Heh. You thought just because I didn't ask you to subscribe at any point in the video, I wouldn't be here in the comments, waiting to ambush you? Think again. Subscribe! We're almost half way to the Silver Play Button (!!!)

My Japanese professor told us that the English education was so bad at her middle school, she resorted to teaching herself English by translating classic rock songs (literally the most badass way to learn English)

the fact that adult strangers will react to kids fingershooting them is the most wholesome fact about japan i know

About Japan being safe: When I was travelling I went to Akihabara and bought some stuff. Had to go to the bathroom and so I left my bag with all my gifts on the bathroom sink counter. When I came out it was gone! I was shocked! I thought "Well I heard Japan was safe but I guess I should have known better...." Then I start walking out, I turn the corner and there is a woman there with a big smile holding my bag waiting for me to come out! She wanted to make sure no one took it from me haha

Addressing 4:47 for the Philippines: It used to be that way. However we recently switched to starting in August/September when K-12 was implemented to be "more compatible with foreign schools" and to adopt an "international standard). This was a disaster because now the students' vacation months happen during typhoon season (HAVE FUN STAYING INSIDE WITH NO POWER KIDS!), and the last part of their school year takes place during the hottest months of the year (while most public schools and many university classrooms have no AC). Honestly one of the most poorly thought out educational policies the country has ever implemented.

In Japan you can adopt a grown person if you don't have kids of your own so they can take over the family business when you retire.

9:22 I don't know if this is true in other parts of Japan, but you can also do this with a Kamehameha. People will instinctively avoid your invisible beam. I remember seeing on TV someone doing this on a crowded train. Some guy did a Kamehameha and all the people on the train parted like the Red Sea.

In regards to the quality of English language courses in Japanese schools, it's honestly very similar to the US and its Spanish curriculum. Most high schoolers are requred to take Spanish (or sometimes French) for at least a year or two, and almost no one comes out of it actually able to speak a lick of the language.

“Viking” makes total sense for me. The image and sentiment of a giant table with a profusion of food with warriors chowing down and making merry kinda does feel like an all you can eat.

Translations for every facts skipped in the video: 1.Yakuza is disappearing. 2. Every households in Japan has a rice cooker. 3.Nintendo was originally a company making Hanafuda cards.(Japanese card game) 4.Japan has its own Spider-Man movie. 5.Everyone is afraid of presenting in class. 6.Adults doesn't have Summer vacation. 7.The first season of Gundam was discontinued. 8.Instant Yakisoba(Japanese stir-fried noodle) is not stir-fried.

Japanalysis: "If you enjoyed this and would like me to spam my Japanese friends with more questions, please let me know." Japanese Friends: *Offers Ochazuke* Japanalysis: *Sweats in regret*

I'm from the Netherlands, which is number 1 in speaking English even though it's not our national language. The reason has nothing to do with state education being good (it's really not) but everything to do with the fact that all TV, music, internet etc. is in English. Because our country is small, there are not many things available in our language, so we just use the English version from when we are kids. In Japan, all entertainment and such is either originally in Japanese or translated/dubbed, so there's no reason to use English.

I accidentally went into a mixed onsen in Tohoku like 5 years ago. I did NOT know it was mixed.. I walked from one outdoor bath (just outside the men's changing room) to a different one (had to go through passages inside the Ryokan), and was relaxing for like 5 minutes when I started hearing women's voices. Turned my head and saw two women walking out of the building. I freaked out, thinking I took a wrong turn somewhere.. Thankfully their husbands/boyfriends were just behind them.. Of course me being a gaijin, they stayed as far away as possible, so no awkwardness for me after.

I wanted to chime in on the point of poor English skills in Japan. I am a English teacher here in Japan, and I agree with your opinion that the education is low quality. I wouldn't blame the teachers though, as they have to stick to the curriculum to the letter. It is the curriculum's fault in my opinion, they often teach things out of order and more complicated than needed (words and grammar). The study practices is also mostly just repeating what is heard. Students can mimic what is taught, but usually don't understand the concept enough to make their own sentences. I can give examples when you decide to make a video on the issue.

My grandmother speaks 津軽弁, we force her to speak standard Japanese at family gatherings so we can understand her

2:50 As a person from Ireland we're required to learn our native language Irish. We do this pretty much at the start of our education in Junior Infants _(not sure of the equivalent but I think it'd Kindergarten?) until we don't have to anymore which is when we get to college,_ It's just known that in most of Ireland people don't speak Irish even though its our language so we never actually use it anywhere else other than Irish class and exams _(unless if you go to an Irish only speaking school),_ because of that we don't put into practice the things that we've learnt for Irish especially since most of us think it's a dying or dead language anyways. And so you'd find that alot of people even after 12 or so years aren't actually capable of holding a proper conversation or even understand most of whats being said, the things that we do know how to talk about are the things we learn for exams but thats more so learning how to pass the exams than actually learning how to speak the language. The only main reason why I believe we care about learning Irish is so that we can get into college, because it's required that we atleast pass during our final exams in order to get into basically any college in Ireland even if the course you're studying doesn't have anything to do with the language, other than that it doesn't feel necessary to learn unless if you understand that's it's important to keep your native language alive. It also doesn't help that alot of people dread Irish exams more than they do other languages they can learn optionally in school and since Irish is mandatory the only escape from it is getting an exemption maybe because you're dyslexic or only moved into Ireland a few years ago. So the issue with Japanese students might not just be the quality of education alone, though I can easily understand how that might be the case also. *_(This comment ended up being way longer than it should have, I don't expect anybody to read allat lol)_*

Just found this channel recently and I love it! The Japanese memes/pop culture deep cuts are super interesting. Also carrying on with the KFC christmas fact, some KFC and convenience stores also offer roast chicken preorders for christmas day. This is kind of a big deal because having an oven in your apartment is very rare.

A very common sight in Japan is small children (we’re talking 7-year-olds here) walking ALONE, even after dark, girls and boys both. In Kyoto Main Station, I saw a trio of small boys dressed in school uniforms, holding an impromptu meeting right in the middle of rush-hour crowds. They were as sober and focused as a panel of high-court judges. No one bothered them, spoke to them, or paid them any undue attention. Japanese children are taught self-reliance from the age of 6, walking to school in groups but returning home ALONE. If you greet them, they respond cheerfully and respectfully. TOKYO =/= JAPAN!!!! Shout it from the rooftops!

I can't stop laughing at the "bang" thing, it almost sounds made up. It's like something you would imagine happening in a dream. Any idea why they all instinctively act like that? Does it maybe have something to do with the Manzai comedy theater permeating their culture, so they're just really used to slapstick routines or something?

Yes, please do. I enjoyed watching this video and it was very enlightening. I love learning about Japan’s culture and it’s wonderful people. Ty

One of my favorite videos from your channel :)

I was reading a Japanese novel that off-handedly mentioned Full House and was rather confused, this cleared it up for me thanks.

The buffet being called a Viking actually makes a hell of a lot of sense. The term to go Viking, literally meant to go raiding in another place, so it makes sense as you go raid the food bar and return with your spoils

Here in Thailand you can absolutely leave your belongings on the table in a cafe when you go to the bathroom or something; nobody will steal them. I had a friend who was a known artist. He used to paint at a Starbucks near me. I ran into him there once and we went off to get lunch; he left all of his valuable art on the table and we went off to eat. On at least three occasion as I have accidentally left my key in my motorcycle and came back to find it still there, key still in the bike.

I love the chill music and vibe! subscribed!

3 days ago a Taxi driver ACTUALLY got out of his car and opened the door for me... After living in Japan for over 20 years this is the FIRST time it has happened, I usually get the auto-door. Anyways, great video! and in the edo-museum in Ryogoku (tokyo) you can see a life-size portion of the giant sushi they served back then.

always enjoy your content. two thoughts as someone who has lived in Japan, went to college in Japan, majored in Asian Studies, and taught English there: 1) rather than "oldest country" I would say it is the single longest lasting dynasty in human history. this is a much more mindblowing fact and doesn't have to deal with the nebulous definition of "country" over the course of human civilization. 2) one of the other causes for poor English skills in Japan is that there is no economic driver for Japanese to learn English. Job prospects and the like from the 3rd wealthiest country in the world (until recently the 2nd wealthiest), with much less wealth disparity than either of the top two, means that Japanese people can get Japanese jobs where they only need to speak Japanese. Why learn English? Most of those other countries above Japan on the list have significant populations that can reap massive economic benefits by learning English and then participate in the global workforce. I also believe that this is one of many causes of Japan's insular tendencies. Hoping you get that silver button soon!

I lived in Kansai and thought the "BANG" thing was a countrywide thing! Thank you for pointing it out (pun not intended), so that I don't embarrass myself if I do it in another region.🤣

What of the best content, consumed it with pleasure. Please keep it up

I had a college friend from Japan who asked to be roomed with an American student so he'd learn English because he knew only basic travel phrases. They became the best of friends and he was conversationally adept in two semesters, even using slang comfortably. And that was ostensibly after his nine years of state English education.

I saw the program that your first "point finger and say bang" clip came from. Later on they also tried imaginary sword slashes with similar results, including an older woman with shopping bags in both hands at the top of an escalator, who did a perfect pratfall straight onto her face without hesitation. I was actually a little worried about her, but it was hilarious.

That was a very good and interesting video! Thank you

Thanks for the video, it was very interesting! By the way, in Northern Italy (Piedmont in particular) it's also common to eat raw horsemeat.

4:50 Yes, Australian schools start in January. Though up until high school I legitimately thought that basically all schools around the world started in January, because in my eyes it makes sense to do a schooling year ALL in one year. Instead of splitting it between two years. But that might just be me 🤷

As a Korean, yes I can confirm that Korean school starts at around early March. This has caused a bit of funny "non-realistic" depictions in Korean comics (called Manhwa [for paper medium]/Webtoons). In many Korean comics drawn on the topics of students/school, beginning of a school year is depicted with cherry blossom blooming, just like in Japanese manga/anime. I think this is only because a lot of current manhwa/webtoon artists grew up reading and watching Japanese manga/anime, where beginning of a school year is pretty much always depicted with cherry blossoms. In reality, since cherry blossoms bloom in late March ~ early April, most Korean people will not get to see cherry blossom when the school starts in early March, unlike Japanese people who starts school right around when cherry blossoms bloom. The correlation between the beginning of a new school year and cherry blossom should not be at all apparent to most people in Korea who don't follow up on Japanese media.

07:50 The reason Japan favors the left size goes back to the Samurai. It is so when samurai pass each other in the street their katanas don't bang into each other.

In Nepal new classes starts from the month 'Baishak' and it lies around early or mid 'April'

The sushi with the hand for scale killed me XD Looks comically large! Also, after seeing the tofu on fire nameplate, I'm just imagining legit blazing tofu attached to children's shirts. (Somehow the flame doesn't set the clothing & child fully ablaze in my imagination :D ) Great video!! =]

My partner who is from Hiroshima was fuming when you called it hiroshima-yaki and then was cool when you explained the background. I never realized that outside of Hiroshima that people call it Hiroshima-yaki. Anyways I wanted to say you are definitely becoming one of my favourite channels. Not only do I learn something. Often my partner learns something too! This is a cool channel

I'm in my thirties and for some reason I am starting to love Japanese culture.

Not only in Japan but in Nepal too, school starts in April. We have our new year around mid April, so the new classes start around end of 3rd week of April.

about the bad english thing, I'm a Vietnamese and Vietnam ranked just above Japan so the English level is pretty much the same and here's what I have to say about the education: students don't take English courses seriously and what they teaches in school is not great either: In 12th grade, we are still learning about friends and family vocab. I'm a 6.5 IELTS (pretty average) and finished highschool gradualtion English exam in less than 30 minutes while the exam period is 2 hours and still get 98%, that's just how lightly English is taken in VIetnam and there are still students failing the exam!

I wonder if Japanese students learned English more thoroughly 50+ years ago. When I was in the third grade in the early 1970s, a Japanese family moved into the neighborhood and the son was in my third grade class. The family had just moved to the U.S. from the Kyoto area, but the eight-year-old boy spoke nearly flawless English, as did his parents. The father had accepted a teaching position at a local university. This boy became my best friend - we bonded over our love of Speed Racer - but he wouldn’t talk about what school in Japan had been like. The year before, we had a student from Russia in my second grade class and he spoke NO English. We would play with him but he was totally lost when it came to academics. He didn’t even know the western alphabet. That’s why I was shocked at how well my Japanese friend spoke English. I assumed that people only learned their own language as kids. A very American viewpoint, I know. Anyway, I’m just curious as to whether my friend’s English was good from having been taught well in school, or if he had been taught outside of school in preparation for the move to the U.S.

Japan currently observes Japan Standard Time (JST) all year. DST is no longer in use. Clocks do not change in Japan. The previous DST change in Japan was on September 8, 1951.

I know about the automatic doors and yes, the drivers do get a bit testy whenever I accidentally opened them. Haha. The drivers also wear white gloves.

As a Filipino, 6:20 leaving something personal such as a freaking iPhone in the middle of a crowded food court was a culture shock to me when I was visiting Tokyo 6 years ago. I remember observing that nearby table to make sure the group's table was indeed saved for them and the iPhone 6S ( the latest that time) was untouched. We also make this habit to save spot in Philippines but it's often "unimportant" stuff like umbrellas, hats or bottles. If leaving something like an iphone was done here, it could be gone before the owner gets back. I applaud their (Japanese) discipline on this.

4:49 It's true school starts in september in the Netherlands, kind of... Most types of school start in september, but primary and secondary school have a different system. You see, the country is not only split up into provinces (including north and south Holland), but also in north/centre/south. Summer vacation is 6 weeks for kids and the exact timing depends on where the school is located. This spreads out traffic and such, so we don't break this densely populated country

In Nepal all the academic institutions start on April.. ( As Nepal has its on calendar called " Bikram Sambat " Which is now currently running at 2080 BS .. Since the first month of BS calendar falls on April all the colleges and schools starts from April)

Excellent video, both background info and presentation. Here are some more factoids: the word adopted to mean "voluptuous/curvy" in Japan is "glamorous". So if you try to use the word glamorous to describe someone to your Japanese friend, better than good chance they will hear that as 'large breasted'. Speaking of describing physicality, the word "style" means "body shape" in Japan. If you really want to say directly to a lady "I like your style" , realize you are saying something closer to "I like your body/physique". And the word for 'elegant' or 'upscale' is "gorgeous." The word "diet" is not used to mean "what or how you eat", it means "losing weight, whether through working out, dieting or otherwise". Similar, but different. Obviously these word adaptation issues are more relevant to those communicating in more broken English-broken Japanese situations. If you are fluent in Japanese, you would already know the actual borrowed English phrase meanings. Other possible topics of interest: rajio taiso, region-based escalator-standing rules, the sky high percentage of food/eating-related TV programming. And additional info on the KFX Christmas thing covered in the video- it's not just fried chicken (but oh, is it that). It's also : CocaCola, "Christmas Cake" and a range of romantic dating related themes. Akin to Valentine's day, if you will. But the holy consumer trinity of Christmas in Japan is (fried) chicken, Coca Cola and 'Christmas' cake. Would have never guessed this if I hadn't lived here and experienced it annually without fail, and I assume those from outside of Japan wouldn't either. Viva el Mundo!

Concerning the school start date: in Germany it changes every year and it depends on which state you live in. It is based on a rotation system so that not all states go into holidays at the same time, because before the new school year starts there is a 6 week school break, which is often used for vacation. So it happens that in Saxony school starts mid August, while Bavaria has to wait four more weeks and school begins in mid September.

I was at the gym (sleeve tattoo, but completely covered) and my tattoo cover slipped like 1cm and my tattoo showed for the duration of one whole set. Later I got a phone call that someone reported a "scary, mean looking foreigner that has tattoos and is not following the rules" I told them I had them covered, but the cover slipped for like 15 seconds, and that reporting me for being a "scary foreigner" is extremely racist and that ill be contacting the corporate office. The dude seriously told me that I should "just smile more"

Great channel dude!

Just discovered your channel and have been working my way through all your uploads. Would love to hear a more in-depth analysis of why Full House is so popular, and if any Japanese have thoughts on Fuller House. I occasionally see Japanese people post Full House fanart, and it surprises me every time.

Magic Mushrooms were technically legal here until May 2002. They were never a mainstream thing, but you could buy them from street vendors in Tokyo (I bought some from a guy in Shibuya while a police officer stood across the street giving us the FROWNING of a lifetime) and there used to be head shop type of place (reggae/hippy themed clothes and goods) in my area up in Tohoku that sold them in a glass display case. 1500 yen a gram for "Hawaiian" and 1000 yen a gram for "Mexican". Good times while they lasted!

Probably well known but in Okinawa a popular dish is called taco rice. Story is that because of the US military there they couldn't get taco shells so the shells were substituted with rice. It's so good and I prefer it to actual tacos now lol. Also SPAM (canned pork) is very popular in Okinawa because of the US military there.

Philippines used to start classes on June but they moved it to August to avoid class suspensions on the typhoon season.

In regards to school starting in April, its same here in Nepal too. Well to be more precise Mid April as it is the start of New Year here. I think it related to seasons where they start at spring and end at winter. Thats how our calendar system works.

Having lived in Nagano and now living in Kanagawa and working in Tokyo at an international school I can say the commute from Kanagawa into Tokyo is like riding the subway in NYC but cleaner and more polite. Packed like sardines but everyone shuffles around to make room for new passengers. I love my work, but I miss the mostly empty and more open to talking countryside feeling Nagano gave me. I will never forget wandering into the mountains with friends in Nagano. Discovering an old ninja village turned theme park and almost missing our last bus off the mountain to head back into town. I will always love my native home of America but for me Japan has become a home. One which I hope to remain in for a long time.

Well in some school systems in the US (usually divided by county) school starts in late August.

its true, it usually starts on June for schools in the philippines. some schools shifted to september tho to be consistent with the schedule of other countries so that foreign exchange students can more easily adapt

Banger video as always! I loved it. It would be awesome to make a mini-series of asking your Japanese friends about Japan-related stuff, like maybe things to absolutely not do or worst places to visit or stuff along these lines. Looking forward to the next video :)

Fun fact: here in the Netherlands school vacation time depends on the region you’re in to not make the airports too crowded when family’s are going on vacation

4:51 in Malaysia, in some states, schools literally starts at 1 january. I still remember that during my highschool days.

About the Kumamon keyboard, you could just easily pull out the keycap to see if it's mechanical. And just from the video, you could see there are switches under the keycaps.

The Kansai "Bang" gag is quite wholesome and funny. And yes June is the start of school here in the Philippines since April to May is dry season here so it gets super hot outside while June is the start of rain/wet season.

Great video! These answers are so interesting! Can't wait for more ☺️

2:51 as an aussie, i can confirm that school does indeed start in january. (late january) good video!

Thanks for being a video with honest content that isn't padded out too much.

I'm not Japanese but I do know that most viral clips from Japan that people here consider "game shows" are usually comedic sketches from various comedians called "batsu games". For example the famous Silent Library was from Gaki no Tsukai. It seems like most of the ones that got popular in the west were usually from the comedic duo Downtown. Also most of the normal game shows in Japan are usually competed in by various Japanese celebrities. The sole Japanese game show remaining where normal contestants compete is Panel Attack 25 which also has been on the longest. Since 1976.

US schools now seem to start in August more often than not; in the past I remember September was the start but in Highschool it shifted to late August.

In regards to when school starts, in the U.S, it depends on the region and school district. Many schools where I'm from (the Northeast) start in September, but I've always been told that most other places, especially in the South and West start school in August. For university, the vast majority of the U.S. starts in August, but my university started in September

4:50 For India, the CBSE board of education has schools start in April so as to finish the syllabus by August since we have mid terms in September. It is essential to note that CBSE can be said to be a harder education board than the State board therefore to have students catch up and not give them stress, they start their curriculum in April

I worked for a major Japanese company in the US for many years, and while it seemed that most Japanese employees could read and write English fairly well (some odd sentence structure was about the worst of it), speaking it was another matter. I'd frequently "borrow" one or two colleagues that were fully bilingual to translate if I was dealing with coworkers from Osaka. It was so much easier for everyone to work in their native language. Some of my coworkers spent enough time listening to the heavily accented English to readily understand it, but I never managed to. Teleconferences with the Osaka facility were a horror until one of the guys just started typing out "notes" (translation) on the overhead. Ironically, they understood our English just fine. On the flip side of that, I met a guy that I had assumed to be a native English speaker as he had zero Chinese accent and had all the slang and idioms down perfectly. Nope, he'd been in the US for less than a decade and had arrived for college knowing zero English.

In Nepal, school starts around mid-April as well

Can you do a video on the Edo sushi 🍣?!! That’s so amazing that it was bigger back then and known for a quick fast food meal. Also, the second button is so cute ☺️.

4:45 I know you probably don't know but a small country in Asia known as India also has schools starting in April.....

My wife is Japanese and I have been a regular visitor to Japan for about 25 years. Yet I learned quite a few things from this video. So thanks for making it. I also appreciate the style of the narration which is very easy to listen to. Cheers from Australia.

4:51 most schools in australia start in early feb, but some start in late jan

(That keyboard is pretty cute, it could be modded nicely👀, I also type the same way, with my left using all fingers, but right only index, weird habit) Anyways, great video!

10:29 "i remember flying back from tokyo to 🤖osaka🤖"

As a Japanese, I actually thought all people knew this until now 😂😂

New Zealand largely starts in February for school. This is to avoid a number of public holidays that are close together and may be disruptive.

Where can i get the Osaka sticker pack you showed? So darn cute! Thanks for the very interesting video!

2:50 as a german learning japanese I can tell you why. Because those languages are too different. The little bit of English at school was easily enough to open up the online world for further self improvement. I've spent a lot of time learning Japanese and I'm still not quite at that level. I can guarantee that, IF I had put the same effort into Spanish nstead of Japanese, I would be perfectly fluent by now

I think the driving side in japan has to do with the walking side which was on the left because samurai didn't want to bump their swords into each other because they wore it on their left side

I knew a few of these from anime, but it was very interesting. the "BANG!" one was hilarious! xD

4:49 in Australia we usually start school in late January but sometimes it starts in early February depending on the school or the circumstances

Since you mentioned the different types of okonomiyaki in the video... Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki can be found in the US! My hometown of Tampa, Florida has a restaurant named Chanko that sells Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.

Side-note: The “tofu on fire” is meant to be a side-view of a tulip, with a cut-out for the nameplate to show through.

Not all parts of France start in September! In the southern hemisphere overseas territories, in December - January the summer is so hot that the Christmas holidays are actually longer than the holidays between school years. (Not all schools have AC and working by a moist 35°C is... unefficient to say the least). So school starts much earlier, usually in August. Love from Reunion Island, just discovered your channel and it's amazing :)

Great video

I lived in Iwakuni for a year. I found it very difficult to learn more than a few common words and phrases in Japanese because literally everyone there spoke excellent English and quickly became very frustrated with trying to decipher my very poor Japanese.

I think what they meant by tofu on fire isn’t that Japanese people call it (I’m Japanese and I’ve never heard anyone call it)but that foreign people call it that way because they don’t know what the emoji is supposed to represent. Most Japanese people will just call it 幼稚園バッジ (preschool badge) or something.

2:36 I honestly think a big portion of Japan's difficulty with English despite their focus on education comes from Japan's cultural shyness. The Japanese people that I've met with the best English ability are all unusually outgoing and much more willing than the average Japanese person to risk social embarrassment.

US started school in September when I was a kid, but these days it seems to be August in many states.

7:00 Japan is the oldest **monarchy** on earth

Yep, Australian school starts in January. Also I think a video on Japan's English education system would be really awesome

Regarding the month of school opening in different countries, the article lists Egypt as starting in Sept, this is almost always true, but sometimes it can be late August.

4:50 in India too schools start in April for the new session (But then we get a summer holiday from Mid May and start again by July).

Many schools in the Southern US have shifted to Mid to early August start dates but have included a full week of fall break and many have stopped have classes the week of Thanksgiving since so many people travel to see relatives that week and pull their kids out of school on either the Tuesday or Monday.