Why do you want to learn English? – Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.21

2018-09-09 INTERVIEWS

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

 

Haneda Airport

Located 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) south of Tokyo Station, it was the third-busiest airport in Asia and the fourth-busiest in the world in 2017, after Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport (Asia’s busiest), and Dubai International Airport. Haneda and Narita combined make Tokyo the third-busiest city airport system in the world, following London and New York City.
*Haneda Airport. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 6, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haneda_Airport

日本語

 

Man from Indonesia

I’m a medical doctor back home. This is our first trip to Japan. We’ve been in Japan for a week and came to Tokyo. We visited Ueno, Shinjuku, Asakusa, Shibuya, Odaiba and so on and had a good time. We wanted to go to Osaka too, but it was hard for me to get my family there, so I gave up that part of a trip.

I like people in Japan. They are so nice. But, on the other hand, we had some trouble here. After we arrived at Haneda Airport, I asked the delivery service to bring our luggage to our accommodation. When we got to the room, there was just a half of our luggage. Then, I went to a post office nearby and found the rest of it! lol

“I had a great holiday in Tokyo, Japan. People were very welcoming. They looked like hard workers and disciplined.”

 

Man from France

I’m working as a Property Manager. This is my first trip to Japan and I came here from Paris to see my family. I’ve stayed with them for two weeks and they took me to Shinjuku, Asakusa, Odaiba, Ginza, Shibuya and Yokohama. I thought people in Japan were very polite, respectful and disciplined and shy. Also, I enjoyed a lot of Japanese food here such as sushi, sashimi, yakitori and so on. My most favorite one is sushi topped with a sliced meat.

My family gave me a jinbei (甚平, a kind of traditional Japanese summer clothing usually worn as a form of nightwear or house wear) and I bought some beautiful chopsticks as souvenirs.

Question: Do people really look at all the advertisements we see?

 

Man from India

I’m a university student who is majoring in pharmaceutical sciences and came here to join a pharmaceutical conference. It was held for a week near Mt.Fuji, and I have stayed in a dorm there with a friend of mine from my country. I had some free time so I went to have Japanese food like sushi, visited Lake Kawaguchi and also enjoyed Fuji-Q Highland, a theme park near the base of Mt. Fuji, with other participants.

Everything is good for me in Japan, except for the price for a bottle of water. It’s expensive here. It’s available at six or seven yen (approximately six or seven US cents) in my country while it’s sold at over 100 yen here.

I bought a Mt. Fuji-shaped badge for myself. I’d like to climb Mt. Fuji next time!

“It is nice here. Everything runs on time. Thanks for your hospitality.”

 

Woman from the US

I’m from Minnesota. I have been in Kyoto for two months and a half until yesterday to learn pottery making. Then, I came to Tokyo because there’s no direct flight from/to Kansai Airport to/from Minneapolis. Actually, I used to use Kansai, but they changed the flight schedule and it was extremely inconvenient and expensive. It’s still cheaper than using Kansai even if you come to Haneda and take the Shinkansen to Kyoto.

I’ve been to Japan 50 times since 1963, when I was in high school. I came here for the first time on an international youth exchange organization called American Field Service. I didn’t choose Japan, they chose Japan as my destination. I came here many times and actually I’ve even lived in Tokyo for five or six years in total.

I’ve taught the Japanese language and Japanese literature at universities and colleges in the US for 43 years. After I retired two years ago, I focused on doing pottery. I’ve been involved in pottery making for about seven years. My instructor is in Kyoto, that’s why I was there. I’ll be back in Japan in the beginning of next year to do pottery.

Question: Why do you want to learn English? Do you understand that it is not the language of the world? The rest of the world is varied and value their own languages…

 

Thank you very much for your cooperation!

…Who wants to ask the next question?

 

Haneda Airport, Ota-ku, Tokyo

*Interviews by Keiko Murayama
*Photos by Isao Tokuhashi (My Eyes Tokyo)

 

Related Articles

Tell me, Japanese people! Vol.1 (Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture)
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.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)

 

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