24 Minutes of REAL Life in Japan: Trains, Tiny Hotels & Nightlife
Join my mailing list for future meetups and updates:
https://thecodingtravelbug.substack.com/subscribe
What does everyday life in Japan actually look like away from the major tourist attractions? In this video, I’m spending a day walking around Chiba, about an hour outside central Tokyo, showing you some of the ordinary things you see when living in Japan rather than just visiting as a tourist.
We start with a walk through a typical Japanese neighborhood near Chiba Station, looking at Japanese houses and apartments, vending machines, a small shrine and Chiba Park. Then I’ll show you just how small a Japanese hotel room can be — my APA Hotel room is only 11 square meters — and what you actually get in a typical compact hotel in Japan.
From there we head into Chiba Station for a look at what a large Japanese train station is really like. Train stations in Japan aren’t simply places to catch a train. They’re often major shopping and service hubs filled with restaurants, convenience stores, coffee shops and other businesses.
I also meet up with two of my former Japanese university students for dinner. On the train we talk about Japanese train etiquette — why the trains are so quiet, phone calls, eating and drinking — and later we get into what has changed in Japan since I lived here, including whether an older foreigner could realistically find work and the decline of the traditional English conversation school industry.
Finally, we head back to Chiba at night for a walk around the entertainment district near the station, with pachinko, karaoke, restaurants and some of the nightlife you’ll find around Japanese station areas. I also talk about something visitors to Japan should be aware of when they’re approached by touts in nightlife districts.
So whether you’re interested in Japan travel, moving to Japan, living in Japan as a foreigner, Japanese trains, Japanese hotels, or you simply want to see what normal day-to-day life in Japan looks like, come along for a walk.
If you enjoy practical videos about living, traveling and potentially retiring abroad, please subscribe to The Coding Travel Bug, hit the notification bell, and let me know in the comments what you’d like me to cover next.
Chapters
0:00 Welcome to Chiba Station area
0:38 Walking Through a Japanese Neighborhood
2:43 Japan’s Famous Vending Machines
4:03 A Small Japanese Shrine & Chiba Park
6:29 How Small Are Japanese Hotel Rooms?
9:21 A Japanese Train Station
12:28 Meeting My Former Japanese Students
13:10 Japanese Train Etiquette
15:01 Can Older Foreigners Find Work in Japan?
16:22 The demise of Eikaiwa (English conversation) schools
20:55 Japan at Night: Chiba Station & Nightlife
7 Comments
Hi, I took a look at your YouTube channel and analyzed some of your videos. Your content quality is really good. However, I noticed that your videos may not be reaching the right audience yet. People who are searching for your content may not be finding your videos easily.
During my analysis, I noticed a few SEO areas that could be improved:• Keyword Research•SEO Title, Description & Tags• Eye-Catching Thumbnail• Channel Optimizatio• Competitor Analysis Optimizing these areas properly could improve your videos’ search visibility and help them reach a more relevant audience.
If you’re interested, I can analyze your channel and videos in detail and provide you with a complete SEO report. I can also start with one video and share a few important SEO findings and free suggestions.
I watched to the end.
quiet, calm, clean….cheers from 'sauga!
i watched to the end once again – thats 2 beers Mike please keep the videos coming so I can rack up a dozen beers !!!
An old person who is a hoarder lives 😂😂😂 Loved the walk around Mike!
Commuter trains tend to be quieter here in the UK. Otherwise, they can get pretty loud, with people chatting away and having their phones on speaker.
When I here the word Chiba I don't think of Japan first.🤪