Monday, December 05, 2022

YouTube Monday: Japan with ZERO Japanese | How Hard Is It?


Getting out there to travel, includes going places where I don't speak the language.  I have done it, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Spain😉, Iceland, Netherlands, and Belgium.  Now in a lot of places, especially in major cities and around tourist areas, a lot of people speak at least some English, but not always.  I have used Google Translate, for my first trip to France in 1991, my parents bought me a digital text to text translator (I speak very basic French, mostly restaurant French.) But for the most part, I find that a smile, I polite hello in the local language, and pointing gets me by.  The few times that has failed, has led to some memorable travel tales, I was taken for a ride by a taxi driver in Amsterdam, saw streets I would never have seen if he was not taking advantage of me (he turned a $5 taxi ride into a $20 taxi ride.) In a small religious art shop in Athens I resorted to my limited French, only to get a response of "oh my English is better than your French" - I made a nice purchase from her, she was so kind.  

Today's YouTube, Norm is from western Canada, and has lived in Japan for over a decade.  He is a brilliant content producer, this and music production are how he makes a living.  He is also learning to fly. I really enjoy his work, I hope you do also, as he spends a day out in Tokyo without speaking Japanese.  




11 comments:

  1. We managed ok in Japan. In Tokyo, many spoke English. Country areas were a bit of a struggle but there was usually someone to be found who could understand enough English.

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    1. Japan is on my short list of places to go.

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  2. I always learn the basics of a language before I travel so I can at least show respect. It’s surprising how often my basics have come in handy.

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    1. If I could remember them, I am mashing French, Italian and Spanish together, what a mess

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  3. When we went to Japan, we deliberately went with a tour group because of the language difference. In Europe, you can get by if you don't speak the language because most romance or germanic languages on signs/streets etc can sort of be deciphered, but in Japan with its completely different symbol system, that's impossible. We had a wonderful time in Japan. Friends of ours went on their own to Japan (without a tour group), had a much less fabulous time, and saw much less than we did because of the difficulty of getting around and knowing what was what.

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    1. Might be an option for a tour,

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  4. I enjoyed watching that video very much. I have never been to Japan but I do know several people who have and they have not had any problems getting around.

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    1. I think the major cities are easier, time will tell

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  5. I believe in Europe it's easier to get by without knowing the language, or knowing little of the language. But Japan seems like it'd be hard.

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  6. I wish I spoke a foreign language.
    Coffee is on and stay safe

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    1. three times I have traveled to places where I spoke little or none of the language, and I am always surprised at how easy it is.

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