I am traveling solo to Japan for the first time this weekend. I am 29F and Hard of Hearing. I require lipreading to understand speech, so I cannot understand people wearing masks at all.
I think I will be mostly covered using Google Translate to write out I am Deaf, but I am wondering how willing people in Japan would be to write out what they need to say to me. I would ideally just hand them my phone to type what they are saying in japanese (in the translate app) or English, but due to what i am reading about etiquette in Japan, i do not believe they would be willing to do that.
I am mostly worried about issues going through immigration and customs when I arrive at KIX. I am wondering if the immigration officials will be difficult like in other countries and not helpful with my disability. This is my first time traveling internationally since 2019, so I have never had to deal with the abundance of masks in a non English-majority speaking country.
Is there anyone else on here that is Deaf/HoH, or with speech/auditory disabilities that have figured out the best way to communicate in Japan? Any relevant advice from Hearing folks is also welcome.
Thanks in advance!
4 comments
Well I think the point is, even if they didn’t have their masks on would you be able to lipread them speaking Japanese?
Yes at immigration, they might be able to give you some instructions in English, but most other places any traveler would have problems since not many places speak English.
The good thing is that because of that, many places have things written in English in the first place. English menus so you can just point, for example.
As you said, I think it’s a good idea to have something pre-translated by Google translate that says you cannot hear. Maybe have a whole set of “flashcards” on your phone premade with phrases that will probably be useful.
The fact that you are hard of hearing, does that also affect your ability to speak? Then certainly you will have to have some ready-made flashcards for useful phrases.
What airline are you flying with? I see that ANA provides assistance at the airport for those with various conditions including being hard of hearing or deaf. It also mentions and shows an example of communication boards that are at immigration and security
https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/guide/flight_service_info/assist/hearing/
I mean almost nobody speaks English anyways so I don’t think it will be that bad.
Japanese people are usually pretty polite and patient. So if you write it you should be fine.
Get a SIM card so you have data and almost everything can be googled anyways.
For people with dietary restrictions/allergies, it’s usually suggested to carry around a card explaining (in Japanese) what the restrictions are. This worked very well for my friend, who has odd allergies and doesn’t speak a word of Japanese.
Perhaps you could do something similar? When you need to talk to someone, show them the card so they know what’s up. Maybe have it written that you require the other person to either remove their mask or write things down. You could carry around a notepad and pen for this purpose.
People using translation apps is pretty common, too. It would not be rude to communicate this way. I did this at a train station when there were issues with my Suica card (I have very basic Japanese ability but this subject was far beyond what I can manage lol). The station staff also used a translation app because it was beyond her English ability.
Japanese driver who are hard of hearing have this bitterfly sticker on the car. Maybe print that symbol on a sticker on your backpack. Most japanese will know the symbol.
Mind you that facemasks are not required in japan anymore, so more and more people are walking around without a face mask. But seeing as japanese speak/pronounciate english words diffrently reading lips will not help.
For communicating I would print a card with ” I am deff please write your respons” and hand over you phone with google translate or similar.