Hi everyone! I’m a freshly graduated 23 yr old planning to attend Shinjuku School in Tokyo or ISI in Osaka, starting in October. While I’m working on the required paperwork, I’ve been thinking.
I was wondering if I’d lose on on immersion by going to Tokyo?
I went there for about a week a couple years ago, when I didn’t have any knowledge of Japanese. I don’t remember encountering much of a language barrier in Tokyo. So I’m concerned that people will speak to me in English automatically, as opposed to Japanese. Would this be different in Osaka? (I’ve never been there). I really want to get as much practice in Japanese when I’m there.
Thank you in advance for your help!
9 comments
If you’re wanting to be fully immersed you are probably better going outside of the tourist locations like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima etc. Perhaps going somewhere south like Kyushu or north (like Sendai) would be better for you
More people try to speak to me in English when I am in Osaka as opposed to Tokyo.
Osaka ain’t exactly a small town.
People speak to me in Japanese all the time in Tokyo and I’m clearly a foreigner so I don’t think you’ll have an issue. It’s actually rare to find people who can speak English from my experience.
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This is just a little bit on an aside, as u/cjfrew already gave you the correct answer: in Osaka, a common dialect called the Kansai dialect is spoken, and in particular, there is a more nuanced Osaka dialect with its own quirks apart from the general Kansai dialect as well.
That is a very good experience for someone already well-versed in standard Japanese, as the Kansai dialect is used in media a lot, so it’s vital to understand it. However, if you’re at an earlier, more impressionable stage with your Japanese, you’re more likely to inadvertently copy speakers of this dialect. You might be totally okay with this, but if you don’t want people from anywhere else in Japan reacting with surprise (and potentially laughter) every time you speak, it’s probably good to master the standard (Kanto) first.
>Tokyo vs. Osaka????
>I was wondering if I’d lose on on immersion by going to Tokyo?
There would be very little difference, in terms in Japanese “immersion” but you might find that Osaka people more outgoing than cold Tokyoites. It would all boil down to your neighborhood and not the city.
I think there is hardly any difference. Both are major global cities that are used to foreigners. How well you integrate with the language is going to be up to you, not anyone else.
I’m going to say that I just found it easier to talk to strangers in Osaka. Never needed to speak any real Japanese there either though! I just felt like the city was friendlier than Tokyo. But apart from that, they are going to be about the same. I personally chose Osaka. But you might feel otherwise.