Why will nobody sit beside me on the train? – Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.1

Produced by Isao Tokuhashi
Edited by Daniel Penso
Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com

 

Kamakura, Kanagawa Pref

A city located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south-south-west of Tokyo. Kamakura is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the Kamakura Period.
*Kamakura. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 7, 2015 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakura

日本語

 

Couple from Holland

“This is our first trip to Japan. We planned to come here about 4 years ago, but the Fukushima issues occurred so we put off the trip to Japan.
Japan is very clean and everything is well-organized. Normally people are so kind, polite and very quiet. But they are rushing and not so polite in the morning because everybody is in a hurry!”

Question: Why are the Japanese so patient?  

 

Couple from Australia

“We lived in Tokyo 35 years ago so we still have friends here. We came to Japan many times to visit them.
35 years ago, in 1980, younger people had more fun here. They enjoyed themselves more, had parties more. In Omotesando, there were Japanese rockabilly guys, lots of music and dancing. People were enjoying themselves at discos. It’s before karaoke.
Japan has changed very much since even last 10 years. People are slower, no rush, quieter, fatter… they became like us. And they became more serious; they are thinking about jobs, they are always wondering like “Can I buy a house?”. Less people are getting married.
People were working a lot then. The working condition are getting better, but still they work hard enough”

Questions:
1. Japan’s population is decreasing. What will you do to make it grow again?
2. We read that 10% of young men at 30years do not have a girlfriend. Why is that?  

 

Irish boys

“This is our 1st trip not only to Japan but also to Asia. We’re students in Ireland and studying languages, such as French, Spanish and Japanese. We’re taking internships at Japanese companies. One of us is working for an English school in Saitama, and two of us are working at Toyoko Inn, a chain of business hotels in Japan. That’s why we came here.
We’ll be in Japan for 6 months, then one of us will go to Spain and the rest of us will go to France.
We wanted to go swimming so we were looking for beaches. Then, we found Kamakura. We love Japanese food like okonomi-yaki, monja-yaki, tako-yaki, chanko-nabe and so on!”

Questions:
1. Why are there no insects in Tokyo Disney Land?
2. Why will nobody sit beside me on the train?
3. What does “ehhh” mean?  

 

Malaysian girls (Studying at Japanese univ)

“We’ve heard that Japan is a safe place to study, so we came here. We learned a lot about Japan through anime, like ‘Chibi Maruko-chan’. Actually Japanese people are very nice, very polite and very friendly. We were really impressed. Also Japanese people who sleep standing up on the train are very impressive for us LOL.
We want to try Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to go to Kyoto, we want to try kimono. We saw the wedding ceremony according to Shinto rites and it was very beautiful. So we want to try that. Also we want to try sashimi (Raw meat or fish). We’re Muslim, though”

One of these girls says; “I wish I could have a Japanese boyfriend here!” → 3 girls were enjoying a girl talk!

Questions:
1. Do you know about halal food? What do you think about it?
2. How your education system works to educate children?   

…Who wants to ask the next question?

*Interviewed by Risa Kobayashi, Isao Tokuhashi (MET)
*Photos by Masanori Tsuchibuchi

 

Related Articles

Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.2 (Haneda Airport)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.3 (Japan Traditional Crafts Aoyama Square)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.4 (Meiji Jingu Shrine)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.5 (Ginza)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.6 (Akihabara)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.7 (Samurai Armor Photo Studio)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.8 (Asakusa)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.9 (Shinjuku Gyoen National Park)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.10 (Imperial Palace)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.11 (Harajuku)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.12 (Odaiba)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.13 (Ueno Park)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.14 (Roppongi Hills)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.15 (Shibuya)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.16 (Yokohama)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.17 (Shinjuku)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.18 (Shibuya Hotel EN)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.19 (Shinjuku Gyoen National Park)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.20 (Yanesen)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.21 (Haneda Airport)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.22 (Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.23 (Rikugi-en Garden, Bunkyo-ku)
Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.24 (Hamarikyu Gardens, Chuo-ku)