicated massive amounts of time to learning the language, to love a country SO much and to love it's people too, but without reciprocation. You'll never be in the club, and always kept at a distance. Almost like there's no point in being enthusiastic or hopeful.
go to Viet Nam, you'll find the opposite. they're supper hospitable
I live in a neighborhood where the people here simply dont care about others. If your not one of them, they will act scared, women will shun you, etc.
That said, its a nice neighborhood and peace of mind, and otherwise a really good neighborhood.
That's how i think about Tokyo. Great place, but dont expect to be super integrated. It is possible to have plenty of friends and meet great people though. I consider it just another place to live and learn new stuff, and then definitely combat its very real downfalls.
He should know Swedish citizens do the same with foreign people in their country. They also hide real feelings for new people 😅
Yes I have been in Japan 28 years and there is so much passive discrimination here. It sucks the motivation to improve my Japanese speaking ability right out of me.
Like the two people who got their N1 told me -“why did it bother getting N1…nobody ever talks to me”
Yep 👍
@@shizuokaBLUES I hear all you guys stories and I feel your pain.
my plan for Japan I'm keeping in a very limited scope. even just being there several times, at least for me it is very punishing when you feel alone and there's thousands of people around you literally and you just want somebody to talk to or your friends are not available and it is very difficult to randomly meet somebody... and then the language barrier hits you hard.
With all the factors included like what area you're in or what are your activities, it's either somewhat doable or nearly impossible.
So what I plan to do is have Tokyo be my new home, but I will immediately start trying to travel as much as possible or go so hard socially until I have a large group and multiple options around me no matter how long it takes.. feeling lonely in a place like Tokyo is amazingly awful. I have no issue with Japanese women, I have plenty of Japanese female friends, but they can also be the absolute worst. most of the Japanese women that I know is actually from the states or was due to a direct introduction.
I love Tokyo and many things about Japanese culture, but we all know there are some serious roadblocks.
I loved the sincerity and honest answers of the Korean engineer who was interviewed.
100%
It was cut abruptly when she said she doesn’t like Japanese guys. Lol
3:36
Very non-Japanese answers 😅
@@brandoncave-wynter6987Yeah I thought that was a strange cut for her ending thought 💭
“Why are you leaving?”
“So I can lose this look of impending doom and fear in my eyes”
That girl from Korea will do so much better when she goes back home, good luck to her and her new business.
@@L0-R3Zis that true? Can you explain more please?
@@luisbendezu6372she looked miserable and unhappy. Didn’t find anyone she could click with and met a wall when trying to better her life. For he, Japan was a polite prison.
No. That is her normal look.
Yeah especially because her reason wasn’t… real? Like all she had to do was switch her visa. Lots of people start businesses 2-3 years after initially working at combinis and going to language school.
@@aibao_eipariru_apriland lots of people don’t . Everyone has a different experience
I have lived here for 8 years, own a house, and have a Japanese wife. There's really two kinds of foreigners who live here: Ones who want to live their life like they did in their home country while still living in Japan, and ones who accept and understand Japanese culture, the do's and don'ts, and find their place within Japanese society. As a gaijin, you will ALWAYS be a gaijin no matter what. So if you can accept this, it honestly becomes very easy to live here. My advice for people who want to move to Japan and want to stay a long time would be one, whatever you do, at all costs, avoid working for a Japanese company as best you can. This is probably one of the hardest things for foreigners to do, as we all need money to survive and getting a job with a company is the easiest way to do that. Starting your own business or working for a close friend/spouses business is the best solution in my opinion. Japanese work culture is probably one of the worst things about Japan, so whatever you do, avoid working at a Japanese company, or if you can't don't stay at one for long and look for a way to support yourself. Second piece of advice would be to live in the countryside. Japanese cities are crowded, busy, and expensive, while the countryside is essentially the opposite. You will also find some of the friendliest and most welcoming people in all of Japan out in the countryside. Again, I've lived here for 8 years, and because I don't work for a Japanese company and I live in the countryside, I could never EVER see myself leaving. I love living here soo much and feel very very lucky to be able to happily live here.
ignorance is bliss
Shut up outsider.
@@propertymanager9149 That's why you failed to elaborate, eh? The big city is calling you, and it provably will make you more miserable.
@@Kaleki935 you ok?
Wouldn't have any difficulties accepting being a gaijin myself.
Just came back from my Japan trip, and fantasizing about living in Japan. This video is a good reality check that traveling vs living are two very different things.
Thank you for this video!
I have visited Japan for over a decade and loved it. This year went there to stay for at least 2 months to see if I’d actually like to live there for a while. I didn’t.
Maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s my free spirit.
But I came back certain I wouldn’t like to actually live there.
@@ramonapetri1718 hi where are u from and how old are you ?
same. I have loved Japan since I was a child and I have always wanted to live in Japan someday after my recent trip there
Japan is as insular as you can get, and they really don't like foreigners.
True of any country
Good job, Takashii-san. I'm originally from the US but I've lived in Japan now for over 34 years altogether - almost half my life. I plan to stay. But I enjoy listening to other foreigners and hear their reactions to Japan. It reminds me of the time I first came, way back in 1978! And, yes, you need to learn Japanese, just like in staying in any other country!
What do you do there? Do you experience working 90 hr weeks in a Japanese company?
I’ve been living here in Japan for 4 years and 2 months now. My contract is about to end in 5 months and I decided not to extend anymore for the reason that the work is physically tiring and I’m kinda worried about my health in the future. This is my second job since I came here and I kinda realized that jobs for trainee foreigners are physically tough. But when my Shachou finally asked me about my extension, it finally hit me. I’ve been dreaming of living in this country since I was in HS and I’ve been learning Japanese since College. It’s so hard to let go of the comfortable lifestyle here. Japan taught me how to be comfortable going out alone, eating at the restaurant alone, enjoy my own company and discover things about myself that I never knew. But at the same time my mental health got worse. When you got so much time being alone, you think about unnecessary stuff and overthink about the future. But cheers to us foreigners for always finding beauty and positivity even when life gets rough 🎉
It's one thing I wish to experience if I get to travel to Japan, from what I've seen, it really seems to be a great place to just hangout outside, walk to parks and see festivals. I know my vision is biased because of animes. But, I've got a friend who's currently there and he really can appreciate exploring outside and visit. Maybe it's because we grew up there, but in our country, hanging out outside (mainly alone) isn't as fun, or as safe. You're lucky if you live somewhere where the view isn't bad. I'm sure, a lot of it has to do with the fact that I have a dreamy vision of Japan but, I'm sure it's partially real. But I realize too I could probably never live there because, a lot of things that are part of the japanese life style and culture wouldn't work with me. Even though I'm an introvert, I would suffer from being too isolated, and even though I like the culture of respect, I dispise the culture of not expressing ourselves as much as we need to. And obvisouly, the work culture, being waaay more chill where I live, free time is too important for me.
Wait I‘m confused, if you went to college and are close to retirement, how are you a trainee? Foreign trainees in Japan are young blue collar workers from deceloping Asian countries who work in Japan for a limited time (5 years maximum) and then return to their home country. They are not permanent immigrants, therefore they can‘t receive pension. Also, no company would hire someone close to retirement as a trainee anyway. And why would you do a physically though blue collar job if you went to university? This is the first time I heard about something like this.
@@mojabaka I apologize for the confusion. Cos my shachou used the word 退職 (taishoku) which means retirement but it says u can use this word when quitting a job. I’m still 28 yrs old. When I came here I was under TITP visa (3 yrs) then now, ssw. I have the option to extend up to 5 more years. Although I can change jobs, it would still fall under the category Industrial Packaging (physically tiring any company u go huhu). Unless I take the pro-metric exam to change my skill but I don’t have the energy to do that haha and my japanese skill? Even tho I said I’ve been studying since college, my JLPT level is still at N3 but really tho, my conversational skill and kanji is still at N4. I’ve got so much time to study but too tired and unmotivated. It’s ironic how I was better at studying in Japanese and my japanese was better back when I was in my country than coming here in Japan.
@@jonas8993 well, you can read thousands of things that people post about their experiences living here but it would still be different if you experience it yourself. But in the end, it will still be “Heaven for tourists, Hell for workers” 😅
@@pyodesu Yeah I see... I guess the only thing to do is make the most of what we can have and chose to do and to go where we feel like :) Sometimes I'm overthinking, possibilities of careers, places to go, life conditions ^^
It's hard living in Japan. I'm half japanese living in Japan and it's tremendously hard to live here without getting any of your identity changed based on people's judgement. I'm never fully accepted here despite my Japanese nationality. People seem to care so much about "my other half" and they completely forget my other half is actually japanese
All sympathy tough I look Japanese and still treated differently. I recommend you to travel, and/or tour around your own city. Japanese are more opened to strangers, which is strange, but that's how they are, and I feel rather relieved than my daily life.
Even if your parents are Japanese, but you grew up overseas. The Japanese people also think you are foreigners,
Some Japanese people have told me that, so, they said they don’t want to be friends with local Japanese people.
I’m a foreigner in Japan, I totally understand your feelings.
So, I think I will leave Japan one day.
My filipino cousin is half Japanese, lives in Japan. People always seemed to treat him fairү until thеү ⵏеаⲅn he's not full Japanese that's when people start to get awfuⵏ ⵜо him. Same in korea and china.. thеsе соuntⲅiеs аⲅе so сⵏоsеd minded
hey Bob, am from USA and feel the same way myself, living here.
Completely agreed with you I’m also half Japanese half Mexican but even my Japanese family see my Mexican side. Never felt like part of my Japanese family.
“What I would not miss? …being a foreigner 😅 “ I felt that.
I actually miss that. Being an outsider has its perks
@@kinokodze I'm curious what would you say those perks are?
@@baeber well I’ve left another lengthy comment here, so I’m just gonna copy past it, if you don’t mind.
I lived in China for 5 years and I loved being an outsider in general! However it was not comfortable for work relations or business communication. BUT people have to admit that they get to enjoy a big chunk of culture and lifestyle without being bound by social rules that don’t apply to foreigners (like having family or a certain status for example). Most of these things are a heavy weight on an actual Asian that has to fall into a certain category and find a place in a world. There are prons and cons to this. Now being back in my homeland I kind of hate being involved in so much social things. I don’t wanna care about politics for example. Living in China I did not care about it cause I was a guest and it was not for me to judge or decide anything. I enjoyed not being drugged down into social dilemmas and could just continue my peaceful life. I also enjoyed being avoided sometimes in a public transport, but it was only sometimes. Most inconvenience was brought to me at a work place but there is still way to get around it and get comfortable even In there superficial weird environment. Of course there is a big difference between Japanese and Chinese people. With Chinese person, you still being a foreigner, can make a genuine connection on a deep level and they will invite you to family gatherings etc. with Japanese, as I heard, not my experience, it’s very hard and almost impossible (however I do think it’s just coming from Americans, as an Eastern European person it’s just takes more effort and actual actions to form a connection rather than just talk “nice” things all the time)
So I do think people complaining about how they perceive as foreigners are a bit privileged and don’t really realize that.
@@kinokodze well thanks for taking some time to talk. It's very pleasant to hear about your experience especially when talking about Chinese people.
@@kinokodze Indeed, I'm Belgian and been all my live a foreigner all around the world and love it
I have so much respect for the lady, who leaves because his son's education. She was really intelligent, and humble.
It’s strange she was brought up in Japan but she has the strongest Aussie twag 😅
@@mikespike2099 The mom is Aussie.. so
She had good reasons for her son to go to school in Aust.
Who did you use 'leaves'? See the video title, 'leaving'. People are leaving Japan. Not leaves
Who did you use 'leaves'? See the video title, 'leaving'. People are leaving Japan. Not leaves
I know a lot of younger japanese people don't want to keep sticking with japan's indirect culture, but if nobody speaks up, nothing is going to change. I understand respecting your elders, but japanese culture takes it to like a feudal level.
Culture is culture baby. I love it.
@@lyingeyes5579 it’s more like a curse lol
@@vinyl66tape Not really. Cultural traditions have been existing forever. People are only being little btches about it today.
@@lyingeyes5579 Culture is made by the living, and is subject to change by them.
@@aidarosullivan5269 Then I will simply reject any changes. I am sure I am not the only one.
*_I'm half-japanese and I lived and worked in Japan for 5 years from 2005 to 2010... then I left Japan and went back to Philippines for good because of severe sadness that I felt in the last few months of my stay in Japan. It's so hard to meet someone that you can socialize with consistently._*
Sorry to hear that bro
Sorry to hear!
i hope youve found happiness since
I agree! I lived in Japan for 6 months as an exchange student. I think if it wasn't for my foreign friends and classmates everything would have been so lonely and even when I got them sometimes I felt so sad I can't explain why.
Go to Vietnam, I bet you will find tons of of friends there.
Might be unfitting here, but I am an exactly opposite case, being "ethnically" Japanese, having japanese nationality and being born there, but I lived most of my life in Germany. When I am in Japan I often feel as if the Japanese expect me to be "normal", which I can't be (Different culture, customs and so on) so they get confused/weirded out and distance themselves from me. That is the case even though I speak Japanese fluently and without accent, so it isn't a problem of the language, but of things like my body language. I think Japanese people are very strict to fellow japanese and expect one to be 100% conforming to the norm. They do not realize why I cannot fulfill their expectations, and sadly I feel they are not forgiving whatsoever.
Also, I never got along with the ambiguous, "never talking about what they think" mindset Japanese have. For the reason that you never know what they think (you are not allowed to speak out what you think) and only showing "friendliness" to hide your true opinion, I feel very uncomfortable around Japanese. I tend to avoid them even though I am technically "one of them", but I always felt isolated. I think it is a nice country if you can fit in the society, but for me, that is sadly not the case. I really like Japan as a visitor, but I just can not get along with the way the society is.
Interesting, I have the same feeling but with france. I grew up in france and speak it fluently with no accent, exactly like a native. But my parents are english and i'm also autistic so I never learned the customs and body language and attitudes, I never learned my place in short. If I had an accent I think people would be ok with it, but since I sound like a native I constantly get punished for not meeting the same standards as natives.
@@vacafuega punished how exactly? just curious
Your background is very interesting. You shpuld make a video talking about your experiences. Would love to hear :) Greetings from Berlin
I’m Mexican
I would like to hang out with people like you in Japan)
When I first came to Japan as a master’s degree student, I tried to speak Japanese with new friends, but they didn’t make any effort to understand what I was trying to communicate. Instead, they got up from their seats and walked away, leaving me alone. Honestly, this left me with a very negative first impression of what living in Japan for the next two years might be like. As a foreigner, I agree that if you can’t speak Japanese, you may be treated differently. I will graduate in 22 days and then return to my home country, Thailand. From the first day until now, I haven't made any Japanese friends because I was afraid they might treat me the same way. The only person I spoke with was my academic professor, discussing both academic research and the challenges I faced while staying here. He understood what I went through. Even though I have now achieved the N2 level in Japanese, I have decided to return to my home country because I fear that living in Japan may not meet my expectations, as well as my interactions and relationships with locals here.
I'm a foreigner whose lived in Japan for 8 months now and will be leaving in 4. Let me just echo what many people in this video said: if you are planning to live in Japan, LEARN JAPANESE. I say that as someone that didn't, and my experience here has been incredibly isolating. Personally, i'm introverted and its mostly been fine, but it does get lonely and difficult at times. I know others that knew even just enough japanese to have basic exchanges with people, and their experience living here is vastly different/more fun than mine because of it.
Edit (because there is confusion): Firstly, I DO speak some japanese, it’s elementary but I can get around on a daily basis just fine. Moreover, when I say “learn Japanese” I mean learn to be conversationally fluent, if you plan to live here long term (3+years) I have met foreigners that have been living here for 5+ years and know less Japanese than me, but they’re fine. This is just my opinion on the matter from someone that has first hand experience.
Where are you from?
I am in the same boat. But it’s a chicken egg situation right? I’ve been here about 8 mos. and my experience has been sort of negative. So I don’t see myself staying long and therefore don’t see the benefit of making the investment to learn the language.
@@aligenc659United States
I agree. I am a university student in Japan, but my program is in English. I think although I can attend my class in English, it is definitely necessary to learn Japanese, because I am facing a lot of difficulties in my social and mental aspects without Japanese. Visiting for a short while is wholly different from staying for a long time.
@@tokyoNeedleDrop Understandable. Personally, I've since learned a decent amount of the language & kanji given the time, and plan to continue, but that's more because I've made it a personal goal of mine after my experience here
I really like how you let everybody speak out what’s on there minds. No interruptions, you are just being polite and creating a nice atmosphere 👍🏼
idk why but the way Takashi ends his interviews so abruptly and walks away, it makes me laugh every time
His approach seems terribly rude as he abruptly ends the interview and leaves!
なるほど ここに文化の違いを発見しました。
タカシは時間を使わせてしまって、申し訳ないと思ってるんですよ。
なので、すぐ立ち去っているんです。
でも、他の社会では失礼になるのを学びました。
Right! Maybe that’s why that Korean girl said she doesn’t like Japanese guys. 😂
@@patriciak9685that’s probably due to his Japanese shyness. But it does come across a bit abrupt.
Yesssss, this has bugged me ever since I started watching his channel lmao
I hung out with Japanese friends and I had the best time ever with them in Japan. Because they taught me how to enjoy life in Japan. I’m French, Being able to express myself in Japanese to make jokes in western way and being understood, I could finally be myself.
You’ve really developed as a interviewer and RUclipsr. You seem more comfortable in-front of the camera and seem more confident when your speaking with these people. Good Job
Thank you!
@@livmarlin4259who tf are you
As a foreigner in Japan who is from another Asian country, I totally agree with the first Korean woman.
I’ve been in Japan for years and speak Japanese.
However, I nearly have given up on being real friends with Japanese, unless they lived abroad or speak foreign languages well.
As some people said in this video, Japanese people always think you are a foreigner, and judge your Japanese level, and they hide their real thoughts to keep their politeness on the surface.
Some of my friends lived in Japan for a decade and they all have left Japan, we have such feelings that most Japanese are too fake to communicate with.
If I get a chance to move to a Western country, I’ll leave Japan.
Visiting Japan as tourists, it would be great; but working in Japan for a long time as foreigners. NO!
How many years did you live and how many friends have left?
@@showtime3314 considering the falling population of Japan then probably not better for them lol..
sounds like the usual immigrant experience in most countries
The thing is, I hope you find somewhere nice, but a LOT of countries it is difficult to make friends in once you are an Adult.
I am a New Zealander. I lived away from New Zealand from 20 to 29 years old. When I came back, to my birth city even, I found it almost impossible to make any new friends. I gave up trying years ago.
I couldn't agree with you more, but it seems to me that only Asians are subjected to this kind of judgment. We are supposed to speak Japanese flawlessly.
I love how learning a new language makes you almost create a new persona, great example is the Swedish guy, his mannnerism's and tone changed when he started speaking Japanese. It could also be that he is slightly embarrased to speak, but I've noticed the reservation and politeness that comes with just speaking the Japanese language, it's fascinating to me.
Its scientifically proven that we have a different character with each language. Different thought connections, different context. Lol sounds like different operating systems are installed
@@nutzeeer well they kind of are. In your mother tongue you'll probably always know more idioms and slang words used in your region than with your second language. That alone can make your speech, even when translated word for word, totally different than if you'd spoken in your second language from the get go
Totally agree with this info
Ever ask yourself, why would you need to learn Japanese in a culture that seems to want to learn English? I went to Japan and learned the reason. The reason is foreigners are not acceptable to Japanese at all and you have to learn it. Alot of lies here but I decided not to learn it and sold my 1k worth of books. Iam not integrating with a culture that only seeks to dominate mine and there is no quid pro quo with them.
He is not shy or insecure, it's part of really immersing yourself into a language. You can speak it by words, or you adapt your mannerism to completely fit in. Japanese people for example tend to do a lot of sound-driven conversationing, while your opponent talks you constantly nod and make noises assuring your opposite you're listening and following. It's what makes you blend in with the crowd instead of looking like a foreigner that learned the language.
Immersive translate is a perfect translator to break language barrier. I definitely recommend it
I heard a similar thing from a guy I chatted for a few minutes years ago. He was an American guy who worked and lived in Japan for a total of 15 years. He also married a Japanese lady, had kids. He said "You are always like a permanent visitor or a guest, and can never fully integrate into the society". I imagine, that "permanent outsider" feel and treatment would affect a lot of people who wanted to live there permanently.
I want to know he understand Japanese or not.
@@Greenforrest7342 I believe he was proficient in speaking, not sure about written, didn't give him a quiz on that =)
@@Greenforrest7342 that shouldn't and does not matter. Noone attacks or quizzes Japanese on their foreign language proficiency.
Trust me it is better than minorities that get treated in white nations. I live in England and white folks treat minorities like shit and there is a lot of institutional racism.
it would be great if you could give some specific examples on "fully integrate into the society"
I stayed in Japan for 6yrs, worked as a graphic artist designer in big corpo. I can speak fluently Japanese language, but even that I never felt comfortable in this country. I’m an Australian, where the people very open and friendly so was very hard for me to make any relation or find any friends. I found Japanese people as a very hermetically sealed. It’s a good country to visit, but not for living. I returned to Australia to completely different lifestyle. Do I have any intention to come back ? No, I don’t think so.
The Japanese may be closed off and unable to form meaningful deep relationships with. They may or may not be closet racists, but at the very least they keep to themselves.
Compared that to drunk or just disgruntled white Aussies who adaciously racially abuse people of Asian origins on the streets. Happens all the time.
In the "civilised" part of Australian society (e.g. workplace/corporate world) people are nice on surface but pretentious and insincere.
14:01 😮
It's not a good place to live when you don't understand how it works. And waiting years to figure it out is a big deal!
The Japanese will be able to stay unique as a result of the things you described. The Western nations are losing their culture and unique identity due to globalist forced agendas. I miss having a distinct identity.
Too introverted
I think this video did a great service to everyone. I am not planning to go to Japan, but I learned a lot about the interpersonal relationships about the Japanese culture. Of course not everything.
You helped people to learn how to better enjoy Japan and you helped any Japanese people who care to learn, how to be more receptive to foreigners, which I think there are not many.
The biggest part i will take away is, " You will never be Japanese." I think that is sad. I know that it's not everyone in Japan, but it seems that it's enough that it made one woman mention it who is Japanese. That says volumes to me. Basically it says, be like us when you come here, but you will never be one of us. Basically not very welcoming.
It has changed my whole opinion of Japan. Which is good. Because I am one of the people that over romanticized Japan. 🙏
you judge by this brief video?
Thanks for this video.
This is so real.
It sets me back to 1997, had the same experience. Lived in Saitama.
Bank, relationships, working environment.
Was fluent in japanese and decided to settle in south korea in 2008 instead.
Had the great living experience in SK and could visit and go skiing in Japan whenever I wanted.
Quit Korea for family reasons and law changes in 2014 and still miss it.
The you'll never be Japanese hits hard and is true.
I remember forcing myself to lower my Japanese speaking level to be the good gaijin to hang out with. As soon as they understand you actually get what people are whispering or say behind your back it creates a wall.
One of my teachers in my junior high school has recently moved to Japan. When I reached out to her, she said, "Japan is a very nice country if you're going here for a vacation, but if you are going to live here, well that's another story." But still, I am glad that she got by and is starting a family there with her husband.
What I like about this video is that you are exploring both sides; the good and the bad.
Great video, Takashi san! 素晴らしい! ✌
You should ask her why
would love to know the why
@@antonyzhou6602 Primary reasons were missing her family here and culture shock.
as a Japanese I think many foreign countries are the same to me, America, UK, Australia, Malaysia. It is nice to go for a vacation but after working there for a while it is all different.
if hearing profanities isn't a problem the first thing in the mornings, people are less nicer when your novelty value runs out. even got robbed by a neighbor thereafter, reason being the perception that Japanese people are rich!
but after living abroad in 7 different societies for 20 odd years I guess it is the same everywhere for many foreigners. especially when the culture is different, especially when u dont speak their language and spent some time diving into the norms of every society as deep as u can.
what is ok to you cam be rather terrible to some, whats routine to my culture might be horrifying to you. some ppl really took offense of any culture which is different, lets accept that.
but little do anyone realize; NOBODY OWE ANYONE ANYTHING. People like to talk as if the world owes them the very moment they are born.
@@MrNajibrazak Yeah man the worst is when your background, which you may not even give a shit about yourself, causes you to get robbed or shat on by other people
Thanks for your anectdote it's interesting : D
4:35 when she said she doesn't like Japanese guys Takashii ended the interview instantly 😂😂🤣 👊
😭😭😂
Lol and he wanted to find out why as he was turning off the video 😂 love it
how awkward would it be if he dragged the video out 😭😂
Yeah he felt that 🤣🤣
there is bad blood between the Japanese and the Koreans because of the recent history between the two nations. Korean women especially.
As a Japanese, we are introvert also me,when I went to Philippines everyone was friendly and spoke to me. That’s courageous acting to talk with strangers for Japanese. Especially, Tokyo has the coldest mind.
日本は女性が自立する前の北欧のようなものだ。北欧人も見知らぬ人に気安く話しかけない。パーソナルスペースを気にするからでしょう。
TS 9:22 i would love it if you could interview that lady again and ask her if her experience in Australia was what she thought it would be. after 2 years there.
Interview natives that are leaving Japan
PLEASE !!!
🤣🤣🤣
they don't want to leave. they think abroad everybody is getting gun shots
I ‘m Japanese, left Japan 10 years ago. As Korean lady had mentioned in the video, many of Japanese seek for very small happiness and can’t think of big future dream thing especially recently. As some people said this phenomenon as”Galapagos syndrome” or “lost 30 years after bubble economy”, I feel clear deterioration of Japanese is on going. Now Japan is becoming quite behind in terms of many kind of civilization such as IT, Electric Vehicle, governmental systems, unnecessary legal restrictions etc.,because of heavy conservatisms of all nations. Now, number of young students studying abroad became 1/20 comparing to that of 30 years ago. Now foreign tourists is increasing enormously in Japan mainly because of low Yen rate, and Japanese hospitality of OMOTENASHI, which is good thing for tourism. But Japanese peaceful conservatism which evoke people flock of blind sheep may negative for most of foreign habitants in a long run.
@@masatoinoue668good comment , thankyou.
The Korean girl nailed it, if you don't have a clear goal, or a clear picture of what living in Japan actually is then you're gonna have your life drained. The advantage of foreigners is that they have a place to return, the locals don't have much of a choice, or they have a choice but I wouldn't recommend it.
not sure what she means by that. What goal? Most people go to experience a different culture, meet new people , try out new things, make some folding green while you are there. What more do you want ? You are not going to be running for Mayor or Governor of Tokyo, you won't be joining the Yakuza, you won't be starting up pachinko parlor or a ramen resturant. You literally have no political power as you cannot vote.
@@Bradgilliswhammymanmy new goal is going to be now to join the Yakuza!
@@noemiwinhammar7978 can I apply too?
Japanese people look much more happy than korean people
This isn't really a Japan exclusive thing. If you have no goals, then you struggle, and that's 90% of the population of native people to their country. And I seriously doubt anyone going to Japan doesn't have a goal. You can't just up sticks, get a visa with no reason, and start living there. Unless you're rich, maybe
I wish more people would be open like u towards foreigners!
No. Foreigners, even me, do not belong in Japan.
If all foreigners spoke Japanese and followed Japanese rules, Japanese would.
@@user-qm7jw I studied and spoke Japanese. I thought that would help me break through but it didn’t. I also pretty much followed customs. I don’t have trouble in my own country making friends. I just figured Japanese people feel more comfortable with other Japanese people.
@@user-qm7jw exactly
@@carolsakaguchi3739
it's not just in Japan. For example, when I was abroad in the United States, Americans hung out with other Americans, and international students hung out with other international students. I would say more than 90% were split between Americans and foreigners. And during a group presentation, all of them were Americans except me, but they didn't share some information with me. And when you go to the streets, even amongst Americans, whites were only with whites only, blacks were walking with blacks, Hispanics were hanging out with Hispanics. this is the reality, even in America, which is known as a melting pot of races.
Great interviewer. He coaxed plenty out of each person , without interrupting them.
I could identify with what the Swedish guy said about never being accepted / being treated differently. I speak Japanese fluently (have now been speaking for 25 years) with a pretty natural accent. My wife is Japanese. I'm very familiar and comfortable with culture, customs, etc. I'm submissive, polite, and 空気読める. Nevertheless, I always felt I am considered always as 外人 first and foremost instead of being a human being named Justin. I lived there 2005-2009, so things may have changed a little, but I left Japan in 2009 at the height of severe anxiety for being treated as an alien so much every day. Japanese have a real difficulty in getting past the color of my skin and look of my face as non-Japanese. It's a very serious mental block for Japanese, sadly.
> my wife is Japanese
It's Good you're being mistreated. You're destroying what you love by mixing the two races together. Hopefully you will never have children because you'll rob them of their identity. This is why the Japanese give foreigners hard times because they want to preserve their cultural and ethnic identity. Those in the west mostly don't see it like this anymore because the governments promote ethnomasochism (the pleasure of destroying ones own people)
Things haven’t changed. Leaving after 4 years
Well you'll never be Japanese so why would you ever expect them to see you as Japanese? You will always be of foreign blood.
Well, that is what you get for having a name that sounds like Gai-jin, Justin.
What color is your skin?
I lived in Japan for 3 months and the only friends I made were elderly people. They were the sweetest, they talked in English to me.
Where in Japan out of curiousity?
@@mario5139 Tokyo, Asakusa district
Funny, I was there the same amount of time and they say that young ones are easier. Older are more likely to know and understand English. Both sets don't want us English there. I for one will not go to a place I'm not wanted. Plenty of places will accept foreigners better.
@@ironhell808 let me guess, american?
Well they are mostly elderly. Dead society
Guy from Sweden seemed like a really cool guy.
Swedes usually are
He sounds like American.
@@luoli99he probably travels all over, I noticed that too as an American he really does.
@@Tommy88- due to the media, europeans that are not native english speaking, tend to pick up an american accent of sorts.
@@memyself8043 Exactly. The American media presence is much higher than the English. If you're a European that's fluent in English to the point where you have no accent left, you're just statistically more likely to sound American. Why would you not?
I spent just under a year living in Japan back in 2009. I moved there on a spouse visa after my partner at the time left Australia to move back to her hometown (Himeji). I was essentially living with her and her family most of the year, and I worked in a small izakaya a friend of mine owned in Osaka.
The big thing for me was pretty much what the Swedish guy was saying. Despite falling pretty comfortably into the culture, being fairly fluent in Japanese, and being in a long term relationship to a Japanese national, I always felt like I didn't belong. That's not to say I wasn't welcomed, but you'll always be an outsider, and usually treated as such. I'm sure it's improved over the past 14 years, but that's the big reason why we ended up moving back to Australia.
Absolutely amazing place to visit though. I've always said, if you have any interest in travelling, Japan easily tops the list of must travel destinations.
Takashii running to shut down the camera to ask her why is the most adorable and hilarious moment in this episode.
I neeeded to know before she leaves Japan lol
@@takashiifromjapan Why did you need to shut down the camera though? Can't you just cut it in post-production from the video 🤣
I think the dynamics between Koreans and Japanese are already complicated so I’m sure it also affects dating 😂😂 it’s a fun topic maybe for a future vid!
@@tokyoNeedleDrop Japan: we didn’t do anything, why are you talking about?🥸
@@takashiifromjapan lol.
When one of the guy was asked of this question” what do you not miss about japan”, and answered “being a foreigner”, it broke my heart.
I’m a Japanese who lived in a foreign country for 7 years. And totally understand how it is to be seen as an outsider.
btw, the country I stayed is Malaysia.
I learnt their cultures, histories and languages before even moving there.
Guess that wasn’t good enough
migration is in general not a good experience , I'm french , lived in the US and Brasil and since I had a choice, I came back home crawling. Leaving your culture is hard, trying to be accepted by another culture is hard, dealing with other people's flaws is harder than tolerating your own, if you have children it's very painful to accept that they will ose your culture and identity. That's why I think we should stop pushing this globalization. An experience in a foreign country is interesting but pushing people to move forever is very oversold. In the end I don't think it's a good thing.
And this is the way things should be. Respect the country or go back home.
@@backintimealwyn5736 as an american i apologize for our ignorance and racism but your leader much like ours is horrible i hope as future generations learn more about the world we can have a more peaceful country free from oppression and opening our borders
@@backintimealwyn5736 It seems only anglo-countries like US, UK, Australia, Canada, etc... have true multi-cultural societies. For all its faults, the Brits have been the best at setting up multicultural societies. Yes, I know we have issues, but our issues are ones of too much freedom and wealth. Countries like Japan are silly. They're a great place to visit, but why the F would you want to be Japanese? The work hours are long, your freedom/choices is limited because your ability to create wealth is limited, to climb the corporate ladder is next to impossible. Its all about nepotism over there. I agree with you about globalism but not for the same reason. Globalism is allowing the rich to get richer. The wealth gap between the ceo and janitor is getting ever wider.
@@lildipper3423 don't apologize. The French have always been good at tucking tail and running away.
thank you for these interveiws my son wants to do animation for a living. he loves anime and is almost brown belt in karate after 10 years. i want for him to study in a safe country where he can grow into adulthood without the fear of bad people while he studies towards his goals. we dont know any japanese yet. and i want to retire early also in a society that is clean and safe. he still has to learn how to cook and clean for himself cause his mother baby him to much. im thankful these interviews cause they shed new light on the difficulties we must overcome.
The same thing that attracts you to Japan - its alien and fascinating culture - will in the end push you out. I found a second home there, and the experience profoundly changed my life for the better.
That's not why I liked it, 32 years ago, I was hated in my society because I was a hikikomori. I found solace in video games, and I told myself I would one day go to Japan where I thought I belonged and become one of the first gaijin devs. Now I went there and I tested them against themselves in trying to make use of an abandoned office under the akiya program. I found that they are seriously racist and disappointed me in every way possible. They will not compromise even in the face of law or racism. They even hated my favorite decade (the 90s) because it didn't benefit their real estate bosses. Even though it cemented world love for them. They are selfish and self centered, and the politeness an consideration a facade. Now I only wish for the demise of their economy. I had to use shutoku jiko to obtain my land and I'll likely lose it due to their racist ignorance and greed. The amount of waste is incredible and they don't respect nature, mottainai.
@@ironhell808 sure, how dare they, when only western countries are allowed to be racist, right?
@@ironhell808You wish demise for Japan as a country because of your experiences at one company? Or demise to the company you worked for??
@@leoninagaki3709 not Japan's demise as a country, just it's influence, because it lied to me for 30 years and I don't want what disease they have spreading to the rest of the world. As the asahi shimbun once said "it isn't the 80s no more and the dream of a Japanese future for the western world is dead". I never worked for a company, I sought to move one to Japan. It is sad how nationalist Japan is under the guise of preservation. America liked the blend of culture seen. In blade runner but mortified the selfish Japanese. Yet Japan still clings to the secret axis fueled idea of Japanese cultural dominance. It will never be, and blade runner was the best the future would have offered us both. Not good enough for Japanese ensures their own demise.
@@leoninagaki3709 generalising japan is a lot more acceptable than other countries as it is one of the least diverse and therefore his opinion makes sense
旅行では良いけど住むのはちょっと…って言われるのは日本人としては少し残念だけど、私は海外に住んでるから何となく言いたいことは分かります。母国を離れて別の国に外国人として住んでいる人たちが、充実した生活を過ごせますように。
面白かったです。
The Spainiard lady is wise - have no expectations and just go with the flow.
Excellent contributions from the interviewees and on spot.
I lived in Tokyo for 2 years and loved my time there. I could visit Japan over and over again, it's always a treat to visit. But I don't think I could ever live in Japan long term again, especially now that I have a family.
As someone who’s been living in Japan for almost 3 years-and now thinking about leaving, here’s my opinion:
As a background, I’m a PhD student who started off as a Master’s student in Japanese university.
What I like:
- Everything is so orderly and organized. You literally just have to “follow” any rules or regulations that are given to you, and other people are the same. You don’t have to worry about people breaking the rules that will causes you inconvenience. And this goes for almost everything small like throwing trash or something like driving.
- It’s super clean. I have never been to anywhere cleaner than Japan-and I have been to more than 20+ countries
- The nature and scenery is very pretty. All of the seasons in Japan offers an astonishing beauty, and you’ll find new places to visit everytime
What I don’t like
- Actually the sides of coins from the previous statement. Everything is too orderly and organized. People are not used to something different, and it’s very hard to voicing opinion in the environment where you’re supposed to “follow”.
- Human relationships is very complicated. It is very hard to get above “surface level” of relationships here. People are very private and not used to being vulnerable. This is a very very lonely environment.
-Working/Studying culture. This is no secret that people in Japan working and studying like crazy. And it’s true
- Nomikai (drinking party) every celebration in Japan will almost always involves nomikai. And it’s not your typical drinking party. People who generally don’t drink (like me) will find it difficult to socialize because their social interactions based on drinking.
Very precisely explained. I love Japan, and you're right, at a same time. Strange country
sounds more or less like old Sweden. They call it Nomikai we dont call it some name, just weekend. XD
Advices from the Spanish girl were spot on. I really identify with them.
Btw. Big thanks Takashi for talking about all those issues. I think this is very important to talk about it in an honest and open way - among foreigners and among Japanese as well. Understanding each other's point of view and cultural background is simply crucial for good social relationships.
Her accent was spot on.
I wish everyone LUCK... You are gonna need it.
Based on my personal experiences residing in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, I encountered the greatest challenges in Japan. Without proficiency in Japanese and an understanding of their cultural intricacies, one easily feels like an outsider. In contrast, both South Korea and Taiwan extended a remarkably warm welcome. The people in these countries were open and enthusiastic about assisting foreigners like myself, and English proficiency was noticeably higher than in Japan. While Japan is undeniably a beautiful and friendly country with exceptional cleanliness, my preference leans toward living in South Korea and Taiwan.
One of my buds from Stanford went there (and still there) as translator for the State Dept and Embassy , and teacher in a local gakuen' (or high school). What the 2nd Korean lady said is true until today: if your work visa says you are a teacher, you HAVE / WILL be a teacher, and CANNOT divert to work say, a waiter part-time . The J local companies wont allow. Which is the reverse in the US, a work visa means WORK, at anything, and cannot be only one industry.
agree! Iv lived in tw for almost 1 year and people there very nice
We're you not worried about politics and wars?
I met some Koreans and they were really friendly. I like that. And Korea is a beautiful country. I've always wanted to visit.
Taiwan is a wonderful place, I only lived there for a few months but in my limited experience, folks were generally open and friendly.
It's interesting to hear the same opinion as I've had being a foreigner in Japan. The work culture is honestly not so great. I'm sure it does depend on the company you work for, but the amount of unspoken "rules" in society is what really is the most difficult in Japan. The best description I could offer someone who has never worked in Japan and wants to is, it's not the fantasy land you think it is of anime and Manga with super friendly interactions. It's like a double-edge sword. If you go along with the "group think" of how everyone behaves in public and society, you'll blend in but the moment you try to be yourself, people will judge you very much. This is just my honest feedback as a foreigner who has worked in Japan before for a couple of years.
Quite a few normie reasons for not wanting to live in Japan in this video and in general. I agree with you on the work culture and norms being uncompromising, but the fact that it's hard to fit in and being ostracized just makes me want to move to Japan right away. I love being an introvert and I'm already kind of a loner in my own country, so no difference there. If you're perfectly content with yourself and not worried about sticking out like a sore thumb, Japan is perfect in my eyes. If you're a teeniebopper and always worrying about what others think, that could be a major hiccup. People high in agreeableness trait I'm sure will probably go there trying to navigate a land mine field, lol.
Finally, someone who tells it the way it is. Japan is very, very, very quirky and very, very very different than ANY other country in the world, including other Asian countries. If you are a dude, be wary of marrying a Japanese girl, they can be brutally cold. Word to the wise.
@@musicfirst5020 Not to mention that a significant number of foreign men that marry Japanese women end up having their children effectively kidnapped by Japanese women, with no recourse to see their children again.
Different and not in any good way. You'll never find common ground even as hikikomori. I was always different myself so I never saw the exotic as an allure, so I saw it for what it was immediately. The countries toxic and unless you like torture, should go to another one. People always think different is better aren't that, they're normal. Japan is basically a pedophilic china. It isn't that unique. There are about 5 countries in the area almost identical. I second the wife thing, worse decision ever for a western man to marry one. They act like kids, they are tyrants when they think they have authority over you. You'll never be equals, and you always know nothing. Great if you want to marry a 10 year old retarded woman. Japan in general.
@@VesperAegis I have the exact same views as you. I'm already disconnected from society in the UK so it makes no difference what country I go to. Anything will be an improvement lol.
+ I'm not social and don't care about making friends. My only life goals are early retirement and finding a wife who will follow and build a family with me.
I tried to settle in Japan together with my best friend of 22 years. It was nearly impossible. The bureaucratic navigation alone was something like from that Asterix and Obelix movie where they visit the Roman office.
I can choose between a tourist visa for 1 month or work visa for a year with a catch of having to go to the immigration office each 3 months for a stamp of renewal with a letter of recommendation from my employer and 2 letters from native Japanese people who are recommending me to stay and "vouch" for me. Then there was the whole thing that in order to renew my working visa each year I had to leave Japan for at least a month during that year split in the four weeks which meant trips to Korea.
It was a hassle to even find a place to live because so many places are downright "no foreigners" policy for moving in. I left after a year and a half.
My friend stayed, he studies at Waseda University, has international C levels in Japanese language and has been gulping down the culture since he was 15 and still it is incredible hard for him to stay because of the above reasons. (The study visa is only an option if a person is 36 years and younger).
Add to it the constant feeling of being observed and never fully included and the fact that it is nearly impossible to penetrate that polite barrier the Japanese people have around them and that they never really let you know what they truly think or feel and it was a bizarre feeling of complete loneliness I have never experienced before in my life.
After watching these videos your comment is probably the closest to the truth. Another thing I noticed is that the people in these videos are always on the younger side. I wonder how much they will be able to stomach before eventually going back to their home countries. It would be cool to see the opinions of foreigners that have been living there for decades and not just a few years.
Oh, I don't miss the bureaucracy! Or my guyjin card with my fingerprint and photo which made me feel like a criminal. Or the banking. Or that feeling of always being watched, even in the gym when it was hard enough for me to be naked in public!!
@@nailil5722 would be cool, but there's none left
@@BreezyE-d3nRace war in the U.K.?
Japan wonders why it has a demographic problem. Country has some very silly burocracy.
The young lady at the start is wise. I like her answer about not going backwards, hence she won’t go back. I travel in medical imaging. It’s so calming to know I will move on and learn more in my terms.
I stayed in Japan for 11 years. I left a year ago. I have no regrets. Sure there’s stuff I miss, but it was the right choice for me. I tend to agree with some of the stuff that’s already been said here: it’s hard to make really good friends because people are private.
Also working in a black company that didn’t respect it’s workers and then a white company but where I experienced sexism was enough to tell me all I needed to know to tell me Japan is not where I want to pursue a career or raise a child. Also the stuff that had drew me to Japan in the first place lost its charm. There’s only so many purikura you can take and yakiniku and karaoke parties you can join before you realize how overpriced it all as. Talk about throwing your money down the toilet. Still the most beautiful and clean country I have ever seen in my life though hands down.
11 years in japan, and sexism and racism barriers never gave way. Thats a long time to spend in one place, just to get up and move to another country and start all over.
@@bevs9995 yeah it’s a long time but I had a great time! Zero regrets! Knowing when to close a chapter of your life is important.
Also I had a dream to live in another country and I’m living there right now so it was a good trade off. :)
Sorry to hear about the sexism and troubles you faced during your time there! I hope you live a happy life in whatever country you're in now! Lots of love to you!
Japan is a racist Ethno state
You wouldn't have to face that sexism if you were in your husbands kitchen raising his kid.
For those using the language card.... I have a friend with perfect Japanese who lives there for 12 years. Same story! No friends, no connections, nothing. So don't put pink glasses on thinking knowing the language will help you.
Concur. After a certain number of years you just get tired of the barren and cold “friendships” with Japanese and surround yourself with foreigners.
Don't you think that it might be an issue with the person rather than with the whole country? I see foreigners with Japanese wives or husbands, kids, friends, careers.
On the other side I've heard that opinion about being alone in Japan as a pretty common thing. Even for the native Japanese people.
Though it's definitely not an easy way.
Well that's just one person's experience that you're mentioning. Not saying it can't be that there are more people experiencing the same or a similar thing, I can very well imagine so, but to take your friend's story and simply conclude that learning the language doesn't help at all doesn't seem right.
@@olodesu it's definitely all of them because most Japanese will not think for themselves. They have a very group mentality to prevent breaking their false harmony. When the time comes inevitable that your interests run counter to most Japanese you will find no allies and be forced to either fatally compromise or leave.
@@ironhell808 Applying stereotypes to the entire nation is pretty racist imo. Nothing good comes from that way of thinking.
So, I’m a Japanese/ American that has been living in Japan for almost 18 years. My first 11 years were spent here in visits lasting around 2 or 3 years while also returning to America. My job in Japan didn’t require me to know a lot of Japanese, so I didn’t learn as much as I should have. I did have 2 years of Japanese in college, but most Japanese people could pick me out as a foreigner because my English sounded like it came from a textbook. Now I’ve been living in Fukuoka for about 7 years as an Assistant Language Teacher in elementary and junior high schools. I talk to kids in English and, during break times, in Japanese. Though my Japanese has improved, all of my conversations use basic Japanese. The only things I don’t like about Japan would be that my job is on a yearly renewal system which is very frustrating having to potentially look for a new job every year. Second, I notice that even though my Japanese is getting better, people don’t usually correct me when I make grammar mistakes. Kids, on the other hand, have no problem correcting me. Though I enjoy living in Japan, I may have to leave to get a better job to support my family in a way that will improve our daily lives.
I heard foreigners teaching in Japan get paid very low and also have to work long hours.
@@antonyzhou6602 The pay in Japan is very low compared to most Western countries.
For a single person with no other financial obligations, it’s not a bad job. Average about $1600 to $2000 a month before expenses. Some teachers have other approved jobs to boost their income. How long you work depends on the contract between the company and the board of education. Right now I work from 8:20am to 4:00 pm, but if I have no classes scheduled after lunch I can leave at 2pm. Next year my contract has me working 8:50~4:30 with no option to leave early. Contract details can change every year.
@@chiyoleetch2041 I don't know how anyone lives on $24k/yr , even after Taxes , in any part of Japan. Sounds brutal. $24k is enough for rent and rice. That's about it, lol.
family comes first , so Ill say focus on leaving and getting a better job , but only when you are sure you can succeed in doing so
It’s just the same for an asian who lives in Belgium. I think globally, people don’t seem that open to mixed origins
Not in the Philippines though. Almost (not all) every foreigner here is a CELEBRITY to my countrymen. Especially if you're western white everyone is tom cruise, Korean white? instant kpop celebrity, or some nigerian with a little bling, pfft easy. They will all bow down and accommodate you like gods amongst men.
It's very difficult to merge or fully understand what it's like to be in a japanese culture, especially with what they said that no matter what happens 'you'll always be a foreigner' in Japan. I'm half japanese and growing up, they never saw or put importance the fact that I'm still half japanese. My siblings and I was always.... always considered foreigner for them. Immediately, that put a huge strain on personal identity at such a young age. It was alienating that we decided to return back to my mother's country. I even once asked my father if he would ever decide to return to Japan to retire, and he said no. He felt that he would just end up being depressed or sad if he returned there as an old person, since japanese people like to keep to themselves and mind their own business, but he's now very used to interacting socially with people and couldn't spare the idea of even losing that part of his social life. It's a beautiful and economically powerful country, but socially speaking, they're still behind times unfortunately...
It depends on your perspective. I think they treat their elders better than most other countries.
been here in japan for 4 months.. i agree with the guy from sweden,for the people who're studying japanese here in japan, you really need to force yourself in a situation where to you need to speak japanese. i'm the only foreigner in my work place so it's really tough for me and i need to focus to listen to what they're saying. i don't have friends here asides from my workmates, so when i travel, i'm always alone and i'm force to talk to japanese to ask some questions.. but hey, its really fun to interact with japanese.
Wow the quality of the videos, the honesty, the whole vibe, I love every content of this channel. It clearly shows the creators puts a lot of work and his heart into each video.
I lived in Japan for 2 years and they were some of the most memorable years of my life. I lived in the countryside, learned to speak conversational Japanese (not fluent by any means but enough to get by), and that was enough to make wonderful, life-long friends who I still keep in touch with and visit. I loved living where I did, I felt safe and comfortable and while my wage wasn’t much, the cost of living was very affordable and I managed to save a lot. However, the work culture is what was difficult for me. My work environment was stressful and misogynistic and constantly having to mask/not speak my mind about certain topics was exhausting. I often say I would love to buy a home one day in the prefecture where I lived previously, but I couldn’t work in a similar work environment like that again.
Would you be comfortable sharing how it was misogynistic? I’m interested in going to Japan some day.
@@AndreChiii :v
The entire country is exhausting trying to fit in, it really isn't worth it. Once I learned enough Japanese I heard a lot of disrespect towards my race and I've found nobody is accommodating to any differences. It's really hard living in such a place and when you realize their countries just a mix of Chinese and American influences you choose either of the other ones, it's inferior.
@@jinseibanji_saiogauma wise words
Could you be self employed somehow? Work on your own outside a company?
4:40 This Korean woman is saying, "It seems like Japanese men don't like Korean women very much. Otherwise, it seems like it's just me that Japanese men don't like Korean women very much." But the English translation says “Korean women don’t like Japanese men”?😮
이 한국여성분은 "일본남성이 한국여자를 별로 좋아하지 않는것 같습니다. 그게아니면, 저한테만 일본남성이 별로 좋아하지 않는것 같습니다" 라고 말하고 있습니다. 그런데 영문번역은 "한국여자는 일본남자를 좋아하지 않는다"라고 되어 있습니다?😮
Korean woman don’t like Japanese man. That is true, me too I don’t like Japanese man.
Журналист постеснялся перевести правильно эту фразу правильно. Не удивительно если учесть как японцы относились к корейцам во время войны.
Thank you for the clarification
In Philippines, when you learn to speak our language, learn our culture, learn our ways, people here will treat you like a part of their family. It doesn't matter if you are a Latino, Hapones, Amerikano, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabo, Afrikano, Judeo, Koreano, Eurepeano, Asiano, Bumbay, Indiano, Italiano, Australiano, if you learn the ways of Filipinos, they will treat you like family. My own family have so many foreign blood relatives. We embrace people from other countries. Race, religion, culture, traits, traditions, we accept them all. My Chinese and Japanese relatives believe in Buddha. My relatives in Saudi Arabia and in Arab nations somehow adopt the belief of good living in Islam. My relatives in my father side are Protestants. My relatives in my mother side are Roman Catholics. My Canadian and USA relatives are Presbyterians. I love them all because they are my relatives.
I guess I'm coming then😂!!
I always thought as Phillipines as the Mexicans of Asians , you guys are so much like us, family , friendly open to meeting good people, good food , culture
Mexicans are like that too. You dont even need to speak spanish, just say you like the food and the alcohol and thats it, you are one of them. Koreans are very well accepted in mexican society because of that reason, they already come from a spicy food culture and they are used to big amounts of alcohol lol.
That’s beautiful!
You’re 100% correct, my cousin married a nurse, they treated him like a king
Respect to the visitors who actually learned Japanese.
The Swedish gentleman interviewed second, came across as one of the most balanced and thoughtful people I've ever seen on this channel. He was quietly and unassumingly impressive because of his balanced views seeing both sides of positives of being in Japan and negatives but accepting each according to their different rationales while providing examples and personal anecdotes of these things, for example the benefits of Japan as well as the challenges posed by being a foreigner and being absolutely honest about each to proportional degree.
And: Excellent advice: Learn some simple things in public: Queuing, Bowing and fitting in with how the society works. As well as the strongest advice to learn the language to be able to interact with people successfully!
It was a particularly interesting interview and thank you very much to this man for his sound advice for others to learn from.
You can tell by *how* he spoke (including mannerisms) that he's incredibly perceptive, which is so helpful when you immerse yourself in something unfamiliar to you.
@@Roaming725 To know your own personal filters and also without them is challenging so it's impressive to see. It was good almost all those interviewed emphasized learning Japanese!
The interview reminded me of an author who did interviews to Londoners and New Yorkers call Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now - as Told by Those Who Love it, Hate it, Live it, Left it and Long for it. by Craig Taylor for the former and a similar title for the latter city. The different types of people in a city and their interview and personal stories.
Very good interviews by Takashii.
Yes his advice was very good, I hope everyone who wants to visit or live in Japan will really listen to him
The Swedish are like that.
As a foreigner I wouldn't have no issues practicing the local culture as far as speaking the language , bowing , beeing polite as much as I can , queueing , and stopping at red light ....Also I fully understand how a culture can value conformity as a cohesion mechanism to be stronger as a group ( a thing that is totally dead in France right now ) , however the thing the puzzles me about Japanese work culture , is how they can think hard competition can generate ANY sort of innovation , not saying that Japan doesn't innovate , Japan did countless times , but I think they misplace the core reason of that innovation , which is more to be placed in the originality of misfit characters , than competitive conformity .....You can clearly see it in archeologic periods , when you get mass extinctions , the natural niches are less cluttered by animals competing for the ressources of the niches , and quickly adopt weird forms , and diversify creating thousands of weird new species ,so to speak innovate in a zoological terms , whereas in the end of each zoological periods , conform branches of well established phenotypes compete HARD for ressources and you get less and less species ( similar to the appropriation of market niches by giant corporations that ate every little company , which everybody can agree on is an innovation killer ) ...How can you THINK about a new idea when you care more about conformity , are busy working HARD on well established processes that you just have to apply as efficiently as possible , and thus have NO TIME or inclination to think out of the box ? The general IQ of Japanese people is VERY high but I'm really puzzled about how they seem to not be able to put in perpective that competitive manner of functioning in society , and try to relax a bit on it , not in a way to degrade the cohesive nature of Japanese culture , but create pockets of "air' to breathe with less constraints .....
It’s not just Japan. It’s never easy to live anywhere in the world as a foreigner. It gets slightly easier as you spend more time but still it’s never easy. I speak this from my own experience as I’m a Korean who has lived in England for 20 years. The first 5 years was extremely difficult here, then things got slightly better but I struggle with depression from time to time. Now that I’ve spent decades here, I feel there’s no room for me to go back but at the same time, I fear of dying here alone as I’m getting older. I know a lot of people tend to romanticise life abroad but it is a huge commitment as it will completely change your life. It’s literally everything - language, culture, food, friends and family.
Keep your head bro u still alive bc u got a purpose
But more severe in Japan.
It depends. It's easy for an American to live in Canada or for a Swede to live in Norway.
@@ketchup901 Even Asians don't like to stay there...
@@mayoutoobid Where? Regardless of your answer I don't see how that contradicts what I said.
This is a good episode to reveal the truth , the merits and the shorts in Japan society n cultures , from the view of foreigners ! Appreciate the foreigners speak openly n their friendships & contributions to the society . Thank you for TAKASHii efforts n hard works ! Please continue to bridge the gaps 👍❤️🙏
It won't bridge nothing. The bigotry is exclusively Japanese. Takashi is like all Japanese, he only wants information. Neither he nor any other will do anything productive with it, at least not for any foreigners. He wants information for tactical advantage towards what the nihon see as an enemy in their midst. I don't know how many were seemingly listening to me only to completely ignore my concerns. Took me a bit to figure why they were bothering.
I wish I could have made japan work i studied so hard but when i lived there my childhood trauma overcame me and I couldn't make friends and got so isolated and depressed. I have since healed wirh hard work but now I am too rooted to try again. Love Japan and it's people. Miss it.
I’m moving to Japan soon… I’m suffering from severe depression to the point I think about taking my own life every single day. I’m really scared I’m not going to make it. Life is so hard man
It's always valuable to hear different perspectives and reasons for why people may choose to leave a particular country. Japan has a unique culture and way of life, so it's interesting to learn about the experiences of those who have lived there.
I’m Spanish. I lived in Japan for almost 12 years before I finally left. But my main reason to leave was simply that my family lives in Spain and that’s too far away. I now live in the UK and it’s so easy to grab a cheap flight and go and see the family over the weekend.
If I didn’t have a family, I wouldn’t have left Japan, though. I like all the positive things they’ve mentioned in the interviews.
I don’t think I’ll come back to live here, but I visit often. Right now I’m writing this from Hakodate 😂
❤
I left japan bc of how racist it is
I live in Spain since I was little, it's a wonderful country! Saludos! 😊❤️✨
Me mudaré a Japón el año que viene con mi pareja y con intención de vivir en Japón durante años, (ya estuvimos allí uno entero), y lo que más me preocupa, por no decir lo único es estar tan lejos de familia y amigos… creo que eso me hará dudar si volver, por lo demás yo estaba súper agusto viviendo en Japón , claro que mi pareja también es español, no es lo mismo ir solo, pero vamos que no tengo problema con no sentirme nunca japonesa del todo, porque no lo soy, la verdad eso me da igual jaja
What Visa do u have to live in Japan for that long?
Ya sabias Japones cuando fuiste Compa? Igual me voy 1-2 meses a estudiar
Thanks for your fine work, Takashi san. You hit all the hard topics! Really great to hear what people think as locals, native, foreign, tourists… thanks man!
I lived in Japan 6 years. And I loved it. I lived in Fukui city, Kasugai Aichi and Osaka. I love living in the countryside suburbs and city. The advice I would give people is don't expect things to be like your own country. You should be open to the new experience you will have. The things that I did not like in Japan were kind of small. I left because I went back to school. I plan on moving back someday soon.
I love your content. I'm watching from Windermere, Florida USA. I will be visiting soon with my wife and son and watching your videos have helped me understand the Japanese way of life more. I always do research before visiting a country and think it is imperative to do so. Thank you!
I agree with the first girl about how to learn japanese. Dating a Japanese person will give you a lot of motivation to do so and to keep learning lol. Even making Japanese friends will help a lot but if you are closer to someone then you will literally desire to learn, been like that for me. Obviously, don't date a Japanese person just for that.
Many polyglots are players. Fast and most enjoyable way to learn.
@@Maidaseu ah of course there will be people coming here totally missing the point. No, I literally said in the end that it should not be the main reason. It's not the most enjoyable way because it's the hardest way. Because there will be clash of cultures that won't be so problematic among strangers or just friends, but it will force you to learn to communicate better because you will have to deal with relationship issues and you will be forced to learn how to express yourself better so your Japanese lover will understand you and you will understand them, simply because you love them. I don't know why It needs to be said but apparently it has to be said. This is not to encourage dating Japanese people for any wrong reason, just like foreigners wouldn't want it if Japanese dated them just to practice english.
Comment le faire quant tu comprends que les japonais se fichent de l'amitié ils ne font aucun effort si tu ne maitrises pas quasi parfaitement leur langue? c'est IMPOSSIBLE!
@@marc9080 Of course it's impossible when you expect to get friends in Japan the same way like in western countries. My japanese is awful and yet I have a Japanese boyfriend and friends. But it took a lot of time. Japanese friendships develope very slow. of course it's not for all but it was in my experiences and with many others. Just because it's impossible for you, it doesn't mean it's for others. Also, you putting every Japanese person in one bag is probably why you can't make any friends. They are people and different like in any other country.
@@ganndalf202 Yet many of them have no issue generalizing foreigners, even with many assuming that people are English speakers just because they're not Asian. Not to mention all of the snide remarks many make about foreigners misbehaving in Japan, yet many of their own people are doing the same if not more in some cases.
I am a university student in Japan, but my program is in English. I think although I can attend my class in English, it is definitely necessary to learn Japanese, because I am facing a lot of difficulties in my life. Visiting for a short while is wholly different from staying for a long time.
I also studied in a English program in Japan and I feel like I get stuck in a gaijin bubble. Somehow, people in the English program aren't interested to improve Japanese. I really have to go out of the way to speak Japanese more.
@@bananakaya So true. And it's even more important if you want to stay in Japan and find a job. Maybe we can practice together?
i tried learning its tough i gave up
@@セイデン Yes! By the time the students in English program figure out they want to find a job in Japan, many are in a situation that they last minute cram Japanese language or start the job-hunting process too late. Or simply think they can find a bilingual (Eng and JP) company which is so competitive. I am graduating soon but I may stay in another two years in Japan for graduate school so let's practice!
@@bananakaya Great, would you mind sending me an email to me? I would like to make friends with people who want to study Japanese and learn together.
You are such a good interviewer great work
After living in South Korea for 5 years I moved to Japan in August 2015 until April 2018.
The language barrier and social isolation were less of an issue for me as much as the poor working conditions and financial stress.
I worked for two different ALT despatch companies which ended up being some of the worst experiences of my life.
I'd love to return to Japan some day to further study the language but I don't think I could ever work there again.
I think the visa system in South Korea and the unwelcoming life is worse than in Japan.
Get a real job then. Working as an ALT past your early 20's is like working in fast food or retail past high school and complaining about how shit it is. Of course it's shit, you have nothing to offer them so they give you a job a monkey can do.
@@r8m8s8 would you mind developing? What is unwelcoming about it ? (genuinely curious)
@@r8m8s8 I enjoyed living and working there but I met other people who struggled with the issues you mentioned.
@@r8m8s8 I don’t think so… as person who has worked in both countries…
Great video as always! Having visited Japan 7 times, i really do feel that we as tourists are very lucky. We get all the best parts of Japan, without having to get the hard working environments etc. Being self-employed with a family, i think i could easily live there, but having a job in Japan would take away a lot of the good stuff and i think it would be difficult to enjoy Japan the same way.
I totally agree with you.
I’m just self employed so I don’t need to worry about the dark side of Japanese culture lol
Especially all my friends from uni are really struggling with that and I feel I’m super lucky. If I need to be a salaryman here, i would leave 100%
@@takashiifromjapan Check out Kurosawa's movie masterpiece Ikiru. It's about an older salaryman who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He realises his life has been wasted in an office and so he decides to quit the job and change his life for his remaining time. He wants to do something useful before he dies and he builds a children's playground. Wonderful movie and a real tear jerker. Let's face it...nobody says on their deathbed My God, I wish I'd spent more time in the office!'
Takashi, I’m glad you aren’t stressed and enjoy the work you do on your own terms. I love visiting Japan too, but it saddens me in the mornings seeing people dreading their arduous work routines and long shifts. I notice the retired men in the onsens during the day are so happy and relaxed compared to the middle aged working people. I hope you can spread the idea through your videos of a positive work/life balance for Japanese people so they can enjoy their beautiful country even more.
I don’t recommend working in japan.
This is true. I had a great time living in Japan. But I worked for myself, earned on average over $5000 net pm. Also had a lot of free time. Also I was based outside of Tokyo which I think made a big difference. It was easy to make good Japanese friends. And I had no problem in dating either. Had to leave Japan in 2019 to sort out a family issue and got caught up in the covid pandemic. So will only return later this year. So not sure whats it like now but my life in Japan before I left was fantasic. :)
Yes, learning Japanese is very important if you want to live in Japan. I lived in Japan for 8yrs. I learned Japanese before moving to Japan by listening to MP3s, but today you can use RUclips! I was able to learn more Japanese by hanging out with ojisans in small bars outside of Tokyo. If you go to the rural areas, you will meet people that have never spoken to a foreigner. In the tiny bars you are guaranteed to be able to speak to locals and they may even buy you drinks. They will love talking to you.
I left Japan because economic opportunities are very limited there. I love Japanese people, but the corporate culture is hard to deal with. I would definitely live there again if work/life became more balanced. Of all the 24 countries that I have visited Japan was one of the best. I love the ancient architecture and walking through cities like Osaka, Hiroshima, and especially Kyoto. There is so much to see!
Japan is not expensive if you avoid Tokyo. Tokyo is way overrated anyways. Go to Kansai and you'll be happier. Also, go south. I was actually shocked at how much more expensive Toronto was compared to Osaka.
Tokyo is expensive, but because of US inflation, it is (mostly) cheaper than even the US rust belt states lol (as long as you don't have to pay rent). $8 for a ramen lunch? Sheesh. It's $12 or $15 in most US places, minimum.
24 countries ? Wow nice mate
@@aw2031zap Japan is definitely not cheaper than some rust states. But is more exotic. Noodles aren't everything, and I couldn't get a decent hot dog in Okinawa.
Dunno, I lived in Osaka but honestly liked Tokyo better :). I visited there for about 2 weeks on two separate occasions.
can't get a decent hot dog anywhere in Japan.@@ironhell808
Interesting, I like the honesty, the good and the bad it helps to know what to expect when you want to live there , great interview 👍
02:35 After 13 years living abroad, and having Korea as my "home base" even now (moved to Japan 4 months ago), this is what let me know that I will not be here longer than my current work contract. Old systems, it takes forever to get anything done, there are a mountain of procedures and redundant steps, and all the on-boarding was focused on doing things "how they are supposed to be done" rather than any focus on what is truly practical and important. What takes 30 mins in Korea takes 10 days in Japan...at 4 times the price. I feel a bit relieved actually - I don't get major honeymoon phases or care much about travel and culture and all that - I just do my job, see how people live, and if it's worthwhile I'll learn the language more and start developing roots and integrate. Japan always seemed like this mysterious, wonderful country that I would absolutely fall in love with and start building long-term plans once I'm here - but 4 months have been enough for me to analyze the place and know it's super interesting and a great place to explore, but I will not be wasting any time going deep into the language and building a life here - I'll learn enough to get by, do my job, hopefully meet some interesting people....but I'd rather use my extra time to continue developing Korean and other languages, and make plans elsewhere. I'm super happy to be here, but in terms of Japan long-term: Nope.
Japan is better than the rest of the world in certain respects but there is a cost to everything
agree
This was such a great video, thank you! I would love to visit at some point. Also, the Spanish girl had the best advice, I think no matter where you travel, go with no expectations and just see a place for what it is. When you romanticize a place, you’ll always be let down. I moved to London from Canada and in the media and entertainment industry it’s portrayed as so clean and proper…I was shocked when I moved to London, so dirty and not friendly really. After 2.5 years I’m moving back to SE Asia for a bit 😊
Hii
As a European I could never get used to their work culture, kind of like America I guess. It's all work work, work. In Europe we value our free time more and work to have money but nothing more. Many countries here get mandated holidays yearly, i get about a month of holiday per year guaranteed as well as bank holidays off. I could never live in places like America or Japan where the work culture is too dominant in life, it's not very healthy for your well-being in my opinion.
Sign me up. Japan is defo better than US in terms of holidays.
Where are you from?
It is amazing to watch this as everyone was using English as a second language during the interview! Most of them can speak 3 languages, which is the norm for spme travellers and students alike! During my travels, I managed to speak French and Russian and a smattering of others, i.e., Vietnamese!
I love that they keep their city clean and stick together, here in diverse America people pretend to be friendly but will backstab you the minute you turn your back.
As a Japanese person, I believe that most Japanese people are generally averse to interacting with others. Even between Japanese people, they tend to avoid getting too close. This is a cultural norm that is the opposite of what is found in countries like the United States and Canada. I was really shocked by their communication when I first visited Canada. It's as if Japanese people see communication as a duty, while Canadians see it as a pleasure.
It is not so much a matter of whether someone is a foreigner or not. It's simply the way they communicate in Japan. And I think that this group-oriented value system is more common in Asia than in other countries outside of Asia
BS I was in philippines, Taiwan, South korea, and I'll tell you they don't act like people here in japan. They are MUCH more friendly. They don't act human here and it's sad.
English is a more comfortable language to speak. It lends itself better to casual conversation with strangers. Japan has different ways to say things based on who you are talking to. English has that a bit, but it is not as pronounced.
I read many comments about being an outsider and feeling you don’t belong. I understand that, but I felt like that everywhere, even in my home country. At least in Japan, most people don’t care.
I’ve been called things in my hometown, Barcelona, for walking next to my bf (not even holding hands). I never had such experience in 12 years in Japan.
I lived 9 years in the UK & I had been thrown lit cigarettes to my face because I was wearing a mask 😷 (for the hay fever). Noone would be that vocal or aggressive in Japan for simply wearing something different.
In my own country, Spain, they frown at times if I speak Catalan outside Catalonia. I never had any bad experience in Japan because I spoke English or Spanish.
So there’s people like me who always feel like they don’t belong anywhere. If you are like that, perhaps you like Japan because at least in Japan most people mind their own business. You may not belong, but you can be yourself. It sounds contradictory, but that’s how I felt it.
Noone will go against you, and no one will support you in Japan, if you need help, if it's not official supported it won't happen. You'll have to put up with a lot of disrespect in Japanese as well. You can be yourself, but good luck getting a job doing that unless you integrate into a western style company (which i tried to start one there), or form a bubble of like minded friends. If you do that, you might as well live in a western society like Mexico or Caribbean or any other Spanish speaking country in South America. Japan will not adapt for any reason other than economic advantage.
So you're a reject in Europe and are accepted as a weirdo foreigner in Asia
I guess it just depends on your luck, when I was a bit younger I was on a date with Japanese woman in Shibuya and as we were getting off an elevator an older Japanese guy asked my date why she was with a white pig(He assumed i didn't understand Japanese) and I have unfortunately been subject to a variety of different racial slurs in Japan, in fact I was even attacked once but the police didn't take it seriously at all. I also know people who have had their entire lives ruined from a false accusation from a Japanese person without evidence...
Damn, you had a tough life.
But overall i feel you,
Me having same issues in my own country, like not fitting in, catchin a lot of looks since a kid, same was in another country.
and that's one of the reasons why I'm planning to move to Japan
Same here.
In Japan, I feel I can simply be myself. And, yes, in Japan, you are a weirdo simply because you are a foreigner, but, hey, there are also many Japanese weirdos, and Japanese ppl treat weirdos with at least superficial kindness and understanding. That's enough for me.
I am a Chinese and I dislike many things in my home country. Chinese ppl are of so closed and rigid minds. There are always thing/ways you should act/speak/think! In China, I always need to pretend, but the really hard thing is to keep myself not be converted to a typical and dull Chinese. You met 10 of them and find 8 or 9 of them are of basically the same mindsets, and the same things to be brought up in conversations! Someone above talked about "a bubble of like minded friends," and you can image in China you have a huge, near national-sized, bubble! It gives a great deal of identity and security if you are (or converted) into the bubble, but it just sucks otherwise.
I have been to Japan many times and also can speak japanese very well as I used to live in Osaka before. Personally I think Japan is very good for holiday or short visit only because as a foreigner I find its very difficult to socialise with Japanese friends which makes me feel isolated.
Great video - thank you! Appreciation and love from Berlin. ✨
It's a beautiful country with many beautiful people and I miss many things about living there, like the honesty and generosity of it's people. Once, my scarf dropped as I was running for a train and a girl found it, chased after me, went through the turnstyle and gave it to me, already neatly folded. People would go blocks out of the way to help me home the first few days. So sweet! My friend left her handbag in a park in Tokyo and when she went back, it was not only still there, but it still had all the money after 3 hours. But Japan is also very stressful, with so many rules which people don't tell you and aren't in the guidebooks. You feel you are always doing something wrong or upsetting someone, and you never feel you can learn what that thing is because people won't say, or if they do, they already seem angry and frustrated - not putting change in someone's hand, using both hands to give and receive, not putting a gift on the ground while waiting for the train, knowing that someone finished work early so they are waiting for you to realise but they didn't tell you... It's usually a foreigner who has been there longer who will tell you the rules. I always tried to be respectful and fit in, but often my senses told me something was up and I never felt relaxed. I think that is also due to being a foreigner - you are always different. I have had friends there for over 10 years, married with kids, and they will always be a foreigner. We can never earn people's trust or respect. Also, it was hard to tell if people wanted to be friends with you as a person, or as a free English lesson.
Where do they put the change? On the counter top?
@@brianogrady9031 In a little tray on the counter top.
Watching this video and reading the comments, Japan seems like the passive-agressive land at its core, when it comes to actually living the and building relationships (or not building, because of that same reason).
Good synopsis of the culture. Japan has lots of domestic abuse situations....the country isn't nearly as polite as being told in these interviews. Additionally people will talk about you behind your back and you can get blacklisted.@@silviaaa
Japanese is cultural of saving face, Two face is common too.
Even though her mother is Australian, I think Emily is in for a BIG culture shock by actually moving to Australia after living in Japan all her life.
For a non-Australian could you elaborate a little more?
@@nicolasprieto6117 Japan and Australia (or really any western country for that matter) is extremely different than Japan. Australia is just one example, the closest countries to Japan culturally are Taiwan or Korea, and moving from any of those countries to a western country (especially a multiethnic one) will cause extreme culture shock.
Yea Aus isn't as culturally friendly as she might think.
She's gonna taste a different style of racism. 😁😁
luckily her English is perfect, so she'll probably get on just fine.
Thank you for watching!!!!
If you’re someone who’s coming to Japan soon, I hope this video will help and inspire you in some ways.
I've been here nearly 6 months and have travelled across almost all of Japan (I'm currently in Okinawa after beeing in hokkaido, so now I'm warm again), your videos have been very interesting to me over this time, thank you for making them!
I'm excited to go back to tokyo in a few weeks.
enjoy your videos alot. I live in Canada, and would love to visit japan again someday !
I agree. Japan is a great place to visit. A beautiful country, nice people, hospitable, clean, safe, advanced infrastructure and public transportation, healthy food and cuisine. But for me, an American born citizen of southern European descent, being a foreigner living long term in Japan, isn’t for me, or anyone who suffers from home sickness.
🇯🇵❤🇮🇳
These folks were all pretty young. Would've been cool to see some older folks that weren't students - and in different parts of their life. Like, it's expected many have to leave after school visas expire. But I'm curious about adults that have already worked or lived there for many, many, years. Like...do they want to retire in another country because of retirement benefits, or something like that.
But anyways, keep up the great work! :)
Very nice. Every expectation I had about Japan was confirmed here. I like Japan
It was interesting to hear the swedish guy because I lived in southern sweden for 6 months and also felt really lonely and that it was hard to truly connect with people, even thought I got to level B2 of swedish before I arrived there. I also often hear this kind of comment about my own country, Portugal.
Så tråkigt att det var kyligt i Sverige. Jag hoppas att du mår bra nu o har ett gott liv! Kom tillbaka till Sverige och prova att bo i en mindre stad i norra Småland till exempel, där är de ofta vänliga och öppnare!
I'm an American living in northern Portugal, who was recently naturalized, and I can confirm this. People here are very friendly, generous and willing to help; in general, I find them much easier to interact with than people in America. But you get this sense that you're somewhat of an outsider and that people look at you differently once they know you're an American. I'm still learning Portuguese; I can have basic conversations. I'm trying to involve myself in Portuguese culture because it's my heritage, so it's important to me. But friend groups here, especially with the younger generations, feel very closed off. No one has been rude or hostile to me, but I feel that I'm being kept at a distance. Maybe when I become more fluent, they'll warm up to me.
Yes I would bet much more people stay in Sweden then stay in Japan. People are obsessed with living in Western countries.
As an American who prefers isolation and minimal socialization often it sounds like you all are simply growing up to realize what is specific to a society or culture at a given time vs human nature.. I would say you won’t realize what human nature actually is until at least 30 years old as an American. People do a lot to bring color to life daily with friends and activity but you may be delaying the toughest lesson you will learn- how to truly be happy on your own ..
I think people who move abroad to ANY country are going to have a hard time fitting in. I don't think it's specific to Japan, or Sweden etc. Hell, after reaching adulthood it's pretty tough for most people to make friends even in their home countries.
These interviews are addicting in some odd way, everyone just talks well versed and the question are short but on point. Love that :)
I'm a foreigner living here in Japan for 20+ years. have no problem with this country. probably will die here. I think it's much better here than my own country the Philippines. It's safer, cleaner
and you just need to adapt to their culture so you won't have a hard time.
Bullshit meter has peaked
Travelled a lot in Sout East Asia, Indonesia , western tourists usually mix with eachother, the Japanese travellers travelled often alone, you could not talk with them so easily, I felt sorry for them , they looked so lonely