Japanese pitch-accent and pronunciation lessons: www.patreon.com/dogen

His English it's amazing almost like native

It's 3 AM but I guess I'm staying up for another 49 mins and 28 seconds

1:05 is it possible to get N2 within a year? 1:49 On paying utility bills and hidden charges 2:13 格安シム/cheap sim cards (QT, mineo?) 2:47 how to shake off NHK sales representatives? 2:55 how to say no? "put your foot down" 3:26 do you intend raising bilingual children? 5:00 how not to burn yourself working in a Japanese company （日本の会社) 5:23 Dōgen's formula for success in Japan 6:18 have you ever driven a car in Japan? (車の運転) 6:43 how to improve conversational Japanese? (会話が上手になりたい） 7:26 on making friends with Japanese that shares your interest 7:40: getting on an environment that everything is in Japanese 8:26 on recording yourself speaking in Japanese 9:00 Are you prepared for the Olympics 2020? How will it affect Japan in the long-run? 10:25 summer in Japan （日本の夏） 10:41 Aside from Tokyo (or Kyoto?), is it crowded in other places in Japan? 11:50 Often, do you see many foreigners on a day to day basis? (周りの外国人を見えるについて) 12:35 misconception on Japanese not used to interacting with foreigners（日本人が外国人と挨拶して嫌われる？） 13:26 commonly acquired negative habits acquired by expats in Japan 14:30 日本人の友達のアドバイス（会社について） 16:10 do you still get anxious receiving official papers in the mail?（日本の手紙） 17:57 How do you feel how Japanese teach war history particularly on WW2 History? 19:26 Do you know Kansai-ben? (関西弁) 19:30 why do you think the Japanese society loves paper works so much? 20:13 Have you ever been to US Military Bases in Japan? 21:39 Work place climate 22:44 how do you respond if someone insults you in Japanese without them knowing you can understand them? (悪口) 23:10 How much Japanese do I need to know when visiting Japan? 23:46 are you still getting the「日本語が上手」comments? 24:36 is it easy to migrate to Japan? 26:28 on Japanese comedy 29:18 finding a place to settle in Japan 29:57 life as a Muslim student in a Japanese school 30:22 how much money do I have to bring? 31:02 on cheap cars and its hidden charges 32:27 consult a financial expert 32:51 do you want to be reborn as a Japanese? /taxes as a US citizen 33:37 fave Japanese music? 34:06 first job in Japan (JET) 35:55 「やろう」vs 「しよう」 36:05 Do Japanese people like Gaijin friends 37:02 hardest part in adjusting in Japan / on saying no 40:01 bank story / assertiveness but not being a nuisance 42:54 was anime a mistake? 43:01 Japan on creativity harnessing model (education, workforce, companies) / competition with China 44:44 teaching English in Japan 46:50 playing the foreigner card / on debates in the internet / decency and civility on arguments (on politics, culture) 自由にどうぞ。🙂

Dogen speaking english: soft, happy, worrying and caring friend and father Dogen speaking japanese: grumpy, sarcastic and pissed ojinsan who just wants you to leave him alone

>Tokyo Olympics >"Let's enjoy 2020!" These two didn't age well at all... But the rest of the Q&A is amazing.

I didn't watch your channel for awhile, so i didn't know you became a father. Congratulations!!!

having a kid is a great way to become more assertive

its gotten to the point that whenever i hear dogen speak english im shocked at how good his english is

Re: Bilingual question - I was brought up in a Trilingual family: Cantonese, Mandarine and English. While I do get good understanding of each, I do find myself weaker when it comes to complex linguistics, like using analogies or complex figure of speech. This is the first time I've heard anyone mentioned that being raised bilingual affects the ability to understand both languages, I suppose that is possible and it might explain my struggle. However I do find it super beneficial to be able to master these languages, as I moved to the UK in my twenties, and I had a super fast uptake in the English language. Within a year I have reached fluent and almost native level with English, so yeah, bilingual's benefit definitely out-weight it's negatives.

Wow. Finally I see a foreigner speaking honestly about the experience in Japan. I am Japanese, born, and raised in Japan. I haven't met many foreign ppl talking like you. (No offence. It's appreciation.)

"your english is pretty good"

英語上手です！

Ah. Eigo jouzu.

My mum wrote a paper on Spanish speaking immigrants and their children. As well as a paper on my older brother's language acquisition. turns out so long as there are two distinct environments, perfect bilingual acquisition is possible. So if you make your home environment entirely English, and your out of home environment entirely Japanese, they will acquire both perfectly. However, to maintain and encourage fluency, formal education in both languages is required. So maybe send your kids to an English weekend school or something. Sorry if I'm prying, my mum has done a lot of work in child and language development and has specifically worked a lot with the Chinese community in Australia. She's seen a lot of perfectly bilingual Chinese, English kids and always laments mixed children losing one of their heritage languages.

That bill question was so helpful, I have a friend living in Japan right now, and we were literally just talking about her gas bill! I'll be linking her this video, thank you 😊

Hey, I'm bilingual, my native languages are Estonian and Russian, but I also speak fluent english and have been learning Japanese for some time. I wanted to say that most likely your daughters' mother tonque will be the one they will speak at school and with friends, so if you don't plan moving back to an English speaking country, Japanese. I think you shouldnt worry about their English or Japanese being bad, as they will learn intense japanese at school and pick up english from home and the internet. When I was young, sure, for a time I was not that good at both the languages I spoke, but soon afther (a few years into school) I was just like the other kids (no acsent and as good in writing) but I spoke another language as well. My parent's used a technique of one of them speaking only in one of the languages and it worked out fine. So don't worry, even if your daughters' Japanese will be a little bad, they will come back stronger than ever a few years into school.

"the video is 49:28 minutes long" O_O but thanks for the vid as always, and happy new year!

You're English is passable Dōgen 👏👏👏 Pro tip: If you want to sound like a native American, use more memes

I took one thing away from this whole video: Tokyo Jihen is getting back together. Looks like 2020 won't be so bad after all.

The way he talks makes it feel like English is not his first language but maybe Japanese is

Dogen: "American comedy has a little bit more subtleties in it" British people: *laughs in "comedy that is barely understandable by anyone but Brits"*

I think the question: If your life improves after coming to Japan, also depends on where you come from. As a person from Denmark i have free healthcare, education and a number of benefits i would probably would loose if i moved to Japan, but if i came from America i could definitely imagine it could be a bigger advantage to move. Especially if you're a man.

10:13 Dogen: I'm just gonna watch it on-- NHK guy: Yeeeees... Dogen: ...KZfaq NHK guy: Dammit

英語お上手ですね

*_So cute to see you get so excited about every question._*

As someone who has lived in japan for about 3 years now, I can say that pretty much everything here is spot on. There is SO MUCH knowledge and insight, it would save people a lot of frustration if they listen to this before coming to Japan

Dogen can speak English? I thought he can only speak broken Japanese and broken English (same thing).

I totally agree with ya. As a Japanese who is settled in Europe, I feel like I will never be able to work in Japan. I mean for Japanese company. Visiting there is ok. Still fasctinsting but can't deal with the '出る杭は打たれる' system anymore 🙄🙄🙄

this entire QNA video made me want to drink to clear my throat despite me watching it while sipping tea

Thanks for the video as always. Good luck!

I have been living in Japan for a year and a half now, discovered your channel a couple of hours ago and been binge watching your videos since.

I just discovered your channel last night. This has been amazing both for a good laugh but also to learn a lot more. I hope to continue watching your videos for years to come.

Dogen, you're just a pleasant and knowledgeable dude to listen to. It could have been 2 hours and I would have listened. Thanks for everything you do!

Came for the comedy stayed for the informational content. Love the chanel.

I like your Q&A videos, didn't expect to see another one so soon!

please do more videos like, I really enjoy listening and watching

I love how he gets so excited for every question

Because of Christmas holidays, there is not much to fo in the office, so I am studying some Japanese with this in the background. It has been very interesting. As usual thank you and Happy New Year!

Playing Magic the Gathering in Japan was a big help for me. I was the only foreigner at that card shop, so I had no choice but to try.

So early! Can't wait to watch the whole thing :) thanks for all the wonderful content!

Thank you for the wonderful video!

あけましておめでとうございます、日本人リスナーの一人として応援してます。

Love this long style of video. Really fun to hear some of the stories you've had living in Japan. I wish I could hear more lol!

Thanks for the informative video Dogen :)

Great video, very helpful.

man, it was interesting to say the least especially going to the latter part of the video. thank you for making this video.

Hey man! Just wanted to say that I love your content! Also, I'm uhhh gonna have to watch this video tomorrow because I'm very sleepy. Stay cool, my guy.

I really appreciated your answer on working in Japan. I gave up on living there and moved to Taiwan (even though I LOVED so many things about living in Japan), simply because of the work environment in Japan.

Congratulations Dogen!

I can verify the driving bit! Plus they put their hazards on to thank you for letting them in. Also there is a zipper effect for merging traffic. It's great. I was so anxious driving at first but it's really is nice. I think my only gripe are two way side streets but seem to only have enough room for 1 car. Not a big deal but it can be nerve wrecking for someone with anxiety.

Just finished the video. Your voice sounds like it's still a bit sick Dogen haha, but I hope you're feeling better. Happy New Year and thanks for the video! たくさん勉強になりました

"Let's all enjoy 2020 together!" Oh Dōgen, if only you had known

I love that you introduced Gaki No Tsukai in this video~

Thanks for answering my question on the Olympics! I've been really really curious about the impact of the Olympics will have on Japan, especially from the perspective of someone living in Japan

Hey Dogen! I moved to Japan last month and I'm adjusting to life here. Just wanted to say that I have found your channel humorously informative and overall an accurate and balanced representation of life in Japan. I have really heeded your advice about playing the foreigner card and have found people really receptive to my efforts to speak Japanese (which is terrible) and follow the ways things are done here. Although people often observe the negative things about Japanese culture, the thing I have most been struck by is people's genuine sense of gratitude. I think it's so ingrained in the culture that being thankful comes naturally to a lot of people here, whereas I have to remind myself to make an effort to be thankful for what I have. Also I tried to watch Attack on Titan on Netflix, but there aren't any English subtitles. I'm studying Japanese every day but it's still going to be a while before I can understand adult television. Also, also, don't be mean to Ibaraki. Our Daibutsu is bigger than yours ;)

Definitely going to take my time watching this because I’m going to work in Japan this year. It’s been a lifelong dream, so being able to hear an inside, real opinion is beneficial :3

Watched (and enjoyed the entire video), but had to pause it for a good while after you mentioned 東京事変 reforming. That somehow completely passed me by and I'll be eternally grateful for you bringing my attention to it IF I manage to get tickets for a show haha. They split up in the second semester of my year abroad and I was either too poor to go to a show or they were already sold out.

33:43 I looked up 東京事変 and was pleasantly surprised. They remind me of School Food Punishment-another band that disbanded quite a bit ago. I’m gonna watch more 東京事変 videos now. 😊

It's 2am . Why am I watching this ? Well , this is awesome .

I 100% agree with the "living in Japan is great but working in Japan isn't", I think that the main "slap" that foreigners get when they live in Japan. I had the best years in Fukuoka, working in an international environment, backpackers hostel (guesthouse), in which everyday I was with one coworker and everyone was at super least bilingual. I enjoyed my job to the point that I didn't feel like I was working haha. The second job was about helping in languages (French, English mainly and a bit of Arabic), it was also good but the best was definitely the guesthouse.

すっごくオモロイ！　頑張ってね👍

My twins came out great 2 boys now 7 weeks old. You were right when you told me to sleep while I could. 😂 I can relate to the being more direct with people out of necessity even over here in the states! Thanks Dogen!

Haha was watching that same ”do not laugh” programme on new years eve!

Clicking on a Dogen video in my inbox because thats what you do. Realising its 50 minutes long. Ill go grab some food brb

Namoral, que canal bom pra se motivar pra aprender japones TE AMO DOGEN 🔥❤️

Oh man I love watching yur vids with subtittys on.. YT ain't got no clue what words u makin.

22:44 My old Spanish teacher called his students *mierdas*. He got away for a while explaining that it was a different translation for "student" before he was fired.

Dogen your hands move more when you speak English 😂 I'm very grateful for your videos

Thanks for this video, it was very interesting! You deserve way more subscribers my dude Is there a video describing how he and his wife met?

My third comment - I really appreciate these longer videos sharing you insights. I’m a 5x (50-ish day)/ year visitor to Tokyo & Chiba. Most of my friends & colleagues don’t pay this much attention to the bigger picture I’m interested in most.

Concerning bilingual development, the issue is that languages tend to not be differentiated properly until a certain age - so a child will learn both languages but they'll kind of blend together. IIRC that differentiation doesn't come until about 6 years of age, so when raising a bilingual child it tends to be better to stick to one language until about that age, and then start introducing the second language. At least, that's what my wife says, and she has a degree in developmental psychology so I'm inclined to believe her.

この動画は、英語を勉強している私のような日本人にとっても、とても有益です。This is great!

I am an asian I never got the gaijin pass in japan, and nobody said nihongo jouzu to me neither. w

im starting to think its not Japan which is very different to the rest of the world its America which is very different to the rest of the world

6:36 That said, あおり運転 has become a topic of discussion in the past year or two, so it is definitely a thing that exists.

English speakers: wow! this video is awesome! Japanese men : YES

This is the first video where I've seen where you speak English

Fantastic!

Big agree on Dogen's comments about WWII education, I know a couple friends who never knew about the concentration camps for Japanese Americans until they studied abroad in the US.

Dogen, as a native English speaker, I’ve gotta say that your English skills have improved greatly. Good job Dogen.

Even Tokyo doesn't feel super busy outside of rush hour, not counting the tourist attractions.

my android recognises english and japanese so i tend to have a "conversation" with Google assistant lmao ,,it helps bc i know a lot more spoken stuff than written :)

Awesome bro 💯

Hey there, dogen! Just want to say my experiences about the possibility of the first question, that being "can you reach N2 in 1 one year?" while also keeping balance on speaking, writing, and reading. To be said simply, it's very much possible to get N2 with a balance on speaking and writing, but it will take you a stupid amount of effort. In the past, I was given the chance to do an exchange to japan for 6 months. Prior to that, my japanese knowledge was limited to 私 and 君. Knowing that, I enrolled in a solo prep class for one and a half months, where I studied 2-4 hours per day, 4 days a week for a total of 72 hours. I left to japan probably just short of N5 level. In Japan, I studied Japanese for 1.5 hours at school + 2 hours of self study every workday, which totals at 17.5 hours per week. Took my first JLPT at the third month of my stay, and got N3 113/180. Not the best score, but I'm already very proud that I made it to that level in 4.5 months. At this point, I've spent roughly 210 hours studying Japanese over there, excluding the time I spent on weekends. I reached N3 with approx. 210+72 = 282 hours in 4.5 months. In the next 3 months, I studied less because of events and stuff, probably somewhere around 10-12 hours per week. I returned back to my country and I prepared for N2. Sadly, I barely study anymore after I came home due to issues, and even though my total mark was enough to pass, I was 2 point short of passing the sectional mark on dokkai. If I hadn't laxed on my studies after I got N3, I definitely would've gotten N2. In total, In the span of 8 months I roughly studied for 72 (before coming) + 210 (before N3) + 144 (next 3 months) for a total of 426 hours. Bear in mind that this is a very rough calculation excluding time I spent on weekends. Speaking is my best section. Being in Japan help with this ALOT, as I live with some dorm mates and we converse daily. Some of my friends said that if they don't see my face, they would take me as a Japanese that is a little bit lacking on vocab (definitely still worse than dogen though) Reading kanji is easily my worst, being that I don't see much N2 kanjis which often appears more on textbook situations compared to real life. My grammar is actually decent, since a lot of people, esp. My teachers use advanced expressions. In conclusion, it's definitely possible to reach it in a year. But bear in mind that it will be extremely taxing and tough, as it was for me. This is also before mentioning difference in comprehension speed.

Watching this in 2021 and the question about the olympics.... hit deep

Super, interesting, thx! :)

I am English-French bilingual, I'm Irish, living in Switzerland, I've been speaking French since I was 3, but only in school and English (hiberno English) is my home language. I think having a distinct home language and school language helps, as well as reading in both languages, because you get exposed to more "good" use of the language

I watched anime and learned new words like "nani" and "souka". Do japanese people watch Dogens vids and learn the word *I N C I D E N T A L L Y*

Japan will revert back to Edo period isolation after the Olympics.

To add to the question about being a Muslim student in Japan: Sophia University in Tokyo also has a halal cafe! A lot of different food options, and pretty accommodating, I would say. They also have a department with courses all taught in English called the FLA (faculty of liberal arts) so that's also an option. I'm not sure if other schools, like APU, have this, but this is just what I know from my experiences at Sophia.

You live in Beppu? I love that place with the steam coming from the street and the different "Hells". Good times.

Interesting to hear about good ol'Beppu nowadays. It... Wasn't always so 'cohesive' with gaijin🤣

ドゲンさん、ありがとうございます！I’m a native English speaker and I know how awkward it is going between Japanese and English though my Japanese isn’t fluent. Great video, keep it up man!

When you said "You will print this email, WITHIN THIS BANK" I lost it laughing that was hilarious

I noticed when saying no, both times you provided alternatives that were so practical, physically obvious, and would be quick and easy, that it made it easier for even people within the Japanese system to say yes. I'd like to point that out to people reading the comments. Give the other person a chance to say yes, this works irl even in western countries. Everyone likes to say yes.

英語は上手です Thanks for the video!

8:11 This just happened to be analogous to how I'd started learning English during my primary school years. I was told to take all those primitively simple children's stories (1-2 sentences per page, up to 6-20 pages ramping up). I did not notice at the time but within half a year I went from linguistically mute to speaking everyday language. Perhaps I should try this with Japanese too, although I wonder what material I could start with.

To add some info for 24:36 (migrating to Japan) - it’s relatively easy to get in if you’re a software developer as well, as there’s high in demand but low in supply. A lot of startups for example are having a hard time getting talents so they look outside the country and sponsor visa.

You can get almost anything you need at the Conbini.🙌