What are some interesting ways to practice japanese in Tokyo during January

16 comments

1. Check out meetup.com, go to bars and chat.

2. I was 9 months into my study and also not fluent. When I went to Japan and tried talking to service staff (cashiers, sales staff, wait staff) in japanese, I got the feeling it made things worse.

   Probably would have been better to just speak in english I felt.

3. From my experience having travelled to Japan with only 3 months of study under my belt, I felt that speaking Japanese benefitted me greatly, personally. There were definitely times where it saved my ass. Just as a counterpoint to the others saying it’s better to speak English.

   From my experience, I was able to go to Bangkok and and Phuket and get by totally fine with nothing but my English. Everyone spoke English to some degree. I felt like Japan, even in Tokyo, was much harder to navigate without a passing knowledge at least.

   Asking for prices, directions, reading signs, menus, asking for English menus, ordering food, one time I got on the wrong train trying to get to Narita and had to ask a local for directions. One lady just ignored me but another guy helped me get off at Skytree and redirect to the correct line.

   In my 10 days there, I only had one encounter that I remember that someone insisted on speaking English with me. That was at Starbucks with a pretty young barista so I’d imagine he just wanted to practice English. It was a pretty touristy area in Asakusa after all.

   I guess my point is that you’ll end up speaking a lot just by the nature of being there and doing things.

4. Forget about studying during your time there and have a fun trip.

   Of course, if you can confidently say something in Japanese, life will be easier. And it might be a fun way to guage progress. But Tokyo is very foreigner friendly.

   But you’re going for 2 to 4 weeks, I presume. That’s not really long enough to build a study routine and then benefit from it. And stressing over it will probably distract you from being in one of the coolest cities in the world. Just enjoy yourself.

5. Where are you from? Tokyo is hardly cold by my standards. In any case, life doesn’t slow down or shut down in winter. There’s rarely snow. Of course you won’t be picnicking outside under cherry blossoms, but otherwise you can enjoy most of the things you could year-round.

   Also, agree with others. I basically got conversational by going to bars. If you’re there long enough, try to get familiar by going to one place multiple times. Tends to break down barriers.

6. Take pictures of everything and look them up later. Street signs, station names, ads on the train, book covers, menu items… You’re literally going to be surrounded by Japanese, take advantage of it. Most people come to Japan thinking they’ll just “pick the language up” and then they just go into their house, lock the Japan out, and open a textbook– and then they end up living here 15+ years and they know nothing. You have to actively plug yourself in to the Japanese around you.

7. I was 1 year into learning when I came to japan recently, and I’ve been able to talk to some people in some unexpected situations. It was mostly useless. I’ve just struggled a lot to express my ideas. I could understand all they said, but I was too slow, and my vocabulary lacks of accuracy.

   In fact, since I was immersing 4-6 hours per day before the trip, and my immersion in japan was like 1-2 hours per day, I feel I’ve lost more than I got.

   (but I have now an incredible experience, and a wonderful boost in motivation)

8. Go to literally any izakaya by yourself and just hang out, keep google translate on the side for what you don’t know.

   People are bound to gravitate towards you just because you are not Japanese! It’s not the most culturally diverse place to be.

   Also after one year of studying Japanese I can hold basic conversations easily and talk about almost anything. You’ll surprise yourself with one year of learning.

9. [meetup.com](https://meetup.com)

10. Be prepared for Japanese people replying in their version of English when you ask a question. When I travelled my travel buddy understood them but my mind was prepared for a answer in Japanese so if you don’t understand try to think of their answer also in English.

11. nanpa

12. go to yodobashi camera, pretend youre interested in buying stuff. endless amounts of conversation about any products

13. Focus on a handful of phrases you can use multiple times each and every day. Memorise them well before you go.

    Why?

    1. This will be challenging enough to remember / execute correctly in the moment
    2. You’ll be able polish them up through repeated practice in different contexts
    3. You won’t stress yourself out (enjoy your holiday!)
    4. You’ll get some positive feedback from native speakers (build confidence)

    Suggestions:
    1. Ordering food and drink
    2. Getting directions
    3. Asking where something is (convenience store, for example)

    Of course, have your stock of phrases ready to indicate that you’re only a beginner, that you don’t understand something, etc. Then, native speakers will at once understand you’re not fluent, that you’re trying your best, and that some combination of basic Japanese vocab, English and hand signals may be required to complete the interaction.

    Be mentally prepared to fumble your way though each interaction, learning something new each time. Fail forward. Build confidence and enthusiasm for continuing your study of the language.

    This has worked very well for me. Good luck!

14. Look lost and ask for directions in the street, be surprised by the 60yo lady that will answer you in a better english that you’ll ever speak japanese 🙂

15. Definitely bars, small owner-oriented shops, even an unbusy coffee stand, ordering a bento box in a department store basement….

    but really, i came on here to say that after a year of studying Japanese, I found it immensely helpful to spend 4 weeks in Japan trying to use what I knew. It improved my confidence and helped me know where I really needed to focus and grow.

    That said, i had a much better time in Tokyo than Kyoto. People in Kyoto tended to want me just to use English, but in Tokyo, I found people happy to talk to me.

16. It might be a good idea to go to the countryside for a day while you are there and try to talk to people there. I have often found that people in the countryside are more willing to talk to you and you can find more opportunities to have conversations with strangers in the countryside (although that is not saying that it is impossible in the greater Tokyo area).