Do Japanese Want Foreign Friends?

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[@takashiifromjapan]

Use code "TREATS23" and get up to 8 Trick or Treat Mystery Snacks here: team.tokyotreat.com/takashii-TT2309 if you subscribe to #TokyoTreat multi-month plan Or, you can use code "TAKASHII" to get $5 off for your first #TokyoTreat or #Sakuraco box (team.sakura.co/takashii-SC2309)

[@Ryy22]

Your englihs accent is so much beter then it was, much progress

[@ericg4915]

I love Japan because of shohei

[@21Kikoshi]

Austria, Australia?

[@user-un6gw1sq9f]

8:22 Gaikoku hito

[@January618]

Hi Mr takashi, im from Vietnam can you make a Vietsub please , I really like watching your video❤

[@bgregz]

Even in the West, in my personal experience, it's pretty difficult to make friends after general schooling is over.

[@HoV326]

Same. My main friends group are from elementary school and high school. Not that I'm complaining though because I absolutely love them

[@otometrash3843]

Yeah, I still hand out w/my highschool friends at times, but I think its just me. I have work friends, but we're not close to contacting each other outside of work. They contact each other outside of work though TT

[@el7075]

I think it’s due to the fact that work overtakes a huge amount of our time, it takes a person wanting to meet others and putting yourself out there to meet new folks

[@Katara0403]

​@el7075 I agree, most of my friends are from middle and high school but a lot of them don't live in my area anymore 😕. But we hang out when they're in the area.

[@bazza1024]

I was just telling my fiancé this, her little sister is homeschooled and i said she prob wont have many friends in life cuz the ones u make in school are the ones u have for life

[@hriata168]

Takashi's posture during the first interview had me cracking up, he was trying soo hard not to stand too close lol

[@guitarshredder920]

I noticed that too. Maybe he was into the girls he was interviewing lol

[@Jonathan-qz9td]

I just noticed 😂😂

[@zed2960]

I think he kept the same distance with most of the interviewees if you check, always had his arm stretched out to hold the mic

[@agmuntianu]

someone please gift him a boom microphone !!!

[@joelovedaymusic8385]

Hahahahaha oh my god I hadn’t noticed till you pointed it out, it’s so funny!

[@somethingelsehere8089]

The Austrian girl - what a great level of awareness, and her ability to communicate in English and Japanese (second and third languages) - holy smokes. Impressive.

[@Phangmaster]

Right! Here I am struggling to learn a 2nd language, it's all attitude I think, and she has it!

[@derekchin6403]

I'm always fascinated to hear Europeans speak English in a way that makes them sound so American, as this Austrian girl does. Consider that Arnold Schwarzenegger is also Austrian, and came to the US when he was 18 or 19.

[@mado.madeleine]

Definitely impressive, but in Europe, it's pretty normal to speak at least 2-3 languages (not so much in France, Italy, or Spain though 😅)

[@sodiumchloride1138]

@@mado.madeleine yeah, in most countries (apart from a few) people have to learn a second or third language mandatorily

[@whohan779]

To be fair her English proficiency is above average, but definitely not uncommon for Germany, Austria or Switzerland (plus a few other places German is [still] spoken), despite have a lot of media translated to or even created in German. She seems authentic in her extroverted, well-read attitude, but is probably the exception from the rule. Loneliness/seclusion is definitely a problem for foreigners in Japan. I'm German myself and definitely sucked at English until adolescence, didn't read books, nor had any real chance to consume media that interested me, neither a bilingual friend or additional education (+my elementary school English was too bad to even pretend to speak on an advanced infant level). Learning Japanese seems much more daunting even with so much media that has decent available subtitles. I could've understood not even 1% of the conversations w/o subtitles. What's oddly pleasing are the Kanji as they help me grasp a concept and just link it with the word (which is why I love & learn Chinese). I somehow dislike both Kana on the other hand (they mostly look strange to me and don't save that much space over an alphabet).

[@glendaadams9409]

The Austrian girl really has a good head on her shoulders. She seems to be incredibly smart, and she made so much sense about the reasons why it's hard to make friends with Japanese. I have really learned alot from this channel.

[@RafaelW8]

Right?! Her advice for learning new language was fascinating. I'm learning a 5th Language at the moment, I'd love to be friends with her to pick her brain on language learning techniques lol

[@livedandletdie]

@@RafaelW8 I'd say 10-15 minutes per day of studying vocab, is really good, just vocab, not grammar, nor conjugations just learning the words themselves. Listening to some music in the intended language, is really good for picking up the speech patterns, and I'd say for immersion perhaps watch a movie or drama series in the intended language, you don't have to understand much, but give it a month or so, and I'd say you'd get to A2. I don't really know of a better method to learn a new language than that, grammar comes naturally with time, and is hard to learn just through text books, although learning irregular verb conjugations is sadly better via text books. I mean, my English is at native level, And it's my 3rd language. But I've also been speaking it for the past 25 years. The hardest hurdle is just putting in the time to learn.

[@giannilyanicks1718]

japanese have that cruelty.

[@user-ie9wl8bc1e]

Yea she seem very intelligent also respectful with her responses, i to want to learn Japanese and I will try to do the shadowing technique like her

[@FannyGodMother]

This was so interesting! I’m American and have a Japanese friend of nearly 30 years. She was an exchange student in my high school and we remained friends. I got to see her when I went to Japan in April and last December. It was so fun and I loved being able to spend time with her in her country.

[@user-yh7vc3so5s]

Foreign men are discriminated against in Japan. Almost all foreigners are discriminated against, but discrimination against South Asians and Southeast Asians is especially severe for reasons such as being short, poor, dark-skinned, and not good at sports. Some people commit suicide.

[@M0NSTRR_]

I feel bad for her

[@waters8853]

​@@M0NSTRR_????

[@otometrash3843]

That's awesome! I have a friend like that too, and I kept telling her I would do study abroad and visit her in Japan, but covid. I finally got to see her again after 5 years in May. I miss her again already XD

[@User-dodosoos]

@@otometrash3843maybe you really like her, you should try study hard !

[@ayuse01]

My wife is Japanese, we live in Canada. And when i have been to Japan, i freaked people out when i tried to hug them while saying goodbye. But for us in Canada it's completely normal. I found it funny to see the peoples reactions to closer contact. I respect that, we all have different cultural back grounds. As of now, it is 20 years we live in Canada together. But we expect to move to Japan in 5 years.This will be hard for me, but my wonderful wife had it hard too here in Canada for the last 20 years. So i guess it will be my turn to integrate in another cultural setting. But Japanese people are so kind, it doesn't scare me at all.

[@SuigaRou]

Wait, are these people you tried to hug people you know well or people you've only known for a little while? Cause at least from the part of Canada where I'm from, most people would also find it weird if someone they don't know that well tried to hug them. 😅

[@Utriedit215]

As long as you’re white you should be fine they love white people over there

[@xXphrenzyXx]

@@Utriedit215 😱 finally somone said what we were all thinking

[@FlightX101]

Ahhh the hugs lmao. Yes you REALLY need to know someone if you are going to hug them. Its not the usual goodbye like the west

[@medeasamkharadze8989]

Hahaha, I was surprised to read you tried to hug them because it’s common in Canada. I have not lived in Canada, only in the US and hugging culture there was pretty “superficial “ so to say🤣 In my culture, we hug AND kiss but I wouldn’t do this with American unless he/she is a close friend. It’s unnatural for me to hug foreigners because I have a really deep sense of cultural awareness and don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable 😅

[@skierdude95]

I got accepted to study abroad at a Japanese university in March of next year. I hope I’m able to make lots of Japanese friends.

[@WitiPlays]

If you’re white they’ll love you ❤

[@etanol.]

this is so cool! can you share a little of how have you gotten accepted?

[@bebopganymede]

🫵👁️👄👁️

[@user-iy1go8tr7i]

You'll be fine, have fun!

[@andrewr.7223]

Where are you from?

[@gracielou_flattbush22]

Everything they say is right. I’ve been to Japan three separate times, and it is hard to make friends, especially when you are a foreigner. and the fact that you have to approach them first is also true. I remember the first time I went to Japan. I was on a train, leaving the airport heading to Tokyo. There was a young lady sitting across from me with a cat themed suitcase. I just decided to complement her suitcase, in Japanese and then we ended up talking. First, she was sitting across from me, and then she came and sat next to me until she had to get off the train. We exchanged social media to stay in touch. I don’t talk to her all that much now, but I know that if I want to I can reach out to her. You just have to take the first step and just say hello.

[@giannilyanicks1718]

because japanese are judgemental.

[@giannilyanicks1718]

and it is hard to make friends, especially when you are a foreigner." that's being racist

[@Ripdooder221]

i was actually approached twice the one night I went to a club by two groups of locals, one were Japanese and the other Indonesian but Japanese fluent, in Osaka. I wonder if being the only foreigner without a group or even friend was what opened them up to approach me first. Either way I’m grateful and can’t wait to hopefully see them again this year.

[@giannilyanicks1718]

the land of the heartless.

[@Mythical4227]

@@giannilyanicks1718It really is harder to make friends as a foreigner because you have less in common with people who grew up native to the area.

[@alTschuppone]

hearing that austrian girl speak japanese was super impressive

[@HUMESDADDY]

lol it was okay

[@cherrybeetree]

you speak better japanese then@@HUMESDADDY

[@CicoinTokyo777]

@@HUMESDADDYokay? Her accent is perfect

[@KenjiAsakura09]

@@HUMESDADDY do you speak japanese? or is your only exposure to japanese from anime?

[@mrchief7836]

I've always found it funny imo that in Japan, meeting or talking to a foreign person is more of a rare occurrence and not everyone has foreign friends. Here in the States, talking to people from all different countries and backgrounds is like an everyday thing that we hardly think about. It's neat to see the smallest differences in cultures can make some lasting impacts on people. Plus I can safely say where I live, I have more Asian friends than white, and I'm white myself.

[@tywco]

Damn. That Austrian girl could pass as American. There’s hints of an accent, but she could fly under the radar.

[@NightOfCrystals]

I’d disagree. Her English is brilliant but she certainly has a foreign accent.

[@penname4764]

She doesn't really have much of a Japanese accent as well, could almost pass as a native if you didn't see her. Would be worth a follow up interview to get more details on how she learns languages. She could also just be a linguistic genius though.

[@tywco]

@@NightOfCrystals Most interactions people have are not as long as this interview. Everyone would clock her as a foreigner if she talked long enough.

[@new_handoru]

日本人ですが、彼女の日本語は完璧です。このレベルはハーフの子供でしか見たことがない。彼女の日本への愛に乾杯。

[@TheZenomeProject]

@@tywco Well duh, but it doesn't make her linguistic abilities any less excellent.

[@eec8128]

I love how the Austrian girl was so aware of the challenges of being an immigrant/foreigner in a countru but is also incredibly willing to break through those barriers. I think thats a really good mindset to have

[@MrShem123ist]

I really like this topic, especially that you have interviewed both Japanese people and a foreigner. Great job Takashi san!

[@flaviusbrad]

Hello there, I m a 43 years old guy from Romania. First of all, congrats for your channel and the topics. I saw already like more then 30 of your posts and for sure I wanna go through all of them, it looks like there are all very interesting. And I picked up this particular video to post a comment of appreciation for a reason: it s being about friendship and human interactions, regardless the country, race, age, etc Since I decided to write, I ll describe my only interraction with a japanese person so far. It happened like 10 years ago, in my home country and there was this young guy, in his early 20s, visiting Romania while he was studying in Belgrade,Serbia. He travelled with a serbian friend of his, who had relatives in Romania, so the interaction with locals as myself ended up to be way easier, especially that all of us knew english. Anyway, we ended up at a friend s house, a group of 8-10 people, spending all day chatting and drinking beer in the garden 😊Poor japanese guy... 🤭 Since neither of us met one before and since the Balkan culture is not one known for it s discretion, we assalted him with all kind of questions 😂But he was already used with this, living in Serbia for a few years already. Without any other further details, our little group was amazed and impressed of his manners, his seriousness, his self control even after some drinks and the guy s poker face (I couldn t tell much out of what he was thinking at any point). On the other hand, he answered straight forward to all our questions, even the more private ones. But I could tell that was an acquired feature, living some years in a culture that is quite used to be more open, and not smth that he would usualy do. Anyway, all in all, even it was just for some hours, for me it was a special experience and an honour, meeting someone from Japan. And yes, I can say that particular person represented not only his country and culture well (he left a good impresion to our group), but even more, he seemed like an intelligent, open hart human being, with a witty sense of humour, too 🙂 With these being said, thank you again for doing all these videos, specially in english. Like Carl Sagan was saing, us humans share this little pale blue dot in space, called Earth. And maybe for the first time in history, tehnology and people like you allow humans to share culture and experiences across the oceans, something that our ancestors wouldn t even dreamed of. I wish you all the best, Takashii sama

[@Sunn_3o6o9o_o]

As someone who values interactions with people from lots of different cultures, this story puts a smile on my face 😆 thanks for sharing !

[@dukeon]

Great story, it’s fascinating to know how people from different cultures interact. In this case, Romanians and Serbs with a university student from Japan…all speaking English (mostly)! Isn’t the world an amazing place? Voia este în tine… Noroc!

[@Tulsy_Grape]

"...where are you from?" "I'm from Austria!" "Ah オーストラリア!" 爆笑

[@epicgaming6589]

hey dude from india ,want to be friends

[@jingxu7737]

same hahahha

[@darkdrake13]

That Austrian girl's Japanese is excellent. Wow!

[@pawawesome465]

When I had my year in Tokyo, 2016. My way of getting Japanese friends was going to these Japanese / English language exchange party meetups, So people who came there were foreigners who wanted to practice their Japanese or the other way around, Japanese people who wanted to practice their English. I believe I found these meetup through facebook? You kind of joined and then got an email every month of meetups in different parts of Tokyo these parties would be held. I loved them! Got my self a really good japanese friend through that, We kept on chatting through social media a few years after I left Tokyo.

[@jon87583]

TAKASHii-san: as usual, an excellent and interesting video. Thanks! On my first and very short visit to Japan, I was walking around the grounds of a shrine in Kamakura and a high school kid approached me, and introduced himself and wanted to know if he could ask me a few questions. He was on a school trip from Hokkaido. I think he wanted to both practice his English and practice being more outgoing like a Westerner. We had a nice little exchange, and I still remember it six years later.

[@fappi9441]

The last one was especially insightful! Thanks for keeping up the great interviews ありがとうございます！

[@Winterseeker]

Takashii, this is my first video of yours I came across. Just wow. You are such a good interviewer, so casual yet well-thought out questions, the conversations flow like butter and everyone seems comfortable. So few edits and it is clean and a pleasure to watch and follow. And yet there is one glaring distraction, and that is how ridiculously cute you are. 🤭

[@damianvila]

Very insightful and smart answers from that Austrian girl. It was a pleasure listening to her. Nice interview Takashii-san. Keep it up!

[@matthiaspaulnsteiner8550]

About the Austrian Girl - I am Viennese too and I started to study Japanese Studies this semester and went to a few nomikais already! She boosted my confidence so much! Thank you for this video!

[@juliagstoettner8699]

Already graduated from there but am watching this video from Tokyo rn hahaha you got this!!! 💪

[@ThatWeebyGamer]

I feel like the hardest part about making friends in Japan is outside of school or work is there's no where to go to just meet people, like in Australia you can literally just go to a bar and start talking to people, it's even easier to make Japanese friends overseas than in Japan

[@life4trinity]

That's because they understand our culture

[@Ripdooder221]

Bars and clubs are great

[@giannilyanicks1718]

japanese of japan are execrable.

[@kurotaka007]

Always great content. BTW… I recently used Sakuraco as a gift for someone. Great gift for friends outside Japan. I have many friends in Japan with former colleagues I’ve know since 1980. Having worked with Japanese for 40 years and being married to a Japanese National, i see the challenges Americans have making friends with Japanese and vice versa. I’ve been successful making friends with Japanese because I understand how to and trust. I just retired (early) to be here with my wife and it’s been easy living here because I do have lots of friends. What’s interesting many friends here are older (open minded Japanese businessmen) as well as younger (having helped them transition and adjust to life in US). So, I’ve crossed generations. I see an advantage I have from what I’ve learned.

[@treker68]

One of the things about this channel is excellent understanding of Japanese peoples look beyond there borders. I have always greatly admired all things Japanese since I was young. Sadly I have no Japanese friends but this page helps me understand what it would be like if I did. As I slowly learn to speak Japanese I will say Arigatou Gozaimasu to Takashi for helping me understand more about Nihon.

[@arvj123]

Kozysensei in the house! Love it!

[@primal1585]

i often dont like sponsorships, but its the first one ive seen on takashii san's channel, defintely going to use it !

[@jimwalsh7904]

I have been watching your videos for 1 1/2 years since I moved to Japan. They have given me some insight into Japanese culture. This is your best video yet. This question is so thoughtful and helpful. It gives me courage to reach out to Japanese to make friends.

[@TheDarkHour684]

It's impressive as heck that Takashi is always the SAME height as the person he is interviewing.

[@frankperedo1388]

I feel like when I went back in April there was so many japanese people who seemed super nice even though there was a pretty big language barrier. But watching videos like this are the reason I'm currently in Kyoto starting classes tomorrow 😅 hopefully after learning enough to be able to hold convos I can make some friends out here!

[@andwoe1752]

Your interviews are always so interesting, Takashi-san! You really have a talent for finding good interview partners who give thoughtful answers.

[@sniperwarrior646]

Thanks for your videos! Language barrier is definitely a thing but we can go beyond that just being us, whatever the nationality or language. Love these, keep going!

[@LMFuqua]

I am learning Japanese for my upcoming trip. The answers here make me very glad we are, even if our Japanese will be spotty and awkward. It is so shocking to me that there are people who move there without at least learning the basics.

[@eric000]

Great to know all these cool stuff about making friends in Japan. I would like to work in Japan and want to learn some Japanese. The girl on the left at 7:00 looks so innocent, she really needs a friend, wish her the best👍

[@fenrisulv]

I'm currentlyh learning Japanese (early stages still), so I love how useful these videos are, not only are they interesting to watch, but I'm able to understand some words here and there and it feels great!

[@GigLifewithLexi]

I love this channel. I wish I had more Japanese friends. I lived in Japan for 3 years and I miss it so much!

[@ekelly1642]

I loved this interview, as an American, I really appreciated everyone's honesty and insight to the way friendship works in a different country.

[@NuFrontierVS]

I think it really all depends on the person and their own values, principles, and philosophies pertaining to their life goals. For me, I'm still here in Japan after 11yrs and while I can speak Japanese and very much understand the culture, I'm quite selective on who I want to be friends with. It's nothing to do with culture a lot of the time and more about ones own personal ideals. Sure, cultural differences will likely stand in the way at times, but that can be said about any culture and not just Japanese culture. If you have the desire to make friends you'll make friends, but if you choose to be selective about it then it will take some time but in the end, your friendships will likely feel a lot more intimate since you're taking the time to first know yourself before knowing others.

[@kyotoben610]

Smart

[@giannilyanicks1718]

selective people are detestable.

[@DJTREMADEIT]

Towards the end of the video I started to get hungry, and was thinking about Japanese food, and the Tokyo Treat ad commenced. Perfect timing haha! Thanks Takashii ! 👌😄

[@shayneshinkai1772]

Your channel is great, thanks for the videos!

[@jonesrmj]

I just made a Japanese friend recently! He is an exchange student from Soka University in Hachioji and he's studying at my college (University of Delaware) for the year. He can speak decent English so we are able to communicate decently well. I can't really speak Japanese though so I'm trying to get better. I'm happy that I now have someone to practice Japanese with and he helps motivate me when I struggle at it. I've always wanted to be able to speak another language and I have a ton of interest and respect for Japanese culture so this has been awesome for me! I hope I can get better at speaking Japanese and visit Japan sometime soon! ありがとうごさいます

[@kyotoben610]

Be careful she teaches you to speak like a male or Japanesevwill think you are gay. If you are a heterosexual male, that is.

[@topazgemfairy]

How is the Japanese going?! Stay motivated! 😊🤗

[@BOZ_11]

Takashi was visibly shocked by the Austrian's Japanese proficiency 😂😂

[@livedandletdie]

I'm not... Surprised at all... if you're interested in the culture, and are from Europe, you're pretty likely to already speak somewhere between 3-4 languages to begin with. For instance, most people in the Netherlands, speak 4-5 languages, Dutch, Frisian, French, German and English. In Austria most people speak Austrian German, Swiss German, German, Russian and English. In Europe we have so many languages, and are very close knit, even if it is due to centuries of constant warfare, but also centuries of trade. So we have very good schools, and in most schools people are taught foreign languages since early childhood. Here in Sweden, at age 8 we have English, at age 10 we can choose between German and French, I think at age 13 it's Spanish, Italian, Russian and or Japanese these days you can choose between, also depending on what your school has to offer in foreign language education. All of the Unis have foreign language classes for most national languages. So I'm not surprised at all. I mean I'd be surprised if she had been French or Italian, because they're pretty stuck-up.

[@BOZ_11]

@@livedandletdie people don't tend to learn Japanese as a second language. English is the international language of business and is the most spoken language (if you include first and second languages). Japanese is not spoken outside of Japan.

[@deanfromhungary]

Where are these english speakers in Austria and Germany ? :D Apart from the 16-19 year olds barley anyone speaks good english :D and please do not separate Austrian German, Swiss German, German. In school they all learn high german and the rest is dialect. Most of them dont even speak hochdeutsch few years afer leaving school@@livedandletdie

[@anita.b]

@@livedandletdie Wie spreekt er Fries lmao Relax met de leugens

[@neilclark8087]

@@deanfromhungary The austrian girl is very special and certainly not representaive for ordinary Austrian girls at home. I am sure she comes from a family with an international business or diplomatic background and got their education from international schools.

[@bones.mp4]

Kozy-sensei! Fun to see surprise appearances of other creators

[@livedandletdie]

I liked the dude with the Hieroglyphic alphabet shirt... mostly due to the shirt. It's a fun shirt.

[@celfhelp]

i’ve found that it’s much easier to make japanese friends when there’s a common interest at the center, especially in art and music, even if everyone sucks at each other’s language. haha for me it was music and bands. i made a japanese friend over email and we talked on and off for about 8 years. i finally met him this year in Japan and he introduced me to about a million people (lol), some of which i became actual friends with and actively keep in touch with, others will hang out and drink with me when i go back, but there’s not much contact while apart while “foreigner novelty” is certainly a thing, if you manage to communicate who you are at your core, you’ll be alright, but things will be a little tough without that common interest, because then it’s just “foreigner novelty” for both parties and that wears off relatively quickly

[@ChewGingar]

11:10 This girl is so nice, didn't even correct Australia to Austria. I wonder if Takashii found out

[@mnkykungfu]

The girl at the end might have the best Japanese I've heard yet from a foreigner on this channel. Almost no trace of an Austrian accent in it!

[@Retro90sgamer]

Cool video man! I really enjoyed it!

[@guigamesl]

I think that, this type of relation with foreign people become hard because of the culture, thinking mode, etc. But I think that this exchange of experiences it’s incredible for both people, you feel’s yourself growing up as a person. I would love make friend of other countries ❤ Hug from Brazil my friends 😉🇧🇷

[@DT_IVG]

I am currently studying Japanese through Duolingo now but was just listening to videos and music for awhile to get the sounds that I heard down and it makes a difference in my opinion. I do wish I had a legit pen pal or study buddy to help me practice my speaking of Japanese though.

[@kyleresta4702]

There is an app called hellotalk that links up pen pals kind of

[@minervaowl8298]

Appreciate the guy that was more honest

[@merterdogan9466]

Takashii san you do good quality videos. I like them. Thank you.

[@macyler]

I'm not sure what's more entertaining: the (usually) excellent viewpoints of the people you interview, or the ridiculous "I've never been to Japan but I read once" type-comments on every video that completely miss reality.

[@Will14670]

It would be great if subtitles were in the settings so we can choose English or Japanese. It would make this channel good for studying

[@MicrowavedBunny]

Love your videos!! I am just starting my journey to learn Japanese!

[@edwarda1690]

I really enjoy this channel.

[@Tabudi28]

This is nice, I do have a Japanese friend and it started when he became my student in an English class, he was really good in English, maybe that was the reason we became friends because communication was not a problem for us.

[@wang122122]

THE RED HAIRR GIRL IS REALLY CUTE.

[@celuiquipeut6527]

I really enjoyed this interview. The question are good. I also really appreciated the difference im the energy when you interviewed the men. Something special happened. And i also wnjoyed even more when the men on the left asked to be honest. It seem lile it is something that is tought about but not spoken about. Like a Taboo. But not so much. Lol And the men on the left really enjoyed speaking his mind. Thank you And Wooow, the Japanese of the Austrian girl is so amazing!!

[@JonSnowIII]

9:13 That’s getting right down to it. I think it’s not because they don’t need it, or even want it - I think it’s because of circumstances around it. Human beings are social creatures. We thrive and grow in good company. We need to be seen and heard. And when there’s a heavy lack of good bonds, we become very lonely. There’s a loneliness epidemic in Japan I think for this very reason. Well, one of the big reasons for it.

[@twoshadesofochre]

I’m always amazed at huggers (my mum is a hugger). I generally wouldn’t hug people I don’t know very well. The only exception to the rule would be if a very close mutual friend introduced us people who should be close cos they’re close. In which case I’m still forcing it a little haha

[@shonavarney366]

Another great series of interviews Takashi, great questions. Some interesting answers too, I lived in Japan for 6.5 years (Tokyo, Nakatsugawa and Gotemba) I must disagree with the lovely girl in the grey t shirt, in my experience, deep friendships and relationships with Japanese people don't necessarily need a thorough understanding of the language and pop culture, mutual respect and interest is all that is required.

[@MissesWitch]

2:32 I really love her hair colour! it's so pretty ♥

[@Earlymorningtea]

LOVE THE VIDEOS TAKASHii

[@AlexB-bw1cp]

The Austrian woman's American English accent is really good! Sounds west coast especially when she said whaaathaaafuuuuu 😂

[@Chloeeezyyy]

She sounds like a Latina born in America to me. Specifically a Mexican American.

[@TheZenomeProject]

That Austrian girl is extremely 英語上手, so it's little shock that she's also extremely 日本語上手, too. She might have some kind of talent or knack for linguistics, that much is very clear.

[@randyevermore9323]

She said she focuses on listening, so she's probably very good at mimicry.

[@VikVaughnMISC]

Why are you writing eigo jouzu instead of just saying her English is good? Like what are you gaining by using kanji in the middle of an English sentence?

[@TheZenomeProject]

@@VikVaughnMISC It's just a slight nod to Dogen in my comments LOL! The Japanese language learning community will get what I mean.

[@VikVaughnMISC]

Everyone knows about the 'nihongo jouzu desu ne' joke. Everyone knows if you say ramen right you get told you're jouzu. This isn't an eclectic joke.@@TheZenomeProject

[@TheZenomeProject]

@@VikVaughnMISC I never made the claim that it was eclectic. Loosen up a bit lol

[@AshitakaYakul]

That was a really good video. Thank you.

[@wbwright79]

this could be the most interesting and informative video that i have watched from you, Takashii. thank you. also, i become a Tokyo Treat subscriber today also.

[@khalidalali186]

That Austrian chick is so good at languages. She sounded like an American when she spoke English, and sounded Japanese when she spoke Japanese. Now, that’s a person fluent in a foreign language. She’s trilingual too. German is her native tongue.

[@TheZenomeProject]

She has a slight accent in both, but it's simultaneously so close to native-sounding that she genuinely could pass for one in short conversations.

[@daomingjin]

actually that reminds me of a joke. I'm American myself. So one day a group of us ESL teachers in China were having dinner at a sports bar in Shenzhen. We got talking about countries and languages because it was something we were trying to teach our students. Long story short we were kinda testing ourselves on Nationalities and their related languages. So... Germany-German, Japan-Japanese, China-Chinese, .... and i SHIT YOU NOT... the American sitting across from me just blurted out... Austria-Austrian we all just looked at her in disbelief. we were only 1 beer into the night and she pulled this out. HAHA. I was just happy that everyone thought i was British. shit that was embarrassing :P

[@khalidalali186]

Haha 😆 dude… I can definitely relate 😂

[@mado.madeleine]

@@daomingjin tbf some Germans would agree with her 😂 they didn't even let AS dub himself in the German version of Terminator

[@turpasauna]

I'm Finnish and my hubby has a few Japanese co-workers, who are also his friends. I think that they can be very private but once you get to know them, they loosen up. The Japanese are wonderful, disciplined and respectful people- in a group of immigrants, the Japanese one has/is always learning Finnish properly, while the others might not even try it. 😂😂

[@epicgaming6589]

heyyy wana be friends i am from india

[@MultiDryder]

I like how you make these longer videos as even though I knew how it was gonna go it helps me with learning japanese which i use both anime and duolingo

[@zlance1993]

This was awesome. Was something I really wanted to know as an American wanting to move to Japan. The one guy with the blond hair talking about meetup via an app was a cool idea I never thought of trying. Just need to find the app now

[@TkParadiseBiz]

Well that is interesting for ppl who have neither English nor Japanese as their native language. I personally like Anime and English the most. Your video helps me a lot deciding about my future whereabouts. I definitely consider Japanese as country everyone must have seen at least once. Nevertheless it is a bit sad making friends over there seems to be that hard. That’s why I honestly would rather live in the US. It is just a matter of personal interest, but I just wanted to add another perspective to that picture. My native language is German and I love several things about the Japanese culture and also the English language. I really hope more ppl in Japan learn English there 😅

[@realjohnwick]

to be fair it's hard to make friends anywhere in the world as an adult, not just japan. if you suck at making friends, the us won't be of much help. though, i also love english and the japanese culture, so it really all comes down to personal preferences as for where you want to live.

[@Utriedit215]

@@realjohnwick In America there’s a big difference between being friends and being a acquaintance It’s really hard to make friends pretty much anywhere but it’s easy to make acquaintances in the US people hang out together just to not be alone but you’re not really friends you know

[@yo2trader539]

Culture is language, language is culture.

[@realjohnwick]

@@Utriedit215 i see. i live in europe so i'd say that the socialization model here is not all that different from japan's. people don't typically approach others to make friends, and tbh i see little point in having acquaintances that you don't consider friends, but maybe that's just me.

[@BtheNomad]

Fun angle for an interview! I am learning japanese, and hope to be able to make japanese friends when I go there soon!

[@luislevario5705]

Bro I love you channel!!!

[@Ilikeoatmealmorethanyou]

I’ve luckily made friends online through Twitter, concerts, etc and have made some lovely Japanese friends. We talk a lot on LINE and even tho neither of us speak the others language we just use google translate and in person we still have lots of fun 🥰

[@giannilyanicks1718]

stop pretending.

[@exelero7310]

I'm from South Africa and I have a Japanese friend who went to the same high school as me, he moved back to Japan after graduation but we've still been in contact for a year since then. Maybe it helped that he has been influenced quite a bit by South African culture since he lived here for so long, but even with his cultural differences as a Japanese person and me as an English South African, we still got really close. Many friendships and friend groups fall apart after high school, but the one with me, him, and our other two friends (who are Indian) has stayed together, which is quite cool honestly

[@Monica-gc5dh]

That is so interesting... Greetings from Australia!

[@scottj1062]

It’s hard. I only know about 4 words in Japanese (well, at the time, I’ve decided to learn Japanese now), but when I visited- I didn’t make any new friends and nobody approached me or wanted to speak. So I was only able to speak with my friend who lives there and is bilingual and his Japanese friends who were semi bilingual. I hope next time I visit that I can meet more locals!

[@JMGx-]

I’m in Japan right now and one of the goals i had in mind was to hopefully make some connections and friends before returning to the US but man does it feel hard to do that… Austrian girl has it figured out. I wanted to make deep friendships though, not that superficial hey and bye and thats it. Seems like that’s wishful thinking for now. The language barrier is definitely there, I speak English, Spanish, and currently teaching my self Japanese for the last 6 months so I can understand the most basic things and since this is my second time here I been really frustrated that I can’t understand more 😆 Going to go to a car meet or something to hopefully meet people since meet ups seem like the way to go. Anyways, TAKASHii where you at??? Let’s hang out 😆

[@TamaraKane]

If I ever move to Japan, I will try to study the Japanese language daily. I currently use Duo Lingo and KZbin videos to learn, but I wish I had more Japanese friends to practice speaking Japanese with on a regular basis. I do participate in a Japanese drawing/art/manga group, and they are very patient and kind as I'm learning. We largely communicate through our art, and we pay each other's work compliments in English and Japanese.

[@jqy4sho]

on discord?

[@KonjikiNoYami666]

@@jqy4sho its CCP app.

[@yo2trader539]

My language teacher used to say that If you wish to write better, read in the language. And If you wish to speaker better, listen to the language (a lot). From having struggled with learning English, the Austrian girl's method makes sense, which was to listen to Japanese music, tv, KZbin, comedy, anime. etc. I think it would be faster to have basic fluency before you arrive, so you can perfect your Japanese in Japan.

[@TamaraKane]

@@jqy4sho It's a Japanese drawing board/game app available on iPad/Apple store. I am not sure how to share the app name here as I only have an English keyboard.

[@TamaraKane]

@@yo2trader539 thank you. Those are good ideas. 😊

[@bigpelican7302]

Fear of the unknown and other cultural baggage hold Japanese people back. I see it daily and it breaks my heart.

[@Mysterious_Moon]

I felt the same on my visit. I wished I could have talked to more people because I truly grew to love Japan and all the interesting people I DID get to meet. They don’t realize…

[@maegalroammis6020]

eight reasons why japanese people don't make good friends at all, why none/few of them are trustworthy in fact: firstly, they make no effort to speak other languages and anyway when we try to speak Japanese, they make fun of our accents and they don't forgive bad pronunciations Second, they refuse to show their feelings, even if we are polite, kind and respectful. just because they refuse to put us in their friendship circle for some reason (actually it's only when they're drunk, it's shameful) third, they like to criticize others behind their backs. they judge you without knowing you, they don't give us a chance. they don't tell about our mistakes, how can we improve. fourth, they feel a non-human need to have many close friends for selfish reasons. Fifth, they treat foreigners like walking dictionaries/wallets sixth, even though they have many cultural flaws and assume bad things about foreigners, they still fear being criticized by them for some reason, while we do it for a reason. Seventh, they easily judge our appearance while it's not our fault we are built like that "buuuuh taller or older foreigners = bad people" eigth , they are brainwashed by their elders against us and ask them to date other japanese I love Japan, for what it has naturally, but I don't understand why its people are so well regarded around the world. don't bother me with disingenuous comments like "nyeeeeeh there are people like them all over the world"

[@giannilyanicks1718]

it's pahetic.

[@user-vp2rh6ko4g]

That redhead girl has a really cute sense of style, and I kind of wish I had a friend like her.

[@chrisbundy6104]

Not only great content but you're eliciting good comments as well; keep up the good work

[@fujigoko007]

emotional suppression loneliness/isolation Diverse hobbies and annual events The trinity of Japanese culture

[@Mysterious_Moon]

Truer words never spoken 🙌

[@Silent_Depths]

As a Finnish person who has lived abroad several times this also applies. Just put an asterisk at the end of the third item to modify it for Finnish tradition. Diverse hobbies and annual events* *Annual events only when the weather is nice (it's probably not) and people can be arsed to organize and gather around for them. Diverse hobbies either begin or end with sauna, or both, so the main thing is just sauna.

[@VikVaughnMISC]

what about mammi @@Silent_Depths

[@maegalroammis6020]

eight reasons why japanese people don't make good friends at all, why none/few of them are trustworthy in fact: firstly, they make no effort to speak other languages and anyway when we try to speak Japanese, they make fun of our accents and they don't forgive bad pronunciations Second, they refuse to show their feelings, even if we are polite, kind and respectful. just because they refuse to put us in their friendship circle for some reason (actually it's only when they're drunk, it's shameful) third, they like to criticize others behind their backs. they judge you without knowing you, they don't give us a chance. they don't tell about our mistakes, how can we improve. fourth, they feel a non-human need to have many close friends for selfish reasons. Fifth, they treat foreigners like walking dictionaries/wallets sixth, even though they have many cultural flaws and assume bad things about foreigners, they still fear being criticized by them for some reason, while we do it for a reason. Seventh, they easily judge our appearance while it's not our fault we are built like that "buuuuh taller or older foreigners = bad people" eigth , they are brainwashed by their elders against us and ask them to date other japanese I love Japan, for what it has naturally, but I don't understand why its people are so well regarded around the world. don't bother me with disingenuous comments like "nyeeeeeh there are people like them all over the world"

[@thesaviorofsouls5210]

I feel like the "language barrier" is an often used excuse, as a lot of foreigners you have interviewed yourself often speak japanese quite well. And yet they still seem to have issues with socializing with a lot of japanese.

[@AlexisAlexander646]

Honestly, I think it just comes down to compatibility and willingness, and "language" is just the bare minimum for that. Some may argue that language isn't as important as long as you enjoy being together, but those kinds of connections just won't be as deep because you can't communicate everything that you would normally with someone of your native language. As long as the two people can communicate and have an interest in becoming closer as friends though, then there are no issues. Easier said than done, but all I'm saying is it depends on the person, so of course there will be people that have difficulty and those that don't

[@mariox7070]

@@AlexisAlexander646 Well said. I heard many native English speakers always say how Japanese are shy and wish they would speak more, but they don't seem to consider that they, themselves, are foreigners interacting with people who grew up in different environments, culture, and language. Often times people on both sides of the language barrier get scared that they may accidentally say something that offends the other person. Which is why I think it's important to learn the language so that one can communicate better to the other person. And sometimes both sides don't do much to initiate conversation either so in the end it comes down to the individuals.

[@maegalroammis6020]

eight reasons why japanese people don't make good friends at all, why none/few of them are trustworthy in fact: firstly, they make no effort to speak other languages and anyway when we try to speak Japanese, they make fun of our accents and they don't forgive bad pronunciations Second, they refuse to show their feelings, even if we are polite, kind and respectful. just because they refuse to put us in their friendship circle for some reason (actually it's only when they're drunk, it's shameful) third, they like to criticize others behind their backs. they judge you without knowing you, they don't give us a chance. they don't tell about our mistakes, how can we improve. fourth, they feel a non-human need to have many close friends for selfish reasons. Fifth, they treat foreigners like walking dictionaries/wallets sixth, even though they have many cultural flaws and assume bad things about foreigners, they still fear being criticized by them for some reason, while we do it for a reason. Seventh, they easily judge our appearance while it's not our fault we are built like that "buuuuh taller or older foreigners = bad people" eigth , they are brainwashed by their elders against us and ask them to date other japanese I love Japan, for what it has naturally, but I don't understand why its people are so well regarded around the world. don't bother me with disingenuous comments like "nyeeeeeh there are people like them all over the world"

[@mztoman]

ありがとがさいます❤❤❤❤

[@jasonjackson4555]

I have tons of Japanese friends in Japan. While I was in undergrad in the US I used to hang out at a place that did language exchange 3 days a week. I made friends with people who lived all over Japan that were out here attending ESL school. After graduating, I moved to Osaka and lived/worked there for 3 years. I met a bunch of Japanese musicians who loved American music/culture. Most of them spoke zero English and we all hung out at this bar/recording studio all the time. I have so many friends branching out from knowing them and from all of my other adventures in Osaka. I became fluent in Japanese and passed JLPT level 2 before moving back to the US. I’ve been going back to Japan to visit at least once a year for the past 15+ years. I have so many friends spread all across Japan. Whenever I’m there I get my JR pass and zig zag across the country (between Tokyo and Fukuoka and all points between) and I never get to see everybody. I usually don’t need a hotel because I stay at my wife’s place in Osaka and my buddy’s place in Tokyo. I was there twice last year and I gotta plan another trip out soon.

[@powerviolentnightmare5026]

Oh, nice. That one girl is from Austria. I am from there too. I think that's the first time an Austrian is in the video. Cool

[@annunakian8054]

She speaks both English & Japanese with no foreign accent. Intelligent. Impressive.

[@f2556]

​@@annunakian8054to english speakers, she sounds born in America (feels wrong to write "native american")

[@goldb25]

My guy who said, "Can I be honest?" is the real deal.

[@M4TTYN]

Meeting those from many walks of life is so awesome, given the changes and every time you turn rise in hate crimes but glad many are still open to foreign friends! I've not connected with my high school friends after to with co workers it mostly stays a work connection type thing. making friends is easy just the balance part and those who prob have kids or move for work or to be with family. Being in NYC many from all over are here for school reasons or visiting nice tourism returned seen many ID's and pass ports china, hawaii, UK, Russia, and sure singapore and like the differences in ID's to i try to leave a nice impression NYC is what it is from those from all over! and with rise of vtubers i hear loads of accents and world views and takashii, japaneats and many people enlighten us of japan *but lets not be too jaded of the tourist view* of japan! as with any place on this floating rock!

[@sydneyf7834]

It's hard to make American friends in America :,) We're all overworked and have to drive everywhere.

[@Saschabrix]

Min 9:14, really honest. I have lived in Japan since 2013... and I only have Superficial Japanese Friends¨ there is a language and a cultural barrier (nothing bad, it's just different). From my personal experience, Japanese people want what I call a PANDA Experience, like they go to the Zoo and see a panda. The same for a foreigner, once they see it, talk with him, get an image of how the person is, they don't need more and just leave it ¨there¨. We have to keep in mind that we foreigners are the ones that are going to Japan and trying to ¨fit¨ in this country so it will be different and exciting, but not as we may expect and we have to respect that. Thx for the video Takashi.

[@vivenna]

Damn that analogy is sadly very fitting. Lived in Japan for almost as long as you and have no real Japanese friends to speak of. Most like the novelty in the beginning, but there’s usually no depth to the conversations. And most while start ghosting once anything slightly negative is brought up by the foreigner (aka real sharing how things are going in life, opinions that aren’t just “everything is great” etc). I got so tired of the process of Japanese people not making time for weeks or even months, or perhaps even cancelling last minute despite scheduling 1 month in advance. And then the constant requirement to uphold the tatemae face or else my attempt to share vulnerability or a clumsy wording in Japanese might inconvenience someone. I’ve had the joy of meeting amazing foreign friends from all kinds of countries here, but one needs to be really okay to stay on the surface level for years to make Japanese friends

[@littenfire3563]

Yeah in Japanese culture you don't really express vulnerability or say negative things or else you risk making everyone uncomfortable

[@voyance4elle]

This is a great topic :)

[@notstevelam]

I’m currently in japan on vacation and have made so many Japanese (and non-Japanese) friends here! Everyone is wonderful!

[@user-nu4cg3jo4c]

脳挫傷で入院している行方不明の日本人？にあなたね名前があがっています。入院などしていないなら、連絡をください。

[@crow_93]

この方のインスタ、20時間前にストーリーが更新されてるので別人だと思います。 私も心配で探ってたところです。

[@user-nu4cg3jo4c]

なんか、日本にいたならリアクションありそうなもん。アメリカにいるなら、時差があるから、これからリアクションが、あるかも？！

[@user-cj7df8zr4t]

@@crow_93 インスタも含め、SNSは予約投稿出来るので、残念ながら別人とはいえないですよね。早く身元が判明されますように。

[@kristof2112]

It's good to learn from mistakes, but be carefull next time. Remember There are no kangaroos in Austria xd I love your videos btw

[@Petersbdk]

i love this yt channel i am comming from Denmark and i am in the middle lerning Japanese and video like this give us a idea how to make Japanese friends

[@YouWillBe322]

Social skills are important I think for those who want to have foreign friends and you do want to be selective when it comes to interaction, not discriminative or else, just selective. Because you will undergo a process called social conditioning and if you domesticate behaviors that your local organic society doesn`t tolerate you can find yourself in a very bad situation. This happened to me when I moved back from the US to Hungary. People don`t like or have a good opinion of the USA, so I was immediately targeted or looked at as someone who thinks more about himself than he looks at others. Meanwhile, it is not true, but in America, I have learned to be more mindful and see myself higher than I am today, while many people in Hungary look at them in a way where they should be more important in my own lies than I am for myself. That is a result of socialism and communism that I don`t value at all, not only that but many other ideologies that are preimplemented by someone else. I think you should have your own opinion and intelligent rather than a copy of someone else's. Yes, interaction and learning from others is an important thing, but self-education is also very important. You don`t want to be one of the many, you wanna be one out of the many.

[@ericg4915]

A lot of foreigners look up to japanese. I look up to shohei ohtani (the best baseball player in the world if youve been living under a rock)