Tokyo, Japan: watch this before your first trip!

What else do you think people should know before their first time traveling to Japan? Feel free to leave your tips/advice in the comments! 🙂

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it’s 2:30 p.m. and I have to call it unfortunately I will not be filming a walking and talking video because it’s been raining since I woke up this morning and it has not let up for a moment I have been watching it I even W walked outside with my umbrella and mik to see if I can make it work in the rain but the sound of the rain on the umbrella is too loud like I I’m just going to have to record from in my room today and I hope that that’s okay with you but I still have a really good video prepared hello hello hello I hope you’re having a beautiful day wherever you are in the world my name is misaku andella and thank you so much for pressing play on today’s video I watched a couple of videos like this before I came here and I thought that they were super helpful so it inspired me to put together my own list of things that I think people should know before they come to Japan starting off with number one I truly believe that any effort you make to learn a few phrases will be greatly appreciated no one is expecting you to be fluent but in a culture that really values respect I think that this is a respectful thing to do so I put together a list of four things or four phrases that I think you should learn before you come the first do you speak English now even if the answer is no I think that this is more respectful to ask before you just start speaking to people in English I feel like when when you just start speaking to people in English you’re putting the burden on them to figure out what you’re trying to say and and you’re just assuming that they speak your language or a language that you speak um and so I think before you start speaking if you need to you know explain something or ask a question in English ask if they speak English and then if the answer is no then you pull out your Google Translate app Translate app and um write it out for them but I’ve seen people get like frustrated over the fact that they’re in Japan and Japanese people are not speaking their language and I don’t think that that’s fair so ego and like I said the answer might be no um but then you can you can figure out together what what needs to be communicated the next phrase I think you should know is Su which is excuse me um like pardon me and it’s also how you would get someone’s attention the next phrase which I’m sure a lot of you know is go which is thank you the polite version of thank you and the last phrase I think that everyone should know is onim which is please onim or Kai like after you ask for something I think adding that is just a little more plight and a bonus one is gasai which is sorry basic phrases I think you should know if you can learn more that’d be amazing but I think those four will go a long way and I am nowhere near fluent there are many many times where I’m using my phone and pictures to communicate what I’m saying um but I find that I use those phrases a lot here so that’s tip number one the second tip get a sua card I would say get a sua card as soon as you get to the airport um I see a lot of people have them on their phones I actually have a physical card I’ll insert a photo of the card here um but most people just have them in their digital wallet this is how you will get around on the Metro you can use this at convenience stores but you need this I’ve seen signs of the Metro where they have actually paused selling um physical cards for I’m not sure how long but I’m positive you can get one in your digital wallet number three just because we’re visitors doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t respect the Customs when you’re getting onto the Metro get in the line if you’re going up an escalator and you’re not going to walk stand on the left if you’re on the Metro don’t speak on your phone people don’t really talk at all on the Metro like maybe quiet conversations but Metro Bus people aren’t really talking and then one lesson I quickly learned I learned this before I came the first time but I didn’t realize drinks were involved you’re not supposed to eat and drink while walking on the street or just like standing in general um I thought that it was only food which is why in my first video You See Me drinking a um like conveni drink but drinks are also in this so you shouldn’t walk and and consume things I’m assuming that’s because they just want to keep the streets as clean as possible and if you aren’t you know walking and eating or walking and drinking you’re less likely to litter the fourth tip which is related to my previous one there are no trash cans on the street here like you’ll find the little um sometimes not all the time little trash cans next to the vending machines where you can put bottles in but that’s only for bottles like I and and sometimes you’ll see them in convenience stores like trash cans but they’re not trash cans on the street here I recommend carrying like a little um like plastic bag in your bag with you so that if you do like try something at a bakery or a convenience store you can store your trash in your bag until you get home the fifth thing which I thought was pretty cool is most Fitness Studios dance studios I mean all of the ones that I’ve seen yoga studios anywhere where you would take a class they offer trial lessons your first lesson is a trial lesson you can schedule it and it’s like significantly cheaper than the cost of a regular class that way you can try different classes out at different Studios and see which one you really like if you do end up signing up a lot of places have subscription fees and then you like buy your package the sixth tip if you’re coming here you need to work or you need to upload things in the internet at wherever you’re staying isn’t as strong the 24-hour internet cafes will change your life I’ve never used internet that so fast in my life and a lot of them also well there are internet cafes that are like for gaming and things like that but then there are internet cafes that are co-working um co-working spaces I’m going to put the one on the screen that I go to sometimes these also have call rooms so you can like talk on the phone and um have meetings in them these places have been so helpful for me and I love that they’re 24 hours sometimes I don’t finish my videos until 10 o’clock at night and I still need to upload them so I just Mosey on over get on the train I found one that’s super close to my place now so I don’t have to get on the train and go but before I would take the train there and then take a bike back the first one I went to was actually a video game Cafe everyone was gaming around me but I just pulled out my laptop and used the Wi-Fi incredible Wi-Fi highly recommend I’ll also put the one on the screen that I want too tip number seven and this is something that I learned from my time in Mexico City and I think it’s important that we’re conscious of this as well when we visit here um I think that we should be conscious of the way that we talk about the cost of goods like and I’m not perfect and I slip up all the time but like constantly saying like oh my God everything is so cheap here everything is so cheap speaking to Japanese people like oh my God everything is so cheap that is based on the currency that you make the cost of living here is not cheap if you’re making Yen and I I think that it can come off insensitive if you’re just like rattling off about how cheap things are here um when that’s not the reality for a lot of people I know that it’s a challenging Financial time for people here and I think that we can all be a little more sensitive to that myself included next thing which is more just advice is I really don’t think that you should stress yourself out trying to get into all of these restaurants and places on top 10 lists people here really care about the work that they do and I have never looked at one of those lists to pick where I’m going to eat and I have never had a bad meal every place is going to have delicious food coffee pastries and I think you’ll have a wonderful experience you know at the small Mom and Pop shop next to your accommodations like maybe even a better experience because you’ll actually get to connect with the people working there um and yeah I just think that’s that’s important to know like I’ve seen people get stressed out over trying to make it to all these places and then like standing in line for hours and I’m sure that those places are delicious and wonderful too but I have also had incredible meals and I’ve never stood in a line anywhere and that’s not me trying to be like super hipster I’m just like there’s so many businesses to support here we don’t have to keep supporting the same ones over and over again not that they don’t deserve support but I I think that we can spread our support out the next thing I think you should know is the kids walking alone on the street they’re not lost they didn’t get separated from their parents Japan is just that safe like you will see Tiny children walking throughout the Metro stations on the bus walking to school and it trips me up every time and it’s because like the community like Society here has decided that they will watch over all the children and so yeah like they’re just doing their thing and I think it’s so beautiful and it really makes me emotional every time because I’m like wow a place like this really does exist it really does exist and um it’s really nice to witness and the last tip I have for you is just to be patient with yourself and with others as you’re like navigating Japan and the language no one is expecting you to be perfect and we shouldn’t expect other people to be perfect and I think we should take the opportunities where maybe we do get a little lost in the Metro or we do end up getting off of the wrong spot to just explore and go with the flow I I understand wanting to make the most out of your time here and and see the things that you’ve always had on your list um but I also think you can have a wonderful trip if you just let things flow as they’re meant to that’s why I’ve made it a point to mention my tip about like not feeling pressured to hit everything on those lists because I think that that can really exhaust you and make your trip more stressful than it needs to be a day you know grabbing a nice tea and then walking around the park is also just like a really enriching experience I hope that you found this video to be helpful I’m sorry that we couldn’t walk around today but um I’m hoping tomorrow the weather is better I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day wherever you are in the world than thank you so much for showing up for me thank you so much for being patient with me and as always thank you for being here bye I’m walking to a cafe to edit and it’s still coming down it’s kind of nice