So I mentioned this in a previous video, but I've been living in Japan now for about eleven years. You know, it's weird to actually think about it and just, like, put it all together like that. I mean, thinking back on it now, what the heck was I thinking?
! I, I mean, I was 18, I worked a job at a call center to save up money to buy my own plane ticket and I- it jus- it just worked out somehow. Now don't get me wrong here.
It wasn't just rainbows and butterflies the whole time. Oh no no. I got some stories to tell you, but those are for a later time.
Right now, I want to focus on the big question that everybody asked me and you're probably wondering right now: Are you kidding? It's awesome! They give you a free Gundam and everything!
No, but really, it's actually pretty. . .
I guess? I mean, it's hard for me to really quantify what would be "weird" or different for you, because I'm so used to it at this point, whenever I go back to the US, I'm always like. .
. "This place is weird. Why do you need 50 flavors of Pringles?
" But there are some things that do stand out in my mind about life in Japan as just, like. . .
Although, to be fair, it is hard to know if these are Japan things or just. . .
"I'm a visible minority" thing, but whatever. One thing that you'll get in Japan is there's always this sense that you're some kind of celebrity. Now don't get me wrong, when I say celebrity.
. . I mean it in like a: kind of way.
Like when you see an actor or a YouTuber out in the wild and you want to take a picture or just say hi, but like, you don't actually want to be friends with them or anything, you know. And if you do become friends, it's really just so you can brag to your other real friends that now you have a famous friend. "Isn't that SOOO cool, guys?
! Pff, you guys are losers. " Like, people want to be seen near you or with you, but: "Hey, whoa, it's not like we're the same human here, okay?
You stay over there, we're gonna stay over here, but-but-but can I tell my friends that we're friends? " That's what I mean when I say: A lot of people want to get your attention, but it's never really clear for what purpose. .
. like I'll be taking the train, minding my own business, you know, just thinking about the big life questions like: "If Buzz Lightyear didn't believe he was a toy, how come he acted like one when Andy came into the room? " Yeah, you know, stuff like that?
I'll be standing there and when someone notices me, usually a mom with her small kid or whatever, she'll just suddenly start speaking English to her kids. . .
just like out of nowhere! Whenever this happens, I'm always really confused as to how they imagine this scenario going. Like, I'm gonna hear her saying the only two English words she knows and I'll run to her and be like: *gasp* "You can speak English?
Ah, you've passed Rumplestiltskin's test! Here's a bag of gold, a potion of youth and a slide whistle. *slide whistle SFX* Like, what do you think I'm gonna do just because I heard you say: "Okay, let's go!
" to your five-year-old kid? ! And like, you're not even talking to me?
! Which would be a totally different thing, but you're just talking, like, in general? ?
I mean, that's like if you saw, like, an Olympic gymnast on the train and then you just started randomly doing cartwheels up and down the aisle like: "Look at me! " "WHAAA! " Now, Japanese people in general, and there's exceptions, but I mean, more often than not, they have this very strange relationship with English.
They know they need it for like business and, like, travel and whatever, but just in general, most people hate it. But being a visible foreigner, people just kind of see you as, like, a walking free English lesson. And don't get me wrong; I don't mean to sound like: Ugh.
. . But when people look at you like: "What can I gain from this person?
", it gets a little off-putting after a while, like I'll be in a public restroom, you know, like in a train station or something, right? And I'm standing at the urinal just doing my thing. Now, for those of you who don't know, there's kind of an unspoken rule about using urinals.
If there's no barrier between them, you're supposed to use every other one, "standing five feet apart cuz we're not gay"! So I'll be in there and some usually, like, middle-aged businessman, of all the possible demographics it could be, he'll just walk right up and stand next to me, which, I mean, you're already breaking one of the cardinal rules of being a dude, so I'm already on edge. And then he'll just look at me and be like: "Hello, my name is Takayuki" (or whatever his name is).
And now I'm doubly annoyed because, first of all, you've invaded the sacred circle. And second, why would I talk to you at a urinal? !
And let's ignore the whole urinal thing and the conversation with a stranger thing. . .
What possible logic would tell you that a public restroom is a great place to practice your English? In what universe would this be seen as an okay thing to do? When you're a foreigner in Japan, and really maybe anywhere, the rules of common decency and courtesy just kind of don't apply to you, I guess?
I mean, people do and say things to you that they would never dream of doing or saying to anyone else. Like, for example, right in the middle of editing this video, something happened. So we were out walking our dog Charlie, and while we were crossing the street, some guy in a truck just yelled out: "Whoo!
! Oh daddy! !
", waved at me, and then just drove off! Now, this would pretty much never happen between Japanese people, but when you're a foreigner, you're just fair game, I guess. Although, like I said, this kind of thing probably happens to anyone anywhere who is, or even just looks, you know, a little different.
Still weird, though. Although, to be fair, It's not like it happens every day. But let's be honest.
Once is more than enough, and after 10+ years, it all just kind of bleeds together into one looooooong. . .
nighmare. Now, compared to a lot of other countries, Japan doesn't have a particularly large foreign population, especially ones who are non-Asian. So the result is that a lot of Japanese people will believe pretty much anything they hear about what foreigners do, or whatever.
Like, every Japanese person, I guess, just has the same mental list of things that foreigners can't do, can't eat and, gosh darn, just can't understand. I mean, I still get people sometimes who are, or at least act like they are, just completely blown away when I use chopsticks. Like, I could shoot lasers out of my eyes, and they'd just be like.
. . But when I pick up some sushi or whatever with chopsticks, they're just like: "WHAAAA?
You can use chopsticks? ! Or like, how if you say one word of Japanese with any level of competency, some people act like it's just the Second Coming of Jesus.
Like, someone will come up and say: "Konnichiwa" and I'll just kind of look at them weird and be like: "Konnichiwa", and they'll just: "Whoa whoa whoa, whaaaaaa? ! Your Japanese is so goooooood!
" But don't get me wrong. I actually really like living in Japan. Like I said earlier, whenever I go back to visit my parents or whatever, it just feels so.
. . "These people deep-fry butter, and they think sushi is weird?
! " There are a lot of good things about Japan, like affordable universal health care, lowest crime rate, like, anywhere, and singing, dancing toilets. I mean, Hey, everybody!
Thank you so much for watching this video. Now, like I said, this type of stuff doesn't really happen like every single day, if you really zoom out and kind of look at it, it's actually not that common. But after, you know, 10-11 years, it all kind of adds up after a while, and even though I'm telling all these kind of, you know, extreme examples for the sake of comedy, I mean, in the end, I do like being in Japan, I like living in Japan, I like the way things are done.
Yeah, it's just one of those things, like, it fits with me, and you know, like I mentioned, like, I don't know what I was thinking. I was 18 years old and I'm like: "I'm gonna go to Japan and stay there for a year and just kind of have some cool stories, I guess". And then suddenly, you know, 10-11 years went by, and here I am.
So you never know where your life's gonna go, right? But I guess the main kind of takeaway from this is if you're young or you're a teenager, maybe, you know, whatever, and you're like, you want to go out and do something, you want a change of pace, you want to kind of change your environment, whatever, like, go do it, you know? I mean, work, save up the money, make a plan, and just go do it.
I did it and it worked out for me. Now, I might be an extreme example. I might be lucky, I might be a lot of things, but I mean, I took a risk and it worked, you know?
And if it had failed, I would have tried something else anyway. So if there's one kind of takeaway that you can get from this, it's, you know, just do what you want to do and just figure it out along the way, I guess. Kind of like YouTube.
Anyway, thanks for watching, don't forget to subscribe and share with your friends and follow me on Twitter and all that stuff and I'll see you all next time.
