Did we make a mistake leaving Europe for Asia? 6 months living in Japan!
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- WE MOVED FROM GERMANY TO JAPAN! How does life compare for us in Japan vs in Germany? Honestly, they are so different that we don't love to compare them to each to other, however, it is so interesting to talk about the similarities and differences!! So, this is us sharing our thoughts about our Japanese life and the things we have really enjoyed about it! :)
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Lots of love,
Tanner, Risa, Willa + Noa! :)
Love your channel ❤ Life is too short. Never regret on anything😊 Recently, I lost my corporate job and survived tumor surgery. Money is very tight but I'm going to Taiwan & Japan in ten days 🎉 Tomorrow is never guaranteed. Have fun fun and fun.
Earthly life is short, but death is an illusion, you have infinite lives. I even remember lives before this life..
@@starseed8087 ✝️🙏❤️
Love how y'all have embraced the culture and adapted to a more city culture vs the more country culture you had in Germany. Always interesting to see how others live. Oh and Willa is so talented/gifted to pick up foreign languages so easily! What a gift ❤. Y'all have a great week ahead.
Willa is not only learning German, which is not her native language, but in this video she was already greeting people in Japanese and counting numbers!✨ I'm sure Willa is having fun playing with her friends at kindergarten and going through the kindergarten curriculum!🎶 Willa is so amazing!☺️ I am a Japanese living in Sumida-ku, Tokyo. I look forward to seeing more videos of your family.😊
We agree, Willa is amazing and it’s been so incredible to see her catch on to Japanese so quickly! It makes us proud of the efforts we’ve made to integrate her into new languages and school systems.
Thank you so much for watching and being a part of our community!! 😊
@@OurStorytoTell Your education policy for your children is amazing!✨☺️
its always different having to work in a japanese company. You work under U.S. conditions and Risa takes care of the children. Its like living as a permanent tourist in a foreign country with all the freedom from home.
willa is like a sponge she absorb and learn any language very quickly
We are so amazed by her!! 👏
The beauty is that you don’t have to choose one over the other. You can enjoy the uniqueness of both. I’ve always ascribed to the maxim of blooming where you’re planted.
Yes yes yes!! We love that so much and feel the same. 🫶
When my folks retired, they moved from a major urban area to an area in the outer-outer suburbs. They miss the lack of different cuisines - when they visit me in the major urban area, they like to take advantage and go out and get the things hey have been missing.
That makes sense to us!! There are so many tasty and diverse foods in the cities! We would miss it too! So fun they have you to visit and eat with 😋😊
I’m living in Japan, started watching your videos after your family arrived this country.
I am Japanese and have lived in western countries ( Sweden and Canada) before. I loved those countries,whereas I felt it’s sometimes difficult to adapt those and I realized that I am a Japanese man in those days.
I think everyone living in other countries has same feeling or experience and they struggle to overcome their circumstances!
Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing your videos from now on!
We love hearing your perspective and that you’re a Japanese local! Thanks for watching our Japanese story unfold! We are happy to have you here 😊
Not really. I am Asian American born and raised and have lived in the US (Queens, NY) for 40 years. I am very rarely made to feel conscious of my race and I have worked in almost every state as a consultant. It's different if you grew up here vs immigrated here later in life.
Being so close to groceries also means that one doesn't need to buy so many perishables at once. I'm constantly vacuum sealing opened packets of ham, chicken, or other cold cuts to try to maintain their shelf life for longer. When it's only a 5-minute walk, you can replenish items so quickly that there's never a need to stock up.
Yes that is so true! We love that we don’t have to worry about buying very much at a time! How far away do you live from the supermarket?
@@OurStorytoTell 12 minutes by car.
All I see in the end of the video is Katjes and Kinder Happy Hippo❤😂
Ah, you're from Utah, and then Germany, of course your hearts are yearning for water. Mine too. Actually the Great Salt Lake was remarkable, but when I sipped it, it was clear why there is only one life form that can exist there. People don't know that the salt expands into multiple acres of salt, a great white desert. But above all I miss Puget Sound, and the Pacific Ocean.
Haha we love that you’ve been able to experience the great salt lake! It’s such a unique place lol! 🤣
What a Beautiful beach and that Garden / park so peaceful 😍. It’s indeed ideal have those stores etc close by
For some it feels like a “ Luxury “ not having to walk or drive km away .
😂Noa doesn’t like her hat she sure growing up fast too where do the months Go 🤷♀️.
Lovely hearing Willa speaking bit of Japanese and keeping up with her German 🫶.
Have a Good week 🥰
Aww lovely to see a comment from you! After catching up on our videos, now you’re keeping up with the current ones. 😊 Noa is so funny with her hats, but I’m hoping soon we can convince her to wear them because it’s starting to get sunnier lol!!
It sounds like you settled in a well located and central home.
Yes we have! Thanks for watching our story unfold!! 🫶
If you live in a German city the grocery shopping situation is quite similar.
Yes it all depends on where you live! That’s so true!!
What about Käsespätzle??? Enjoy 🎉
We will forever and always have a special place in our hearts for käsespätzle 😋😍
So the answer is you love and prefer Japan over Germany and Europe …see how easy this was? I already told you before that Japan is the best country in the world but you didn’t believe me 😂
I've lived in Asia and Europe. Personally, I love them both, however; Europe; Austria in particular, I find more comfortable and much easier to live on the local Economy. My personal preference to live is Europe. It more closely fits my lifestyle.
We do love Japan, AND wow we really loved Germany too!! Honestly we miss German and Europe A LOT! We think both things can be true. They’re such amazing countries!
So awesome you’ve lived in both!! Your comment makes us really miss Europe lol, but we are here are loving being here for the time! 😊 So fun hearing your thoughts so thanks for sharing!
My pleasure. I enjoy ALL of your family videos. Excellent content on culture and travel. Most important; the emphasis on family enjoying life together.. God Bless you all. 😊
I think you are hearing what you want to hear ;)
You should be able to get a US VoIP number. For example a Skype number. I have a Skype number that I use when not in my country. It is intransparent. That means that it is connected under my phone area code and to the outside it will be as if you were in the country.
Oh we have never heard of that! Thanks for sharing about it! 😊
There s more travel variety living in europe.
Soo true! Although there is so much to see in Japan, we loved being able to see such variety in cultures in each European country!
@@OurStorytoTell For your business europe is much better, videos are more interesting and therefore more people will be watching. Japan is for Japanese people, you are Danish..
@@kucnimajstor2901?
@@kucnimajstor2901 My boy has mental sickness
Europa ist Not the Same. Foods and climate in Spain is the other world compare germany and north Europe. As Asians , foods in Spain Portugal are paradise, foods and superstore in germany are horror hell
We totally get that Europe is so vast. Same with Asia! It’s hard to make comparisons. Even within Germany vs Japan! All the regions are so different. We were just speaking about our experience. 😊
This comment definitely used to be true for a long time in the past but I honestly say that food is better in German (major) cities than in countries like Spain and Portugal by now. The variety is just so much better we get here as there are immigrants from all over the world. In Spain I mostly have to eat Spanish, in Portugal Portuguese. Which is nice of course for a 2 week holiday, but I'd definitely miss the variety after some time that we get here. And the quality has also improved in general, so for me I'd always pick a German big city over Spain or Portugal.
And considering the climate... With climate change I'd also pick a cooler German summer with occasional rain over the heat and drought of southern Europe. But I guess that's my personal taste 😊
@@DenzelPF-jl4lj I prefer Spanish restaurants than Middle East oder pseudo - Asian - foods here in germany.
Respect, politeness, consideration, friendlyness are the no 1 things in Japan for me. Appearence in public life (womens fashion and make-up style) is no 2. Safety (almost no crime) women can walk alone at night. no.3, convenient stores no. 4. Clean public toilets everywhere no..5. Those are all things that hardly exist in Germany!
OK, my time in Japan wasn't as long as yours had been and mostly in the Osaka area. However, I can tell you that if you and your little ones have the time to do it there are two spots that are definitely worth exploring: First is the Osaka Castle which in itself is a marvelously restored Japanese shogunate castle but is set in a series of moats AND surrounded by walls with seemingly impossibly gigantic rocks carefully set in place like a 3-D puzzle (like the Quechuas did in the Inca Empire). More importantly, it's in a fantastic city park full of greenery, trails and lots of convenient food options (and on the border of the park is the Osaka Museum which itself is built on the site of the Osaka Imperial Palace from the 7th century AD). Yes, Osaka itself is quite a crowded and densely built up part of the Tokyo through Hiroshima megalopolis but that castle and park is too cool not to explore (and there's a good Universal theme park in the Osaka Harbor).
Secondly, make a good day trip to Nara which not only has tons of really cool Shinto temples of many different sizes and ages all over the place to explore but has a pleasant deer park with deer who are NOT afraid to interact with people which I think your little ones would cherish!
I'm happy that all of you seem to have embraced some of the best aspects of Japanese everyday life.
Thanks for this!
This is the vedio what I want. Thank u..❤ I'm From Sri Lanka in Asia
What!! So cool you’re from Sri Lanka! We traveled your beautiful country back in 2018 and loved it! We want to make it back asap!
@@OurStorytoTell Happy to hear 🥺. Come again ❤️
Hello gorgeous family, loved this episode by the beach and in the tranquil garden (apart from the chainsaw 😂😂) Your daughters are so cute. I was very impressed how quickly Willa is picking up the language. Have you been to Nara Park with all the roaming deer? Lots of temples , pagodas and shrines in the area. Another place in Kyoto by the sea is a UNESCO boat village called Ine. You can check them out on google to see if it might be a place you would like. Kintaikyo bridge located in Iwakuni is pretty area too. There is a traditional Japanese restaurant called Irori Sanzoku Nishiki in the district. Again check these out on google . These were some stops we did on tour.
Have a lovely week and keep safe 😊😊
Yes, Nara (with the deer) is a special place. Visiting downtown Kyoto and the buddhist temples is a really zen experience. Something else: go visit Hiroshima! The Peace Memorial and esp. its museum is a very overwhelming experience. Explaining this to your kids might be a challenge though...
I think the cultural differences between the usa and Europe are not as big as between the usa and Japan.
My fear as a German would be to avoid any embarrassing mistakes.
(searched without success the english word for "ins fettnäpfchen treten" :) )
wish you all the best
You’re totally right! The cultural differences are definitely greater moving to Japan. We’ve loved both so much that it’s hard to compare (& honestly we don’t even love to, but it is fun to talk about the differences and similarities!)
Honestly, Noa is so adorable now! The way she defiantly insisted on removing her hat. So funny. And her anguish that daddy and Willa were, she thought, not coming back.
So glad you're loving it now! Tipping is a very American thing though, it isn't done in Japan, you don't need to and many people will get confused that you've overpaid. (Although maybe they're more used to it with the base there and figure it's easier to go along with it?).
Yes we’ve heard stories about Japanese locals running out telling people they left their money! 🤣 Americans think they’re being kind tipping but then get chased down about it! We love the honesty of Japanese people!
I always look forward to your videos. I've been watching it since I came to Japan. I felt at ease as I got used to life in Japan. Please have fun with your two cute children.
Oh we love to hear that!! Thanks so much for watching them! It means a lot to us. Feeling at ease wherever you love is really such a beautiful and worthwhile thing! We are feeling that here too now! 😊
横須賀から近くなら海ほたるがおすすめです。
高速道路のrest areaですが世界的に珍しい場所です。
rest areaで引き返すことも可能だし、その先の木更津に
大きなリゾートホテルがあるので泊まっても楽しいと思います。
調べてみてください！
Ooh thank you! We are going to look into!
We sure miss you here in Germany. But I´m so so glad to see that you´re feeling good in Japan and enjoy your stay there! I ook forward to see more from you! Again best wishes for the future there!!
Awww we love this comment because we miss Europe too!! It’s crazy how both can be true- we love life here AND miss Europe so much! Thanks for the love 🫶🤍
I'm at the beginning of the video, but the title is redundant anyway. It can't be a mistake to make this experience, even if it is bad or worse than something else. At least you made the experience, learned new things, took in something about the world. It can never be a mistake, if you don't know beforehand that something will be bad for you. If you knew better, and yet you still did it, then you can talk about making a mistake.
Reason why lots of European younger population and American kids are moving to South Korea and Japan
Convenience and safety
I am glad youre doing so well. In the end it shouldn't be the question if you made a mistake because it's an illusion to think that it will always get better, in all regards even. So, you're living abroad to experience different ways to live, different cultures and I highly respect these very brave decisions by a young family with two young children. You will always remember these years as great years and you will grow even more as persons and as family with the problems you overcome. Best wishes! ☺
Your child is so funny - she's like a horse who won't wear a halter. Or a dog who wears "no man's collar": )
and you never have to pay tipps anywhere. I think it was an excellent choice to go to Japan. Perfect for your kids and for you!!! This experience you will never forget!!!!!!
Replace the tips with bowing and the Japanese will be happy.
good to see you happy :) best wishes from the netherlands :)
🤍🤍 Thank you so much!
Its great to hear your are feeling so many positives about living in Japan after a few wobbles at first. Willa is incredible listening to her speaking in Japanese, what a gift you have given her with your adventures. That white wisteria in the Iris Park was so beautiful 😍. Wishing you all continued happiness during your time in Japan 💚🇯🇵
Aww thank you! It really makes us so proud to see and hear her adapt to the Japanese language! Also we are happy to say she is keeping up with German too! 👏 Thank you 💗💗
伊豆には美しい海があるので行ったみて欲しい。
下田ではシュノーケルで色んな魚が見れます。私はイカの赤ちゃんの群れを見ました。
So cool!! We can’t wait for you to watch our next two videos because we may or may not just go to Izu!! 👏😊
何で日本に住むことになったんですか？
仕事の都合？
Yes we moved here for Tanners work! :)
there are plenty of places in Germany - and indeed Europe - where shops, beach and / or forest all are within walking distance ... I do not think you can compare countries well in this way - but obiously it is your personal experience. I never got the impression that you liked living in the village in Germany - even though you tried to be positive on youtube ... and funnily enough I knew you would leave before the 5 years you had planned ... but you should remember that working for the American army you see the counries through a looking glass - it is not the real experience of properly moving there - being part of a community - since your comunity stays "American" ...
Yes we totally agree that there are places like this in Germany too. It just wasn’t our experience (like you said). We can say though that we absolutely loved living in the German countryside. 💗 We miss it and also love our Japanese city experience. They’re totally different but we are “look at the glass half full kind of people”, so we’ve enjoyed both. Also we think living in the rural part of Germany made us appreciate the convenience of Iife here more. On the flip side, if we were to go back to the countryside, we might enjoy the greenery and nature aspect more (although we do feel like we always appreciated in while there). Also, we would agree with you that we have a unique experience living abroad under a SOFA contract. We try to immerse ourselves in the country of residence, but we do stay in touch with the American community as well.
I have been to Japan as a tourist for 4 weeks only. But I felt quite, not at home, but comfortable. The security, organization and courtesy is what stuck out. What I liked less was some of the food and the inner cities which were pretty concrete only and pretty "condensed". Not as much as China but always tight quarters. But then in close to downtown Kyoto there were all the plants sitting in pots outside the houses. So instead of a garden the people had those. A result of the narrow spaces people had to themselves.
BTW, if you get bread deprevation in Kyoto is a genuine German bakery.
In Asian culture , foods are god. In china in Vietnam in Japan …. Alles geht um essen essen essen. In german culture , foods are to live , not so many people have interests for foods. In Europa the spanisch foods and spanisch people are more the same as Asian people.
どちらかを選択する代わりに、両取りという生き方をするのもありだと思う
今の時代地球の裏側だって1日もあれば辿り着けるからね
アジア(日本)とヨーロッパは皆が思ってる程遠いわけじゃない
お金は掛かっちゃうかも知れないけど、どっちかしか味わえない人生よりは楽しいよ
It's nice to see, that you enjoy living in Japan and you loved Germany. It's sure different, but don't compare life in southern Germany in the countryside with living near Tokyo. I live in Berlin and have everything within 10 minutes walk including various supermarkets, asian or arabic food, anything you want and any delivery you wish for within latest 20-30 minutes at very low cost as there is a lot of competition. Also we have a lot of water around and there is a long coastline here too, so we do enjoy being out swimming and doing water sports going by bicycle from home.
So it's more, where you live in general and I bet even in Japan, if I think of Kyoto or other places, it's longer away from the coast.
Love seeing your personal experiences and heard Japan is quite cheap for the exchange rate, so should definitely get to know it soon
Yes it’s so true!! It’s not really fair to compare the areas because they’re so different! We were just talking about our personal experiences. Living in rural Germany made us appreciate the conveniences in Japan more, but we know if we moved back, we would love the green spaces and proximity to nature! Lol there are pros and cons to both! We are so happy to feel like we’ve adapted and loved both!! We are glad to see it’s shown through in the videos! 💗
Also yes, the exchange rate is definitely in our favor right now which is nice!!
Yes!
Haha we feel that for sure sometimes 😂😅
If you are making in USD you are living really well and fun in Japan! IF you work for Japanese companies will be very stressful and not fun! Lucky you guys!
That is true!! The yen rate is in our favor for sure!!
Japan is hella fun but I'd prefer to live in Germany if I was forced to choose between the two.
We love hearing your thoughts!! Honestly, we would agree too! But life here for us really is soo great too! 😊
When in Europe. Then living in Spain. In germany foods are horror ! Supermarket are horror.
Why is it horror?
Spanish food is good? I don't know. It dont get near italian food.
@@fne587 for me. The best food in Europa or world ist in Spain. The horrible is germany.
@kucnimajstor2901 ???