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You can get by in Tokyo without knowing much Japanese, but the real joy of traveling to Japan is experiencing the culture and you can do that best by learning t

You can get by in Tokyo without knowing much Japanese, but the real joy of traveling to Japan is experiencing the culture and you can do that best by learning the language. It isn't easy though and that can be off putting, but learn a few of the useful phrases like " how much is it" and go from there. It's well worth visiting especially with the yen so weak.

jstarfish 3y ago
The yen value hurts the most on lodging and shopping when it's high. Museums, temples and other cultural experiences are mostly cheap or free. Dining is generally affordable if you're not a broke backpacker. In language, Japanese has a lot of gotchas that can mean the opposite of what you meant to say, and cause offense where a compliment was intended. One easy failure is the difference between cute (kawaii) and ugly/scary (kuwaii)...polarization hinges on a single mumbled syllable ("kuh-waii" yields mixed reactions). So make sure you speak clearly and with enunciated confidence, like you're a Real Housewife from New Jersey. If you want to say "cute," the key is in the "kah" ;)
- drumhead 3y ago
  The good thing about the Japanese when it comes to foreigners speaking their language is that they have patience and don't mind you making mistakes, they've also got a good sense of humour so they'll find it more funny than offensive and give you the "nihongo josu" compliment.
  - jstarfish 3y ago
    Yeah we noticed a way more laid-back reception on our last trip, but we didn't encounter as many elderly Japanese as we did in years past (I assume because of ongoing COVID fears). Definitely not as much rigid formality with the younger crowd.
  - OfSanguineFire 3y ago
    > The good thing about the Japanese when it comes to foreigners speaking their language is that they have patience and don't mind you making mistakes. In fact, they like you making mistakes. Much has been written by sociolinguists about how conservative Japanese are uncomfortable with foreigners speaking Japanese too well: it puts the foreignеr in an uncanny valley where his/her speech doesn’t match his/her foreign looks, or it offends their sense of firm ethnic boundaries.
- bschwindHN 3y ago
  > The yen value hurts the most on lodging and shopping when it's high. Museums, temples and other cultural experiences are mostly cheap or free. Dining is generally affordable if you're not a broke backpacker. Pretty much everything is affordable at the current exchange rate if you're already able to get a round trip flight over here. > One easy failure is the difference between cute (kawaii) and ugly/scary (kuwaii). Cute = kawaii (kah-wah-ee) Scary = kowai (koh-why) But even if you mispronounce, people will understand what you meant to say just based on the context. They won't think you're saying their dog or baby is "scary" instead of "cute". Also, it would be quite hard to cause offense to most Japanese people if you're attempting to speak their language. I wouldn't go into any conversations with that anxiety in the back of your mind.
- johnwalkr 3y ago
  I hate to be that guy but it’s kawaii vs kowai, the latter having one less syllable (at the end). Something like the difference between pool and pal. There’s also no “uh” sound (although I see what you are going for), and “u” is pronounced as in “you”. I’m not trying to correct you just for the sake of it. Fortunately, all of this is pretty easy to be clear if you learn katakana, it’s pronunciation and romaji for several loan words. Using on-the-fly pronunciation guides like “uh” will trip you up.

jstarfish 3y ago

The yen value hurts the most on lodging and shopping when it's high. Museums, temples and other cultural experiences are mostly cheap or free. Dining is generally affordable if you're not a broke backpacker. In language, Japanese has a lot of gotchas that can mean the opposite of what you meant to say, and cause offense where a compliment was intended. One easy failure is the difference between cute (kawaii) and ugly/scary (kuwaii)...polarization hinges on a single mumbled syllable ("kuh-waii" yields mixed reactions). So make sure you speak clearly and with enunciated confidence, like you're a Real Housewife from New Jersey. If you want to say "cute," the key is in the "kah" ;)

drumhead 3y ago
The good thing about the Japanese when it comes to foreigners speaking their language is that they have patience and don't mind you making mistakes, they've also got a good sense of humour so they'll find it more funny than offensive and give you the "nihongo josu" compliment.
- jstarfish 3y ago
  Yeah we noticed a way more laid-back reception on our last trip, but we didn't encounter as many elderly Japanese as we did in years past (I assume because of ongoing COVID fears). Definitely not as much rigid formality with the younger crowd.
- OfSanguineFire 3y ago
  > The good thing about the Japanese when it comes to foreigners speaking their language is that they have patience and don't mind you making mistakes. In fact, they like you making mistakes. Much has been written by sociolinguists about how conservative Japanese are uncomfortable with foreigners speaking Japanese too well: it puts the foreignеr in an uncanny valley where his/her speech doesn’t match his/her foreign looks, or it offends their sense of firm ethnic boundaries.
bschwindHN 3y ago
> The yen value hurts the most on lodging and shopping when it's high. Museums, temples and other cultural experiences are mostly cheap or free. Dining is generally affordable if you're not a broke backpacker. Pretty much everything is affordable at the current exchange rate if you're already able to get a round trip flight over here. > One easy failure is the difference between cute (kawaii) and ugly/scary (kuwaii). Cute = kawaii (kah-wah-ee) Scary = kowai (koh-why) But even if you mispronounce, people will understand what you meant to say just based on the context. They won't think you're saying their dog or baby is "scary" instead of "cute". Also, it would be quite hard to cause offense to most Japanese people if you're attempting to speak their language. I wouldn't go into any conversations with that anxiety in the back of your mind.
johnwalkr 3y ago
I hate to be that guy but it’s kawaii vs kowai, the latter having one less syllable (at the end). Something like the difference between pool and pal. There’s also no “uh” sound (although I see what you are going for), and “u” is pronounced as in “you”. I’m not trying to correct you just for the sake of it. Fortunately, all of this is pretty easy to be clear if you learn katakana, it’s pronunciation and romaji for several loan words. Using on-the-fly pronunciation guides like “uh” will trip you up.