I was in the same boat as you regarding these worries about all these negative accusations about Japan and Japanese people/culture but I still went on and did my bicycle ride from the southern-most point of Kyushu up to the northern-most point of Hokkaido all alone back in 2020. And as I was riding my bicycle through the most deserted areas, of course some elderly farmers were occasionally starring at me or were even frightened at my sight but in my opinion that's totally understandable. Not everyone is capable of handling situations with a complete foreigner who doesn't look like he could speak their language. Those uncomfortable moments aside, I have also witnessed the most hospitality and kindess a country has ever given me. In one small village in the middle of nowhere, one stranger offered me to stay at their own guesthouse after explaining to her my whole adventure. She offered me food, gathered everyone from the village in the evening to celebrate my stay which resulted in an amazing party with local food from farmers, bakers and sake-makers and I even met an old former japanese Tour de France cyclist who gave me all kinds of tips and tricks for my trip. What I realised after that was that Japan is just like every other country in the world. Some people like foreigners, some people don't. Some people are afraid of foreigners and others embrace us with way too much kindness. So your message in the end is just spot-on. You never know unless you've tried it out and experienced it for yourself! :) Incredibly well made video and hope to see more of you in the future! ^^

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your experience!! 🥰

@Shadedemons

Ай бұрын

In terms of acceptance for foreigners its the same as any other countries bc they are humans, but as humans it's different Different cultures different people

With the studying in Japanese universities, I've actually heard from Japanese people (AKA my parents) that high school is actually a lot more intensive in terms of studying than university in Japan, because as soon as you get into the university that's all that really matters. Most students end up slacking off a lot more in uni because there's no longer the pressure of getting a good job because going to a good uni would automatically give you the upper hand in getting a good job if that makes any sense. If I'm wrong feel free to correct me, this is just what I've heard.

@tt18sp94

5 ай бұрын

Yeah, my dad told me how he would skip classes/lectures during uni. lol

@taroubb1940

2 ай бұрын

Yes, that's prettu much it. The students here study more in high school than in the university. Of course, if you want a good job, you still need to get a good grade in the university, but the pressure to do so is less. They focus more on graduating in 4 years or trying to find what you want to do than getting all As.

@deadby15

2 ай бұрын

IMO Japanese youths are way more relaxed than Chinese and Korean youths. I don't know about Taiwanese youths, but they are like somewhare in between prolly.

honestly i really needed that bit at the end about not watching “10 things i hate about Japan” videos, because rather than preparing me for the parts i might have to go through, it was just making me not want to go

I just needed this kind of video. I’m planning to study abroad next year but I was so afraid. Thanks to your video now I can think about it un a more realistic way and be more calm about it. Thank you so much!!💛💛💛

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

D'aww~ 🥺Good luck with your studies!! I'm glad I could help!

damnnn, she is real. so real for it. love this video

Amazing story-time! Thanks for sharing your experiences.

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! ☺

This was a great video! I'm actually in the proccess of trying to do foriegn exchange, and it's nice to hear from someone who went through that. So thank you for making this video!

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your comment! I'm happy you liked the video. ☺

Thank you for the informative video! 🥰

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

You're welcome, I'm happy it was helpful! ☺️

Thanks, that's really helpful👍

Thank you so much! You deserve so much more attention, Great video!

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your kind words, they really mean a lot to me! ♥

@tatakae5069

Жыл бұрын

@@booksandborders Your welcome! I'm considering going to study there too, and I have heard so many negative facts about Japan that I was kinda scared away, but you really helped! Would you mind sharing which program did you go with, + is it for the UK only?

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

​@@tatakae5069 I went directly through my UK uni as it had its own partnership programme with the Japanese university. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. 😞 But if you want to go, please don't let other people's experiences and opinions stop you! No country is perfect, and you'll face some sort of an obstacle wherever you go, so you might as well experiment and go where your heart wants you to go.☺ I've experienced uni life in 3 very different countries, and my time in Japan really was the best out of the 3. Whatever you decide - I'm rooting for you!

@tatakae5069

Жыл бұрын

@@booksandborders Thank you!

I am gonna start working in Japan a few months from now. Your video helped me get valuable perspective. Thankyou so much for putting your experience out there. :D

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

I'm happy you found it helpful. ☺ Good luck!!

Did you feel that you still got an adequate education? My largest concern is honestly the language barrier creating a gap in my education...

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

This depends on two things - your definition of 'adequate' and your luck. The best teacher I've ever had was my law teacher in Japan. Absolutely the best. ❤She pushed and motivated me to work hard, and I still keep in contact with her. With that said, my law classes were the only ones I found challenging. The majority of my teachers were American or British, and all of my classes were in English (apart from the Japanese language classes). As I mentioned in the video, most of the classes felt like they were meant to teach English through specific subjects rather than the subjects themselves. With that said, all of my teachers were happy to give me extra work and tried their best to make up for the difference in teaching expectations. One of my Japanese teachers was an absolute beast, he used to teach at Princeton, and you could tell he had very high expectations. He bombarded us with information. I did learn tho, that he had to lower the difficulty because students used to drop out of his classes. 😅 Keep in mind, I didn't go to one of the big Japanese universities, like The University of Tokyo or Kyoto University. My law teacher did also teach at Kyoto University and said the level of her classes was pretty much the same. I also have a couple of friends that went to Kyoto University and said it kind of felt like being back in high school. 😅 In short: - if you are concerned about having a gap in your education, try to just go for a year abroad through a university in your country, rather than getting a full Japanese degree; - choose your university wisely; - maybe work on becoming fluent in Japanese, so you can go for courses taught fully in Japanese; - studying abroad will teach you valuable skills that you simply can't gain from academic knowledge, so try to figure out what skills are more important for you to acquire at this point in your life. A bit too long, sorry. Hope it was helpful. 😅

@hiibolt

Жыл бұрын

@@booksandborders That's very wise advice. You've given me great food for thought, thank you!

Hey absolutely loved the video! I start school in September and am currently in Osaka for the summer

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

I hope you are enjoying your time in Osaka, even though it's probably quite hot there. 😅 Good luck with your studies!! Thank you!

Great video! Very informative and concise! You addressed every worry I currently have about going to study in Japan. Now I feel much more confident in my choice to do so. I’m applying in a couple of months, wish me luck! Поздрави от Мюнхен! 👋

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

I'm happy I was able to help. Good luck!! Благодаря! 😊

Very good and informative video. Just the audio wasn't very loud even with headphones...thank god you had subtitles ^^

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I got that from a few other viewers as well. I've gotten more comfortable with the editing software, so I've boosted the audio for my latest video. 😅 Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it!

This video is so helpful 😅😊 I have already been to japan but I will study there too for a year in like 1.5 years =0

@booksandborders

6 ай бұрын

I'm glad you found it helpful. I hope you'll have a great time in Japan!

it's known in Japan that University is easy - it's crazy hard to get in but once you get in Uni it's like a break for all the hard work up till now - and soon the the lifetime of nothing but work once you graduate. Kind of backwards if you ask me but that's what I've heard.

the staring thing: I experienced that in SEA, especially in Vietnam, where it is not that touristy. and they not simply stare, they shout at you with "hellooooo" , they turn around in the bus, when you are sitting behind them and stare. of course its not threatening. or not about feeling unsafe. and of course I could understand this. But you feel so uncomfortable. you feel discriminated. after a couple of weeks I really felt the need to shout at the people to tell them that I am a normal person like everyone else. (which of course I had not done). and in the end it is racism, simple as that. however, I also had nice encounters. I have blue eyes which is of course extremely rare to non existent over there. there were people who spoke to me directly about it, complimenting me, which was completely fine - compared to those staring contests.

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

I'm really sorry for your experience. 😞I have no idea how I'd react if people actually shouted at me. I'd probably want to leave immediately. I think part of the reason why I didn't feel it like discrimination is that I grew up in a pretty homogenous country where we didn't get many tourists or foreign workers for the majority of my childhood and teenage years, and I remember I myself was staring at the foreigners I saw without realising it wasn't ok. So I can kind of excuse them for that. 😅 But ngl, I actually started wearing sunglasses in Japan so I can use them as a shield to avoid eye contact. To the extent that I wouldn't leave the house without them and would sometimes keep them on in the tube. Thank you for sharing your experience.

@mariostudio7

Жыл бұрын

​@@booksandborders it makes me wonder what would happen if you actually talked to one of the people staring at you. Like asking them if everything is alright or how was their day or something lol. Would it be considered an attack or offensive by any means? Usually if people stare at you (at least in my country) it means that they want to tell you something (or are thinking to do so).

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

@@mariostudio7 I'm not social enough to even think about doing that, my anxiety kicks in just at the thought of starting a conversation with a random stranger who was staring at me. Especially in a language I'm not fluent. 😅However, I have nodded my head in a bow to great some people who stared too much, and they would great back and then look away, so... there's that. 😂 But if I had to make an assumption, I'd say they'll be surprised if you talk to them in Japanese and very confused if you talk to them in English. As to whether they'd consider it offensive, I'd say that depends very much on the circumstances.

thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, it truly was informative and helpful in many ways. I was hoping to go and study in Japan also for my bachelor's, but I am a little concerned and I am thinking to go to Japan through a scholarship as I am not that rich, so I was confused about whether doing my bachelor from there or my Ph.D. from there. If I can get some advice regarding this I will be very grateful...overall your video was great in helping me...and now I am gonna focus on my studies more as you said Japanese education is different... I hope that my hard work does not go in vain...l

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

I'm happy you found the video helpful. If you are yet to begin your bachelor's, then keep in mind that by the time you get to the PhD stage, a lot of things could've changed. Scholarships are very competitive, so if you're thinking of going down that route, then I'd suggest you do everything you can to get top grades and stand out amongst the other candidates. And as far as I know, PhD scholarships are even more competitive, and the study is a lot more intensive than for a bachelor's. I don't know where you're from, but as a comparison, I can tell you that Japanese universities are generally much cheaper than US and UK universities and studying in Japan could end up being a lot more affordable. Apart from looking at scholarships in specific universities, I'd also suggest checking if the Japanese embassy in your country has any scholarship programmes. And finally, you could look up programmes similar to mine, in that I went to a uni in the country I live that then sent me to Japan for a year as an exchange student. To be fair, that was the cheapest option for me, as I paid 1/4 of the standard UK tuition fee for that year. Good luck!

@redeyes.h.s8469

Жыл бұрын

@@booksandborders Thank you so much for replying, I think now I will be able to get my thoughts together and focus without any tension about the tuition fee. And again Thanks for the encouraging words.

Interesting experience…. Completly different my own in the 80’ (40 years ago!) when exchange students were quite rare in Japan outside Tokyo and especially as a french… I had many japanese friends… language is definitely not a barrier as long as you speak (and understand) a few words in the everyday life !

I wish I’d done more research on studying abroad years ago, because I would’ve liked to go to university in either Japan or South Korea. I’m about graduate so it feels pointless to think about now 😅 maybe a masters degree in the future. Thank you for sharing your experience, I found it insightful 😋

Wish i could visit japan, thanku for such an informative content ...btw you are gorgeous

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Oh, thank you, you're really sweet~ ☺ I hope one day you'll get to visit Japan!

Just one word: Reality

She is a genius 😊

What an amazing video! ♥️ Tbh I wish I did an exchange year abroad when I was a student 😅

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! ♥

日本語を教える立場として、勉強になります。良いビデオをありがとう！

"You weebs" 😂😂😂😂

I'll be travelling to Japan as an exchange student next summer! 🥳This video pretty much cleared up all the worries I had, thank you. 👏 I just hope my japanese will be understandable 😅 (I've also studied up to N4 proficiency). Did your japanese improve while you were there? Greetings from Norway!

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Don't worry too much about your Japanese, you'll get Nihongo jouzu-ed no matter what. 😂 I'd say my listening skills and my vocabulary increased the most. But in all honesty, I spent more time studying law than Japanese, so it definitely could've improved more, I just got sidetracked. 😅 Good luck and have fun!!

@fardin.s_ali

Жыл бұрын

@@booksandborders Thanks!

I lived in Japan Twice when I teenager and as an adult. When I was teenager I modeled and did commercials as a military brat. And when I came back I was working for a Government Contractor (20 years later). I can honestly say since I understood the culture it was not hard. I new where i could and could not go or what i should say or shouldn't say. Anime is so cunning for young people in my opinion. There is an element of truth in there daily lives and that is where it stops. Foreigner's are so opinionated and that's where the Japanese shut you down. What they perceive is you don't want to learn you want to give your opinion.

I went to Japanese highscool as an international student. It was a good education.

btw you should be able to adjust the audio volume in the KZread Studio Editor without having to re-upload the video. While the edited version is being encoded the old version will still be available.

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Ooooh, that's a great tip! Thank you! 😊

I’m in highschool, and I’m planning on going to Japan mid-Sophmore year (currently about to be a Freshman). Do you think I’ll know enough of the language by then? I’ve been doing a lot of research I just haven’t got someone whos ACTUALLY gone abroads opinioj.

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

I'm sorry for being vague, but it really depends on how much you study and how good you are with languages. 😅 But with that being said, as someone who barely knew any of the language when I went (I was at N4 level), you don't need a high level to get started. Make sure you know hiragana and katakana, don't skip your kanji, and practice speaking before you go, even if you have to speak to yourself like a crazy person. 😂 Good luck!

3:20 OMG are you guys wearing Martenitzi?! I am Bulgarian and we wear that in March and it really caught my attention! :3 Edit: I watched a bit more and you mentioned Bulgaria so it makes sense now, I'm Bulgarian and moved to Scotland when I was 10 (I'm currently 17) and my dream is to go to Japan! Аlso learning Japanese. Loved hearing about your experience there sounds really cool, the bugs scare me though! XD I know how the Bulgarian bugs are and I hope the Japanese aren't the same Благодаря за хубавото видео!!

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

I really didn't expect someone to spot the martenitsi! 😅 I've made a habit of gifting some to my friends abroad and telling them a bit about the Bulgarian custom. ☺ I hope one day you'll make your dream come true and you'll go to Japan! Be prepared, tho. Unfortunately, the bugs are about twice the size of the ones in Bulgaria. 😅They are way too big and really are everywhere!😭😭 И аз ти благодаря! Радвам се, че ти хареса!

Worry is a curse. It seldom makes things better and often injures the one doing the worrying.

nice video even tho a little quiet x)

How did you handle scheduling for your classes? Also, did your study abroad year delay your graduation? If so, how? If not, also how :D?

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Well, I took more than 10 classes each term, and attendance was compulsory, so I had a strict timetable I had to follow. I made calendars for each month in a notebook, where I took note of classes I skipped and deadlines. And I had a section in the notebook where I wrote down what homework I got on the day and when it was due. Nothing complicated, really. The only thing that required more scheduling was my law classes because I had to do a lot of prep for them. Other than that, I had a lot of free time to go and play with my friends. 😅 Yeah, it did delay my graduation by one year. The classes in Japan didn't count toward my final university grade, the year abroad was only marked as a Pass or Fail. Which is honestly a bummer because I got a really good GPA in Japan. 😔When I went back to the UK, I joined the year below me, and I had classes as if I hadn't been abroad, apart from my Japanese classes, which were one level above. 😊

Very interesting video! Im currently thinking about going a semester or a whole year to Nagoya. I might have missed it during the video, but how long did you stay? A year?

@booksandborders

3 ай бұрын

Yup, I was there for one year. I'm glad you liked the video. If you decide to go to Nagoya - good luck! I hope you'll have a great time.

@Alepfi5599

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

I think disturbing spiders would give you a curse or a really bad luck, that's why Japanese people don't genocide all spiders, some old pagan times beliefs are rooted deep into society and culture

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

I'll take all the curses.

@nyankrauss

Жыл бұрын

@@booksandborders 😂

@amanekaze

Жыл бұрын

As a person with animistic viewpoint and have ancestors believes in paganism, I am the curse myself 😊

i'm absolutely terrified of bugs and i've never heard anyone mention that japan has big bugs so i'm so glad you included that! did you ever get bugs inside of your house? i think that if that's something common i wouldn't be able to stay in japan long-term any time soon 😥

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

First, a disclaimer - my accommodation was kind of on the outskirts of Kyoto, and it had a lot of greenery and wildlife. The only bug I got in my room was the green stink bug. They aren't that big, they're just annoying. I did have a spider lay eggs on the outside of my balcony window, and a friend had to come and remove them. But that's all the issues I had in my accommodation. Also, you can buy bug sprays and spray your room once a month, just in case. We were warned to be careful when we put our shoes on because centipedes like going in them, but no one I know had any issues. Again, we were not really in the city, so we just had a lot of wildlife around us, monkeys, boars and deer included. If you do decide to study or work in Japan, pick a location that's more industrial and far away from wildlife. And use bug spray once a month. 😅

@MajorG25

Жыл бұрын

They are big and everywhere outside, but they're generally harmless. And annoying. Especially the cicadas.

I was planning to move to Japan for a while but hearing about the big bugs situation, now I'm kinda scared to live in Shimane 🗿💀 (Shimane is an mountainous region thing and it's their main attraction)

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

If I were you, I'd stock up on bug spray and place a slipper in every room to use as a weapon in a time of need. ⚔

4:21 what did i just hear there ;)

6:00 oh no my strawberry blonde anxiety

How do I meet others Japanese/ Americans

❤

@booksandborders

5 ай бұрын

Good vid but audio was way too low

The fear for me is having classes not in English lmao, i want to achieve n3 in Japanese BUT i dont think that would be enough for me to have Japanese lessons, i believe my english is decent enough for classes, at least in science stuff which i only search/hear/see/read in English

Why is this so quiet

最後の方の考え方を表す日本語に“虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず” と言う諺がありますよ。 調べてみて下さい。 Google翻訳 If you do not enter the tiger's cave, you will not catch its cub

Japan got them Australia type of big bugs?

anime= Japan is like Kardassians and FRIENDS= America

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Spot on!

Never in this whole video did she say what city she’s in. Please reply if you know where this all happened

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Sorry if it wasn't clear. I did say in the beginning I went to Kyoto Sangyo University.

@VanadiumBromide

Жыл бұрын

Kyoto.

The volume of your audio is low.

@booksandborders

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the feedback! I'll boost the audio for the new videos.

so you are one piece fan too🥰

@booksandborders

10 ай бұрын

Yes, albeit a rather new one. 😅

@Vaibhavgangwar2mm

10 ай бұрын

@@booksandborders how far have you read/watch

@booksandborders

10 ай бұрын

​@@Vaibhavgangwar2mm I finished the Skypiea Arc, and I'm now taking a break. I haven't watched the anime, I prefer reading the manga. 😅 Have you read/watched a lot? Which Arc is your favourite?

@Vaibhavgangwar2mm

10 ай бұрын

@@booksandborders just finished thriller bark,even i m taking a break ,that's the best way to watch it,i m anime only but i m aware of all the changes from manga,looking to switch to manga but i will still watch anime through one pace ,i need my anime my fav so far ennies lobby,though its hard to make distinction b/w water 7 and ennies lobby what's your fav so far ?my guess alabasta-i personally liked skypiea better but most people love alabasta

Japan is the safest country in the world and leaving aside the differences in culture, Japan is the most civilized society in the world as well...to the extent that many people from other developed countries (remember, Japan is really the only developed country in Asia and it will remain so for a long time) don't like Japan because it is too polished.......

@grrumakemeangry

6 ай бұрын

Switzerland norway iceland etc are much much safer

❤

@booksandborders

5 ай бұрын

❤

@booksandborders

5 ай бұрын