These videos are so great. Polite, unobtrusive social experiments that actually teach something. I especially love the fact that you blur out the faces of the "test subjects." Very classy and respectful.
I'm black, and I don't see why touching someone's hair is a problem? Haha, it's just hair and they're just curious. But yeah, I would be like that too if I were him. 😂😂
***** And no, despite what you see on TV, there are more women that don't wear weave than people that do. And you white people wear extensions, so what's the problem?
I am a Japanese. I think the man who used English (1:14) was a Chinese, who could not speak Japanese. Because he said Yamanote line "YamanotA line", as well as his English accent didn't sound like the Japanese one.
Evan He it’s true that he could be from any country. but you can be a chinese from any countries as well. not all chinese are only in china of course they can be from malaysia singapore taiwan etc. thats why he is not wrong to say “he might be a chinese”. it is only wrong to say “he might be from china”. im a chinese who is from singapore
@@e.h.8936cuz malaysian people look different more tan just like taiwan people and koreans are more pale and they have stronger accent he was 100% chinese:"D
I love how the girl with glasses was quick to tell the guy not to touch her friend's hair. I understand that our hair can be interesting but we're not petting zoos.
A good way to combat people touching your hair is to immediately reach for theirs. Seems weird, but some people get so thrown off they ask you to stop. And when they do, look them in their eyes and go "Oh, you didn't like that? " I get the desire to touch something new, but the important thing is to remember to ASK!
Of course that friend of mine eventually became my gf, we later got married and had a baby who is now 18 in the USMC! I got the privilege of touching her hair, especially during sexy time. LOL! Im so bad!
I'm a white guy who's been living in Japan for 5 years now (Japanese level N1 since 2013) and the only time I've ever had replies In English were during the first few months back when my Japanese was terrible. Japanese people reply in English only if they think they English is better than your Japanese. It's about convenience, not racism or xenophobia or whatever else. (There's also the few oddballs who want to jump at any chance to practice English but that's a bit different)
+coolbones The practicing English thing I sort of understand. Like, if they're doing you a favor by giving you directions, it's not terrible to do them a favor by letting them practice their English on you haha.
+coolbones Thank you!!! I ended up getting into a few arguments in the last video(The one where the are reacting to some skit) and the biggest issue was how the netizens don't understand that the video was SOOOO unrealistic.
***** "However, there are still many Japanese that will pretend not to understand me. Even after listening to me speak with another Japanese for 20 minutes, they will ask me, "Do you speaku Japanizu?" This is a defense mechanism at work." And you speak with no accent? I know a British chef who's been here for 20 years and do speaks Japanese somewhat fluently but has such a thick accent that he gets treated like tourist to this day. (He's also one of those weird people who mostly hang out with foreigners and complain all the time about the Japanese being racist towards him) "You see, English serves as a safety buffer. This means when things go wrong, the Japanese party can easily pull the plug. For example...: How is that any different from foreigners who get in trouble with the police and suddenly pretend that they don't speak Japanese? You make it sound like it's a Japanese specific problem when it absolutely goes both ways.
Lmao its funny though. After being in Tokyo for a while even I began to forget I wasnt from here. That IIII was the foreigner too when I'd give a shady eye to another foreigner doing something rude. It's weird, since, at least in Tokyo, no one gives you special attention as a westerner you kind of just fit right in. Coming back to the states I was shocked at what I saw then remembered "Oh yeah, thats life here." lol
Haha I live in Korea and when I go into Seoul, I say that all the time. It's more of a surprise because it's so monoethnic here and Japan too. And then I'm like oh yeah me too... >
Lazarus Read It was/is same for me living in Germany even though I'm actually halfcast and not fully black^^ But since they're always "like whoa" cool or "I wish I had hair like you" it's actually nice having some different hair than the others, even though lots of blacks including me wish to have European Hair ^^
I dont think its negative that they reply in English back. I am pretty sure they are trying to comfort you that they speak english too. So should you prefer English you would know he/she understands.
FQY PW I think a negative would be if foreigners who ask them for directions in Japanese, don’t actually speak English, and the Japanese people reply in that language
It can be quite negative. It's racism. You are speaking Japanese and yet they think that you can't because you're not Japanese. The Japanese are very tribal. They have a strong sense of who is Japanese and who is not.
LittleImpaler, I fully agree. In some rare cases, if a foreigner can speak good or even fluent Japanese, there are some Japanese who may still refuse to speak Japanese to them. In such cases, it's clearly racism. Only if a foreigner isn't fluent, or struggles with Japanese, would it be OK to switch to English. But if they clearly don't show any difficulties with the language, I can't see any reason to switch to English, especially if the foreigner doesn't want to or doesn't initiate it. If a local speaks in English to practice their English (and they inform you of this) that's fine. Has happened to me in rare instances.
I just remembered this but sometimes, how you phrase your questions makes Japanese people think that you don't speak Japanese very well. I noticed that Japanese textbooks always (I've checked dozens of textbooks but I haven't found any exception yet) teach you to speak like a 'foreigner' and not like a Japanese person. There are so many expressions that you see in textbooks but you don't really hear in real life. If you are interested in this kind of stuff, subscribe to my email list bit.ly/2Fk3gSp I only share the kind of Japanese that real Japanese people speak.
+That Japanese Man Yuta subscribed! :) I have the same problem, I always want to say 携帯電話 instead of 携帯 because that's how we learned it in class ^^ look forward to your mails!
+That Japanese Man Yuta How about doing a video on that very topic? How foreigners sound like foreigners to japanese people, even when they're speaking japanese.
+That Japanese Man Yuta That's true. Same can be said about English textbooks in Japan as well. People who write language textbooks seem to not be doing well. I learned a lot of Japanese from listening and watching dramas, so I picked up a lot of natural phrases that can help me get through most conversations, even though I am FAR from fluent, almost no one ever speaks to me in English. I have had a few times they said 'I can't speak English' or they spoke to the asian foreigner, but only a handful of times in 7 years.
+That Japanese Man Yuta additional lessons always are nice, so im now one of your students, so... よろしく but in japanese school, we're using genki and i knew already about using 私 and 僕, but i'm not so sure, because i have teachers there, so maybe i know it thanks to them, not thanks to book
It also has to do with Japanese fluency and accent, the black girl was using a very basic sentence (何々はどこですか？) and she had a stronger accent as compared to the girl in glasses, that is probably why some people were inclined to respond to her in English, they just thought that she would not understand well a Japanese explanation. In my experience, Japanese people will talk to you in Japanese unless they have a reason to believe you would not understand them, if you are gaijin but you start a conversation with a natural Japanese sentence they will carry on in Japanese.
Japanese people don’t get to see different hair very often, me having red curly hair it gets touched all the time, I make sure it’s clean and conditioned before I go out and honestly it’s a little learning exp for them so I don’t mind
@@YokotaShou Although it is very disrespectful. I mean, there's no problem being a little curious, but he could've asked her if he could touch her hair. Just grabbing it like that seems very disrespectful
Ok, here's the thing. I live in France and I know a lot of foreigners here and anytime they speak to someone with an accent, people will answer in English. So maybe it's not just a japanese thing. Either people are excited to speak some English because they learnt it at school or because they really want to be understood.
HumbleDictator I'm an American living in Brazil, my Portuguese is near fluent but of course I have an accent. People talk to me as if I was a child or mentally slow, or they try to use their English which is way, way worse than my Portuguese.
French and Japanese culture have this in common: Both are very proud of their beautiful languages (and say this often) and don't like to hear it mangled by foreigners (even though if they thought about it logically they should be flattered that people want to make that kind of hard effort) As these people travel more their eyes will be opened to the myriad ways of communicating and they will be less "convenience-orientated" if you see what i mean and more appreciative of peoples' efforts. Also city dwellers tend to be in a hurry and stressed more than other places so there's that driving the convenience/speed factor.
+Stephanie Dooley I'm actually quite surprised that some people are 'surprised.' Japan is a very, very Japanese-speaking country. There's some serious availability bias going on on the internet.
+That Japanese Man Yuta Yes, the internet and people in general are often heavily biased about something, and honestly don't know what they are talking about! The least assumptions we make, the better. (: With that said, however, I was also a bit surprised myself that so many replied in 100% full Japanese! (Guess I'm "infected" too, hehe.)That was very nice to see. (:
+RedHairdo I am living in Japan now and speak Japanese. I've lived here for four years (in Osaka). Many times when I speak to a stranger in Japanese, they respond to me in English or mixed Japanese and English. Maybe like 50% of the time. Other 50% they speak to me in Japanese. I would prefer that Japanese people respond to me in Japanese 100% of the time when I speak to them in Japanese first. So I was happy to see in the video that most of the people only used Japanese :)
When the guy started touching her hair - story of my life. Particularly as a black woman. And I live in the UK, where multiculturalism is supposed to be at its peak 😂.
+LivingForTheJoker999 This is a surprise to me as I assumed the biggest congregation of races would be in London. I live in Surrey, which is in the south east.
actually in Poland we have no black people too, so afro dude from my school everytime he meets new people they touch his hair xD it has to be annoying af ;p
+PaKoV2 I mean, you wouldn't like it if some stranger just randomly started touching your hair. I had a friend who had really curly hair and it took me two years to build up the courage to ask if I could bounce one of her curls. I don't like it when people touch me without my permission, so I assume the same for others.
+PaKoV2 It happens to me too. It's only annoying if people do it without asking. That's just weird. But when people ask if they can do so it doesn't bother me at all. Actually I like it, since before moving to a country with hardly any black people I really disliked my hair. Now everyone is fascinated by it and wants to touch it so I started liking it too.
+PaKoV2 what the fuck are you talking about? I would understand if you would write this in the 90's but Poland in 2015? Don't be a stupid liar and don't spread fake stories as 1) there are a lot of black and asian people in Poland 2) people are used to other races from meeting them or from tv/movies so things like "touching hair" is no longer a thing...
I'm a black girl with natural hair. I personally wouldn't mind people touching my hair. I'm sure they don't see that every day. Even my non black friends, sometimes ask me about my hair, and I glad explain to them and let them touch. One of the way we as humans learn is through touch, and I would feel privileged to be able to teach someone that way.
You are sweet:) You are right of course humans learn through touch. Unfortunately many people are asocial these days. There is a lot of anxiety out there due to our sedentary life styles.
Well that's very nice of you! I hear that some/alot of black women get annoyed when non-black people touch their natural hair. I appreciate that you let people touch your hair because lots of people have never seen such a hair type and are very curious about them, especially myself. This is coming from a black person as well, and I am sorry if you found what I said offensive.
that's nice but it gets annoying after a while when ppl keep touching your hair without asking...especially if you just washed your hair & got your hair done; trust me its happened to me &it wasnt ok lol
all white people getting offended!!!! you are really so cool! I think if I possess something that others don't and they find it amazing... I will feel cool lol! love your attitude though!
Wow I was so surprised when I saw the guy touching her hair without permission. I've heard it happens all the time even in the US but it's my first time actually seeing it o_o
Well, not everyone is used to living in a multicultural country like USA and UK :O A lot of people who have not seen a foreigner will act that way because they are simply excited and the fact that it could be taken as rude is not understood by them since they grew up differently. They know of other things that we don't :3 The things we do could be considered very rude by them but the main point is, we just gotta get along with it really o.O
Shan Shin Maybe you didn't read my entire comment, but towards the end I said it happens in the US where hair like hers is pretty common. Also I'd think touching a stranger's hair isn't ok in any country in the world, no matter where you are from, no matter where they are from, because you know, they are strangers
Shows a lot about your cultural background. You are very self-focused and are strongly attached to the concept of "I". Japan's culture was raised by Buddhism and Shintoism, where the self is not important. Your ego is not important. Personal space is not important. Attachment to self inhibits enlightenment.
I really miss the time I live in Japan. I had to move at America and I now get make fun of for my bad English. I often think in my head yes and your terrible Japanese. at lease you can understand what I am saying. these people go around saying kawaii for no reason.
I'm half Japanese half white, raised bilingually in the US. I think the experiences in the video for the most part are accurate, but whenever I'm in Japan, 90% of the time people start a conversation with me in English. I speak back in Japanese, telling them "日本語で大丈夫です" ("Japanese is OK") and they have a shocked look, but continue the conversation in Japanese. There was one exception, at a McDonald's in Yokohama: The employee spoke to me in English, I spoke back in Japanese, and she continued the conversation in English for the rest of the time. I was furious, since her English was terrible and hard to understand.
+Remco Bassini Same, 20 mins seems to so near. In my city there's no train system and the buses suck, so anything 30 mins or less people walk or cycle.
+Remco Bassini - I've actually done that walk, albeit the opposite way (Harajuku - Shibuya). I suppose for some people who are in a rush it is kind of far, but if you're enjoying the day off it's a lovely walk especially as it takes you past Tower Records and a funky cyberpunk/gothic style building.
+Remco Bassini Japan has a pretty solid public transit system. I don't think they say that because the endeavor of the walk is too great, so much as it is impractical.
I can understand why that woman with the glasses says she gets a lot of English responses to Japanese questions, she doesn't sound very natural or confident in her Japanese in my opinion. Maybe it's just because she's pretending to be lost so kind of hard for her to act 'lost' but that's just my opinion
Hamon Frog how long have you been fluent in Japanese? Or you have always known it? I still get spoken in English and I've been living in Japan for 3 years already.
she sounded the most natural next to the guy, you've got to be joking-- that or you don't speak Japanese. i know this is an old comment but i've lived in Japan for quite some time as well and she sounds more natural than I do, lol.
Most likely they're just trying to impress her by proving that they they can speak her language, which is exactly what she herself is trying to do! Lol
English is a requirement in Japan, so if you're obviously a foreigner they want to also train their English ability, while at the same time saving said foreigner the assumed headache of communication. My source is that I visited Japan 2 months ago.
Damn, when I visited Japan EVERYONE helped out. Their was this one lady lining up for KFC and we asked her where the station was, she was willing to walk us there and it was over a mile away. The Japanese people are so nice.
My boyfriend and I spent 3 weeks in Japan and people always replied to us in Japanese (and we know together maybe 50 words in Japanese. Zero knowledge on grammar.) I really hope that youtubers, and in general vloggers and bloggers stop spreading lies about Japanese "all the time" answering foreigners questions in English. There is a big difference how Japan is portrayed on the internet and how it is in real life. Even after seeing your video, the comment section is still in disbelief that Japanese will in most cases reply to you in Japanese. People are incredibly good at "parotting" (repeating what others say) instead of evaluating the world for themselves. So people, take everything you see online with a pinch of salt - even if it comes from foreigners who have lived in Japan for 5-10 years.
+Ayu Umi 'Take everything you see online with a pinch of salt'. This advice works for everything you read online, including mainstream news sites, not just Japan-related stuff :)
+Ayu Umi : I was actually really surprised at how people, by a considerable majority, replied in Japanese. But thinking about it, this video takes place in Tokyo, in a fairly young and cosmopolitan area. People might be more used to foreigners living in their city, as opposed to being purely tourists, and therefore less surprised by a Japanese-speaking hakujin.In contrast, I live in Kyoto, I'm as gaijin-looking as it gets (tall, pale skin, blue eyes, etc.), and 8 times out of 10 people will talk to me in English even if I initiated the conversation in Japanese. But to be fair to them, the Kyoto accent layered on top of the usual Kansai-ben is pretty hard to understand when you're not used to it, so sometimes I'm actually glad they make the extra effort to speak English :)Another thing that surprised me, were the instances where people didn't even stop to reply. I've never had that happen to me, nor even heard of it happen, here. There is this stereotype that Kansai people are more relaxed and friendlier than their Eastern countrymen, but I guess there's some truth to it...
+Asmo Really? We have also visited Kyoto, Osaka and the surrounding cities and all of the responses were in Japanese. (my bf is also tall, blond, green eyed, bearded man). We were actually expecting that, because these areas have less foreigners (than Tokyo) and the Japanese don't get to use English that often or they haven't been taught English in schools. Interesting to see how different answers we're getting. It's hard to say what is causing this difference... Maybe the accent, bowing, volume of voice or similar? We did have one person speak to us in English. Once we complimented her on her english she told us she's actually from Norway (and one of her parents is Japanese). But I guess this one doesn't really count. ;)
If someone approached me and asked a question in my native language and I did not think they were fluent, I would absolutely respond in their native tongue if I could speak it. It's a subtle way to ease any worry they had that they may not be able to communicate. I've done this in Greek, French, Spanish and English and the person was almost always visibly relieved.
The hair touching is not just something that happens in Japan, I have seen it many times with my white friends asking, black friends (mainly female) if they can touch their hair.
+Demian Haki ...Or even after they *do* learn (or at least should have learned!) about personal space. I was walking down the main strip in Palm Springs when I had some chick from behind me touch the totally *sweet* high and tight flat-top that I was rocking and she was obviously admirin' at the time (while I was stationed at 29 Palms)...
I was surprised he got so many responses. In Japan it's almost considered rude to start talking to a stranger. It's even considered a little "Off" to look directly at someone you don't know. They are probably not used to anyone just coming up and asking them a question.
+Phoenyx 787 Absolutely. I went on holiday in Osaka for a few days and was really surprised how much friendlier and less likely to panic people were compared to in Tokyo.
+Kenjiro01 Actually, there's no way we can be 100% sure if he's Japanese or not. He doesn't have a typical Japanese accent either. There was one more Asian guy who spoke English but he was clearly a tourist and he didn't seem to understand Japanese at all so I excluded him. We have a lot of Asian tourists in Tokyo and it's not always possible to tell them apart.
+Koharu Ng Yep, just like you said, major ciries are like that. You don't even need to be a foreigner to be ignored there. I guess that's why a lot of people from these type of cities love so much the smaller ones, people there is so nice compared to the assholes we're used to see =/
Having recently returned (within a week) from a holiday in Japan, everyone was so polite and helpful. Even while referring to our maps not asking directly for help, people were asking if we were OK or needed assistance. One of the most friendliest places I've visited, love Japan.
I absolutely loved the man right before and round the 2:00 min mark. When the girl said 'I speak a little bit of Japanese', he then repeated himself in Japanese, but he spoke slowly and used gestures to clarify. Shows a lot of incentive, well done.
What is up with folks touching black peoples' hair? I don't go around touching your hair! Yeah, it's different---yours from mine, mine from yours, but DON'T touch! My principal's wife did that to me back in academy. Did she think I was a pet? Good grief.
yeah guys but there's a good side of this. I live in white country and my friend from school was black. When we go to the party, girls first asks to touch his har - its qute good chance to brake ice for male ;) ;) ;)
That's exactly what happens to me. I've had one girl or two just simply fluff my hair up behind me, and I knew it was going to happen. I liked it anyways
Actually it’s very clean.. but in harajuku I been there seen it and have proof.. there is rats roaming alleyways and it’s weird cause they even have a job where people exterminate them and hunt for city rats
I think it all depends on how well you can speak Japanese. For example if your Japanese is still at a beginner level and your talking to a Japanese person whose English is better than your Japanese then it makes sense for the conversation ro proceed in English rather than struggle forward in Japanese. Now I understand that most foreigners get moody when Japanese people reply to them in English but then again this might be your own fault as they may believe your Japanese level isn't high enough to understand whatever answer they are going to give you so they just speak in English... It can get annoying for there are people who have a high level in Japanese but for some reason their pronunciation is still low level and in those cases I guess you can just proceed in Japanese and hope they do also. However, and finally, if your Japanese level is low don't complain when people speak to you in English- ya need more revision but that's not a bad thing (Y)
0:50 I’ve been to this spot in japan too many times to know that the bape store is right next to it, there’s a vape shop right down the steps and a boba place right across from the ムラサキ sports
This particular social experiment is on a lone foreigner or a group of foreigners. Most of the stories I've heard are if there's a foreigner with his/her Japanese friend, the Japanese would prefer to talk Japanese to the Japanese friend rather than talking Japanese to the foreigner, like in the satirical clip 日本語しゃべってるんだけど. I think Yuta should do an experiment on that and see if there is merit to this claim or this claim is just blown out of proportions
I remember going to Japan and a cashier asked an Indian guy to to the order instead, as I wasn't confident in speaking Japanese then, I spoke in English. To my surprise, that guy didn't know a lick of english, not even "I want a Yakisoba". So I guess that's why Japanese people assume you speak Japanese if you ask them a question in Japanese. If a Caucasian were to ask me a question in my native language (Chinese) I would reply to them in Chinese, unless they say they don't understand, but where I'm from foreigners just ask you in English anyway.
That's pretty false. Even if they don't know English, they'd try their best and lead you to the station or use hand gestures. It happen to me. If you speak Japanese they'd obviously think you'd understand.
Its worse here in the Netherlands. Speak almost perfect Dutch with a slight foreign accent and we will switch over to English, especially if you have an anglophone accent.
Something similar happens in Sweden, though not that extreme. But I think it’s also a matter of confidence; when you develop it, people can notice you really know the language and they won’t think about switching to another. If you can’t find the exact word you want to use, then you can explain what you mean rather than struggle and pause awkwardly, which is what some people do.
Finally some foreigners with good pronunciation. Seriously that is almost every foreigner's biggest problem I drives me insane when trying to teach my friends.
Japanese people are really very helpful people. Usually when somebody ask where is this place or that place, you would normally point to the direction or just guide them, Japanese people are different! One of them personally alighted the train with us when we took the wrong train direction, (he looked like he was commuting to work) and helped us talk to the people on the platform to guide us. And also another occasion when a few young teenage kids which told my mom to follow them to the Disney store because she didn't know how to go! I mean if the distance allows you to, Japanese people would be gladly to guide you to the doorstep. :) Thanks a bunch. Love Japan! It warms my heart everytime i go Japan.
I was literally just and Japan, and despite studying Japanese for more than a decade and using only it throughout the month, I had more than a dozen people try to speak english to me. Pretty much anytime I went into a shop in Akiba or Shinjuku it would happen, even when I spoke to them first in Japanese. The most annoying thing was every single time I misheard something because it was said to softly or mumbled, and asked them to repeat it, they would just assume that my Japanese was lacking and repeat in broken english.
I remember I once ordered a Ramen in a Ramen Shop in Musashi-Kusugi by just pointing at a bowl, the kind of noodles to use, the amount of seasoning and the level of spiciness. Needless to say, I got all my orders correct except for the spice level. And that's how I ended drinking 3 liters of water on that one ramen sitting.
But naturally they will reply in English when a foreigner speaks basic Japanese with a bad accent? Especially if it's like 'text book phrases to use in Japan' type questions. If you go and speak to them fluently about something non-touristy they will respond in Japanese, I know it because I do it on a regular basis especially when meeting new people.
it's just because they have an okay japanese accent when asking. Have someone who does not speak japanese a lot ask them again, they will probably try to talk to them in english more
Lmao that hair touching. That's basically what always happens to me whenever I visit a country with a small black population. And they never ask either. I understand the curiosity but to just grab it is always strange to me.
You may not have been drinking while filming this, but I was while watching. Wowzers this was fun and cute. Why don't I watch more of these things? Welp, guess I'll start doing that. u_u
I'll be going on a trip to Japan in May and have been trying to do my research regarding Do's and Don't's, as well as trying to learn a little Japanese. All I have right now are a few phrase books, though.
Another very interesting video. When I lived in Japan first time, I had a Chinese girlfriend (a fellow exchange student), and it used to really bother me when we went on trips together, that local people would speak to her, just assuming I would not understand them. This would happen even if it was me that spoke to them initially. Being still an "angry young man" at the time (around 2000), it used to really upset me. That said, only once do I recall it making me angrily growl back something like "俺も日本語分かるよ" (although technically, I was still in my boku phase at the time) :) I do understand their view, since especially in the larger cities, they would meet many foreign people who do not speak Japanese, so these assumptions are easily reinforced. It didn't help me very much though. I used to meet people who had lived there for years and never learrnt the language, which is sad. Life would be much more fulfilling if they would venture out from their little English-speaking bubble.
+Goktimus Prime I'm guessing you're saying many westerns in Japan can't talk Japanese which you view as bad. Going out to find to confirm your bias is never a fair test. They could be tourists...
+Goktimus Prime if another foreigner came up to me and spoke Japanese I would assume they are from a non-english speaking country and speak to them in Japanese
Gordon Graham meaning all Russian native speakers talk to each other in Japanese? I feel fucking awkward talking in Japanese with other Americans even if both of our Japanese is perfect.
carameldrops08 Meaning Japanese are accustomed to white foreigners not being able to speak English. When I'm with any foreigner in a mixed crowd it's only natural to speak Japanese so as not to be rude, unless the foreigner cannot speak Japanese well
This video right here!! Keep telling people, if you speak decent JPN then you get responded to in JPN. Stop blaming your lack of fluency on their "racism".
I can't belive i actually survived 2 weeks in Japan with my terrible japanese which i've learned by hearing and reading just a little bit... one drunk evening i was walking down the street with my mate in Kyoto around maybe 00-01 am? and we were looking for a open pub (during a weekday yes) while having drank around 6 cans of Asahi i told my mate to wait a sec and let me try to ask this couple who were waiting at the crosswalk for directions (while being a bit too drunk maybe ;P) did spoke japanese to them and they totally understood me and immediately started thinking and blurting out different directions around Kyoto, but i understood everything they were talking about and we actually found this Mexican Tequila Bar they said was the closest to our location. (we walked exactly the route they told me, no detours) It was one of those moments in my life while i had to fully concentrate and listen, still a bit proud of myself :D The languange barrier was quite huge anyway so good thing i know the basics i.e directions and stuff. But then it all backfired when we took a taxi in front of the pub and wanted to get back to our hotel... we didn't remember the god damn name of the hotel xD Eventually we found it after driving by it and walking back the main street it was located at. :D PS. The taxi drivers don't know english... at all... expect thank you and sorry, had to use google maps unless they knew where we wanted after we had said the target location.
@@StoicJohnson I know it is a double standard, but saying "there's too many white people" doesn't have nearly as much stigma attached to it as saying "there's too many [insert race]." White people are seen as the majority for some reason, even though they account for only about 1/7 of the world population. I don't pretend to understand it, that's just the way it seems.
They look foreign and they don’t have a Japanese accent so they assume maybe this gaijin learned how to ask in Japanese but probably won’t be able to understand a response back in Japanese so I’ll use my Limited English to answer. It’s about convenience not racism
Because if the person asking’s Japanese isn’t too good, the Japanese people will try to make it easier for the person to understand. For example, if a French person came up to you and only spoke broken English, and you knew French and knew they were French, you would make it easier for them by speaking their native tongue.
These videos are so great. Polite, unobtrusive social experiments that actually teach something. I especially love the fact that you blur out the faces of the "test subjects." Very classy and respectful.
blurring out faces of people who aren't concentually participating in a video that's posted online is actually the law in Japan.
sam pepper could learn something.
+poshko41 Except for the creep who touched her hair. LMAO
***** he no longer lives in the uk, also not exactly though he doesn't do pranks anymore
Its just a prank bro
He was like "I'll never be able to touch Black hair again in my life....let ..me just go for it" lol
LOL!!!! 😁🙈
I'm black, and I don't see why touching someone's hair is a problem? Haha, it's just hair and they're just curious. But yeah, I would be like that too if I were him. 😂😂
+Cesar Morales you like touching your own hair, even though it's infested with lice. our hair is soft as lambs wool and Lice free.
LuvGenre SAVAGE AS HELL
***** And no, despite what you see on TV, there are more women that don't wear weave than people that do. And you white people wear extensions, so what's the problem?
I am a Japanese.
I think the man who used English (1:14) was a Chinese, who could not speak Japanese.
Because he said Yamanote line "YamanotA line", as well as his English accent didn't sound like the Japanese one.
h tt how do you know the person is chinese, he could be from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, or even Korea
@@e.h.8936 more likely to be Chinese, bigger country, more people, sounded kinda like it too.
Evan He it’s true that he could be from any country. but you can be a chinese from any countries as well. not all chinese are only in china of course they can be from malaysia singapore taiwan etc. thats why he is not wrong to say “he might be a chinese”. it is only wrong to say “he might be from china”. im a chinese who is from singapore
@@e.h.8936cuz malaysian people look different more tan just like taiwan people and koreans are more pale and they have stronger accent he was 100% chinese:"D
Aljeane A he didn't see his face dude, calm down.
I love how the girl with glasses was quick to tell the guy not to touch her friend's hair.
I understand that our hair can be interesting but we're not petting zoos.
japan isn't the most multicultural place
GTVS
What???
I'm white, but same thing happens with my extremely long braided beard. Drunken women are the worst.
Ikr!! I don't mind my friends touching my hair but it's a totally different thing with people i don't know very well.
Doesn't matter. We're still people. You'd think they'd have common decency. Lack of exposure is not an excuse
A good way to combat people touching your hair is to immediately reach for theirs. Seems weird, but some people get so thrown off they ask you to stop. And when they do, look them in their eyes and go "Oh, you didn't like that? " I get the desire to touch something new, but the important thing is to remember to ASK!
Vam The Anomaly lol,make a big scene about it. I love it.
Of course that friend of mine eventually became my gf, we later got married and had a baby who is now 18 in the USMC! I got the privilege of touching her hair, especially during sexy time. LOL! Im so bad!
I was so fast. I could see hands from behind my head and I'd be across the room in a second
thats creepy.
Sophie Matthews that's the point
I'm a white guy who's been living in Japan for 5 years now (Japanese level N1 since 2013) and the only time I've ever had replies In English were during the first few months back when my Japanese was terrible. Japanese people reply in English only if they think they English is better than your Japanese. It's about convenience, not racism or xenophobia or whatever else.
(There's also the few oddballs who want to jump at any chance to practice English but that's a bit different)
+coolbones The practicing English thing I sort of understand. Like, if they're doing you a favor by giving you directions, it's not terrible to do them a favor by letting them practice their English on you haha.
You should also count in the fact there are tons of foreigners in japan as well they probly are used to foreigners that speak japanese well
+coolbones Thank you!!! I ended up getting into a few arguments in the last video(The one where the are reacting to some skit) and the biggest issue was how the netizens don't understand that the video was SOOOO unrealistic.
+coolbones My experience is pretty much the same.
***** "However, there are still many Japanese that will pretend not to understand me. Even after listening to me speak with another Japanese for 20 minutes, they will ask me, "Do you speaku Japanizu?" This is a defense mechanism at work."
And you speak with no accent? I know a British chef who's been here for 20 years and do speaks Japanese somewhat fluently but has such a thick accent that he gets treated like tourist to this day. (He's also one of those weird people who mostly hang out with foreigners and complain all the time about the Japanese being racist towards him)
"You see, English serves as a safety buffer. This means when things go wrong, the Japanese party can easily pull the plug. For example...:
How is that any different from foreigners who get in trouble with the police and suddenly pretend that they don't speak Japanese? You make it sound like it's a Japanese specific problem when it absolutely goes both ways.
I loved that shady arrow with "a foreigner" written, She definitely needed that after that comment lol
+amadofu I'm so happy that people got my humour :D
I'm positive I'm not the only one who liked that :P
Lmao its funny though. After being in Tokyo for a while even I began to forget I wasnt from here. That IIII was the foreigner too when I'd give a shady eye to another foreigner doing something rude. It's weird, since, at least in Tokyo, no one gives you special attention as a westerner you kind of just fit right in. Coming back to the states I was shocked at what I saw then remembered "Oh yeah, thats life here." lol
Haha I live in Korea and when I go into Seoul, I say that all the time. It's more of a surprise because it's so monoethnic here and Japan too. And then I'm like oh yeah me too... >
That Japanese Man Yuta it was hilarious
I'm dying at the guy just randomly touching her hair😂
It's a trashy part of Tokyo.
but we never know how it feels. That's why we have that curiosity.
haha
It's more of a "whoa that's rare" type of moment.
Lazarus Read
It was/is same for me living in Germany even though I'm actually halfcast and not fully black^^
But since they're always "like whoa" cool or "I wish I had hair like you" it's actually nice having some different hair than the others, even though lots of blacks including me wish to have European Hair ^^
Where?
5:29
For anyone who was wondering when someone touched her hair.
This way you can quickly see what people are debating about.
Ty
Thank you!
Oh god that’s so creepy
I dont think its negative that they reply in English back.
I am pretty sure they are trying to comfort you that they speak english too.
So should you prefer English you would know he/she understands.
FQY PW I think a negative would be if foreigners who ask them for directions in Japanese, don’t actually speak English, and the Japanese people reply in that language
Exactly
Not every foreigner is speaking English, not every white person is from English speaking country 😅
So... That's it 😊
It can be quite negative. It's racism. You are speaking Japanese and yet they think that you can't because you're not Japanese. The Japanese are very tribal. They have a strong sense of who is Japanese and who is not.
LittleImpaler, I fully agree. In some rare cases, if a foreigner can speak good or even fluent Japanese, there are some Japanese who may still refuse to speak Japanese to them. In such cases, it's clearly racism. Only if a foreigner isn't fluent, or struggles with Japanese, would it be OK to switch to English. But if they clearly don't show any difficulties with the language, I can't see any reason to switch to English, especially if the foreigner doesn't want to or doesn't initiate it. If a local speaks in English to practice their English (and they inform you of this) that's fine. Has happened to me in rare instances.
I just remembered this but sometimes, how you phrase your questions makes Japanese people think that you don't speak Japanese very well.
I noticed that Japanese textbooks always (I've checked dozens of textbooks but I haven't found any exception yet) teach you to speak like a 'foreigner' and not like a Japanese person. There are so many expressions that you see in textbooks but you don't really hear in real life.
If you are interested in this kind of stuff, subscribe to my email list bit.ly/2Fk3gSp I only share the kind of Japanese that real Japanese people speak.
+That Japanese Man Yuta subscribed! :) I have the same problem, I always want to say 携帯電話 instead of 携帯 because that's how we learned it in class ^^ look forward to your mails!
+That Japanese Man Yuta How about doing a video on that very topic? How foreigners sound like foreigners to japanese people, even when they're speaking japanese.
+That Japanese Man Yuta That's true. Same can be said about English textbooks in Japan as well. People who write language textbooks seem to not be doing well. I learned a lot of Japanese from listening and watching dramas, so I picked up a lot of natural phrases that can help me get through most conversations, even though I am FAR from fluent, almost no one ever speaks to me in English. I have had a few times they said 'I can't speak English' or they spoke to the asian foreigner, but only a handful of times in 7 years.
+That Japanese Man Yuta additional lessons always are nice, so im now one of your students, so... よろしく but in japanese school, we're using genki and i knew already about using 私 and 僕, but i'm not so sure, because i have teachers there, so maybe i know it thanks to them, not thanks to book
+That Japanese Man Yuta
If textbooks teach you to speak like a 'foreigner', then what about subtitled anime?
I love that some of them actually bring you to the station
It also has to do with Japanese fluency and accent, the black girl was using a very basic sentence (何々はどこですか？) and she had a stronger accent as compared to the girl in glasses, that is probably why some people were inclined to respond to her in English, they just thought that she would not understand well a Japanese explanation. In my experience, Japanese people will talk to you in Japanese unless they have a reason to believe you would not understand them, if you are gaijin but you start a conversation with a natural Japanese sentence they will carry on in Japanese.
Wow he really touched her hair. Lol, that was so random.
Japanese people don’t get to see different hair very often, me having red curly hair it gets touched all the time, I make sure it’s clean and conditioned before I go out and honestly it’s a little learning exp for them so I don’t mind
Lol just touch their hair back if you don't like it and they'll easily understand why that's not okay lol.
That was very disrespectful. Really surprised me considering how respectful of personal space japanese society is known to be
@@YokotaShou Although it is very disrespectful. I mean, there's no problem being a little curious, but he could've asked her if he could touch her hair. Just grabbing it like that seems very disrespectful
The struggle of being a black woman.
Ok, here's the thing. I live in France and I know a lot of foreigners here and anytime they speak to someone with an accent, people will answer in English. So maybe it's not just a japanese thing. Either people are excited to speak some English because they learnt it at school or because they really want to be understood.
HumbleDictator yeah that's what I was thinking, they were trying make it easier for them to understand
HumbleDictator I'm an American living in Brazil, my Portuguese is near fluent but of course I have an accent. People talk to me as if I was a child or mentally slow, or they try to use their English which is way, way worse than my Portuguese.
It's a natural reaction, and English is a universal language.
French and Japanese culture have this in common: Both are very proud of their beautiful languages (and say this often) and don't like to hear it mangled by foreigners (even though if they thought about it logically they should be flattered that people want to make that kind of hard effort) As these people travel more their eyes will be opened to the myriad ways of communicating and they will be less "convenience-orientated" if you see what i mean and more appreciative of peoples' efforts. Also city dwellers tend to be in a hurry and stressed more than other places so there's that driving the convenience/speed factor.
I think nobody answers you in english in France because nobody knows english, especially out of Paris.
Nice! I was surprised so many replied in Japanese. It made me happy :)
+Stephanie Dooley I'm actually quite surprised that some people are 'surprised.' Japan is a very, very Japanese-speaking country. There's some serious availability bias going on on the internet.
+That Japanese Man Yuta Yes, the internet and people in general are often heavily biased about something, and honestly don't know what they are talking about! The least assumptions we make, the better. (:
With that said, however, I was also a bit surprised myself that so many replied in 100% full Japanese! (Guess I'm "infected" too, hehe.)That was very nice to see. (:
+RedHairdo I am living in Japan now and speak Japanese. I've lived here for four years (in Osaka). Many times when I speak to a stranger in Japanese, they respond to me in English or mixed Japanese and English. Maybe like 50% of the time. Other 50% they speak to me in Japanese. I would prefer that Japanese people respond to me in Japanese 100% of the time when I speak to them in Japanese first. So I was happy to see in the video that most of the people only used Japanese :)
+That Japanese Man Yuta I love your videos so much! Thank you for making them.
+Stephanie Dooley I think it's because a lot more foreigners speak Japanese compared 10 to 20 years ago, especially on television.
When the guy started touching her hair - story of my life. Particularly as a black woman. And I live in the UK, where multiculturalism is supposed to be at its peak 😂.
I live in the UK and I barely know any British White people. I myself am Bangladeshi of decent.
I'm guessing you live in a predominantly white area? I live in England and black are pretty common in my area.
Really? Where? I live in London.
+MystTale I live in a predominantly Bangladeshi/Pakistani area.
+LivingForTheJoker999 This is a surprise to me as I assumed the biggest congregation of races would be in London. I live in Surrey, which is in the south east.
actually in Poland we have no black people too, so afro dude from my school everytime he meets new people they touch his hair xD it has to be annoying af ;p
+PaKoV2 I mean, you wouldn't like it if some stranger just randomly started touching your hair. I had a friend who had really curly hair and it took me two years to build up the courage to ask if I could bounce one of her curls. I don't like it when people touch me without my permission, so I assume the same for others.
+PaKoV2 It happens to me too. It's only annoying if people do it without asking. That's just weird. But when people ask if they can do so it doesn't bother me at all. Actually I like it, since before moving to a country with hardly any black people I really disliked my hair. Now everyone is fascinated by it and wants to touch it so I started liking it too.
+PaKoV2 what the fuck are you talking about? I would understand if you would write this in the 90's but Poland in 2015? Don't be a stupid liar and don't spread fake stories as 1) there are a lot of black and asian people in Poland 2) people are used to other races from meeting them or from tv/movies so things like "touching hair" is no longer a thing...
+Pouncedd im serious tho, lol. and i live in Warsaw, the biggest polish city
+Pouncedd watch some videos from Warsaw and ull believe me
I'm a black girl with natural hair. I personally wouldn't mind people touching my hair. I'm sure they don't see that every day. Even my non black friends, sometimes ask me about my hair, and I glad explain to them and let them touch. One of the way we as humans learn is through touch, and I would feel privileged to be able to teach someone that way.
You are sweet:) You are right of course humans learn through touch. Unfortunately many people are asocial these days. There is a lot of anxiety out there due to our sedentary life styles.
Well that's very nice of you! I hear that some/alot of black women get annoyed when non-black people touch their natural hair. I appreciate that you let people touch your hair because lots of people have never seen such a hair type and are very curious about them, especially myself. This is coming from a black person as well, and I am sorry if you found what I said offensive.
that's nice but it gets annoying after a while when ppl keep touching your hair without asking...especially if you just washed your hair & got your hair done; trust me its happened to me &it wasnt ok lol
go live in china for a year or two and come back to us
all white people getting offended!!!! you are really so cool! I think if I possess something that others don't and they find it amazing... I will feel cool lol! love your attitude though!
Wow I was so surprised when I saw the guy touching her hair without permission. I've heard it happens all the time even in the US but it's my first time actually seeing it o_o
There are wired people that can not hold their interest.
haha me too! that was.. weird
Well, not everyone is used to living in a multicultural country like USA and UK :O
A lot of people who have not seen a foreigner will act that way because they are simply excited and the fact that it could be taken as rude is not understood by them since they grew up differently.
They know of other things that we don't :3 The things we do could be considered very rude by them but the main point is, we just gotta get along with it really o.O
Shan Shin Maybe you didn't read my entire comment, but towards the end I said it happens in the US where hair like hers is pretty common. Also I'd think touching a stranger's hair isn't ok in any country in the world, no matter where you are from, no matter where they are from, because you know, they are strangers
JCarolR I see :O
I guess some people are just too friendly
My jaw dropped when he touched her hair.
I've only heard stories.
What's so bad about it?
ThatDudeJCrash It's rude? would you think its okay for a random person you've never met to just touch your face and play with it?
often see it in the USA
Shows a lot about your cultural background. You are very self-focused and are strongly attached to the concept of "I".
Japan's culture was raised by Buddhism and Shintoism, where the self is not important. Your ego is not important. Personal space is not important. Attachment to self inhibits enlightenment.
Sukuraidogai lmao, what the fuck does that have to do with anything?
bape hoodie, supreme hat, nike jacket,...
The ultimate hypebeast 1:00
thought the same lol
Lool I saw that too
、
I really miss the time I live in Japan. I had to move at America and I now get make fun of for my bad English. I often think in my head yes and your terrible Japanese. at lease you can understand what I am saying. these people go around saying kawaii for no reason.
Suki Kira How cute, but yes it is annoying. you'll get used to it.
Mr Liu Kango well I recently moved back to Japan, but thank you :)
Suki Kira Ah ok ok
Mr Liu Kango :D
Mr Liu Kango =(>.
I'm half Japanese half white, raised bilingually in the US. I think the experiences in the video for the most part are accurate, but whenever I'm in Japan, 90% of the time people start a conversation with me in English. I speak back in Japanese, telling them "日本語で大丈夫です" ("Japanese is OK") and they have a shocked look, but continue the conversation in Japanese.
There was one exception, at a McDonald's in Yokohama: The employee spoke to me in English, I spoke back in Japanese, and she continued the conversation in English for the rest of the time. I was furious, since her English was terrible and hard to understand.
Justin Laux I hate when people do that...
Maybe she wasn't Japanese? I never experienced this. And I am just a German foreign exchange student with decent conversational skills.
@@CobourgRailfan She took other people's orders in Japanese...
what anime is this?
Its very disgusting, its all 3D and stuff, they should go back to the old 2D anime :/
Schoob im crying
Darude Sandstorm
Corey in the House
It's called That Japanese Man Yuta
I like how they all say 20 min walk is far
because I'm to tight to pay for a taxi I will easy walk over an hour to get home from a night out
+Remco Bassini Same, 20 mins seems to so near. In my city there's no train system and the buses suck, so anything 30 mins or less people walk or cycle.
+Remco Bassini they probably meant its too far for them to tell the directions lmao
+Remco Bassini - I've actually done that walk, albeit the opposite way (Harajuku - Shibuya). I suppose for some people who are in a rush it is kind of far, but if you're enjoying the day off it's a lovely walk especially as it takes you past Tower Records and a funky cyberpunk/gothic style building.
+Remco Bassini that got to me too, lol. i used to walk 30 minutes + one way, daily just to go to the public library.
+Remco Bassini Japan has a pretty solid public transit system. I don't think they say that because the endeavor of the walk is too great, so much as it is impractical.
That was great! They got a lot more Japanese responses than I assumed, so I'm glad I was wrong, haha.
Also, that last bit was hilarious! ダメだよ！笑
I can understand why that woman with the glasses says she gets a lot of English responses to Japanese questions, she doesn't sound very natural or confident in her Japanese in my opinion. Maybe it's just because she's pretending to be lost so kind of hard for her to act 'lost' but that's just my opinion
Hamon Frog how long have you been fluent in Japanese? Or you have always known it? I still get spoken in English and I've been living in Japan for 3 years already.
she sounded the most natural next to the guy, you've got to be joking-- that or you don't speak Japanese. i know this is an old comment but i've lived in Japan for quite some time as well and she sounds more natural than I do, lol.
Most likely they're just trying to impress her by proving that they they can speak her language, which is exactly what she herself is trying to do! Lol
Meta it makes sense xD
English is a requirement in Japan, so if you're obviously a foreigner they want to also train their English ability, while at the same time saving said foreigner the assumed headache of communication. My source is that I visited Japan 2 months ago.
0:58 a wild hypebeast appears
lmaoooo he had heat tho
Carter Bransom bapeee
pelvicjackhammer heat?
For some reason he erked me when he said "could you ask someone else?"
Carter Bransom that nigga was full of himself tho
Damn, when I visited Japan EVERYONE helped out. Their was this one lady lining up for KFC and we asked her where the station was, she was willing to walk us there and it was over a mile away. The Japanese people are so nice.
My boyfriend and I spent 3 weeks in Japan and people always replied to us in Japanese (and we know together maybe 50 words in Japanese. Zero knowledge on grammar.)
I really hope that youtubers, and in general vloggers and bloggers stop spreading lies about Japanese "all the time" answering foreigners questions in English. There is a big difference how Japan is portrayed on the internet and how it is in real life.
Even after seeing your video, the comment section is still in disbelief that Japanese will in most cases reply to you in Japanese. People are incredibly good at "parotting" (repeating what others say) instead of evaluating the world for themselves. So people, take everything you see online with a pinch of salt - even if it comes from foreigners who have lived in Japan for 5-10 years.
This comment for the win.
+Ayu Umi 'Take everything you see online with a pinch of salt'. This advice works for everything you read online, including mainstream news sites, not just Japan-related stuff :)
+Ayu Umi : I was actually really surprised at how people, by a considerable majority, replied in Japanese. But thinking about it, this video takes place in Tokyo, in a fairly young and cosmopolitan area. People might be more used to foreigners living in their city, as opposed to being purely tourists, and therefore less surprised by a Japanese-speaking hakujin.In contrast, I live in Kyoto, I'm as gaijin-looking as it gets (tall, pale skin, blue eyes, etc.), and 8 times out of 10 people will talk to me in English even if I initiated the conversation in Japanese. But to be fair to them, the Kyoto accent layered on top of the usual Kansai-ben is pretty hard to understand when you're not used to it, so sometimes I'm actually glad they make the extra effort to speak English :)Another thing that surprised me, were the instances where people didn't even stop to reply. I've never had that happen to me, nor even heard of it happen, here. There is this stereotype that Kansai people are more relaxed and friendlier than their Eastern countrymen, but I guess there's some truth to it...
+That Japanese Man Yuta Thank you!
+Asmo Really? We have also visited Kyoto, Osaka and the surrounding cities and all of the responses were in Japanese. (my bf is also tall, blond, green eyed, bearded man). We were actually expecting that, because these areas have less foreigners (than Tokyo) and the Japanese don't get to use English that often or they haven't been taught English in schools. Interesting to see how different answers we're getting. It's hard to say what is causing this difference... Maybe the accent, bowing, volume of voice or similar?
We did have one person speak to us in English. Once we complimented her on her english she told us she's actually from Norway (and one of her parents is Japanese). But I guess this one doesn't really count. ;)
0:56 ultimate hypebeast
Don't bother him he's tryna get the next Sup drop.
Dmitry Austarlitz What the fuck are you tryna say
omg that guy touched her hair he must of been really curious to do that >~
It happens quite often if you have hair of a different texture.
The girls laughing at the end was so cute and funny. Made me laugh. **insert Solange's, 'Don't Touch My Hair'**
If someone approached me and asked a question in my native language and I did not think they were fluent, I would absolutely respond in their native tongue if I could speak it. It's a subtle way to ease any worry they had that they may not be able to communicate. I've done this in Greek, French, Spanish and English and the person was almost always visibly relieved.
The hair touching is not just something that happens in Japan, I have seen it many times with my white friends asking, black friends (mainly female) if they can touch their hair.
Exactly so..
+Fuma Otake i can understand that but its like at least ask first before you touch someone in the first place like geez
+Demian Haki ...Or even after they *do* learn (or at least should have learned!) about personal space. I was walking down the main strip in Palm Springs when I had some chick from behind me touch the totally *sweet* high and tight flat-top that I was rocking and she was obviously admirin' at the time (while I was stationed at 29 Palms)...
I suddenly need to know where the train station is
Merlin Cønrad you have a tiny head
I was surprised he got so many responses. In Japan it's almost considered rude to start talking to a stranger. It's even considered a little "Off" to look directly at someone you don't know. They are probably not used to anyone just coming up and asking them a question.
I'd love to see the same experiment in a different area of Japan.
+TrickWithAKnife Kansai would be interesting to film this at.
+Phoenyx 787 Absolutely. I went on holiday in Osaka for a few days and was really surprised how much friendlier and less likely to panic people were compared to in Tokyo.
exactly. Osaka is like the perfect place to go if youre trying to set up a sales office in japan lol they're natural salespeople
+TrickWithAKnife Evveryone should like this so Yuta can see it
+TrickWithAKnife honestly i think it would be the same, maybe they would even speak in dialect
If some touches your hair, immediately start touching their hair as well. That awkwardness is the price they must pay.
0:56 you knew he was trouble when he was decked with bape clothing
Keeper what is bape? and what is hypebeast?
+Ryan Karuna Bape is a brand of clothing and a hypebeast is someone who buys/wears something for the brand and/or to impress others
She's in front of the bape store in Shibuya.. Disappointed theres no Japanese exclusive shit..
Surprised it didn't happen more often. Should make another video in tourist spots and see if they still get spoken to in Japanese.
01:18 He is probably Taiwanese or Chinese not Japanese.
+Kenjiro01 Exactly! His English has Chinese accent. It's different from Japanese one.
+Kenjiro01 Actually, there's no way we can be 100% sure if he's Japanese or not. He doesn't have a typical Japanese accent either. There was one more Asian guy who spoke English but he was clearly a tourist and he didn't seem to understand Japanese at all so I excluded him. We have a lot of Asian tourists in Tokyo and it's not always possible to tell them apart.
This is quite impressive, I always get completely ignored in Tokyo lol. Osaka is much easier, never ignored in Osaka.
Tokyo is similar to New York where everyone is in a rush and doesn't really care about your problems xD
Life style in Tokyo is all about time. Rushing to work and etc. Just like some other major cities.
+yasashii89
You need to find people that are waiting and are not in a rush.
Very few would stop if they are in a hurry.
+Koharu Ng Yep, just like you said, major ciries are like that. You don't even need to be a foreigner to be ignored there. I guess that's why a lot of people from these type of cities love so much the smaller ones, people there is so nice compared to the assholes we're used to see =/
+Mahuk ViThorn Osaka isn't exactly a small city...
Having recently returned (within a week) from a holiday in Japan, everyone was so polite and helpful. Even while referring to our maps not asking directly for help, people were asking if we were OK or needed assistance. One of the most friendliest places I've visited, love Japan.
I absolutely loved the man right before and round the 2:00 min mark. When the girl said 'I speak a little bit of Japanese', he then repeated himself in Japanese, but he spoke slowly and used gestures to clarify. Shows a lot of incentive, well done.
What is up with folks touching black peoples' hair? I don't go around touching your hair! Yeah, it's different---yours from mine, mine from yours, but DON'T touch! My principal's wife did that to me back in academy. Did she think I was a pet? Good grief.
im white and still that was creepy as fuck to watch,
if he asked it would be not a big deal, curious is normal
but in that case - not
Bros, welcome to my life. And I live in Miami, Fl
yeah guys but there's a good side of this.
I live in white country and my friend from school was black.
When we go to the party, girls first asks to touch his har - its qute good chance to brake ice for male ;) ;) ;)
That's exactly what happens to me. I've had one girl or two just simply fluff my hair up behind me, and I knew it was going to happen. I liked it anyways
I noticed as a kid that people like touching each others hair... shit drives me crazy
Look at how clean the streets are ..........
THEPROUDSON it’s actually pretty dirty, rats roam around all the time.
@@fortzprod.8096 sorry I believe you confused this to Detroit
@@deltazebes7326 *new york city
Actually it’s very clean.. but in harajuku I been there seen it and have proof.. there is rats roaming alleyways and it’s weird cause they even have a job where people exterminate them and hunt for city rats
Dude your videos are like crack. Legal crack. You got me hooked!
+Eric M Does that make me a huslter? A UA-camhustler :D
+That Japanese Man Yuta damn right its does dude! xD hustling japanese dude. now ive seen everything x)
+That Japanese Man Yuta "UA-cam Hustler Yuta", has a nice ring to it xD
I dont think he understands the concept of crack like us americans
Pokemon Queen that's just slightly racist but okay.
I'm hooked to your channel. I love watching different cultures interact. Thanks for the uploads
I’m sure that 1:20 he is not Japanese .he’s annunciation sounds like Chinese
I think it all depends on how well you can speak Japanese. For example if your Japanese is still at a beginner level and your talking to a Japanese person whose English is better than your Japanese then it makes sense for the conversation ro proceed in English rather than struggle forward in Japanese. Now I understand that most foreigners get moody when Japanese people reply to them in English but then again this might be your own fault as they may believe your Japanese level isn't high enough to understand whatever answer they are going to give you so they just speak in English...
It can get annoying for there are people who have a high level in Japanese but for some reason their pronunciation is still low level and in those cases I guess you can just proceed in Japanese and hope they do also. However, and finally, if your Japanese level is low don't complain when people speak to you in English- ya need more revision but that's not a bad thing (Y)
Im really liking your resent videos!
People saying that a twenty minute walk by foot is far, I'm over here in the US like "that's the nearest convenience store if I don't want to drive"
0:50 I’ve been to this spot in japan too many times to know that the bape store is right next to it, there’s a vape shop right down the steps and a boba place right across from the ムラサキ sports
1:26
I think the guy is Chinese.Japanese accent is not like that.
This particular social experiment is on a lone foreigner or a group of foreigners. Most of the stories I've heard are if there's a foreigner with his/her Japanese friend, the Japanese would prefer to talk Japanese to the Japanese friend rather than talking Japanese to the foreigner, like in the satirical clip 日本語しゃべってるんだけど. I think Yuta should do an experiment on that and see if there is merit to this claim or this claim is just blown out of proportions
I remember going to Japan and a cashier asked an Indian guy to to the order instead, as I wasn't confident in speaking Japanese then, I spoke in English. To my surprise, that guy didn't know a lick of english, not even "I want a Yakisoba". So I guess that's why Japanese people assume you speak Japanese if you ask them a question in Japanese.
If a Caucasian were to ask me a question in my native language (Chinese) I would reply to them in Chinese, unless they say they don't understand, but where I'm from foreigners just ask you in English anyway.
+4SidedStar If I speak their language I'll just talk to them in their own language straight away.
+QuIchimaru Gin
How can you tell what their language is? Unless they tell you, you can’t.
ALAKTORN Not that many tourists speak Dutch anyway, but if they do, you can often hear the accent.
That's pretty false. Even if they don't know English, they'd try their best and lead you to the station or use hand gestures. It happen to me. If you speak Japanese they'd obviously think you'd understand.
Oh for your case, well I guess it's normal? They learn Japanese instead.
Its worse here in the Netherlands.
Speak almost perfect Dutch with a slight foreign accent and we will switch over to English, especially if you have an anglophone accent.
lmao. echt waar?
That's absolutely not true lmao where do you live? In het noorden zeker op het platteland?
That's absolutely not true lmao where do you live? In het noorden zeker op het platteland?
+ratelslangen Well everyone in Netherlands seems to speak really good English so learning Dutch feels almost pointless XD.
Something similar happens in Sweden, though not that extreme. But I think it’s also a matter of confidence; when you develop it, people can notice you really know the language and they won’t think about switching to another. If you can’t find the exact word you want to use, then you can explain what you mean rather than struggle and pause awkwardly, which is what some people do.
When the dude started grabbing her hair 💀💀😂😂
The fifth person should be a Chinese from his English accent..
第五个人的英文口音听起来非常像中国人。。看这个视频突然就想起来在首尔Jamsil有人用英文向我问路。。
Finally some foreigners with good pronunciation. Seriously that is almost every foreigner's biggest problem I drives me insane when trying to teach my friends.
MrDirtBaggins You should heat the foreigners in American then, you'd be really pissed.
0:59 DAMN That guy wearing bape, supreme, and nike. Damn, and I thought my friends were hypebeast.
1:15 tbh, I dont think this is a Japanese guy, he might be Chinese or Korean.
Agreed, the way he said Harajuku makes it sound like he isn't fluent, at least to my untrained ears >.>
he didnt even ask if he could touch her hair..that was rude tbh
Rude?
It’s actually SAVAGE!!
That was funny the last one; the guy actually reached out and touched her hair!!
hai hai hai hai hai hai, is all i hear. in my language hai means shark, sounds like they are saying shark shark shark shark when someone is talking xD
tortillat avataan
+Zestaru Finns everywhere.
+king In Dutch it also looks like the word for shark, which is "haai". Next to that, "hai" is also a really informal way of saying "Hello".
+bruce wayne hai means shark in norwegian too
Norge?
that dude in the bape sweater and super rare nike jacket was so fresh
& the Supreme cap :p
Japanese sneaker heads or hypebeasts are so lucky
That's a sweatshirt tho. There is a big difference.
That dude was like feeling up on her hair lol.
Japanese people are really very helpful people. Usually when somebody ask where is this place or that place, you would normally point to the direction or just guide them, Japanese people are different! One of them personally alighted the train with us when we took the wrong train direction, (he looked like he was commuting to work) and helped us talk to the people on the platform to guide us. And also another occasion when a few young teenage kids which told my mom to follow them to the Disney store because she didn't know how to go! I mean if the distance allows you to, Japanese people would be gladly to guide you to the doorstep. :) Thanks a bunch. Love Japan! It warms my heart everytime i go Japan.
I have never heard 'すみません' this many times in 6 minutes before
What brand of potato did you record the audio with?
JCTheFluteMan PHEW. I thought it was just me, and my headphones breaking or something.
I was literally just and Japan, and despite studying Japanese for more than a decade and using only it throughout the month, I had more than a dozen people try to speak english to me. Pretty much anytime I went into a shop in Akiba or Shinjuku it would happen, even when I spoke to them first in Japanese. The most annoying thing was every single time I misheard something because it was said to softly or mumbled, and asked them to repeat it, they would just assume that my Japanese was lacking and repeat in broken english.
I don't like people I don't know touching me. My hand would of went up super fast if he touched my hair. Germs, I would have to go and scrub my hair.
Pathological fear of 'germs' usually indicates deeper-seated issues.
mano a mano this is true, and I have a lot of them.
Kyia1414
The pot calling the kettle black. I'm a psychological wreck.
I remember I once ordered a Ramen in a Ramen Shop in Musashi-Kusugi by just pointing at a bowl, the kind of noodles to use, the amount of seasoning and the level of spiciness. Needless to say, I got all my orders correct except for the spice level.
And that's how I ended drinking 3 liters of water on that one ramen sitting.
The Japanese of the girl in glasses is pretty smooth! She sounds like an anime character.
But naturally they will reply in English when a foreigner speaks basic Japanese with a bad accent?
Especially if it's like 'text book phrases to use in Japan' type questions.
If you go and speak to them fluently about something non-touristy they will respond in Japanese, I know it because I do it on a regular basis especially when meeting new people.
it's just because they have an okay japanese accent when asking. Have someone who does not speak japanese a lot ask them again, they will probably try to talk to them in english more
Lmao that hair touching. That's basically what always happens to me whenever I visit a country with a small black population. And they never ask either. I understand the curiosity but to just grab it is always strange to me.
You may not have been drinking while filming this, but I was while watching. Wowzers this was fun and cute. Why don't I watch more of these things? Welp, guess I'll start doing that. u_u
Enlightize and Yuta together, wow! すごい！
3:37 He's thinking, "I wurant to toray summa buracka poosi".
At 0:40 I put on captions.
"I know to me mother."
"I thought machinima your penises God."
Im crying.
Did that dude just reach out and touch her hair without asking?! LOL!
Yes,very disrespectful !
Chad Small people do it all the time to me
I found everyone I asked questions to in Japan super helpful. Some people would walk me to where I needed to go.
I'll be going on a trip to Japan in May and have been trying to do my research regarding Do's and Don't's, as well as trying to learn a little Japanese. All I have right now are a few phrase books, though.
That bape hoodie
ikr looked so sick
I was waiting for some dude with fluent English
"There's so many foreigners" ... says the foreigner (internally dies of laughter)
Another very interesting video.
When I lived in Japan first time, I had a Chinese girlfriend (a fellow exchange student), and it used to really bother me when we went on trips together, that local people would speak to her, just assuming I would not understand them. This would happen even if it was me that spoke to them initially.
Being still an "angry young man" at the time (around 2000), it used to really upset me. That said, only once do I recall it making me angrily growl back something like "俺も日本語分かるよ" (although technically, I was still in my boku phase at the time) :)
I do understand their view, since especially in the larger cities, they would meet many foreign people who do not speak Japanese, so these assumptions are easily reinforced. It didn't help me very much though. I used to meet people who had lived there for years and never learrnt the language, which is sad. Life would be much more fulfilling if they would venture out from their little English-speaking bubble.
At 1:32 you can here Perfume's song called Nee playing! I think!
I'd like to see a similar experiment where they try to talk to other Westerners in Japanese and see if they answer back in Japanese or not.
+Goktimus Prime I'm guessing you're saying many westerns in Japan can't talk Japanese which you view as bad. Going out to find to confirm your bias is never a fair test. They could be tourists...
+Goktimus Prime if another foreigner came up to me and spoke Japanese I would assume they are from a non-english speaking country and speak to them in Japanese
+carameldrops08 I live in Kushiro where most of the white foreigners are Russian...we communicate in Japanese
Gordon Graham meaning all Russian native speakers talk to each other in Japanese? I feel fucking awkward talking in Japanese with other Americans even if both of our Japanese is perfect.
carameldrops08 Meaning Japanese are accustomed to white foreigners not being able to speak English. When I'm with any foreigner in a mixed crowd it's only natural to speak Japanese so as not to be rude, unless the foreigner cannot speak Japanese well
When that guy touched her hair I was like wth! That was so impolite. He didn't even ask for permission. Sheesh!
This video right here!! Keep telling people, if you speak decent JPN then you get responded to in JPN. Stop blaming your lack of fluency on their "racism".
I can't belive i actually survived 2 weeks in Japan with my terrible japanese which i've learned by hearing and reading just a little bit... one drunk evening i was walking down the street with my mate in Kyoto around maybe 00-01 am? and we were looking for a open pub (during a weekday yes) while having drank around 6 cans of Asahi i told my mate to wait a sec and let me try to ask this couple who were waiting at the crosswalk for directions (while being a bit too drunk maybe ;P) did spoke japanese to them and they totally understood me and immediately started thinking and blurting out different directions around Kyoto, but i understood everything they were talking about and we actually found this Mexican Tequila Bar they said was the closest to our location. (we walked exactly the route they told me, no detours) It was one of those moments in my life while i had to fully concentrate and listen, still a bit proud of myself :D The languange barrier was quite huge anyway so good thing i know the basics i.e directions and stuff. But then it all backfired when we took a taxi in front of the pub and wanted to get back to our hotel... we didn't remember the god damn name of the hotel xD Eventually we found it after driving by it and walking back the main street it was located at. :D
PS. The taxi drivers don't know english... at all... expect thank you and sorry, had to use google maps unless they knew where we wanted after we had said the target location.
I really love watching your videos!!
"There's too many white people" lmao 😂
janine mp
Would it be funny if someone said
“There’s too many black people!”?
@@StoicJohnson if you to Roppongi at night time you will hear that. 黒人が多い
@@StoicJohnson Sure
@@StoicJohnson I know it is a double standard, but saying "there's too many white people" doesn't have nearly as much stigma attached to it as saying "there's too many [insert race]." White people are seen as the majority for some reason, even though they account for only about 1/7 of the world population. I don't pretend to understand it, that's just the way it seems.
Why would anyone speak english back if they are addressed in their mother tongue?!
Accent
They look foreign and they don’t have a Japanese accent so they assume maybe this gaijin learned how to ask in Japanese but probably won’t be able to understand a response back in Japanese so I’ll use my
Limited English to answer. It’s about convenience not racism
Because if the person asking’s Japanese isn’t too good, the Japanese people will try to make it easier for the person to understand. For example, if a French person came up to you and only spoke broken English, and you knew French and knew they were French, you would make it easier for them by speaking their native tongue.
Oh gawd, they touched her hair...so rude. :/
鄧紅紅 it's just the foreign hair
鄧紅紅 Her hair is very rare in Japan. Might be his one shot. One opportunity.
guitarsANDcars39 everything he's ever wanted?
one moment
And he captured it, not letting it slip
I bet his palms were sweaty
He was tripping with the hair grab!😂 I would've popped his hand.😂
This is great. No better way to break down a common rumor than to set up an experiment!