The thing that shocked me the most when I visited Japan for the 1st time was the train stations have a whole mall in them with stores and restaurants. The public transit was really impressive in general compared to NYC where I'm from. The trains were very clean, reliable and easy to use for a non Japanese speaking foreigner.
@@icebice I heard about this, but actually New Yorkers say they leave the newspaper on the seat for the next passenger to read. Maybe a newspaper falls to the ground, but they don't throw them on the floor.
@@susanma4899 my friend from New York gave me a tip. Always look at your seat before you sit on the NY subway, could be an unfortunate gift steaming there for you if you know what I mean.
I'm really glad I decided to learn Japanese before traveling to Japan. I wanted to learn it just to be respectful to the locals but it really seems like it just makes your whole trip easier.
@@davidpicarazzi I'v only been studying for about 2 months and started with pimsleur the same as you. It's a good starting point to learning some vocabulary and basic words/phrases but If i can recommend something, it's to use anki. It's an app that lets you download decks for japanese words/phrases. I use the 2k/6k deck and it's great for vocab. Pimsleur is great but i think if you're like me, around lesson 15 ish you'll start getting frusterated because it doesn't teach you why the sentences are structured the way they are/particles etc. Maybe try italki also. I'll start using italki next month when I feel more confident but it's a great way to talk to native speakers for a low cost from what I heard. Also maybe look up tai kims guide to grammer or japanese from zero. Hope some of this helps.
Japan was honestly such a shock to the system, I had a lot of positive experiences that differ so much from the UK -Train transport is so efficient. Also, train etiquette - being silent, no talking on phones -Clean and tidy, taking your rubbish with you - Safety - I felt strangely safe wandering around Tokyo and Kyoto so late at night -Seeing umbrellas just stashed outside stores and buildings - the sheer trust of leaving them there One experience I had was visiting Takayama and trying to get to the Hida Folk Village outside the town. A local approached me and gave me directions to a shortcut, he even offered to walk me the whole way there. It was honestly such a shock that somebody would be willing to give up their own time to help so much. I personally can't wait to return!
The UK used to be the same way before they decided to destroy themselves with endless 3rd world immigration. It's truly sad how much you've lost, and many people don't even know how good things used to be.
I went to Tokyo two weeks ago, and one thing I really like was how integrated foreigners were in society. In comparison to Korea, there were so many foreigners working typical jobs like at Uniqlo, owning their own restaurants, working at the airport, at the mall etc. In Korea yes, some foreigners work in cafes, but usually only part-time. People who are full-time are usually English teachers, students, factory workers, and in rare cases, business people. It was amazing to see how Japan is a bit more accommodating for foreigners wanting to stay long-term in Japan. Also, the foreigners in Japan blow the foreigners in Korea out of the water. Their level of Japanese was truly a beautiful thing to see because, in my experience, there are so many people who've been living in Korea for years and yet cannot have anything more than a basic conversation for their necessities!
@@missplainjane3905 interesting questions! Unfortunately, I think I can only answer on the perspective of Korea for some of the questions because I've never lived in Japan. 1) I would say in terms of economy and technology, Korea and Japan are highly developed; however, being half Korean and from the US, my opinion is that Korea is still a bit behind when it comes to race relations. Also while both are very developed economically, they still have a lot of work to do to protect people's rights to not be exploited in the workplace and being allowed to leave their work AT work or not be wrongfully fired. There are no laws against discrimination in Korea (i.e race, sexual preference) 2) I would rate both a 10 in terms of culture. I believe each culture is unique in its own right. Technology for Korea I'd give a 10 and Japan I'd give a 9 just because Japan still does a lot of transactions with cash. For standard of living I'd give Korea a 4.5. Korea is a great place to live and save money, but for long term foreigners in Korea, work is limited and the visas are only becoming more difficult to acquire. For myself as a teacher (and one who actually teaches as my career), the pay hasn't increased with inflation. The general population is also overworked and rarely has adequate time to spend with their families. 3) I would say Koreans overall are very kind and warm. The younger generation is definitely more liberal than the older generation, though the stigmatization of feminism here could use some work. The downside though is that Koreans become so focused on work--or rather work consumes their life to the point that they tend to forget to nourish their relationships, whether that be platonic or romantic. From my brief experiences in Japan I would say that the Japanese are very kind and polite. Whenever I almost bumped into someone or was in someone's path, they'd say sorry vs. Korea where people will bump you and not even say anything (typically the older generation). Even though I can't speak Japanese and a lot of people I interacted with couldn't speak English, they were not afraid to help me. Whereas, in Korea even though I speak Korean, the staff of some establishments visually become shaken and talk amongst themselves to see who can speak English to help me as their customer xD It's really cute to see their relief when I start speaking Korean. 4) Korea - Strong, communal, aspiring Japan - Polite, considerate, thoughtful
@@okazay Good points. I also think that being a foreigner in Japan is more relaxing and you sort of fit in, or they don't go out of their way to make you feel like a "foreigner". They're very more and welcoming and are super polite. On the other hand, the older Korean generations can be very blunt and direct and just blatantly don't care about helping others. And yes, they will bump into you and simply won't apologize or care in the slightest, it's definitely a strange cultural thing and I wonder where it originated. Also, in Korea as a foreigner you always seem to feel like the one being looked at or talked about, whereas in Japan they hide those feelings or thoughts or it doesn't really bother them. In saying that, Koreans value first impressions and looking good, so I think they're more judgemental in that aspect too. It is very difficult to become close with both Koreans and Japanese, but it is not impossible but it takes time and trust to get into the personal circle. Sadly, many Koreans are overworked and that's just the life here. They need to work OT to make ends meet and to afford all the extra additional luxury items they want, sadly. Or even just meeting the bare minimum is tough for many. I'm also a teacher in Korea, and I pretty much agree with most things you wrote. I had a similar experience traveling around Japan for two weeks, I felt like I blended it well and wasn't stared at as much as I am in Korea. I did have an interesting conversation with an older Japanese woman once who said that Japanese have a cultural term for their over-politeness, and she thinks overall it has a negative impact on Japanese culture and society as they basically mask their true feelings and thoughts in an attempt to be "nice" and a desire to look good in front of others. Even during our conversation she couldn't stop this polite cultural peculiarity as it was so ingrained in her personality. Just wanted to share that experience as it explains part of the reason of their politeness, whereas I don't think this really developed in Korea in the past.
That's interesting about the language. As someone who studies both, I'd say Korean is so much harder than Japanese, even though they're very similar grammatically. That's because there are several totally different ways to say even basic things in Korean, whereas people use the same basic ways in Japan. Maybe it's also because Koreans are much more confident about English than Japanese, even though their levels are similar (having similar problems due to their own languages being similar), so the necessity of a foreigner to learn Korean might not be as high..
Korea sounds weird. As a non-Japanese who has lived in Japan over 15 years, I wouldn't say foreigners are very integrated in Japanese society, even if they want to be. There are loads of employers that would never consider a foreigner if a Japanese was available with the same qualifications. You can be integrated to an extent, but not like in Western countries where you can just become part of the society.
What a timely video! I’m in Japan currently for the first time and adoring it, and almost everything in this video aligns with my experience. One thing I was surprised about was how polite, but not shy, Japanese people are in general. I was warned by many travel blogs that the Japanese are shy and may not engage with you, but as long as you approach someone with a smile and a quiet “Sumimasen” they are always happy to help and sometimes will try to chat. I know very little Japanese, having learned the little I know from anime, and even that small bit is enough up bridge the language gap. To new tourist: learning even just a few phrases and cultural values before coming here will go a long way to connecting with the people. One thing I dislike is some of the foreigners here, actually. I am a strong believer that on a foreign place, you play by those rules. Anytime I see someone talking loudly on the train, not wearing a mask properly, etc it’s always a foreigner, and not only is it extremely disrespectful, it gives the rest of us a bad rep.
Trust me, every respectful foreigner on holiday, hates idiot foreigners. Because they give the rest of us who are making an effort to be respectful a bad name and it causes prejudice. Because it doesn't matter if they're German French Indian African Australian American British whatever, a foreigner's a foreigner so it only takes a few of us to fuck it up for everyone else.
>Anytime I see someone talking loudly on the train, not wearing a mask properly, etc it’s always a foreigner, and not only is it extremely disrespectful, it gives the rest of us a bad rep. Thank you for writing here. As a Japanese, I imagine that it is only some foreign tourists who act selfishly in Japan, and such people probably have the same attitude in their home countries. I would like people to respect the local language, common sense, and customs of the foreign countries where they stay as part of the diversity and globalization.
@@lukasmerten7697 you're not gonna die if someone wears a mask they could be sick themselves with some minor illness and don't want to affect other people
Takashii! I love your videos! I am visiting Japan in March and April and I literally cannot wait! Your videos have helped put my mind at ease about my trip. Everything from how easy is it for non Japanese speakers to get by in Japan to how everyone treats each other in Japan! The fact that it has been mentioned several times in your videos about how helpful Japanese people are and how respectful and nice everyone is has been a huge help and has made me look forward to my trip even more! Thank you for all the videos!
I used to live in Tokyo, and that is true about everyone being silent on the train. As a america black man I got a lot of looks, but nothing in a bad way. Most people in Tokyo would help me find my way around even when I did not speak Japanese so good, but some Japanese people knew what I was trying to say. I love Tokyo and I will visit Tokyo in May.
@dominichill1492 I saw some other videos where African Americans who live in Japan say that yes, they may get "looked at" especially outside large metro areas, they generally feel so much safer in Japanese society compared to U.S. society. Wondering if you felt that way at all. Enjoy your trip, I can't wait to go back myself!
I appreciate the diversity of interviews that you do. I enjoyed this, and it was helpful. We will be coming to Japan next month for the first time. I have been working on my Japanese. I am both excited and nervous.
I met a cab driver who couldn't speak English when we were in Tokyo. We just kept quiet after boarding and saying hi. But this driver was so sweet and hospitable. He used google translate to chat with us, only when at red lights. He drove carefully and he even introduced a few landmarks along the way during his drive. He was in his 60s and I really appreciated that. In my two weeks in Japan, I only experienced a few service staff who could not understand English and we all communicated with google translate. There was no problem and sometimes we went into the pharmacy with the translated text of what we are looking for instead. communication goes both ways, sometimes we as the guest should accomodate too.
It was interesting and helpful to hear their views on what surprised them. That can be part of the fun of travelling to different cultures and learning how they do things differently and wondering why and comparing it to your own home nation/country! It can also be a way of trying to learn and improve in such new surroundings for example the lady that recommended trying to learn some Japanese is a good idea because it would be a mistake to expect people to be able to speak English as a lingua franca as compared to other nations where that is true. The most interesting observation was how the Japanese seem to blend both "old and new" in terms of how they do things for example technology, either cashless vs cash or booking app vs email. I found it really interesting you have skyscrapers in Tokyo next to (rarer but still exist) traditional old-style Japanese houses when I visited. It seems to say something about the culture and people and how they like to do things in their own way? How fascinating! Thanks to all those who were interviewed; I listened to your views and your way of expressing yourselves and enjoyed learning some interesting ways people relate to Japan. Enjoy your time there and definitely appreciate the good manners and efforts of the Japanese people especially in such busy/crowded places!
I do not live in Japan but i find "Through Your Videos Takashii" that Japan is wonderful, i really love listening to everyone's point of view & You make that possible with Your channel. I have experienced Japanese in Australia, especially Melbourne & Gold coast QLD & they love taking photo's & i am sure it is because of the diversity in people, buildings, food, clothes. It is a great thing to be a tourist because we get to see that although there is diversity, different language & guidelines, there is sameness too. In the whole world i think Japanese Trains & Culture, is very clean, i like that & politeness too. Your videos are great, Thank You For You & Congratulations on 659,000 Subscribers, You earned it. Peace
Thanks for the upload! 🙌🏻🙏🏻 I’m heading to Japan for the first time ever on March 1st - 2 weeks travelling solo with just a backpack. Can’t wait to be there and experience it for myself 😊
What amazes me is the first time I came to Japan (summer in 2018), I didn't have culture shock. I had been learning the Japanese language for two years and in our Japanese language class we watched films like "電車男" and ”おくりびと”. My undergrad university also had a few Japanese exchange students, so we could ask freely questions about Japan. It wasn't until I met musicians on the street where they said, 'ちいちゃい顔' (small face). I knew what the translation was, but didn't realize it was a compliment until I later asked my friends. Musicians would give me thumbs up, said it was a positive thing, but I was definitely a little confused in the beginning.
As someone who often travels to Japan, the thing that shocks me the most is the size of shower room. It is hard for me to take shower due to the small size and not enough space inside 🕒 The water is clean!
I am laughing at the irony , times are changing , now white westerners are talking qbout having the exact same experiences that non white people had in the west , bet u get it now 😉.
@@annabella9833 It is normal to travel and not be able to speak language of the country you are visiting! If you can, then of course it is better, that is right :)
@mikamikamiia Yes. And, have you been to Japan? I think most hotel clerks in Japan can speak or understand English, just speak slowly and have no difficulty.
Honestly, when I was in Japan, I felt like I blended in. I really never caught anyone staring at me or making me feel like a foreigner. Everyone treated me with respect and was so nice. I was also super respectful in return, as that is just simple politeness. It was an amazing experience and I made a ton of friends all over Japan. I will for sure be coming back!
Yeah, some foreigners in Japan are schizophrenic. Just because the Japanese didn't sit next to them, they would film them and post it on social media. Who cares about gaijin seats or anything like that? lol
@@user-qm7jw I didn’t have any issues, it honestly was great. I do agree that some go to Japan or any foreign country and are a bit hyper sensitive to things. I had an amazing trip, met up with friends I made online, made great memories, even talked to tons of locals and exchanged contact info with some of those locals. Not once did I feel uncomfortable anywhere. I also don’t speak Japanese so sometimes I had to go out of my confront zone and ask people for help and they were so awesome and honestly I’d prob still be aimlessly walking around now without the help of those people!
Hi Takashii!! This video was awesome, I'll be coming to Japan for the first time in April because I'll be an intern at a Japanese international school!! I'm so excited, but it was really interesting to hear from other people who were traveling to Japan for the first time! :)
The clothes in this country are ridiculously expensive. Sure you can go to Uniqlo but for example any winter coat from a men’s clothing store will run you $300 easily
I get the sense that Australians are pretty common tourists, if not the most common, from the Anglosphere. It makes sense of course, as they're the closest geographically compared to the US, Canada, or the UK. I just never really thought about that before. Also I visited Japan once when I was just graduating High School and to add something that I noticed that wasn't already said in the video (because yes, Osaka is much more relaxed and casual a place than Tokyo) it's that the streets are very narrow compared to what I was used to. But I'm from California originally, so this holds true to most older cities as I later discovered.
Japan is one of most popular spot for Aussies, most airlines offer really really good flight deals which is why you see so many australians holidaying there.
It's true. It has become Australian's second most popular destination after Bali. I'm going in November and so many people I know have already been. More Australians now go to Japan than Japanese come to Australia. For anyone like me who remembers the hordes of Japanese tourists that came to Australia in the 1980s that is remarkable. Also I haven't met an Australian that has travelled there and didn't love it.
Lots of Aussies, and also their time zones work better. They don't need to worry about jet lag. Plus, a lot of Aussies actually learn Japanese in school.
The thing that shocked me was when I was working in a Japanese nursing home, the elderly people don’t drink water that much. They drink green tea only most of the time (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack time, when they wake up or before going to bed). They only drink water (small amount) when taking medicine. Also, they use green tea as gargle. 😁
Another great video takashii! My friend and I are traveling thru all of Japan in March and I've watched a ton of your vids to help prepare! ありがとうございます！
I'm coming to Japan next month and I'm so excited! But I'm also a little nervous because I'll be traveling alone this time so I have to take the train by myself (I've visited twice before but both were homestays) I'm also very lucky that I've been able to study Japanese in high school and after through online courses, so hopefully I'll be able to ask for help if I need it 😊
Just came from travelling in Japan solo, and the train system was not as intimidating as I thought it would be! Travelling in Tokyo is easier because there are a lot of signs in English. Also, the people I’ve encountered have been very helpful and would point me in the right direction if i looked lost. The trains are also very reliable and run exactly on time. Google maps also saved me! Have the best time in Japan! I’m jealous that you get to experience it for the first time 😂
Heyo ^-^ my last trip was in 2017 lol but I was alone, 19yo and there for 2 months and trying to get to remote places ...and the trains were fine!! JR cover so much now and with a little bit of japanese and a lot of trying you'll get anywhere ^-^ ♡ don't worry you'll be fine
I had a wonderful discussion with someone about visiting Japan the other day at my workplace and he said that it was amazing in every aspect. The cuisine, history, architecture, and the overall atmosphere was amazing. When he came back home, it felt very depressing and was just overall plain and boring compared to Japan.
before my first trip to japan, i was worried about the 'return depression', however during my time there the worry faded and was replaced with motivation to go back and work toward returning/learn more of the language; to see my new friends, to see more of the country, etc. it's all about perspective, i think
I’ve always had a fascination and a strong favorable attraction for Japanese people, culture and their language. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to visit Japan in August 2023. In the early 80s I lived on the island of Maui Hawai’i for 2 years where Japanese people and culture had a strong influence on certain aspects of island life. They owned many homes and businesses and their presence was felt strongly on the island during that time and beyond. I really loved many things about the Japanese people and culture; the language, politeness of the Japanese people, their work ethic, the appreciation of education and the respect shown to teachers, the non brash mannerisms, the general politeness, honesty and cleanliness of the Japanese people and the respect they show to their elders and the removal of shoes when entering a home, school or religious space. I continued to embrace the removing of shoes even after returning to CONUS and continue the practice to this day. More than 40 years later I appreciate even more the aforementioned but add to the list my appreciation for the wearing of masks in crowded or indoor spaces. During my visit I will appreciate the safety, cleanliness, collective consideration of others in daily interactions such as wearing head phones when playing loud music, wearing a mask and speaking and behaving in a non brash or rude manner and just the overall politeness. I know that no country or culture is perfect and as a very tall 5’11(180.34cm), almost 60 year old black woman, size 11.5 shoe size, size 10 and an educator of special needs students there would definitely be challenges for me in some facets of Japanese life should I ever choose to reside there for any amount of time. Most obvious would be finding shoes/clothes, finding a hair salon or makeup to match my skin tone. I’m making an assumption here but I’m guessing that disability access, the educational system for young people (birth-18) with physical, emotional or mental disabilities is not as readily or easily available, nor are people with physical, mental or emotional disabilities generally accepted into the larger Japanese society or into the work force as adults relative to their non disabled counterparts as they might be in the US. When I think of discrimination I think of it more on a systemic level versus isolated incidents by a few bad actors. Now I make no mistake that systemically light/white skin is the standard that many Japanese value, however it is my opinion that is changing, albeit slowly, due to more people of color from all over the world integrating into Japanese society. What I’ve loved about these interviews is that people from many parts of the world who speak different languages, are different faiths and different shades but they all seem to respect the culture, attempt to speak the language and just generally attempt to show show respect for the societal norms and rules of the country. I’ll have to be mindful not to jaywalk and not strike up conversations with random strangers on the train.
We visited Japan before and stopped at a cafe shop, we asked a guy about the nearest train station and he helped us searched for it on his phone and studied the tourist map that we have and gave us direction. There was also a time when we need to find a tourist help center and asked a Japanese guy for direction, he actually led us there himself although he looks like in a hurry too.
Great interviews Takashi - looking forward to visiting Japan for Cherry Blossom 2023 - congrats on building an amazing and informative channel - arigatouuuu
I have been to Japan twice . The people and are so helpful and kind. I was in Kure and had to go to the laundomat to my washing and when I arrived obviously everything was written in Japanese. I had no idea how to use the machines. I remember a gentleman came up to me and gestured to open my wallet which I did and took out a 1000 yen and he put this into a machine which dispensed coins. He then picked up my laundry and put it in the washing machine, put the coins in and the machine and started the it for me with coins I now had. I thanked him and just smiled and bowed. What a great gesture and grate ambassador for Japan. these are the thinks that make your visit to Japan so enjoyable, good food, great people, low costs and a great place to visit.
@@missplainjane3905 the paces I went to were Tokyo Sapporo Kure, Hiroshima Osaka, Otaru. Which part of the world are you from as I can email you some info if you like
I think the way Japan is homogeneous is actually good in a way. The traditions don't get changed all too much, foreigners have to adapt at least to a certain degree to the japanese way of living instead of being stubborn to their own ways and expecting the native people to change. Hope Japan stays this way. The way it's mixed right now with not too much but slightly noticable changes is good enough.
Unfortunately, many Westerners believe that Japan is behind the West because it is different from the West, and they try to Westernize Japan by denying the Japanese culture and way of thinking. Colonialism ended 100 years ago, but Westerners' mindset has not changed since then. Even then, they destroyed civilizations around the world, imposed their religions, and westernized the rest of the world.
>foreigners have to adapt at least to a certain degree they only do that in small numbers, once there are too many they revert back to their normal behavior
@@cottoncandykawaii2673 which is a shame. Obviously I'll speak a bit of English when I arrive simply because I'm not fluent enough in Japanese, but I'll at least try basic japanese to thank people, greet people, ask for directions and small stuff like that
@@user-qm7jw not only USA and EU tho. Middle east and Africa too, everyone is just not respectful enough and feeling too entitled. Like they don't have to have a degree in japanese, but basic stuff already shows that ur trying at least.
@@killininstinct343 it's more then language, it's also behavior and mannerisms, like the Danish guys who refused to be silent while riding the train, had they traveled alone they likely would have complied to the code of silence but because they were traveling together they felt comfortable to behave how they naturally do back home As the population of foreigners grows in Japan they're going to notice a lot of them feel comfortable acting outside the normal bounds of society
Lovely video, I am coming to Tokyo in July for the first time it's been a dream of mine for so long and I have the best tour guide in a friend that lived their for 10 years I can't wait. I'm so excited!
@@asianprince8718 It depends in which sector you work. There are many foreigners in finance who don't require Japanese, for example. If you are a labourer in agriculture, construction then it's also unnecessary. It's also not required to be an ALT (assistant language teacher) in Japan. That said, if you want to become a full-time licensed teacher then it's required as you'd need a license from a Japanese university (a license from a foreign country is non-transferrable). As all education courses are entirely in Japanese including written assignments you need to be not only fluent but literate. You also need to be literate in order to be hired and or advance in any white collar job, outside of sectors like finance which are highly international based.
Thank you for another good video Takashii. I quite like to hear what various foreigners think and feel about Japan. Now that I am starting to get serious about another Japan holiday, some of their observations remind to make sure I don't make a similar mistake or maybe brush up on my Nihon Go and that sort of thing. For sure the Tokyo JR system is not that easy for me, especially hurrying from the plane to Tokyo and then the right connection to the accomodation. So that's something I might brush-up on.
I think the only thing that shocked me was the fact that a lot of the train stations are massive and how easy it was to get lost trying to find the correct platform or even exiting on the correct side haha. I never felt like I was getting weird looks by the locals, there was a language barrier sometimes but always managed to find a work around. I found so many people extremely helpful and willing to assist if we were having trouble looking where we needed to go or what sort of tickets we needed for the trains and shinkansen and I often got complimented on my purse or bag (pokemon-eevee and ffxiv ita bag)
I am from The United States and I have been to Japan 3 times (by this point in my life). I studied Japanese for 3 months in 2016, I came to visit for a couple weeks in 2017, and between 2020 and 2022 I studied Japanese again for the first year, and then I worked as an English teacher for the second year (a family emergency is why I had to leave Japan in 2022). I'm hoping to return to Japan again in the future. I love Japan! I think when I was first in Japan my culture shocks were: convenience of public transport, how clean everything was, the politeness and helpfulness of Japanese people, not having to look over my shoulder all the time to stay safe, and the amount of Nature Parks even in the bigger cities (I LOVE hiking and just spending time in Nature, so I really enjoyed this).
The second interview with the guys from Denmark and the girl from Australia. Was really nice, we talk anyway 🤣 in the metro , and so clean or people who politely try to help even if they don't understand you. 🌺❤
I remember when my late grandma told me that she almost gave a tip to a waitress in a restaurant in Tokyo. Then she suddenly remembered that you must not give tips in Japan because of the work culture. She was really amazed by the politeness and respect that she experienced during her vacation there. God, I miss her. I can't wait to visit soon. Great video Takashi san! 素晴らしい！
As a Westerner who has lived in Japan for years, I hate tipping culture. I hate going back to the old country and doing that. It's not the amount of money which is the problem, but the whole idea of giving someone extra money for actually doing their job. It's almost insulting, like saying you didn't expect them to do their best, but they did anyway. The customer pays the restaurant and the owner should pay the employees properly. I'd rather actually pay MORE money for a meal without a tip, than paying a smaller amount, including a healthy tip to someone.
Very cool interview. The contrast between the answers here to that of the most recent interview about why foreigners are leaving Japan is so stark. This shows the tourists idealistic and more surface view of Japan , while the other deals with disillusionment or more realistic view after living in Japan. Btw, last girl looks like a young Nicole Kidman.
One thing that disappointed me during my visit was that I did not get to be interviewed by Takashii! :) Where do you normally hang out? I will try to find you next time :) Japan was wonderful and I hope to visit again soon. Because I had watched your videos and others, I was prepared for some of the things people in this video mentioned. I learned a little bit of Japanese before going (came in handy when getting some Fami Chiki) and made sure I had the address of my hotels available in Japanese in case I needed to take a taxi or got lost. Getting around Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka on public transit was sooooooooooo easy using Passmo/Suica/ICOCA. It was terrific, efficient, and fast. One tip for travelers: do NOT try to ride subways and city trains during rush hours in the morning or evening unless you just really like being squished tightly together with other people. Traveling between cities on the shinkansen was very easy and comfortable and nice time to enjoy an ekiben (駅弁). I was surprised by how difficult it can sometimes be to figure out whether a restaurant is open or requires a reservation. In Kyoto, even when the shop's website has their open hours and they have hung their noren (暖簾) out, they still may not be open. Also, even though many restaurants have their menu outside, you may only be able to eat there if you have made a reservation well in advance. Trip for travelers: if you have a hard time finding an available restaurant or are wiped out at the end of a long day and not wanting to find a place to eat, ubereats is your friend, since it has lots of options, translates many of the menus into english, and you can use your native payment method within the app.
Your channel and videos definitely helps me prepare for my visit this May, to learn what to expect and what to do and not do in Japan is very helpful. どうもありがとうございます!
Trivia note: The U.S. reality game show The Amazing Race has been on the air for 34 Seasons, & they have traveled to Japan for 8 of them; 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 26, & 31.
The train thing in Melbourne hits hard. I've missed exams thanks to trains being cancelled. Now I aim to get there 30mins before I have to but even then, I end up being exactly on time. The other thing, is I went to a rural country towns in Australia and they have cashless payment there xD So not having it at all in Japan is so surprising
Cash is still king in Japan but it doesn’t mean there is no cashless. In all convenience stores you could pay using QR codes or credit cards. There is only this weird rule that you can only pay with cash for post stamps. Otherwise you could use cashless.
What shocked me the first few months was people leaving their phone to keep a seat in a fast food joint, not feeling scared to walk alone at night in Komazawa Park. What keeps shocking me 13 years later is the toxic work culture, the lack of decisiveness and individuality. I don’t feel like living in my home country anymore cause it sucks but some aspects of life Japan can make it rough sometimes
I visited Japan for the first time 2 weeks ago and a lot of these people saying there's not much contactless etc but there actually is, it's just us foreigners don't have the access to it much, pretty much most places in tokyo esp konbinis you can tap your passmo which can be connected to your phone as well multiple times the few japanese people in front would finish their transactions just as quick as in the west
@@missplainjane3905 I come from UK and was only in Tokyo but I did spend an evening in Kanagawa. 1) This would have to split into different areas. For transport and infrastructure very advanced and highly developed. For work culture and stuff like banking not developed, work culture very hard hours and shunned on for taking time off and stuff like banking etc said to need a lot of paperwork. So basically for tourism it's amazing 2) Culture: 10 there are shrines everywhere along with temples, there are always Japanese people out even on weekday nights, very respectful culture as well. Technology: 9 advanced for specific things like transport but I hear people still use fax machines in the work place. Architecture: 8 I mean a lot of buildings in Tokyo have gona back to plain skyscrapers but you can always see tokyo tower, sky building from a distance and the touristy places have nice architecture Food/local products: 9 there is fresh stuff and so many traditional food if you know where to find them and even fast food places are better than the west. For shopping anything its a goldmine Scenery & landscape: 10 tokyo has an amazing skyline from the shibuya sky building and outside of tokyo there is lovely scneries ive seen Standard of living: ? I mean Japanese people do have the longest life expectancy but you'd have to ask someone whose lived there 3) In my own personal experience Japanese people were very kind and hospitable especially as I could speak broken Japanese to them, they are very attentive And most don't want to cause trouble to other people, they will not speak or eat on trains and still wear masks etc, just very aware of their surroundings 4) Unique, polite and peaceful and a huge vairiety of stuff to do obviosuly every experience is different, many people say that tokyo people are cold but coming from london people just mind their business and servers are a million times more kind and attentive so if you are contemplating on going, just go and experience it useful advice would be learn a bit of japanese haha
@@missplainjane3905 Japan is definitely a first world country, it has the resources to develop fully in the work place and abandon all paperwork etc but the mindset holds it back. I didn't really have any inconvenience travelling over there, they just need you to sign up and process through the Japanweb app before to upload all your covid docs etc The only thing we were quite confused by was using the romancecar from Kanagawa to Tokyo but it was just we need a paper ticket. Another thing we didnt catch at the beginning is to avoid tax paying on more expensive stuff is you get the receipt and go to another desk in the shopping centre and they give the money back. Also if you want to ride a borris type bikes in tokyo there's really no way to, docomo doesnt accept foreign credit cards/numbers, we managed to get hello cycling working (that still needed a japanese sim that has a number) but the bikes were too small for my partner. All in all there was always going to be unexpected stuff the first time even though I did know Japanese but after that the next time is going to be pretty much no trouble at all, it is great for tourism because train systems are impeccable and you can just read off googlemaps
🌿Good episode. I like the idea that the older culture and technology is integrated with new cultured thinking and technologies. Yes learning some Japanese before visiting would be beneficial indeed. I look forward to visiting especially to explore your natural areas. I have been learning a lot about your rivers and wilderness parks through Otter Life ( youtube channel) and I have to say they are all spectacular. 🤗🌿
thank you for your videos I have enjoyed watching them tremendously. I visited Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo in 2017 and loved it and want to go back. It's true what the girl said, Osaka is a big food town and make sure you bring cash because a lot of places don't accept credit cards!
We’ve just come back from our 2nd holiday to Japan, which we LOVED! I agree with most of these comments. While there I experienced encountering an entitled foreigner (different nationality to mine) as he was berating a staff member in a Tokyo Starbucks for getting his coffee order wrong! 🤦♀️ After a few minutes of listening to his nonsense I asked him to cut the server some slack, and to essentially pull his head in (not those exact works)….long story short, as soon as I sat down, I regretted it instantly, NOT for confronting him, but worried I may have shamed or embarrassed the Japanese workers (I wasn’t loud or rude, but he escalated). After a few minutes, I had a few staff members, including the manager come to our table to thank me for speaking up (in broken English), and my young adult sons did too.
As an Aussie, we do line up. There are lines everywhere, but we do also book because we like to avoid lines. I think the biggest difference is the lines are short, if the wait is long we'll just go to another place.
I enjoyed this video and conversations with foreigners. I would have to agree with majority of the points mentioned by your guests but just like a few have mentioned already, the public transit in Japan is A1 Flawless (XG LOL)! Using Google maps, my wife and I had no issues whatsoever using Japan's train system. Visiting for the first time, I'd always admired Japan's technological advances and heard so much about it. Then we realized, cash was certainly still "king" in Japan when paying for food in certain restaurants, vendors, etc. Not that it was an issue for us but more of a shock. However, I've heard paying by credit card has improved as a result of the Olympics held in Tokyo (2020) and new POIs for visitors to visit. The Japanese people were so friendly to us, the food and sights in Japan were just mind blowing! We were only there for a short time but definitely plan to visit soon once again!
Of course all of these insights are great from foreigners, but it also shows that a lot of them didn't do their research before coming. You should know about Japan before coming: homogeneity, the train system, the quality of living, hospitality, prices, and much more honestly. I can't blame them for not researching before coming since there's so much on social media about "oh yeah Japan is great it's time to travel there!" But before going to any country, not just Japan, you should research their culture and customs, and at least understand the layout of whatever city you're traveling to in terms of transport. The people from Denmark especially surprised me because it seemed like they just hopped on a plane to Japan for fun and didn't even take a second to learn about Japanese culture beforehand. Great video as always!
@@deckard5558 japan is not a place to surprise yourself lol. it’s different going to somewhere in europe where it’s not homogenous and there’s people that speak english. obviously you don’t NEED to research japan-it’s the safest first world country on the planet, so you’re not going to suffer if you go on a whim. but your experience will certainly be stunted if you make no effort to learn a little japanese, japanese culture/customs and understand how to be respectful frankly in japan. nothing “know-it-all” about doing your due diligence before traveling.
@Homie and yet people still complain about being stared at, not knowing how to use japanese directions/trains, and find japanese social aspects weird… as evident by this video. all of which should have been understood before going lol. I’m not saying you need to be fluent in japanese, but at least learning katakana as a bare minimum would make so many tourists trips infinitely better.
@@Zoruachi whether Japan is a country full of surprises is not for you to decide, but for the individual tourists. People travel for a variety of reasons, and each reason is personal to them. If they are looking to be surprised and find nothing surprising in the end, that is still none of our business. As for doing "due diligence", I think this exceptionalism about Japan is stale; so non-homogenous countries don't require one to do research for them to be worth visiting? Of course it's great if one wants to read up about Japan first, it makes their journey easier, that's kind of a given. But for people who don't care and just want to do it cold turkey, I can respect that. They know the risks, from unintentionally offending the host country or getting robbed for not knowing common sense that is more localized, and they should be allowed to absorb such risks on their own terms. A host country also opens its borders to tourism reciprocating such risks as well. In fact, how many times have we read about wrong advices given by foreigners on the internet who think they are savvy enough about a country after living there for a year?
Thank you for watching! Now I see sooo many tourists here in Tokyo every day. If you haven’t come here yet, I hope you can come and enjoy Japan this year!
Japanese culture is expected to see. You know, I'm something of a Asian myself. Understanding them is kind of common for Asian Community 🇫🇷🇵🇭 I might have Japanese blood in my vein
Trivia note: The U.S. reality game show The Amazing Race has been on the air for 34 Seasons, & they have traveled to Japan for 8 of them; 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 26, & 31.
That's an awesome winter coat! I got a Mountain Hardwear parka for this winter and it's so warm that I am actually going on walks even if it's really cold.
I was in Japan for the first time for 33 days. Just got back two weeks ago. What surprised me the most was public toilets not having soap, towels or hand dryers. Just water. But had hand sanitizer 😂. Need soap. I bought a towel at Don Quixote to use in public toilets Visited Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Saitama, Kobe, Nagoya, Nagano, Matsumoto, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Fukuyama, Kanazawa, & Anjo. Liked Fukuyama, Nagano, & Akihabara best. Also liked Ryogoku. Rained whole time in Kanazawa. Everyone was really nice except two taxi drivers(Nagoya & Shinjuku) who wouldn't drive me. Nagoya driver said in Japanese "Walk". Look forward to returning. Saw 31 wrestling shows in 33 days!
I was wondering if the lack of soap had changed since covid, thanks. At least there's hand sanitiser. My number one tip is always to take a small cloth for drying hands. It was the tip I was given before my first trip, so I was prepared 😄
Hey takashii i just thought it would be cool if other asians could be interviewed to get their perspectives too (im from singapore 😉) since ive seen most of the interviewees being american/australian. Thanks!
@@missjoblue7992 definitely. As Mexico has over 1.5+ million (non Mexican descent) US Americans living there. On the other hand, Australia has less than 150K US Americans living there. Location plays a huge role. Even though Australia uses English and Mexico uses Spanish.
I moved to Japan last month and the thing that I found most surprising was the vending machines. They're everywhere! We have them in the UK too of course, but they're limited to places like train stations and maybe office buildings or hotels or cafeterias. Seeing vending machines on almost every street, even in the back streets of quieter suburbs, was shocking. Suddenly it made sense to me why a lot of Japanese video games have vending machines in strange places. It's not just a fun and convenient little gimmick; it's entirely based on the reality of Japan! The other shocking thing was discovering that fax machines are truly alive and kicking in Japan. I don't think people have used fax machines since like the 90s in the UK! And then of course the other things people mentioned too... not seeing many foreigners (even in Tokyo), the level of English being really low (I've been spoilt by travelling around Europe, where I can usually find at least one person who speaks English well enough to help me out if my broken French/Spanish/German is insufficient), the wonderfully bizarre mix of traditional/retro and modern/futuristic technology (and architecture), the kindness of the people... Japan's a wonderful place :)
I am in Japan right now and I have to say, I respect every single place I go to, it doesn’t matter how different the culture could be, I just adapt, I am the one who’s coming from outside. I mean, I grew up traveling so I think that’s how it should be.
What surprised me about Japan was how many spiders there were everywhere! Huge weaver ones. Coming from Australia I felt Japan was waaaaayy worse than Australia in that department. Also the whole "futuristic" thing is not futuristic nowadays. It felt like I was going back to the 80s in some instances. Very interesting.
Yeah, I had a "small" Huntsman spider in my apartment once. It was ~6 cm wide. 😵 I was able to kill it because there was no way that I wanted it back in! (7th year in Japan)
@@alexcarter8807 I do cause they freak me out. Walk into a spiderweb face first and you might change your mind. lol but I will admit there were no flies or mosquitos to be seen, at least not in the season I visited.
In many ways japanese cities feel like they stopped development in the 80s. the buildings are still impressive but most are showing their age now and a bit worn down from the 80s boom they had.
I always get dumbfounded when I see westerners expecting every (asian) foreign country people to speak fluent English as some mandatory, basic expectation. Like, those country natives have their own native langauage which they speak and use. There will always be those western foreigners who work there for several years, even decades (like English teachers) and never even bother to learn to read the basic letters nor speak the basic expressions of that countries language, expecting to be spoon fed with the natives to struggle to use Engish for them. (I am not talking about tourists who spend just within days or weeks) Also, when they talk about standing out being a foreigner and being looked at, the same or more racist situations happens for any minority race also in western places which are not globalized (especially rural areas), it's just that mostl westerners never got to be the ones to be in the minority side.
yep Western cities are off limits for travel now, if someone wants to experience European culture their best bet is the more rural parts that are still European or go to central and Eastern Europe
I love what you do.. you widen peoples minds on Japan and who Japan is. I was stationed in Okinawa for 2 years. Travelled to Osaka and Tokyo ..(that was 30+ yrs ago.).. when the Japanese Govt wanted US Forces removed. Now it has changed. I can travel, and what i see is a more diverse Japan...it is refreshing to see so many foreigners in Japan., just make sure you obey the common rules 9f japanese society and it will be a fantastic journey. Thank you Takashi for what you do. 😎👍❤️
I'm from the UK so I went with my friend to find English breakfast whilst living in Tokyo a few years ago. We arrived at a small pop-up restaurant in the heat of August and saw maybe around 20-30 people queuing outside. We peeked our heads inside we saw a single large table that could fit around six to eight people, yet the restaurant was only accepting one group at a time sometimes only one or two diners. They were restricting the number of people sitting at their one table due to covid. 20-30 people were queuing in 30°C heat, waiting for all of the people in front of them to finish eating one by one. That would've taken hours. We decided to go somewhere else. I've also had issues with queuing outside cafes in Japan in the rain, cold and heat when there are free, cleared tables inside. Rather than the staff sit customers down to wait in comfort, they'll make them wait standing outside.
Hiii takashii ! Would you mind interviewing university students like maybe foreigners , like why did they choose to come over to Japan to study university and what subjects did they choose ? Thank you
Takashii, your videos are amazing, thank you for doing this :D I'll be visiting in April-May, and I'm watching your channel to know what to expect and to learn a bit of the language :) Sidenote, one of my favorite parts is at the end where you go "How was it? That was interesting!" Genuinely enjoyable.
There are vegetable stands that are unmanned. You simply look at the prices, take the items you want, and then deposit the amount into a can or container. Where I'm from, all those vegetables would be gone and the cash container stolen as well. 😂
In New York, restaurant staff chased us down the street for more money, because we only paid a 15% tip (apparently it switches to 20% at night, which we didn't know). Meanwhile, in Japan, they don't need security guards at the schools, to check for guns. You choose 🤣
Interesting video. As an Australian from Sydney, who frequently travels to Melbourne for work, I was very confused about the Melbourne tourist comments about public transport being late 30 minutes? Where in Melbourne are they from? Must be regional or out of the city. Public transport systems in Australia aren't great when you compare them to places like Singapore, Taiwan and Japan, but it's been 10 years since I had a train run 30 minutes late in Sydney/Melbourne (happens due to issues on the train line, accidents or suicide). They are seldom late, and run precisely on time. You miss one in the CBD, there's another one coming in 5-10 minutes. Our trains in Australia are monopolised by the government. Trains in Japan are owned and run by multiple privately owned organisations, which prove to be way more effective than what we have. Sorry, brain is still trying to compute what that Australian person said.
Train reliability is a problem in Oz.. especially in extreme heat events or extreme rain.. the 30 mins is true as the frequency of metro trains in peak is low.. ie 20 to 30 min spacing on main lines, so a cancelled service would result in a big delay..
Could you ask japanese people if they are genuinely offended by mistakes like someone leaving a tip or trying to hi-five someone or give them a handshake when first meeting. If they aren't offended or are why and does how long someone has lived in Japan make a difference or is a foreigner a foreigner all the same?
I think generally they won't be offended by the foreigner's mistakes so much thinking they didn't know about the habits/rules. They might even do not to point it out or correct out of not wanting to offend them, if the mistakes aren't serious or big. But if they are important or offensive, or two of you are close enough to talk frankly, they say something. (By the way, the demonstrations of physical affections, like kisses, are to be avoided in the public places, of course.)
Tbh it's really frustrating to hear people, especially English speaking ones pretend everyone is gonna understand them. That lady with her address in English taking a local cab and surprised the driver didn't understood her or the address written in English, like bro!?...... Having your staying address in the local language written down is travel 101 tip.
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TOKYO GUIDEBOOK
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The thing that shocked me the most when I visited Japan for the 1st time was the train stations have a whole mall in them with stores and restaurants. The public transit was really impressive in general compared to NYC where I'm from. The trains were very clean, reliable and easy to use for a non Japanese speaking foreigner.
Any big rats?
I heard they just throw newspapers on the floor in public transit in NYC?
@@icebice I heard about this, but actually New Yorkers say they leave the newspaper on the seat for the next passenger to read. Maybe a newspaper falls to the ground, but they don't throw them on the floor.
@@layzy24 all the time, they're normally on the tracks but you cant miss those fat ass rats.
@@susanma4899 my friend from New York gave me a tip. Always look at your seat before you sit on the NY subway, could be an unfortunate gift steaming there for you if you know what I mean.
I'm really glad I decided to learn Japanese before traveling to Japan. I wanted to learn it just to be respectful to the locals but it really seems like it just makes your whole trip easier.
How well can you speak it? Ive just started taking the Pimsleur courses. I'm on level 1 but ive learned so much in 10 days.
@@davidpicarazzi I can't speak yet, I'm still building out my vocab. I'm starting to grasp grammar though. Kanji is still my wrist nightmare haha
Same. I want to be as RESPECTFUL as possible.
@@davidpicarazzi I'v only been studying for about 2 months and started with pimsleur the same as you. It's a good starting point to learning some vocabulary and basic words/phrases but If i can recommend something, it's to use anki. It's an app that lets you download decks for japanese words/phrases. I use the 2k/6k deck and it's great for vocab. Pimsleur is great but i think if you're like me, around lesson 15 ish you'll start getting frusterated because it doesn't teach you why the sentences are structured the way they are/particles etc. Maybe try italki also. I'll start using italki next month when I feel more confident but it's a great way to talk to native speakers for a low cost from what I heard. Also maybe look up tai kims guide to grammer or japanese from zero. Hope some of this helps.
Fuck that imma go with zero Japanese let’s go
Japan was honestly such a shock to the system, I had a lot of positive experiences that differ so much from the UK
-Train transport is so efficient. Also, train etiquette - being silent, no talking on phones
-Clean and tidy, taking your rubbish with you
- Safety - I felt strangely safe wandering around Tokyo and Kyoto so late at night
-Seeing umbrellas just stashed outside stores and buildings - the sheer trust of leaving them there
One experience I had was visiting Takayama and trying to get to the Hida Folk Village outside the town. A local approached me and gave me directions to a shortcut, he even offered to walk me the whole way there. It was honestly such a shock that somebody would be willing to give up their own time to help so much. I personally can't wait to return!
The UK used to be the same way before they decided to destroy themselves with endless 3rd world immigration.
It's truly sad how much you've lost, and many people don't even know how good things used to be.
Not talking on phones is kind of unnecessary, for real. Same as people talking disgustingly loud, it should be discretionary and not an unspoken rule.
I went to Tokyo two weeks ago, and one thing I really like was how integrated foreigners were in society. In comparison to Korea, there were so many foreigners working typical jobs like at Uniqlo, owning their own restaurants, working at the airport, at the mall etc. In Korea yes, some foreigners work in cafes, but usually only part-time. People who are full-time are usually English teachers, students, factory workers, and in rare cases, business people. It was amazing to see how Japan is a bit more accommodating for foreigners wanting to stay long-term in Japan. Also, the foreigners in Japan blow the foreigners in Korea out of the water. Their level of Japanese was truly a beautiful thing to see because, in my experience, there are so many people who've been living in Korea for years and yet cannot have anything more than a basic conversation for their necessities!
@@missplainjane3905 interesting questions! Unfortunately, I think I can only answer on the perspective of Korea for some of the questions because I've never lived in Japan.
1) I would say in terms of economy and technology, Korea and Japan are highly developed; however, being half Korean and from the US, my opinion is that Korea is still a bit behind when it comes to race relations. Also while both are very developed economically, they still have a lot of work to do to protect people's rights to not be exploited in the workplace and being allowed to leave their work AT work or not be wrongfully fired. There are no laws against discrimination in Korea (i.e race, sexual preference)
2) I would rate both a 10 in terms of culture. I believe each culture is unique in its own right. Technology for Korea I'd give a 10 and Japan I'd give a 9 just because Japan still does a lot of transactions with cash. For standard of living I'd give Korea a 4.5. Korea is a great place to live and save money, but for long term foreigners in Korea, work is limited and the visas are only becoming more difficult to acquire. For myself as a teacher (and one who actually teaches as my career), the pay hasn't increased with inflation. The general population is also overworked and rarely has adequate time to spend with their families.
3) I would say Koreans overall are very kind and warm. The younger generation is definitely more liberal than the older generation, though the stigmatization of feminism here could use some work. The downside though is that Koreans become so focused on work--or rather work consumes their life to the point that they tend to forget to nourish their relationships, whether that be platonic or romantic. From my brief experiences in Japan I would say that the Japanese are very kind and polite. Whenever I almost bumped into someone or was in someone's path, they'd say sorry vs. Korea where people will bump you and not even say anything (typically the older generation). Even though I can't speak Japanese and a lot of people I interacted with couldn't speak English, they were not afraid to help me. Whereas, in Korea even though I speak Korean, the staff of some establishments visually become shaken and talk amongst themselves to see who can speak English to help me as their customer xD It's really cute to see their relief when I start speaking Korean.
4) Korea - Strong, communal, aspiring
Japan - Polite, considerate, thoughtful
Maybe that’s because Japanese is taught in a lot of schools more so than Korean.
@@okazay Good points. I also think that being a foreigner in Japan is more relaxing and you sort of fit in, or they don't go out of their way to make you feel like a "foreigner". They're very more and welcoming and are super polite. On the other hand, the older Korean generations can be very blunt and direct and just blatantly don't care about helping others. And yes, they will bump into you and simply won't apologize or care in the slightest, it's definitely a strange cultural thing and I wonder where it originated. Also, in Korea as a foreigner you always seem to feel like the one being looked at or talked about, whereas in Japan they hide those feelings or thoughts or it doesn't really bother them. In saying that, Koreans value first impressions and looking good, so I think they're more judgemental in that aspect too. It is very difficult to become close with both Koreans and Japanese, but it is not impossible but it takes time and trust to get into the personal circle. Sadly, many Koreans are overworked and that's just the life here. They need to work OT to make ends meet and to afford all the extra additional luxury items they want, sadly. Or even just meeting the bare minimum is tough for many. I'm also a teacher in Korea, and I pretty much agree with most things you wrote. I had a similar experience traveling around Japan for two weeks, I felt like I blended it well and wasn't stared at as much as I am in Korea. I did have an interesting conversation with an older Japanese woman once who said that Japanese have a cultural term for their over-politeness, and she thinks overall it has a negative impact on Japanese culture and society as they basically mask their true feelings and thoughts in an attempt to be "nice" and a desire to look good in front of others. Even during our conversation she couldn't stop this polite cultural peculiarity as it was so ingrained in her personality. Just wanted to share that experience as it explains part of the reason of their politeness, whereas I don't think this really developed in Korea in the past.
That's interesting about the language. As someone who studies both, I'd say Korean is so much harder than Japanese, even though they're very similar grammatically. That's because there are several totally different ways to say even basic things in Korean, whereas people use the same basic ways in Japan.
Maybe it's also because Koreans are much more confident about English than Japanese, even though their levels are similar (having similar problems due to their own languages being similar), so the necessity of a foreigner to learn Korean might not be as high..
Korea sounds weird. As a non-Japanese who has lived in Japan over 15 years, I wouldn't say foreigners are very integrated in Japanese society, even if they want to be. There are loads of employers that would never consider a foreigner if a Japanese was available with the same qualifications. You can be integrated to an extent, but not like in Western countries where you can just become part of the society.
What a timely video! I’m in Japan currently for the first time and adoring it, and almost everything in this video aligns with my experience. One thing I was surprised about was how polite, but not shy, Japanese people are in general. I was warned by many travel blogs that the Japanese are shy and may not engage with you, but as long as you approach someone with a smile and a quiet “Sumimasen” they are always happy to help and sometimes will try to chat. I know very little Japanese, having learned the little I know from anime, and even that small bit is enough up bridge the language gap.
To new tourist: learning even just a few phrases and cultural values before coming here will go a long way to connecting with the people.
One thing I dislike is some of the foreigners here, actually. I am a strong believer that on a foreign place, you play by those rules. Anytime I see someone talking loudly on the train, not wearing a mask properly, etc it’s always a foreigner, and not only is it extremely disrespectful, it gives the rest of us a bad rep.
Trust me, every respectful foreigner on holiday, hates idiot foreigners. Because they give the rest of us who are making an effort to be respectful a bad name and it causes prejudice. Because it doesn't matter if they're German French Indian African Australian American British whatever, a foreigner's a foreigner so it only takes a few of us to fuck it up for everyone else.
>Anytime I see someone talking loudly on the train, not wearing a mask properly, etc it’s always a foreigner, and not only is it extremely disrespectful, it gives the rest of us a bad rep.
Thank you for writing here.
As a Japanese, I imagine that it is only some foreign tourists who act selfishly in Japan, and such people probably have the same attitude in their home countries. I would like people to respect the local language, common sense, and customs of the foreign countries where they stay as part of the diversity and globalization.
@@Greenforrest7342 except wearing a mask every time you go outside is not exactly healthy, but you do you.
@@lukasmerten7697 you're not gonna die if someone wears a mask
they could be sick themselves with some minor illness and don't want to affect other people
@@lukasmerten7697 You care more about someone wearing something on their face than your own life?
Takashii! I love your videos! I am visiting Japan in March and April and I literally cannot wait! Your videos have helped put my mind at ease about my trip. Everything from how easy is it for non Japanese speakers to get by in Japan to how everyone treats each other in Japan! The fact that it has been mentioned several times in your videos about how helpful Japanese people are and how respectful and nice everyone is has been a huge help and has made me look forward to my trip even more! Thank you for all the videos!
me Too !! i hope you have a blast as long as your discreet.
Im travelling in March too! It will be my first time. Have a good time.
@@jeffreypayne5228 You too! haha I plan to. I feel I will fit in well since I tend to be overly polite haha
@@christie2479 You too! Hope we get to see some nice cherry blossoms in full bloom :)
@@knockoutbricks9329 Then you be fine then. I apply for a linguistic course around that time but I hope the best for you.
I used to live in Tokyo, and that is true about everyone being silent on the train. As a america black man I got a lot of looks, but nothing in a bad way. Most people in Tokyo would help me find my way around even when I did not speak Japanese so good, but some Japanese people knew what I was trying to say. I love Tokyo and I will visit Tokyo in May.
Those trains are often packed, if people were all talking it would be a nightmare.
@dominichill1492 I saw some other videos where African Americans who live in Japan say that yes, they may get "looked at" especially outside large metro areas, they generally feel so much safer in Japanese society compared to U.S. society. Wondering if you felt that way at all. Enjoy your trip, I can't wait to go back myself!
@@celianeher7637 exactly that’s why talking eating and being on your phone are prohibited and frowned upon. For the comfort of the community.
Very interesting interviews.
Thank you for continuing to educate us about your great country.
I appreciate the diversity of interviews that you do. I enjoyed this, and it was helpful. We will be coming to Japan next month for the first time. I have been working on my Japanese. I am both excited and nervous.
Your style of interviewing is fantastic. You don't lead questions, and get honest answers. I'm fascinated by every video you make mate
I met a cab driver who couldn't speak English when we were in Tokyo. We just kept quiet after boarding and saying hi. But this driver was so sweet and hospitable. He used google translate to chat with us, only when at red lights. He drove carefully and he even introduced a few landmarks along the way during his drive. He was in his 60s and I really appreciated that.
In my two weeks in Japan, I only experienced a few service staff who could not understand English and we all communicated with google translate. There was no problem and sometimes we went into the pharmacy with the translated text of what we are looking for instead. communication goes both ways, sometimes we as the guest should accomodate too.
2:06 Overalls and a tie is definitely a look!! Denmark, please never change. 😘
It was interesting and helpful to hear their views on what surprised them.
That can be part of the fun of travelling to different cultures and learning how they do things differently and wondering why and comparing it to your own home nation/country!
It can also be a way of trying to learn and improve in such new surroundings for example the lady that recommended trying to learn some Japanese is a good idea because it would be a mistake to expect people to be able to speak English as a lingua franca as compared to other nations where that is true.
The most interesting observation was how the Japanese seem to blend both "old and new" in terms of how they do things for example technology, either cashless vs cash or booking app vs email. I found it really interesting you have skyscrapers in Tokyo next to (rarer but still exist) traditional old-style Japanese houses when I visited.
It seems to say something about the culture and people and how they like to do things in their own way?
How fascinating! Thanks to all those who were interviewed; I listened to your views and your way of expressing yourselves and enjoyed learning some interesting ways people relate to Japan. Enjoy your time there and definitely appreciate the good manners and efforts of the Japanese people especially in such busy/crowded places!
I do not live in Japan but i find "Through Your Videos Takashii" that Japan is wonderful, i really love listening to everyone's point of view & You make that possible with Your channel. I have experienced Japanese in Australia, especially Melbourne & Gold coast QLD & they love taking photo's & i am sure it is because of the diversity in people, buildings, food, clothes. It is a great thing to be a tourist because we get to see that although there is diversity, different language & guidelines, there is sameness too. In the whole world i think Japanese Trains & Culture, is very clean, i like that & politeness too. Your videos are great, Thank You For You & Congratulations on 659,000 Subscribers, You earned it. Peace
Thanks for the upload! 🙌🏻🙏🏻 I’m heading to Japan for the first time ever on March 1st - 2 weeks travelling solo with just a backpack. Can’t wait to be there and experience it for myself 😊
What amazes me is the first time I came to Japan (summer in 2018), I didn't have culture shock. I had been learning the Japanese language for two years and in our Japanese language class we watched films like "電車男" and ”おくりびと”. My undergrad university also had a few Japanese exchange students, so we could ask freely questions about Japan. It wasn't until I met musicians on the street where they said, 'ちいちゃい顔' (small face). I knew what the translation was, but didn't realize it was a compliment until I later asked my friends. Musicians would give me thumbs up, said it was a positive thing, but I was definitely a little confused in the beginning.
As someone who often travels to Japan, the thing that shocks me the most is the size of shower room. It is hard for me to take shower due to the small size and not enough space inside 🕒
The water is clean!
I am laughing at the irony , times are changing , now white westerners are talking qbout having the exact same experiences that non white people had in the west , bet u get it now 😉.
they are crazy , how are you coming to Japan and can not speak Japanese , omg
@@annabella9833
I can speak a few words, but most hotels can understand English.
@@annabella9833 It is normal to travel and not be able to speak language of the country you are visiting! If you can, then of course it is better, that is right :)
@mikamikamiia
Yes.
And, have you been to Japan?
I think most hotel clerks in Japan can speak or understand English, just speak slowly and have no difficulty.
Your videos are very open and honest and have a great positive effect on Japanese culture.
Honestly, when I was in Japan, I felt like I blended in. I really never caught anyone staring at me or making me feel like a foreigner. Everyone treated me with respect and was so nice. I was also super respectful in return, as that is just simple politeness. It was an amazing experience and I made a ton of friends all over Japan. I will for sure be coming back!
Are you asian?
@@GiacomoCasanova043 I probably should have added that info, no I am not. I am from the USA as well.
Yeah, some foreigners in Japan are schizophrenic. Just because the Japanese didn't sit next to them, they would film them and post it on social media. Who cares about gaijin seats or anything like that? lol
@@user-qm7jw I didn’t have any issues, it honestly was great. I do agree that some go to Japan or any foreign country and are a bit hyper sensitive to things. I had an amazing trip, met up with friends I made online, made great memories, even talked to tons of locals and exchanged contact info with some of those locals. Not once did I feel uncomfortable anywhere. I also don’t speak Japanese so sometimes I had to go out of my confront zone and ask people for help and they were so awesome and honestly I’d prob still be aimlessly walking around now without the help of those people!
Are you blonde with blue eyes? It's more difficult for us not to be stared at 😂
Hi Takashii!! This video was awesome, I'll be coming to Japan for the first time in April because I'll be an intern at a Japanese international school!! I'm so excited, but it was really interesting to hear from other people who were traveling to Japan for the first time! :)
Next video please Ask Japanese people about their fashion and how much it costs
Your soul
I love Japanese fashion 🌟
Yes I want to see that!
The clothes in this country are ridiculously expensive. Sure you can go to Uniqlo but for example any winter coat from a men’s clothing store will run you $300 easily
FIT CHECK
I get the sense that Australians are pretty common tourists, if not the most common, from the Anglosphere. It makes sense of course, as they're the closest geographically compared to the US, Canada, or the UK. I just never really thought about that before.
Also I visited Japan once when I was just graduating High School and to add something that I noticed that wasn't already said in the video (because yes, Osaka is much more relaxed and casual a place than Tokyo) it's that the streets are very narrow compared to what I was used to. But I'm from California originally, so this holds true to most older cities as I later discovered.
Japan is one of most popular spot for Aussies, most airlines offer really really good flight deals which is why you see so many australians holidaying there.
@@kookiesfriend Although, there is of course the jealousy you must endure from Bali, the true mistress of the everyday tradie.
It's a common joke in Australia that no matter where in the world you will ALWAYS find Australian backpackers xD
It's true. It has become Australian's second most popular destination after Bali. I'm going in November and so many people I know have already been. More Australians now go to Japan than Japanese come to Australia. For anyone like me who remembers the hordes of Japanese tourists that came to Australia in the 1980s that is remarkable. Also I haven't met an Australian that has travelled there and didn't love it.
Lots of Aussies, and also their time zones work better. They don't need to worry about jet lag. Plus, a lot of Aussies actually learn Japanese in school.
The thing that shocked me was when I was working in a Japanese nursing home, the elderly people don’t drink water that much. They drink green tea only most of the time (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack time, when they wake up or before going to bed). They only drink water (small amount) when taking medicine. Also, they use green tea as gargle. 😁
Another great video takashii! My friend and I are traveling thru all of Japan in March and I've watched a ton of your vids to help prepare! ありがとうございます！
I'm coming to Japan next month and I'm so excited! But I'm also a little nervous because I'll be traveling alone this time so I have to take the train by myself (I've visited twice before but both were homestays) I'm also very lucky that I've been able to study Japanese in high school and after through online courses, so hopefully I'll be able to ask for help if I need it 😊
I hope your trip goes really well ! :) can I ask what online courses you have been using to study?
Just came from travelling in Japan solo, and the train system was not as intimidating as I thought it would be! Travelling in Tokyo is easier because there are a lot of signs in English. Also, the people I’ve encountered have been very helpful and would point me in the right direction if i looked lost. The trains are also very reliable and run exactly on time. Google maps also saved me! Have the best time in Japan! I’m jealous that you get to experience it for the first time 😂
Heyo ^-^ my last trip was in 2017 lol but I was alone, 19yo and there for 2 months and trying to get to remote places ...and the trains were fine!! JR cover so much now and with a little bit of japanese and a lot of trying you'll get anywhere ^-^ ♡ don't worry you'll be fine
How was your visit to Japan?
I had a wonderful discussion with someone about visiting Japan the other day at my workplace and he said that it was amazing in every aspect. The cuisine, history, architecture, and the overall atmosphere was amazing. When he came back home, it felt very depressing and was just overall plain and boring compared to Japan.
Which country are you talking about, it makes no sense unless we know this.
@@markylon The US, my apologies for not being specific about it.
@@markylon Rubbish. ---------It makes plenty of sense !
before my first trip to japan, i was worried about the 'return depression', however during my time there the worry faded and was replaced with motivation to go back and work toward returning/learn more of the language; to see my new friends, to see more of the country, etc. it's all about perspective, i think
Well, it's better to visit than to live there, believe me. Japanese work life is extremely toxic and hard...
Great videos, I love to do research before visiting a country and these videos are super helpful
I’ve always had a fascination and a strong favorable attraction for Japanese people, culture and their language. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to visit Japan in August 2023. In the early 80s I lived on the island of Maui Hawai’i for 2 years where Japanese people and culture had a strong influence on certain aspects of island life. They owned many homes and businesses and their presence was felt strongly on the island during that time and beyond.
I really loved many things about the Japanese people and culture; the language, politeness of the Japanese people, their work ethic, the appreciation of education and the respect shown to teachers, the non brash mannerisms, the general politeness, honesty and cleanliness of the Japanese people and the respect they show to their elders and the removal of shoes when entering a home, school or religious space. I continued to embrace the removing of shoes even after returning to CONUS and continue the practice to this day.
More than 40 years later I appreciate even more the aforementioned but add to the list my appreciation for the wearing of masks in crowded or indoor spaces.
During my visit I will appreciate the safety, cleanliness, collective consideration of others in daily interactions such as wearing head phones when playing loud music, wearing a mask and speaking and behaving in a non brash or rude manner and just the overall politeness.
I know that no country or culture is perfect and as a very tall 5’11(180.34cm), almost 60 year old black woman, size 11.5 shoe size, size 10 and an educator of special needs students there would definitely be challenges for me in some facets of Japanese life should I ever choose to reside there for any amount of time.
Most obvious would be finding shoes/clothes, finding a hair salon or makeup to match my skin tone.
I’m making an assumption here but I’m guessing that disability access, the educational system for young people (birth-18) with physical, emotional or mental disabilities is not as readily or easily available, nor are people with physical, mental or emotional disabilities generally accepted into the larger Japanese society or into the work force as adults relative to their non disabled counterparts as they might be in the US.
When I think of discrimination I think of it more on a systemic level versus isolated incidents by a few bad actors.
Now I make no mistake that systemically light/white skin is the standard that many Japanese value, however it is my opinion that is changing, albeit slowly, due to more people of color from all over the world integrating into Japanese society. What I’ve loved about these interviews is that people from many parts of the world who speak different languages, are different faiths and different shades but they all seem to respect the culture, attempt to speak the language and just generally attempt to show show respect for the societal norms and rules of the country.
I’ll have to be mindful not to jaywalk and not strike up conversations with random strangers on the train.
We visited Japan before and stopped at a cafe shop, we asked a guy about the nearest train station and he helped us searched for it on his phone and studied the tourist map that we have and gave us direction. There was also a time when we need to find a tourist help center and asked a Japanese guy for direction, he actually led us there himself although he looks like in a hurry too.
Great interviews Takashi - looking forward to visiting Japan for Cherry Blossom 2023 - congrats on building an amazing and informative channel - arigatouuuu
It’s nice being in public places and not having to listen to other’s conversations which they perceive as private.
“They look because your different”
Being a reasonably attractive person, gains that sort of attention anywhere in the world.
I have been to Japan twice . The people and are so helpful and kind. I was in Kure and had to go to the laundomat to my washing and when I arrived obviously everything was written in Japanese. I had no idea how to use the machines. I remember a gentleman came up to me and gestured to open my wallet which I did and took out a 1000 yen and he put this into a machine which dispensed coins. He then picked up my laundry and put it in the washing machine, put the coins in and the machine and started the it for me with coins I now had. I thanked him and just smiled and bowed. What a great gesture and grate ambassador for Japan. these are the thinks that make your visit to Japan so enjoyable, good food, great people, low costs and a great place to visit.
@@missplainjane3905 ancient, modern and diversity
@@missplainjane3905 you will not be disappointed. It was beyond my expectations
@@missplainjane3905 the paces I went to were Tokyo Sapporo Kure, Hiroshima Osaka, Otaru. Which part of the world are you from as I can email you some info if you like
I think the way Japan is homogeneous is actually good in a way. The traditions don't get changed all too much, foreigners have to adapt at least to a certain degree to the japanese way of living instead of being stubborn to their own ways and expecting the native people to change.
Hope Japan stays this way. The way it's mixed right now with not too much but slightly noticable changes is good enough.
Unfortunately, many Westerners believe that Japan is behind the West because it is different from the West, and they try to Westernize Japan by denying the Japanese culture and way of thinking. Colonialism ended 100 years ago, but Westerners' mindset has not changed since then. Even then, they destroyed civilizations around the world, imposed their religions, and westernized the rest of the world.
>foreigners have to adapt at least to a certain degree
they only do that in small numbers, once there are too many they revert back to their normal behavior
@@cottoncandykawaii2673 which is a shame. Obviously I'll speak a bit of English when I arrive simply because I'm not fluent enough in Japanese, but I'll at least try basic japanese to thank people, greet people, ask for directions and small stuff like that
@@user-qm7jw not only USA and EU tho. Middle east and Africa too, everyone is just not respectful enough and feeling too entitled. Like they don't have to have a degree in japanese, but basic stuff already shows that ur trying at least.
@@killininstinct343
it's more then language, it's also behavior and mannerisms, like the Danish guys who refused to be silent while riding the train, had they traveled alone they likely would have complied to the code of silence but because they were traveling together they felt comfortable to behave how they naturally do back home
As the population of foreigners grows in Japan they're going to notice a lot of them feel comfortable acting outside the normal bounds of society
Lovely video, I am coming to Tokyo in July for the first time it's been a dream of mine for so long and I have the best tour guide in a friend that lived their for 10 years I can't wait. I'm so excited!
I'm moving to Tokyo this fall to continue my Master studies and your videos are really interesting! Thanks you and keep up the good work!
I really enjoy your videos. I don't think I will ever have the budget to visit Japan but I'm fascinated by the culture.
It is not expensive to visit Japan. The items sold in Japan are also less expensive compared to the last century.
Never say never. I was homeless and destitute living on the streets of Toronto, Canada. I've now been in Japan for 30 years.
@@gordonbgraham
Speaking of working in Japan, would it be tough if one can't speak Japanese?
@@asianprince8718 It depends in which sector you work. There are many foreigners in finance who don't require Japanese, for example. If you are a labourer in agriculture, construction then it's also unnecessary. It's also not required to be an ALT (assistant language teacher) in Japan. That said, if you want to become a full-time licensed teacher then it's required as you'd need a license from a Japanese university (a license from a foreign country is non-transferrable). As all education courses are entirely in Japanese including written assignments you need to be not only fluent but literate. You also need to be literate in order to be hired and or advance in any white collar job, outside of sectors like finance which are highly international based.
Thank you for another good video Takashii. I quite like to hear what various foreigners think and feel about Japan. Now that I am starting to get serious about another Japan holiday, some of their observations remind to make sure I don't make a similar mistake or maybe brush up on my Nihon Go and that sort of thing. For sure the Tokyo JR system is not that easy for me, especially hurrying from the plane to Tokyo and then the right connection to the accomodation. So that's something I might brush-up on.
Some of these people almost seem offended that Japan is mostly Japanese. That's what makes Japan so great lol
@@dreamerlotus yea lol here English countryside there is absolutely 0 diversity
In general, a lack of diversity isn't healthy.
A lot of countries could learn a lot from Japan.
Def shocking from coming from the US where I go outside and see every nationality imaginable. 😂
Thats dumb woke people, they think everywhere should be every ethnicity, cuz they dont actually understand what culture is
I think the only thing that shocked me was the fact that a lot of the train stations are massive and how easy it was to get lost trying to find the correct platform or even exiting on the correct side haha. I never felt like I was getting weird looks by the locals, there was a language barrier sometimes but always managed to find a work around. I found so many people extremely helpful and willing to assist if we were having trouble looking where we needed to go or what sort of tickets we needed for the trains and shinkansen and I often got complimented on my purse or bag (pokemon-eevee and ffxiv ita bag)
Thanks for all your videos, Takashii. I learn so much about different cultures because of these.
11:30 "Good to know, cause I live in Tokyo" smoooooth hahaha
I am from The United States and I have been to Japan 3 times (by this point in my life). I studied Japanese for 3 months in 2016, I came to visit for a couple weeks in 2017, and between 2020 and 2022 I studied Japanese again for the first year, and then I worked as an English teacher for the second year (a family emergency is why I had to leave Japan in 2022). I'm hoping to return to Japan again in the future.
I love Japan! I think when I was first in Japan my culture shocks were: convenience of public transport, how clean everything was, the politeness and helpfulness of Japanese people, not having to look over my shoulder all the time to stay safe, and the amount of Nature Parks even in the bigger cities (I LOVE hiking and just spending time in Nature, so I really enjoyed this).
I'm going abroad this fall and I'm so nervous! I've never traveled to another country alone before lol. These vids really help
The second interview with the guys from Denmark and the girl from Australia. Was really nice, we talk anyway 🤣 in the metro , and so clean or people who politely try to help even if they don't understand you. 🌺❤
I remember when my late grandma told me that she almost gave a tip to a waitress in a restaurant in Tokyo. Then she suddenly remembered that you must not give tips in Japan because of the work culture. She was really amazed by the politeness and respect that she experienced during her vacation there. God, I miss her.
I can't wait to visit soon. Great video Takashi san! 素晴らしい！
They get PAID to do their job which is why. LOL!
@@YourXellency yeah because of the western influence here in the Ph, some people tend to give tips to servers, especially hotel employees and valets.
@@MrShem123ist I seen westerns tip and make waitresses cry hard as if they won the lottery, so I tried it. The girl teared a bit when I gave her $25.
As a Westerner who has lived in Japan for years, I hate tipping culture. I hate going back to the old country and doing that. It's not the amount of money which is the problem, but the whole idea of giving someone extra money for actually doing their job. It's almost insulting, like saying you didn't expect them to do their best, but they did anyway. The customer pays the restaurant and the owner should pay the employees properly. I'd rather actually pay MORE money for a meal without a tip, than paying a smaller amount, including a healthy tip to someone.
@@alukuhito agreed
Very cool interview. The contrast between the answers here to that of the most recent interview about why foreigners are leaving Japan is so stark. This shows the tourists idealistic and more surface view of Japan , while the other deals with disillusionment or more realistic view after living in Japan.
Btw, last girl looks like a young Nicole Kidman.
One thing that disappointed me during my visit was that I did not get to be interviewed by Takashii! :) Where do you normally hang out? I will try to find you next time :)
Japan was wonderful and I hope to visit again soon.
Because I had watched your videos and others, I was prepared for some of the things people in this video mentioned. I learned a little bit of Japanese before going (came in handy when getting some Fami Chiki) and made sure I had the address of my hotels available in Japanese in case I needed to take a taxi or got lost.
Getting around Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka on public transit was sooooooooooo easy using Passmo/Suica/ICOCA. It was terrific, efficient, and fast. One tip for travelers: do NOT try to ride subways and city trains during rush hours in the morning or evening unless you just really like being squished tightly together with other people. Traveling between cities on the shinkansen was very easy and comfortable and nice time to enjoy an ekiben (駅弁).
I was surprised by how difficult it can sometimes be to figure out whether a restaurant is open or requires a reservation. In Kyoto, even when the shop's website has their open hours and they have hung their noren (暖簾) out, they still may not be open. Also, even though many restaurants have their menu outside, you may only be able to eat there if you have made a reservation well in advance. Trip for travelers: if you have a hard time finding an available restaurant or are wiped out at the end of a long day and not wanting to find a place to eat, ubereats is your friend, since it has lots of options, translates many of the menus into english, and you can use your native payment method within the app.
Thank you for the UberEats tip!!!
i am coming to japan in march, these videos are getting me so excited to visit, thank you ! :)
My family and I will be in Tokyo in March. I hope to see you in Tokyo. I love your content.
Your channel and videos definitely helps me prepare for my visit this May, to learn what to expect and what to do and not do in Japan is very helpful. どうもありがとうございます!
@clarencegilkie-ec4ciAsian female don't like needle d*ck neckbeards like you
I'm from New York and have always wanted to visit Japan !! Hopefully soon 🥰🥰
Trivia note: The U.S. reality game show The Amazing Race has been on the air for 34 Seasons, & they have traveled to Japan for 8 of them; 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 26, & 31.
The train thing in Melbourne hits hard. I've missed exams thanks to trains being cancelled. Now I aim to get there 30mins before I have to but even then, I end up being exactly on time.
The other thing, is I went to a rural country towns in Australia and they have cashless payment there xD
So not having it at all in Japan is so surprising
Cash is still king in Japan but it doesn’t mean there is no cashless. In all convenience stores you could pay using QR codes or credit cards.
There is only this weird rule that you can only pay with cash for post stamps. Otherwise you could use cashless.
Bro rolling up with camo overalls, a shirt and tie and a leopard print hat. Denmark zoomers are something else apparently.
Hi Takashii, love your videos and i learn a lot from these videos. Keep up the good work😄
Takashi your English has improved so much since the beginning. Good job! I love the videos.
What shocked me the first few months was people leaving their phone to keep a seat in a fast food joint, not feeling scared to walk alone at night in Komazawa Park. What keeps shocking me 13 years later is the toxic work culture, the lack of decisiveness and individuality. I don’t feel like living in my home country anymore cause it sucks but some aspects of life Japan can make it rough sometimes
could you elaborate on the toxic work culture. i'm planning on visiting japan.
Don't you think there's toxic work in your native country?
Sandy's totally rocking the fro and looking gorgeous!
I visited Japan for the first time 2 weeks ago and a lot of these people saying there's not much contactless etc but there actually is, it's just us foreigners don't have the access to it much, pretty much most places in tokyo esp konbinis you can tap your passmo which can be connected to your phone as well
multiple times the few japanese people in front would finish their transactions just as quick as in the west
@@missplainjane3905 I come from UK and was only in Tokyo but I did spend an evening in Kanagawa.
1) This would have to split into different areas.
For transport and infrastructure very advanced and highly developed.
For work culture and stuff like banking not developed, work culture very hard hours and shunned on for taking time off and stuff like banking etc said to need a lot of paperwork.
So basically for tourism it's amazing
2) Culture: 10 there are shrines everywhere along with temples, there are always Japanese people out even on weekday nights, very respectful culture as well.
Technology: 9 advanced for specific things like transport but I hear people still use fax machines in the work place.
Architecture: 8 I mean a lot of buildings in Tokyo have gona back to plain skyscrapers but you can always see tokyo tower, sky building from a distance and the touristy places have nice architecture
Food/local products: 9 there is fresh stuff and so many traditional food if you know where to find them and even fast food places are better than the west. For shopping anything its a goldmine
Scenery & landscape: 10 tokyo has an amazing skyline from the shibuya sky building and outside of tokyo there is lovely scneries ive seen
Standard of living: ? I mean Japanese people do have the longest life expectancy but you'd have to ask someone whose lived there
3) In my own personal experience Japanese people were very kind and hospitable especially as I could speak broken Japanese to them, they are very attentive
And most don't want to cause trouble to other people, they will not speak or eat on trains and still wear masks etc, just very aware of their surroundings
4) Unique, polite and peaceful and a huge vairiety of stuff to do
obviosuly every experience is different, many people say that tokyo people are cold but coming from london people just mind their business and servers are a million times more kind and attentive so if you are contemplating on going, just go and experience it
useful advice would be learn a bit of japanese haha
@@missplainjane3905 Japan is definitely a first world country, it has the resources to develop fully in the work place and abandon all paperwork etc but the mindset holds it back.
I didn't really have any inconvenience travelling over there, they just need you to sign up and process through the Japanweb app before to upload all your covid docs etc
The only thing we were quite confused by was using the romancecar from Kanagawa to Tokyo but it was just we need a paper ticket.
Another thing we didnt catch at the beginning is to avoid tax paying on more expensive stuff is you get the receipt and go to another desk in the shopping centre and they give the money back.
Also if you want to ride a borris type bikes in tokyo there's really no way to, docomo doesnt accept foreign credit cards/numbers, we managed to get hello cycling working (that still needed a japanese sim that has a number) but the bikes were too small for my partner.
All in all there was always going to be unexpected stuff the first time even though I did know Japanese but after that the next time is going to be pretty much no trouble at all, it is great for tourism because train systems are impeccable and you can just read off googlemaps
🌿Good episode. I like the idea that the older culture and technology is integrated with new cultured thinking and technologies. Yes learning some Japanese before visiting would be beneficial indeed. I look forward to visiting especially to explore your natural areas. I have been learning a lot about your rivers and wilderness parks through Otter Life ( youtube channel) and I have to say they are all spectacular. 🤗🌿
thank you for your videos I have enjoyed watching them tremendously. I visited Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo in 2017 and loved it and want to go back. It's true what the girl said, Osaka is a big food town and make sure you bring cash because a lot of places don't accept credit cards!
Clever Japan, no cbdc.
We’ve just come back from our 2nd holiday to Japan, which we LOVED! I agree with most of these comments.
While there I experienced encountering an entitled foreigner (different nationality to mine) as he was berating a staff member in a Tokyo Starbucks for getting his coffee order wrong! 🤦♀️
After a few minutes of listening to his nonsense I asked him to cut the server some slack, and to essentially pull his head in (not those exact works)….long story short, as soon as I sat down, I regretted it instantly, NOT for confronting him, but worried I may have shamed or embarrassed the Japanese workers (I wasn’t loud or rude, but he escalated).
After a few minutes, I had a few staff members, including the manager come to our table to thank me for speaking up (in broken English), and my young adult sons did too.
As an Aussie, we do line up. There are lines everywhere, but we do also book because we like to avoid lines. I think the biggest difference is the lines are short, if the wait is long we'll just go to another place.
I enjoyed this video and conversations with foreigners. I would have to agree with majority of the points mentioned by your guests but just like a few have mentioned already, the public transit in Japan is A1 Flawless (XG LOL)! Using Google maps, my wife and I had no issues whatsoever using Japan's train system. Visiting for the first time, I'd always admired Japan's technological advances and heard so much about it. Then we realized, cash was certainly still "king" in Japan when paying for food in certain restaurants, vendors, etc. Not that it was an issue for us but more of a shock. However, I've heard paying by credit card has improved as a result of the Olympics held in Tokyo (2020) and new POIs for visitors to visit. The Japanese people were so friendly to us, the food and sights in Japan were just mind blowing! We were only there for a short time but definitely plan to visit soon once again!
Of course all of these insights are great from foreigners, but it also shows that a lot of them didn't do their research before coming. You should know about Japan before coming: homogeneity, the train system, the quality of living, hospitality, prices, and much more honestly. I can't blame them for not researching before coming since there's so much on social media about "oh yeah Japan is great it's time to travel there!" But before going to any country, not just Japan, you should research their culture and customs, and at least understand the layout of whatever city you're traveling to in terms of transport. The people from Denmark especially surprised me because it seemed like they just hopped on a plane to Japan for fun and didn't even take a second to learn about Japanese culture beforehand. Great video as always!
Nothing wrong with not researching. Some people come to experience the shock factor. Come surprise me Japan. Know-it-alls are so tiresome.
@@deckard5558 japan is not a place to surprise yourself lol. it’s different going to somewhere in europe where it’s not homogenous and there’s people that speak english. obviously you don’t NEED to research japan-it’s the safest first world country on the planet, so you’re not going to suffer if you go on a whim. but your experience will certainly be stunted if you make no effort to learn a little japanese, japanese culture/customs and understand how to be respectful frankly in japan. nothing “know-it-all” about doing your due diligence before traveling.
@Homie and yet people still complain about being stared at, not knowing how to use japanese directions/trains, and find japanese social aspects weird… as evident by this video. all of which should have been understood before going lol. I’m not saying you need to be fluent in japanese, but at least learning katakana as a bare minimum would make so many tourists trips infinitely better.
@@Zoruachi whether Japan is a country full of surprises is not for you to decide, but for the individual tourists. People travel for a variety of reasons, and each reason is personal to them. If they are looking to be surprised and find nothing surprising in the end, that is still none of our business. As for doing "due diligence", I think this exceptionalism about Japan is stale; so non-homogenous countries don't require one to do research for them to be worth visiting? Of course it's great if one wants to read up about Japan first, it makes their journey easier, that's kind of a given. But for people who don't care and just want to do it cold turkey, I can respect that. They know the risks, from unintentionally offending the host country or getting robbed for not knowing common sense that is more localized, and they should be allowed to absorb such risks on their own terms. A host country also opens its borders to tourism reciprocating such risks as well. In fact, how many times have we read about wrong advices given by foreigners on the internet who think they are savvy enough about a country after living there for a year?
@Homie I wasn't the one making a point out of Japan's (non)homogeneity.
This video is great .
Fresh content .
Funny guys. Love it
Thx Takashii
Thank you for watching!
Now I see sooo many tourists here in Tokyo every day.
If you haven’t come here yet, I hope you can come and enjoy Japan this year!
Japanese culture is expected to see.
You know, I'm something of a Asian myself. Understanding them is kind of common for Asian Community 🇫🇷🇵🇭
I might have Japanese blood in my vein
Trivia note: The U.S. reality game show The Amazing Race has been on the air for 34 Seasons, & they have traveled to Japan for 8 of them; 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 23, 26, & 31.
I’m planning a trip to Japan for this year ❤
I love Tokyo, shopping.
one day hopefully
That's an awesome winter coat! I got a Mountain Hardwear parka for this winter and it's so warm that I am actually going on walks even if it's really cold.
I was in Japan for the first time for 33 days. Just got back two weeks ago. What surprised me the most was public toilets not having soap, towels or hand dryers. Just water. But had hand sanitizer 😂. Need soap. I bought a towel at Don Quixote to use in public toilets
Visited Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Saitama, Kobe, Nagoya, Nagano, Matsumoto, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Fukuyama, Kanazawa, & Anjo.
Liked Fukuyama, Nagano, & Akihabara best. Also liked Ryogoku. Rained whole time in Kanazawa.
Everyone was really nice except two taxi drivers(Nagoya & Shinjuku) who wouldn't drive me. Nagoya driver said in Japanese "Walk".
Look forward to returning. Saw 31 wrestling shows in 33 days!
I was wondering if the lack of soap had changed since covid, thanks. At least there's hand sanitiser. My number one tip is always to take a small cloth for drying hands. It was the tip I was given before my first trip, so I was prepared 😄
Yeah the hand dryer thing made me realize why a lot of people still bring around and use handkerchiefs.
Hey takashii i just thought it would be cool if other asians could be interviewed to get their perspectives too (im from singapore 😉) since ive seen most of the interviewees being american/australian. Thanks!
So many Aussies! Feels like we are everywhere in Japan and Asia in general despite being a relatively small population
That's because Asia is quite close to Australia so flights aren't too long compared to other countries
@@missjoblue7992 definitely. As Mexico has over 1.5+ million (non Mexican descent) US Americans living there.
On the other hand, Australia has less than 150K US Americans living there. Location plays a huge role. Even though Australia uses English and Mexico uses Spanish.
Hi , I get so much like your videos .
Really like to see Japan now .
Thank you
I moved to Japan last month and the thing that I found most surprising was the vending machines. They're everywhere! We have them in the UK too of course, but they're limited to places like train stations and maybe office buildings or hotels or cafeterias. Seeing vending machines on almost every street, even in the back streets of quieter suburbs, was shocking. Suddenly it made sense to me why a lot of Japanese video games have vending machines in strange places. It's not just a fun and convenient little gimmick; it's entirely based on the reality of Japan!
The other shocking thing was discovering that fax machines are truly alive and kicking in Japan. I don't think people have used fax machines since like the 90s in the UK!
And then of course the other things people mentioned too... not seeing many foreigners (even in Tokyo), the level of English being really low (I've been spoilt by travelling around Europe, where I can usually find at least one person who speaks English well enough to help me out if my broken French/Spanish/German is insufficient), the wonderfully bizarre mix of traditional/retro and modern/futuristic technology (and architecture), the kindness of the people... Japan's a wonderful place :)
Buddy from Canada talking about 7-11 is fantastic and absolutely not what I expected.
That last girl's eyes were so cooool !!!! I wonder if they were contacts ?? :)
I am in Japan right now and I have to say, I respect every single place I go to, it doesn’t matter how different the culture could be, I just adapt, I am the one who’s coming from outside. I mean, I grew up traveling so I think that’s how it should be.
What surprised me about Japan was how many spiders there were everywhere! Huge weaver ones. Coming from Australia I felt Japan was waaaaayy worse than Australia in that department. Also the whole "futuristic" thing is not futuristic nowadays. It felt like I was going back to the 80s in some instances. Very interesting.
florida has some crazy ass spiders too. humid weather will do it.
Yeah, I had a "small" Huntsman spider in my apartment once. It was ~6 cm wide. 😵 I was able to kill it because there was no way that I wanted it back in! (7th year in Japan)
You talk about huge spiders like that's a bad thing...
@@alexcarter8807 I do cause they freak me out. Walk into a spiderweb face first and you might change your mind. lol but I will admit there were no flies or mosquitos to be seen, at least not in the season I visited.
In many ways japanese cities feel like they stopped development in the 80s. the buildings are still impressive but most are showing their age now and a bit worn down from the 80s boom they had.
Love this channel so much help with insight in Japan I wish to go to :)
I was just in Japan for two weeks, multiple times a day I'd go to Lawson's, 711 or familymart to get ice-cream, it was awesome
I am definitely more informed than before now just more excited to visit in april!!
I always get dumbfounded when I see westerners expecting every (asian) foreign country people to speak fluent English as some mandatory, basic expectation. Like, those country natives have their own native langauage which they speak and use. There will always be those western foreigners who work there for several years, even decades (like English teachers) and never even bother to learn to read the basic letters nor speak the basic expressions of that countries language, expecting to be spoon fed with the natives to struggle to use Engish for them.
(I am not talking about tourists who spend just within days or weeks)
Also, when they talk about standing out being a foreigner and being looked at, the same or more racist situations happens for any minority race also in western places which are not globalized (especially rural areas), it's just that mostl westerners never got to be the ones to be in the minority side.
Woah the Denmark dude gotta button up shirt with a tie and some overalls neva seen that before 😂😂
If Japan was as diverse as London then it wouldn't be Japan
yep Western cities are off limits for travel now, if someone wants to experience European culture their best bet is the more rural parts that are still European or go to central and Eastern Europe
@Cotton Candy Kawaii unfortunately yes, Europe no longer feels European, I just hope Japan doesn't go that route.
I love what you do.. you widen peoples minds on Japan and who Japan is. I was stationed in Okinawa for 2 years. Travelled to Osaka and Tokyo ..(that was 30+ yrs ago.).. when the Japanese Govt wanted US Forces removed. Now it has changed. I can travel, and what i see is a more diverse Japan...it is refreshing to see so many foreigners in Japan., just make sure you obey the common rules 9f japanese society and it will be a fantastic journey. Thank you Takashi for what you do. 😎👍❤️
From what I'm hearing... I can't wait till it's my time to visit, so I can find out myself if I experience some of these.
I'm from the UK so I went with my friend to find English breakfast whilst living in Tokyo a few years ago. We arrived at a small pop-up restaurant in the heat of August and saw maybe around 20-30 people queuing outside. We peeked our heads inside we saw a single large table that could fit around six to eight people, yet the restaurant was only accepting one group at a time sometimes only one or two diners. They were restricting the number of people sitting at their one table due to covid. 20-30 people were queuing in 30°C heat, waiting for all of the people in front of them to finish eating one by one. That would've taken hours. We decided to go somewhere else.
I've also had issues with queuing outside cafes in Japan in the rain, cold and heat when there are free, cleared tables inside. Rather than the staff sit customers down to wait in comfort, they'll make them wait standing outside.
? Were they restricted by the corvid-instructions to do that? Would they be punished if they broke them, wouldn't they?
Hiii takashii ! Would you mind interviewing university students like maybe foreigners , like why did they choose to come over to Japan to study university and what subjects did they choose ? Thank you
Takashii, your videos are amazing, thank you for doing this :D
I'll be visiting in April-May, and I'm watching your channel to know what to expect and to learn a bit of the language :)
Sidenote, one of my favorite parts is at the end where you go "How was it? That was interesting!" Genuinely enjoyable.
There are vegetable stands that are unmanned. You simply look at the prices, take the items you want, and then deposit the amount into a can or container. Where I'm from, all those vegetables would be gone and the cash container stolen as well. 😂
In New York, restaurant staff chased us down the street for more money, because we only paid a 15% tip (apparently it switches to 20% at night, which we didn't know). Meanwhile, in Japan, they don't need security guards at the schools, to check for guns.
You choose 🤣
Interesting video. As an Australian from Sydney, who frequently travels to Melbourne for work, I was very confused about the Melbourne tourist comments about public transport being late 30 minutes? Where in Melbourne are they from? Must be regional or out of the city. Public transport systems in Australia aren't great when you compare them to places like Singapore, Taiwan and Japan, but it's been 10 years since I had a train run 30 minutes late in Sydney/Melbourne (happens due to issues on the train line, accidents or suicide). They are seldom late, and run precisely on time. You miss one in the CBD, there's another one coming in 5-10 minutes. Our trains in Australia are monopolised by the government. Trains in Japan are owned and run by multiple privately owned organisations, which prove to be way more effective than what we have. Sorry, brain is still trying to compute what that Australian person said.
Train reliability is a problem in Oz.. especially in extreme heat events or extreme rain.. the 30 mins is true as the frequency of metro trains in peak is low.. ie 20 to 30 min spacing on main lines, so a cancelled service would result in a big delay..
Love this channel
the last girl is soooo beautiful dayum
10:32 i love her
Could you ask japanese people if they are genuinely offended by mistakes like someone leaving a tip or trying to hi-five someone or give them a handshake when first meeting. If they aren't offended or are why and does how long someone has lived in Japan make a difference or is a foreigner a foreigner all the same?
I think generally they won't be offended by the foreigner's mistakes so much thinking they didn't know about the habits/rules. They might even do not to point it out or correct out of not wanting to offend them, if the mistakes aren't serious or big. But if they are important or offensive, or two of you are close enough to talk frankly, they say something. (By the way, the demonstrations of physical affections, like kisses, are to be avoided in the public places, of course.)
I'll be visit Japan in a couple of weeks for the Marathon. I am excited to see the country in person and experience some of the culture.
Tbh it's really frustrating to hear people, especially English speaking ones pretend everyone is gonna understand them. That lady with her address in English taking a local cab and surprised the driver didn't understood her or the address written in English, like bro!?...... Having your staying address in the local language written down is travel 101 tip.
The lady at the beginning from London. She was surprised to find so many Japanese people in Japan. 😂
10:32 That girl is surreal