can i enjoy Japan not knowing their language?

Question

i want to expirience japan and spend 2year or so whiledoing my personal academic research.would you edge me on? do u know any interesting thing about japan, ever been there?

Answer 1

I agree with Cherelle. Looking for intelligence here is like looking for water in a desert. Be that as it may, the answer to your question is yes, sure you can enjoy Japan without speaking the language as the majority of Japanese 40 and younger speak English, many of whom speak perfect English. We are the only idiots in the world that cant speak foreign languages.

Answer 2

.....あなたがばかです

If you can't read that, don't go... Or at least install the Japanese font. 2 years is a long time, and its not the same as moving from America to somewhere like the UK. Do you really want to live in a place where people can insult you and you wouldn't understand?

In the bigger cities there are signs in English. Things like their public transport system and certain shops... But its not 100%guaranteed, most use Kanji or Katakana. It would make simple things frustrating, like shopping. Or something like asking for directions in an alien place... If your serious, you'll need to learn Japanese.

Japaneses isn't really that hard any way. Once you get your head around 'particles', word order and learn a little bit of vocab, you'll easily be able to make statements. Speaking is really simple, its only the reading which become hard because of Kanji. Although, you could learn Hiragana and Katakana in about two days.

Also, the Japanese are very particular and proud of their culture. They are patient with foreigners, however blatant ignorance of their culture and daily life will anger people. (I.E. Talking on your phone when on a bus) You can't just up and move there, act like you do in your current country. It's not just the language you need to be aware of. If you're staying for 2 years, you'll want to make friends...

I'd say don't do it. There are 2 kinds of westerners that alway return from Japan. Some loved, found the people friendly and loved the culture and way of life, the other resturn frustrated about the communication issues and how 'odd' the Japanese 'act'. If your going for a long enough time but are not serious enough to spend time learning Japanese, I'd put you in the second set of people.

I'm not trying to be insulting... But Japan really is on the other side of the world!

Answer 3

You should try to learn some basic Japanese before you go. It's a difficult language with a totally different structure to English. In the main cities & tourist centres people speak English but outside those areas it's not spoken that widely. If you want to ask for help (on the street, for example) ask young people (high school students) as they are more likely to speak English than older people. Ettiquette is vitally important so I strongly reccommend that you read some books & do some research. Do you know any Japanese people who could advise you? You will find some helpful websites on the internet. Japan is a fascinating country with ancient traditions & the 21st century side by side. Do try to visit Kyoto & Nara, the ancient capitals. Spend a few nights in a traditional ryokan ( don't know if that's the correct spelling - it's the traditional inn), spend a night in a monastery. Japan is an expensive country, so be prepared.

Answer 4

You can visit japan without knowing their language, but you will not last very long in japan if you dun know how to speak their language, because most Japanese don't really speak much English. How are you going to communicate with them, and how are you going to get your basic necessities? By sign language and drawing pictures???
Please learn the language before thinking of living in Japan for 2 years.
Japan has many interesting festivals and events in many different cities. Since you are thinking of going there for 2 years, you should check out this website. It would help you know more about japan.

Answer 5

I lived there for a year as an exchange student. I had very basic knowledge of Japanese before I got there, and during my one-year stay I became conversationally fluent in Japanese. But I found out that I don't wanna live there again. It's just too hard when you can't fully understand and be understood. I don't know, maybe I have this opinion because I'm female, and also Asian, and those two things alone are enough to make you miserable in Japan. But if you really want to go, I suggest that you learn to speak Japanese first before going there. Otherwise, the first few months will be very hard.

Answer 6

Ive been there, came back 2 months ago and it was hard enough going around for 2 weeks with no Japanese let alone 2 years!

I picked up the language a fair bit. Its all in the key words. Go there for a couple of weeks 1st and see if you like it!

Answer 7

If you where visiting only for like a month or two then i think you would be fine without knowing japanese..but since you want to be there for two years you should at least have a rudimentary grasp on the language..especially if you want to research. You'll need to ask for help or investigate for your research and seek the help from someone.

Answer 8

You can likely enjoy a lot of it, but it'll also be quite awkward since not a lot of Japanese speak English or decent English. You should learn enough to buy food and do other simple things first at least.

Answer 9

hi! i'm a japanese girl.
i had been in canada for 5months, and came back to japan on Sep.
i couldn't speak English well, but i knew little English, so i could enjoy in canada.
i know it's hard to learn japanese for foreigners ....
but i think you need to learn japanese bit .
if you knew japanese it would be helpful:-)
but you dont need to speak well!
2year is enough to learn japanese.
you can get used to it!

as you know japanese ppl are trying to learn English .
and so, there are more than 5000 of English school in japan --
near stations, all of citys ete....----
if you need a help, there are many native English speakers working ! they can help you!
and
many japanese ppl can speak English now.(but not so many ,young ppl can speak compare with eldrly )

but it's hard to talk to foreigners.
i'm trying to talk to foreigners whenever i see them, but only i can do is looking them untill they notice me, and i wait to be talked .(but someone who dont wanna talk to foreigners or dont wanna be talked to themselves try to not looking foreigners. )

i think there are many ppl like me who want to talk to foreigners and be talked by foreigners.

japanese ppl are not a possitive attitude but a passive attitude..

btw, you should go to Kyoto where you can learn japanese traditions :-)
japanese love Kyoto ,too!!
there are lots tourists who come from all over the world, so there are many English!and many non japanese!!

i hope you enjoy japan a lot!!

Answer 10

So you want to go to Japan for 2 years but you do not know the language.

And so you go on to Yahoo! answers and ask everybody what THEY think.

I think you are foolish, but possibly quite young, so that's Okay.


That's my opinion- YOU asked for it.