Why I started learning Japanese
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- Опубліковано 13 тра 2024
- What makes someone dedicate 7+ years of their life to studying Japanese? 🤔
Come along with me to my first trip to Japan and experience first-hand where my interest in Japanese first came from and see how this interest developed into one of my greatest passions.
Come say hi to me on my socials! 👋
📷 Instagram: / tokuyuutv (@tokuyuutv)
🐤 Twitter: / tokuyuutv (@tokuyuutv)
Thanks for watching! 🥳
#japanese #fluent #language
0:00 My most dreaded question
0:19 Let me show you the answer
0:50 Where it first began
1:15 My overconfidence
1:58 Heading to Japan! / Tokyo
2:35 Gifu - Meeting Michael's family
3:15 JR pass / Kyoto
3:41 Kochi - Unusual spot for tourists
4:39 My frustration starting to grow
5:02 Hiroshima - Plain of desolate ruin?
5:37 Miyajima - Narnia on Earth
5:54 Fukuoka - The coolest mall you'll ever see
6:23 Gifu pt. 2
6:38 Me struggling with communication
7:21 The final blow
7:46 What I realized about my trip
8:03 The note that changed my life
8:33 Looking back
8:56 Now it's your turn
9:20 Bonus??
Gee, I was always sorta curious as to why you studied Japanese so hard once we got back.
I had no idea it was because you were so frustrated!
Thanks Harrison for telling this story. There are some good vibes and memories for sure.
Definitely one of the best adventures of my life, cant wait to see you in Japan soon so we can continue that adventure!
I didn’t know i never told you the reason!! There were definitely a lot of factors but the frustrations of not being able to communicate with everyone was definitely the biggest one 😤😤
It was one of my greatest adventures as well so thank you again for taking me with you 🙇♂️ can’t wait for the 2nd half of our story in Japan once i move there >:)
Man your videos are nothing short of insane, you are really different from other "learn japanese" channels, you are not the guy appealing to the weebs, and the editing is just incredible. Don't ever stop doing these please
Holyyy moly Marcos idk what i did to deserve such a nice comment but thank you so much 🤧🙏 im glad you enjoyed the storytime type of video and the editing, definitely takes a lot of time to make 🥵😂
story time with tokuyuutv needs to be an ongoing series
I’ll have to start going through old photo albums for this new series then 🤓
Hey guys, this video was tricky to make cause 18-year-old me wasn’t super big on video taking. I hope you still enjoyed the story accompanied with *professionally* edited photos :p
Yeah that's an important video, people want to connect to the person, the "youtuber" and derive more enjoyment from your other videos like that.
@@VividAMVs Okay it’s good to know that you think that. Thanks for your feedback!! 😙
👏🏼👏🏼 Just grateful to hear a success story for the same dream I have 🎌🎌 鼓舞ありがとう!
Yoooo. I loved it. I'm much older, (31) and just starting language classes so I'll be relatively fluent to visit Japan within the next few years. This was a great story that has me looking forward to it more!
My reason: I'm 41, and started Shotokan karate when I was 7. I've been at it (off and on) for 34 years. Through karate, I got a small taste of Japanese culture, and some karate-related language. But from day 1 at 7 years old, I was always fascinated and intrigued with the language, writing, and culture, however I never pursued furthering that interest beyond traditional Japanese karate in America. Now that I'm much older and have kids of my own who have been going to karate with me, and I have a stable and good-paying job, it's my goal to take my family (possibly this year) to Japan to train karate there. That goal was the motivation I needed to start learning Japanese, but I've only been at it for about 6 weeks. I know about 850 or so words so far (including the 100-150 I already learned from karate), and can read and write Hiragana and Katakana fluently already via studying hard, but I still have a long way to go with expanding my vocabulary and also with learning kanji. I don't expect to be fluent by the time I go, but at least be able to read signs and menus, and be intermediate in conversational fluency.
i absolutely love your mind!! your motivation for learning seems quite deep-rooted, and it seems like you are very realistic with your expectations. knowing 850 words and hiragana/katakana after 6 weeks is incredible!! keep up the fantastic work and im sure you’ll be able to help lead your family through japan 😙
now i wanna hear him sing in japanese while playing video game
😂😂😂 i guess that’ll have to be my first twitch stream 🥵
Your story is so motivating and inspiring!! I just started learning Japanese recently because of my bf and the Japanese culture + food (And I literally said the same thing to him “I’ll be fluent in Japanese one day”😆).
Wowwww that’s super cool, I’m hella excited for you starting your journey of learning Japanese!! 🤧🥳 im sure your bf is really happy that you’re taking an interest in Japanese language and culture, that is so sweet 🥺 ahahaha that’s awesome!! Make sure you write it down and keep it safe somewhere, those kind of messages will be really nice to look back on one day 😙
@@TokuyuuTV Noted!!😝 Will keep those messages with these comments together somewhere safe🥰🥳😆
This channel has so much potential, please never stop lol. Love the clean editing and engaging story time.
Awww thank you so much!! Im glad you enjoyed listening to my story 🤧 I’ll def be making more videos so stay tuned!! 😙
42 years old here and looking forward to become fluent in Japanese.
I have been to Japan 3 times, looking forward to be the next one and I always thought to myself that, if I love Japan so much without speaking Japanese, and only knowing a few phrases, imagine how much I would love it once I am fluent in Japanese.
I will be able to talk to local people ask about their traditions, their families, their background and get to know their culture deeper
I love your mentality! Japanese people are very kind and will do their best to speak English to you, but as you said if you speak japanese you will be able to break down so many barriers in conversation and get to know more people and on a deeper level. I can guarantee you will enjoy your future japan trips even more 😙
What a throwback to high school Harrison, and gotta love a Michael cameo
I knowww i look like a literal fetus 😐 and Michael deserves this cameo for sure cause my Japanese journey is all thanks to him 👏👏
Nekesh, my man!! Wow is that you!?
@@toshikiyoshida103 i think you’re mistaking him for someone else - this is necashmoney™️ the world renowned rapper 😎
@@toshikiyoshida103 Michael! It’s been a while man!
@@TokuyuuTV gonna blow your mind, but we’re actually the same person 🤯
I’m currently pursuing a degree in music composition, and have always been inspired particularly by the works of Yoko Shimomura and Nobuo Uematsu. One day, I realised that if I really wanted to learn how to write music similar in style to them, the best way would be learning how to write music in Japan. And so I’m starting Japanese classes at a local community college in two weeks, with the goal of pursuing my masters in composition in Tokyo after I graduate from Berklee. I know it will take a lot of time and effort, but I’m so excited to experience a different culture and immerse myself to become a more multi-faceted composer and individual!
wowwwww that’s a really cool origin story!! this is my first time hearing the story of an aspiring composer 🤧✨ it definitely opens your perspective by learning your art in a different culture. wishing you all the best on your exciting adventure!! 🥳🎉
Just found your page and this one hit me real deep. I actually was in Japan the same year and went after graduating high school myself. What’s funny is that I am half Japanese and my name is Michael as well. I unfortunately am not fluent in Japanese and am trying to get there. My realization of needing and wanting to learn Japanese came just about a month ago after being able to go to Japan last month and not being able to communicate really or talk with family that I have there. I felt that I had waisted the time I could have had many years ago and am trying to make up for it now. Still struggling but wanting to learn and that is why I stumbled on your page and hope to learn Japanese and become fluent in it and see more of your videos. Sorry for this being so long but I could really relate to it and just wished my realization came the same time yours did.
I totally understand your feelings - I’m actually half-Chinese and don’t speak any either! 😝💀 it feels like a wasted opportunity; if only i could have learned it growing up 😭 but we can’t change the past, and i hope i can act as living proof for you that it is possible to learn an asian language as an adult english-speaker. The key is to put in consistent effort, and you will slowly see your ability get better and better. You got this!! 🥳
ps, i have another half japanese friend named Michael who did not grow up speaking japanese so you’re not the only one!! 😂
@@TokuyuuTV thank you for the response. I thought you looked half Asian but wasn’t sure. I’m glad you were able to learn Japanese though. I’m sure you could crush Chinese now at least in reading with all that kanji learned. I actually took Chinese in high school and now have forgotten pretty much all of it, but still remember some of the characters so that helped me a little for Japanese learning. I’m jealous that you are living in Japan. I hated leaving it last month. Hope you are enjoying your new life there and I can’t wait to watch more of your content. 頑張れ。ありがとうございます。
This is such a cool story! Also very well-edited video! 👏🏼✨
Thanks Sara im glad you enjoyed it!! 😙🤧 the editing definitely takes a while 😝
Just subscribed and became your 1,000th subscriber! Your journey is incredible btw. Binged watched all your videos and I'll make sure to put your tips in practice as my goal is also fluency. ありがとう !
Wow, thank you so much for watching my videos and becoming my 1,000th subscriber!! It’s truly a happy moment for me, but my youtube journey has just begun! Good luck on your journey to fluency, it’s a long but very rewarding experience. 応援しています❗️🥳
this is the most wholesome story ever wtf :( the fact that you still have that note saved is 💗💖💕✨💓💝 ☁️
Im glad you enjoyed listening to my anime backstory 😎 and no dead parents or destroyed home village necessary 🥵 that note is now a national treasure to me and i shall keep it forever >:(
my goodness you're SOOO good at storytelling! it was a really moving storytime, thank you for sharing!
Ahhhhhh thank you so much, Kristina!! I still think i have much to learn about effective storytelling, but im beyond happy that you enjoyed this video 🤧🥺
This was a beautiful story and im so happy you made it this far and reached your goal. Also you're very good at telling stories and the memories you shared made me smile (and emotional haha).
Ahhhhhhh im so happy to hear you enjoyed my story, thank you so much for listening 😭🤧 and im really glad you enjoyed the story telling!! it was my first time doing a video like this so i wasnt sure 😝
Thank you for the motivation..it was my frist dream to move on Japan when I was like 18 then I couldn't do that because I couldn't afford that much ..so I dropped the plan ..now I am 21 .already got the N5 certificate and preparing for N4 .. planning to move to Japan as soon as possible so thank you so much again bro making such kind of video it's really motivates me
Ahhhh yeah not easy to come by money when you’re 18 😩 i absolutely love that you’ve picked up your dream again tho!! Congrats on completing N5!! 🥳🎉 rooting for you on getting the N4 and beyond!! 😤✊ thanks so much for watching my video 🤧
Kunal Bhai aapne Japanese kaha se sikhi?
Your experiences are amazing!!
thank youu!! glad you enjoyed hearing my story 🤧
Great to see your video ❤️❤️❤️
Great to see you in the comment section again!! 😝😙 thanks for always tuning in 🥺
@@TokuyuuTV 😂😂😂🧐🧐🧐 always.
It was definitely a fun experience for you to discover the starting point of learning Japanese. Great vid!
Thank you Ken, it was definitely a fun and life-changing experience. I’m glad you enjoyed the video! 😙🙌
this video was beyond inspiring :') thank you for sharing it with us ~ crazy how one seemingly small encounter can change your life forever :O
Now that you're heading back to Japan, I look forward to seeing how your journey continues :)
This one trip to japan really did shape my ENTIRE future and that messes me up to think about sometimes 🥴 but the journey has just begun!! Can’t wait to share my adventures 😈
I love your editing ❤😂
thank you so much!!! I put a lot of time into it 😝
Absolutely loved this video, it made me laugh and cry at the same time 🥲 Thank you for sharing your story. I have a lot of regrets when it comes to learning Japanese. I’m half Japanese but never learned the language. I didn’t have much interest growing up and it also seemed like an impossible task. Now in my 40’s I have started learning Japanese and trying to be more Japanese as well, kind of chasing what I have been missing out on most of my life. It has been hard but I am enjoying the ride. I hope to become fluent one day so I can have conversations with my older relatives while they’re still here. I really enjoy your videos and they have been tremendously helpful, keep up the great work!
Thank you so much for sharing your story!! I feel so privileged to be able to hear it. I’m sure there are a lot of mixed feelings with your journey, including regret and hope. But it’s definitely not too late to start learning - Steve Kauffman is a polyglot who’s still learning languages at the age of 76, so if he can do it so can you!! I’m kind of similar in that I’m half-Chinese but didn’t grow up speaking the language so I’m quite disconnected from that heritage, which i find sad. So eventually i too want to pick up Chinese and reconnect. So prove that it’s possible for both our sakes!! 😝 wishing you all the best, and thanks for watching my videos 🥳
Great, emotional, unique memories and great storytelling accompanied by entertaining edits! Thank you for sharing them with us. I hope you will post more videos like that from your past, today or tomorrow. Your story gave me the motivation that it is possible to pursue your very hard-to-reach-looking dreams.
really happy to hear you enjoyed listening to my story!! 🤧 I definitely want to make more story-time videos like this one, esp about my experiences in japan, so stay tuned for those in the future!!
Thanks for sharing those memories. You know a trip was amazing when the thought of it ending brings tears to your eyes. That trip really changed you and it shows.
For me the interest in Japanese started with me watching a J-drama on Netflix (Good Morning Call). I found myself listening to certain key words and phrases and being able to understand them. Japanese phonology reminds me so much of Spanish phonology (pure vowels, similar timing, similar consonant inventory). Then I started listening to Japanese songs and I found them so beautiful, I just really wanted to learn.
I have been on and off now studying Japanese for a number of years. I think what I am missing now is to expose myself more to the language. My goal is to become "fluent" (as much as I can) in the next couple of years. We will see!
My japan trip was definitely impactful beyond words, it forever changed my life 🥲 ahhhh I’ve heard from many people that Spanish and Japanese pronunciation is really similar!! I love the sound of both languages 😍 and that’s a fantastic origin story of why you fell in love with japanese! And I couldn’t agree more that japanese songs are beautiful 😭
It’s easy to fall in and out of studying the language, but if you increase your exposure like you said and do it consistently, you will make amazing progress!! Thanks for the lovely comment, Jose 🥳
Aww this is so inspiring! Thank you for sharing the start of your journey! My high school actually offered Japanese classes which I tried to sign up for however my brother talked me out of it. He said learning Spanish would be easier (almost failed). It was one of my BIGGEST regrets. Fast forward years later I decided to take a trip to Japan to celebrate graduating college. I fell in love with absolutely everything! The only thing that sucked was not being able to communicate at all with the people around me. When I got back home I dwelled on the fact that I didn't take the opportunity in HS. Then one morning I woke up and decided screw it, I'm just gonna sign up for a class/self-study! Been studying for about 2 years and hoping to take the JPLT once The Rona calms down more ^-^
This an amazing story thanks so much for sharing!! I 100% relate with the ‘not being able to communicate with Japanese people’, this was the MOST frustrating thing in the world, especially since they were all so kind 😭 It’s too bad your brother convinced you out of studying Japanese in hs but it’s AWESOME you decided to take matters into your own hands and study in your own!! Hopefully The Rona™️ will calm down soon so you can take that JLPT exam 💪 good luck on your journey and keep me updated!!
@@TokuyuuTV Will do! But also additional question! Can you pinpoint when you started to process and understand most conversations you were having? (ex: after N3 or N2) Or was it more of just a growing thing and the next thing you realized things made sense?
@@DontEatMyPiexD it was definitely a very gradual thing! There wasn’t any one point in time where it just clicked but around N3 i could start having basic conversations with my Japanese friends and my understanding slowly built from there! Definitely the more i studied vocab and grammar and the more i just practiced listening the better it got 😙 there will definitely be a lot of moments where you’ll hear something and be like “i just learned that and i can understand that now!!” and that’s an amazing feeling 😝
I just found your videos and all of them are amazing. I started learning japanese because of Anime and manga, but the more I read about the culture and the country make me love everything about it. You give me more motivation to continue my Japanese studies and one day go to Japan ✨ Don't stop doing videos, you are great.
Thank you soo so much for your lovely comment, Yili!! 🥺 i find that anime and manga are like the gateway drug into loving all of Japanese culture 😂😂 and definitely please go to Japan one day!! It’ll make all your studying feel 10x more worth it. I’ll be sure to keep the videos coming 😌
i totally get that frustration you had. Gah so much nostalgia!
Not being able to fully communicate your thoughts and feelings is the WORST. It’s the only motivation i need 😂 Yeah looking back on these photos was really nostalgic for me 🤧🤧
Great video Harrison
Thanks Adrian!! Nice to hear from you again 🥳🥳
whoa thanks for sharing, i hope im also become fluent in Japanese too
Thanks for watching!! Wishing you all the best on your journey to fluency 😙
Really heartwarming video. I am learning activally since about a year. But actually learned hiragana and a few basic sentences through a beginner course back in 2019 (I was 15 back then). This interest came mainly through anime but also through the language on it's own, I think the whole sound of Japanese is super comfy to hear and at the most of the time also really fun to reproduce (looking at you 駐車所。。。) . After a bit of learning I also started to love the grammar, especially the way, how verbs work. I think it's super fascinating how you can add so many forms to a verb to change it's meaning in the sentence and how you form a big super verb like 食べさせられたくなかったら. I am an autistic person and therefore I tend to have only one or two interests which I build my complete life around. I consume Japanese media espeacially J-POP every day, learn at around 20 words per day and try to say everything I think in Japanese to improve my "Japanese thinking". I even turned my whole contact list + my google assistant to Japanese. Now I started to learn for the JLPT 4 test in december which I will hopefully pass.
Learning Japanese and it's culture is as for you, the biggest decision of my life. In that one year, I already found new friends via a private teacher which has his own discord community. For me, this community is one of the first things I check out every day, it's just so nice how everyone is just helping everyone for the goal of learning Japanese which we all have. Also we have lioke sooo much insider, my personal favourite is the serial killer 田中さん which comes through the youtube channel of our teacher and though the marugoto teaching book in which the character 田中さん is used every time in an example sentence in which he is just killing someone but every time with an other grammar....
Also I have super funny stories like on the birthday of my mom:
My mom wanted to go to a Japanese restaurant, so i've looken a good looking resaurant up and booked a table for me and her for her birthday. It was a small family hosted restaurant, with the wife in the service and her husband cookking. Even their daughter played in one edge. Super cute. We entered the restaurant and I just spoke to the waitress directly in Japanese, she just completly casual responded and even wasn't surprised that someone in germany is speaking some Japanese. I ordered the things we wanted, of course in Japanese and asked her because of the birthday of my mom if it would be possible to do a little surprise at the dessert. I thought maybe "happy birthday" written with some sauce or something like this... My mom, which speaks not even a single word of Japanese besides "こんにちは" had no clue....
Before she brought us the dessert she took her 5 year old daughter to the kitchen. Than they brought together the dessert ice with some super big sparklers and some chocolate, They also sung "happy birthday". It was so nice and my mom where so happy about the surprise. They where just so super kind and nice, she also said, that my japanese is so good, even I wouldn't agree to her... It was so cool. And one of the best expiriences I've had so far with this language. ;)
I think my grand goal is to some day be able to work as something like a translator from German (my native language) to Japanese. In that way I would be able to use the anguage every day for work. I also would really like to study linguistics with a focus in Japanese. I would tend to say, that this Language, this country and this culture will take it's way through my whole life.
Wow, what an amazing story!! I love your dedication to japanese, and im beyond happy you have a community of fellow learners to whom you feel connected to and talk with everyday 😙 for some reason, meeting other people who are also learning japanese is just an instant friend-maker 😝 i love your story with your mom’s birthday at the restaurant, that’s super wholesome and wouldn’t have been possible without all your effort of studying japanese!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story. Wishing you all the best in your journey from here on out 😙✨
Great story..!👍🥰
Thanks for listening to my story!! 😙
Thank you for sharing your reasons with us! I am starting my "learn Japanese" journey this semester and I plan to visit Japan next year so I want to be able to communicate with people around me while I visit.
That’s an amazing reason to start learning Japanese, basically the same reason as mine!! Wishing you all the best on your language journey, it’s a long yet rewarding one 😌
@@TokuyuuTV Thank you! 😊
You’re awesome and inspiring! It took me 4 years living here in Japan to finally decide to took a serious self study. And here I found your video. Upload more vids 🙏
wowww 4 years, you’ve been living here for a while!! 😮! awesome that you decided you want to take studying seriously 😙 wishing you all the best on your language journey! I’ll keep the videos coming 😌
I love the motivation you had to learn japanese. I will study as much as I can. I will make a trip to Japan. I want to visit a lot of the island and villages. I hope I will understand the people😄I love the way you make videos, very inspiring and simple. It's great
Keep doing it
Thanks for your lovely comment Nikki!! 😙 I highly recommend visiting Japan - I think you’ll be able to have soo many great experiences which will just further motivate you to learn the language 👏👏 and dont worry, ill keep up the videos 💪
Thank you for uploading
I’m learning English so I’m uploading videos to show Japan with Japanese and English subtitles.
I learned a lot from you , thank you
Ahhh I’m glad you can use my video to help you learn English! A lot of my friends are doing that too 😝
I saw one of your videos - it was really funny!! 喋り方はマジでおもろかったww
Just found your channel today because it appeared on my recommendation 😃 Your videos made me want to re-learn Japanese again - my kanji book has been collecting dust since 2018 x')
I (and with few friends) got to stay with a Japanese family host for three months as part of our degree's internship. They, their friends and the other Japanese were all very kind and polite. I've made good memories during my stay there (and of course, there's a bitter memory too), but it's too bad that my and my friends' Japanese fluency were not that fluent (and they considered me as the best at Japanese too 🤦♀). It's a little frustrating indeed. I hope that if I got a second chance to go there and meet those people again, I would like to grab it; and hopefully with a good fluency and attitude, too 🙂
Thanks for sharing your experiences btw. Love your channel
Wowwww 3 months staying with a japanese host family?? That’s such a nice opportunity 😭😭😭 there are always going to be bitter experiences along with the fond ones, but I’m glad you enjoyed your trip overall! I think that’s a fantastic backstory to wanting to learn japanese. Learning this language has been the most rewarding experience of my life, so if you decide to pick it up again I don’t think you’ll regret it 😝 wishing you all the best!! 😙
@@TokuyuuTV yea, it was really a nice and the best opportunity I ever got! Haha, I was actually became interested to the language because of anime x') And the trip to Japan was the reinforcer 😃 So, when I stayed there, I sometimes used what I learnt from anime to communicate with them the Japanese, and they said that my japanese was weird 😂 I think it's because I used expressions that were usually expressed by the shounen, despite me being a lady 😅🤦🏻 And yeah, I don't think I will regret my decision to relearn this lang. again - I want to 'avenge' my 4-yrs-ago self xD🔥
Anyway, thanks so much for responding. I admire you for spending some times to reply to our comments - really appreciate it 🍀 And wishing you the best, too!
Found my new favourite youtube channel :)
Awwwww thank you so so much Mina!! I’m glad you enjoy my videos 🥺🤧
Wow, what a journey! Such dedication. It's amazing how a friend and a trip can change your life so much.
I just started searching UA-cam for basic words to use when I go visit soon (now I know to say gochisosamadeshita after a meal rather than arigato gozaimasu), then you popped up as a recommended video. I have no hope of going much past simple words unfortunately!
i knowww, absolutely wild to look back on and see how the trajectory of my life totally changed.
That’s awesome!! japanese people definitely love it when you speak japanese, even if it’s only a few basic words they’ll gas you up and get excited 😝 and no need to learn more than the basics for now! Maybe after your trip you can reflect on whether you want to pursue the language further 😌
First, man, your videos are full of your personality and are just so good: funny, humble and full of useful tips. Thank you so much! I am two years into my journey and, even though I am still shy of intermediate, still loving learning it and 'taking my time' with it. But I can see progress. Maybe because my journey is been a bit haphazard ( a dash of WaniKani, a pinch of Satori Reader, listening to podcasts, reading and re-reading and re-reading and re-reading the same three or four books I have) I do not know exactly where I stand with my knowledge but progress is been made. Mainly just by STICKING with it. I am in no rush....kind of. I am glad to see you went to Shikoku and have fond memories of it. It was probably the place where I fell in love with Japan. Even though all the rest was great too. My initial reason to start learning Japanese was, well.....my Japanese friend that I met in Ireland, travel with in Ireland and Italy (where I am from) and was traveling with in Japan. One day I would like to be able to hold a normal, regular conversation with her, just only in Japanese. Keep it up man. Best of luck with your Japan journey. And sorry for your recent loss.
First off, thank you so much for your amazing comment, Gian!! It’s comments like these that i love reading because i get to know other peoples’ stories. I love that you’re being patient with learning japanese and just sticking to it. A lot of people think you can just rush through it with the right techniques but that’s just not the case. I’m curious to know why Shikoku was your favourite!! But i have a feeling it’s also the nature, cause that’s what i loved 😝 learning japanese so you can have a regular conversation with your friend in her native language is such a sweet reason 🥲 i have no doubt in my mind that you will achieve your goal since you’re putting in the consistent effort. Again, thank you so much for your comment and your warm wishes ❤️
@@TokuyuuTV Yes, the nature and scenery were something that I loved so much: the mountains, the forests, the rivers (had two amazing river swims). But it was the full experience that left a mark on my soul. Firstly, me and my friend were traveling by car and slept a good few times at different Eki no michi (sorry, i have not set up Japanese keyboard....yet...so romaji will be). We had a futon and sleeping bags and were nicely set up. It was April and the cherry blossoms were still in bloom there. So all that was really special. But most of all I think were the people we met there, Japanese and not, that made the difference. On the first day, as looking at the coffee machine in a kombini trying to make up my mind, there was this guy that kept trying to tell me something. I had no idea what he was saying and he looked a bit tipsy. When my friend arrived she explained he was offering me a coffee and welcoming me to Shikoku and to Japan. Or, one morning we went to the onsen that was just next to were we slept and when we met afterwards my friend told me we were being invited by a lady to go over to their home and check their bakery. So we did. We spent almost two hours there chatting, drinking coffee and eating toasts. When we left they showered us with goods. Another time I was cooling off at an onsen and this old guy came over to me and started chatting away ( I just managed to say wakarimasen and to say Itaria jin desu....lol) but he kept going :) We also stay at one of my favorite hostels ever (you can check the video on my channel I did on the spur of the moment with my phone) and met a cool couple from England. And....well, I could go on for hours man.....Natsukashii..... :)
When are you moving over, if I can ask?
I'm almost crying 😭. I'm so lucky to be able to learn from your experience, thank you 🙏
I will try my best to became fluent in Japanese. I already had N4 few years ago btw, and revising it all past 6 months.
thank you so much for watching my video!! im really humbled you enjoyed it so much 🥺 that’s awesome you already achieved N4!! good luck on reviewing, and hopefully you can take it even further if that’s your goal! 🥳
I just found your channel and it sure is inspiring to say the least! I've been to Japan twice - last year and 2 years prior to that. My wife is Japanese so we were visiting her family (we now have a baby so last time was to introduce our daughter to her family). Both times I was there I longed to be able to have a conversation with her parents and siblings. She translated everything for me which I am grateful for. I had an absolute amazing time both times but have really pushed myself to finally sit down and start trying to learn. That way, next time we go back I can hopefully have conversations with her family fluently. That is my dream! Thank you for the inspiration! Fellow Canadian here too! One day to hopefully live in Japan as well! Dream #2 :D
awwww that’s an incredible story!! i think it’s really sweet you want to learn japanese to better interact with your wife’s family, im sure they’ll all be touched to see you learning 😌 good luck on your japanese language journey, and id love to see the Canadian population in Japan increase in the future 😉
lol Sosuke bosuke love the ProZD reference.
But for real this was really sweet, I loved your story
Ahahahahahah im super glad you got it!! 😝 thanks so much for listening to my story! 😙
How cool😻 im one third Japanese and i don't know anything in japanese but you inspired me to continue my japanese thanks 😁
One third?? 😮 that’s such an interesting proportion. And I’m half Chinese and don’t speak any Chinese so I’m with you on that 😂😂 im beyond happy my video could help inspire you to keep going 🤧 thanks for watching!!
I was really impressed with your video!
It taught me how beautiful Japan is even though i'm a Japanese
I hope you keep on making this kind of video😆
Your video gave me motivation to study English!
I will learn to speak English as fluently as you!
ahhhh im so happy you enjoyed my video!! and im glad you can appreciate japan more now 😂😂
good luck studying english!! I will keep studying japanese too 😤✊
Subbed recently and enjoy your work. This video popped up for me. Good story, anything can inspire. I’m also Canadian.
I guess a year video isn’t that old and I can say why I want to learn Japanese too. The reason is food. Or inspired it. I guess I was always meant to be a chef even if I hate the industry sometimes. Having kids and enough money for bills cooking is difficult. But Japanese food is my love. The entire food culture. My dad encouraged us to try everything once, and the weirder the better. Then we drove past a sushi place when I was 13. They were NOT common at the time. It was in Toronto and the only place we saw near the ROM. I had been dying to try it and was freaking out so yes we absolutely went. Fell in love. Thanks dad. I know it’s more than sushi, but I think we all start there these days.
After culinary school, in which my chef instructor himself had studied in Japan for two years, I wanted to go to Japan to cook. Never did it. Never had the chance. But wanted to learn the language. Just in case it happened. One day. Now I’m older with kids and studying seriously, in hopes of buying an akiya and farming or cooking in Japan. I’d like to be fluent enough to understand my own paperwork.
I absolutely love your story, thank you so much for taking the time to share it!! So special that your life’s dream was inspired at such a young age, and big shoutout to your dad for encouraging you to try everything once 🤧 sounds like you’re slowly but surely pursuing the path, i respect you putting your family needs first.
I definitely encourage you to start your japanese studying now so when the opportunity arises in the future you are more apt to take it! Wishing you the best in pursing your exciting new journey in life, can’t wait to hear the update in another comment 😉🥳
THIS! I went to Japan very recently and tried to cram so much Japanese in the beginning of the year. It dawned on me I wasn't going to learn enough to actually understand or even communicate, and it really bummed me out. I had a great trip nonetheless, everyone was so patient, kind and friendly. It made me upset when we left because I wished to talk and even create friendships while I was there. I told myself to study as much as I can before I go back again. I definitely got a long way to go, but hearing ur story is definitely inspiring :)
ahhhhhhh that’s so funny that we had the exact same experience! It’s definitely the most frustrating feeling not being able to communicate or build deeper bonds with other people, but im glad you’re using the frustration like i did to motivate yourself to learn japanese! It’s a long journey, but a very rewarding one.
Wishing you all the best in your studies!! 🥳🎉
I don't know why I am crying!!😭😭 Thank u for sharing such a wonderful experience. わたしもがんばります。😇
awwwww im really touched that you were able to feel my emotions during this trip 🥲😭 seems like you have a high level of empathy. がんばってね！！
I started studying japanese because i watch anime a lot and liked their culture and seeing more japanese vlogs and i started to learn japanese,i am just 16yrs old,but definitely i will one day reach japan as soon as possible after my studies finished.
You made me cry for real, i am fluent in 4 languages but japanese is kinda difficult. Your videos gave me a motivation to keep going with japanese. Thank you so much. Sos un genio enserio ✌️
wowww 4 languages, that’s incredible!! but yes, japanese is sooo different from European languages that it’ll be a whole new challenge! but you’re definitely capable of conquering it 😌
thanks so much for watching my vids and leaving such an awesome comment 🫶
NOOOO NOT THE SOSUKE BOSUKE BWUHAHAHAHAHAHA been having so much fun binging your videos, and that reference just made my day! Always lovely to encounter a fellow chairem appreciator 🪑
Your crackheadedness is very much adored and enjoyed, not to mention all the tips so far have been massively relatable as a terribly inconsistent 11-year-long(-and-going) self-learner ✊😩 Thanks for sharing your inspirational protag backstory and hope you're kicking some serious communication butt in Japan now. Can't wait for more of yer top-notch 👌content, def here for it yo!
LMAOOOO you’re the first person to get the reference!!! 😂😂😂 i love ProZD so much i just had to throw it in there. I had no idea there was a whole chairem anime about it tho!! 😂
Ahhhhh im super happy you like my crackhead style and find the tips relatable/helpful at the same time!! 🤧 im definitely getting my communication butt kicked more often than I’d like LMAOO but im eternally grateful for all the work I’ve put in so far - I’ve been able to make friends and have experiences that i know wouldn’t be possible unless i had this level of japanese. And don’t worry about ‘already’ studying japanese for 11 years, motivation can be tough 😪 i know whenever you decide to be more consistent your japanese will blow up 📈📈📈 Thank you so much for supporting me and my content, can’t wait to share more videos in the future!! 😙
I don't know who you are
I don't know how this video got into my recommended
And I am now subscribed. I love this video. Keep up the great work brother.
Sounds like the beginning of a Liam Neeson movie LMAOOO. BUT im glad it had a happy ending 😂 thanks so much for the positivity!! 😙✨
Man, I cant wait to see you adventures in japan! (p.s I started studying japanese to understand vtubers 😅 but now its a mix of understanding vtubers and wanting to communicate to the person that would serve me wonderful meals 🤤)
Ahhhhh that’s super cool!! I have a lot of friends who follow vtubers, they’re really blowing up lately! And japanese food is 😌👌 I’m glad you’re looking forward to my japan adventures!! I can’t wait to share my life and explore japan with everyone 😙
first trip to japan and it's so cool!!
As in you’re on your first trip right now?? I hope you have a fantastic time, just like i did 🥳
@@TokuyuuTV i mean your first trip was so cool!
@@asuranrocks OOOOOOH yeah it was a hella good time!! Michael was a fantastic tour guide - he really made everything possible and i owe him all the credit to having me fall in love with japan 🥲🙏
@@TokuyuuTV ikr! he really converted you!!
This story was beautiful! So, I am learning Japanese. I've made more progress in one month than ever before.
Originally I liked video games, and wanted to read the associated books, but that wasn't enough for me to try as hard as I needed to. Things just weren't sticking and I didn't have anyone to get advice from, and youtube didn't exist. Then, anime and manga, but that still wasn't enough either, and youtube was still all flash at that point.
I took Chinese in highschool (we only had Chinese and Arabic as options) and it really made me feel like I was just someone who could never learn another language because I of the memorisation.
I'm surprisingly competent at a lot of things. I'm a professional hacker, I do chemistry, and make clothes from scratch, I run and lift weights, and all of these other fun but intellectually and physically challenging things.
I still didn't think I could learn Japanese.
Then, I made a lot of friends who only speak Japanese. Usually I'd talk to them via my translator friends or Google. On November 1st I was so fed up with failing to use Google translate to tell my friends things that I finally told myself, "You have to try again.
You want to do these things, you want to talk, and read, and have fun in Japan with your friends without a communication barrier. How can you learn science and math and memorise lines to be in plays but you can't learn Japanese? That makes no sense! Get it together!"
I think part of it was that I was very poor before so I had like one book (Genki ftw) and one app (Human Japanese) and no other resources. After restarting my progress (thankfully without needing to relearn kana) I realised there's so much more support now. Videos like yours that say what you used. Resources like Bunpro, Wanikani and Anki. People have written entire guides about radicals that were only just starting or extremely (relatively) expensive before!
And my friends are so excited to be able to speak to me! Way more excited than I thought they'd be! 😭
I know it's going to take years, but I can make a lot of sentences now, with verbs and past tenses and ている. I can read over 300 kanji. I feel like I'm finally making actual progress and this looming failure can turn into a success.
I think I had convinced myself that I was too dumb, but because I had the right motivation this time, I was willing to work harder to compensate.
Anyway, I guess I'm just agreeing that the right motivation (also, money, ha! I was can't-eat-everyday poor and now I'm in infosec) really helps.
I'm glad I watched this video and glad to see you succeeded. It gives me hope they maybe in a few years, I will be able to tell my friends how grestful I am for them and how much I loved our interactions!
Also there's a shopkeeper in Japan I would love to thank as well.
thanks so much for taking the time to share your story!! i see we had completely opposite initial beliefs: you thought you were too dumb to learn a language and i thought i could conquer it in a few months 😂😂😂 both are equally wrong. Im very happy that you decided to give yourself another chance, and it sounds like you’re making fantastic progress!! it’s awesome that you know it’ll take a while - being able to be patient with the results is key to not giving up. Love your new attitude towards tackling japanese, keep up the awesome work!! 🥳
This videos story is exactly the same as me. I was invited by friends to go to Japan after graduation (college) and just came back from a month long trip filled with adventures and frustrations at not being able to communicate with Japanese people.
The moment I got to the airport back home I started going through all the free resources and stumbled across your videos. I’m starting a full time job at a American company that has an office in Japan, so it’s easy to transfer over to that office. I think once I get promoted in 1-3 years I ask to transfer and hopefully by then I will have a good foundation in Japanese to start immersive learning in Japan
Thank you for the wonderful video and I can 100% relate to almost everything.
ahhhh that’s so special, i feel like you’re at exactly the same point in my life 8 years ago 🥲 really glad you had an amazing experience in japan, and i love your goal! 1-3 years is definitely a great amount of time to get a solid foundation in japanese through studying which will make the immersion a perfect way to solidify your knowledge. stay committed to your studies and i have no doubt in my mind your opportunity will come 😌 rooting for ya!! 🥳😤👏
Thanks for sharing your sugoi story.
I studied japanese because way back then this was just a part of my Hotel and Restaurant Course.But I love japanese culture so much because my childhood was influenced by Sentai,Anime and Video Games.I am planning to take N5 this year to get better opportunities working as bilingual japanese-english customer service.
Wow, really cool that you got to study japanese as part of a Hotel and Restaurant course!! 😮 ahhh that sounds like a really nostalgic childhood 😌 good luck on the N5!! That’s definitely an achievable goal for this year, im rooting for you! 🥳
@@TokuyuuTV I will do my best Sensei.Can you be my Saitama (Sensei) and I am Genos (Your Apprentice)
ありがとう ございます。
Ahahahahaha you got it! Start by doing 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and running 10k 😌 頑張ってね‼️
@@TokuyuuTV はあい すんせい！
I enjoyed listening to this story....the places, and the interactions with the natives ........ What a memory!!!
I fell in love with Japan when watching NHK World. When I realized that my liking for Japan's art and culture was getting stronger. I decided to visit Japan to know if this is all a fantasy in my head or if it is true "love". I won't be able to judge unless I can communicate with the natives so I have been learning Japanese since January.
ohhhh wow that’s super cool you were watching NHK world even before you were interested in japan! 😮 I think it’s awesome you want to get a little bit fluent before you go - it’s definitely a completely different experience when you can communicate even a little bit 🤧 amazing that you’ve already been keeping it up since january, keep up the great work, im rooting for you 🥳✊‼️
I just found your channel and I am in love!! You're storytelling ability is awesome; i got emotional for some reason listening to your story I guess because I understanding how frustrating it can be to not be able to communicate with others. I'm currently taking baby steps into learning Japanese because I will attending school there next fall. Thank you for your videos they are VERY helpful. Thank you!!
P.S. Are you and Michael still friends or have kept in touch?
awwww thank you so much!!! im really happy to hear you enjoyed listening to my story. And the fact you got emotional is really humbling, im touched you were able to resonate with my experience 🤧 wishing you all the best in your own journey, you got this!! 😤✊
yes we do still keep in touch!! In fact, i just messaged him yesterday about hanging out 😙
Thank you for sharing your story. I really enjoy this video. Would love to know the details of those seven years, e.g. did you continuously study or have there been breaks in between, how did you keep the motivation/commitment, etc.
I myself took some classes back when I was in last year of uni, managed to pass the N4 but didn't quite continue afterward. I remember though that when I visited Japan, I was able to understand some basic words and phrases. It was such a rewarding feeling!
My initial reason was due to interest in manga/anime like many others but along the way, studying Japanese has really open up many new interests for me. Right now my ultimate goal is to be able to read Japanese classic lit and to take a hiking trip in Japan. :)
Hey Pau, thanks so much for your comment, i loved hearing your story! I definitely wasn’t studying for 7 years straight. For the first two years I took beginner courses at my uni (which were slow-paced, but fine for keeping me going), but i would not study at all in the summer. Then after that I didn’t have any courses left to take so my studying was sparse during the school year (cause i was busy), but i studied harder in the summer. But i also started interacting with more Japanese people through language exchanges at my uni and became friends with so many of them that they really became my motivation for improving, let alone them being great for speaking/listening practice! Returning to studying might feel slow and frustrating at first, but im sure you’ll pick it up again quickly if you stick to it. And classic lit is such an interesting field - i wonder how you got into that! I’m here rooting for you when you decide to pick up Japanese again 🥳🎉
@@TokuyuuTV It was a rather simple reason actually. I read some translated works and really love them. Japanese literature just have this distinct atmosphere and proses to them that I became curious to know what they're like in the original. xD I think being able to enjoy literature is one pathway to appreciating the beauty of a particular language/culture. (or to put it simply, I just like reading. lol)
Also, thank you for your kind words and encouragement! I'm going through a busy phrase atm but I fully intend to return to study more regularly after this. Finding irl language partner is definitely on my to-do list. 😊
@@pau2989 i guess that is a simple enough reason! 😂😂 i think you would 100% LOVE reading the original Japanese texts. Even in anime and dramas, there is an element of subtle expression lost when reading the subtitles. But with classic literature I’m sure there is even more poetic expression that isn’t quite captured in translation. Good luck finding a language partner when you do have time to get back into it! 🥳
Very inspirational video. I am a complete beginner who has just finished learning all the kana and this has hyped me up for my next goal: to get an N5 level Japanese.
Ayyyy congrats on learning all the kana, that’s a huge step!! Wishing you all the best on working towards your N5 🥳🤧
@@TokuyuuTV omg you actually saw my comment. You're so kind. Thank you a lot!!
very nice video! I still love watching these. Aaand one question. Did you film the original footage in some kind of a vlog? Because I would LOVE to watch the whole vlog
Thank you FluffyVark!! And nice to see you here again 😙 the footage of Michael and me are from another Japan trip in 2018 (when i actually recorded what i did 😝) Maybe some point in the future ill make a video that shows off more of those clips!
I love Japan i mean started loving Japan when I was young n when I found out that anime was originated in Japan after that I did research n I fell in love with traditional Japanese things n all the beauty that Japan have...n right now I'm also learning japanese so that when I do visit Japan in the future I can communicate n understand what the people's are saying...n with japanese I'm also learning Korean as well for the same reasons n I also want to learn more about Japan n Korea...When you have time please make a trip to Akihabara 🙏🏻🥰💜
I love your reasons for studying Japanese and Korean, Jaya! I think a lot of people start out with anime as their first exposure to japan, and then get hooked with all the other cultural aspects that japan has to offer 😍 your trip to japan will definitely be more enriching if you can speak even just a little bit of japanese, so stick to it!! 🥳 and i actually visited Akihabara two months ago, but im sure ill be there again soon 😙
Great video! Loved the story❤ Did you watch any Anime during you learning trip to Japanese? I think they are a great source of easy common expressions 😁
I’m glad you enjoyed listening to my story!! 😙 i did watch quite a few anime over the years and it helped me pick up some new words and expressions, but usually the anime would be too fast and advanced for me to pick up anything 😝
I started learning Japanese in around spring of 2017, but a bunch of my other studies got in the way, so things were very on/off for most of it. I only recently started focusing on it much more in 2020 after I got more free time, but recently ended up slacking again. Here's to a more dedicated and focused effort, so that I'll be more than N3 within the year!
It’s really hard to keep up with it sometimes, especially on top of other studies. I know i slacked on and off 😝 I’m happy to hear you started focusing on it a bit more recently!! 😙 wishing you all the best, N3 is a fantastic goal!! 🥳
My reasons for (trying) to study Japanese:
1) So I can understand the media I take in (Aka my big anime and vocaloid obsession)
2) To help me get a bit of discipline in place lol
3) To truly understand the culture and beauty of Japan :)
It’ll be a challenge to get to your level, but watching your videos really encourage me to push through and not procrastinate like I have for years on end. Ty for making these videos so people like me can feel like they have someone to look up to while going on their language journey :))
That was fun to hear! Glad you didn't give up and instead got so annoyed that you HAD to become fluent to prove yourself wrong XD
Yesss I’m glad i used my frustration productively - it’s lead to so many great experiences!! Thanks for listening to my story 🤧
i started learning japanese about 2/3 months ago. i went too japan this summer too see my grandparents. i loved my time there, even though i couldnt speak too them without a translator. a while after i came home, i got the motivation too learn japanese so i could speak too them. so i started, and now im on a 55 day duolingo streak lol. (my brother took japanese in high school. he barely knows anything at all. i know more than him in less than a month.)
almost memorized all hirigana, and soon will start learning katakana. i dont know if this is slow, but ill still try my best :)
congrats on learning most of hiragana, that’s definitely a huge step that most people don’t overcome! And im sure your grandparents would be really happy to be able to speak with you directly without a translator. You got this!! 😤✊
Man this was just amazing!!! I liked the story of how you have literally become fluent from just "Become fluent in japanese" note...
Im not gonna write it down now, cuz it will be like, copypaste idea, but i do have a dream to see you in the future in japan 😇😇😇
ahahahahahah you’re more than welcome to use my idea, or you can create a different note to yourself! im glad you enjoyed my video so much 🤧 ahahahaha im not sure if meeting me is dream-worthy, but maybe it can happen one day 😙
I've been studying Japanese on and off for about 17 years now (wow...), just a couple of months per year before I lose focus and go chasing after something else. So this might come as no surprise: I haven't learned NEARLY as much as I should have at this point. I'm still at JLPT n5, because every time I pick it up again, I have to make my way back to where I left off the last time, so that I can get just a bit further, before trailing off and doing other stuff again for a year. Repeat.
I've been to Japan twice at this point, and I absolutely LOVED it. Tokyo is without a doubt my favorite place on earth. And being able to speak with people on pubs was the highlight of the trip. I still nurture a dream to become at least conversational fluent in Japanese, but I'm also aware that it will take several more years to get to that point, if I keep this method up. I just have way too many interests and hobbies to be able to focus on Japanese alone. But I'm okay with that. That's just how I roll.
Anyway, the origin story of why I started learning Japanese. I once read in a gaming magazine about a guy helping an elderly Japanese couple finding directions in Sweden (where I live). They were surprised that he could speak Japanese, and I thought it was cool as hell that he could just speak to them like that. That was the very first spark for me. Being able to help random strangers on the street. And it just happened to be Japanese that caught my interest. I also randomly bought DragonBall #4 once, and fell in love with manga.
I took two years of Japanese at university, but I didn't know how to study properly, so I failed. But thanks to that, I now can read hiragana and katakana, have a basic understanding of kanji, grammar, etc. So when I picked up Japanese on my own, I didn't have to go through learning all that.
Enough rambling. Thanks for a great video!
wowww what a journey! 17 years is a long time, but im glad the love for japan is still alive 🤧✨ I understand the struggle of having too many interests, i often find myself too spread out 😮💨 hoping you achieve your goal of becoming conversational one day, im rooting for you! 🥳
I'm a native spanish speaker, most of the resources, websites, apps to learn Japanese are in English, So I decided to learn English first. After that It was easier to me to communicate with native japanese speaker, and I'm so happy to hear your story, I want to become fluent in Japanese one day.
I wish you all the best.
Keep uploading videos.
Wowwww honestly AMAZING that you learned English to be able to learn Japanese. Honestly incredible work ethic 😮👏👏 im sure with your language learning skills you’ll be able to learn Japanese if you give it enough time! Good luck on your language learning journey 🥳 ill keep uploading videos dont worry!
I'll also start it soon ..i hope by the end of 2023 i would have learnt atleast 50% Japanese
rooting for ya! 🥳🎉 dont forget to be patient tho 😌
@@TokuyuuTV ❤️
ur story was wholesome and sad at the same time . my silly reason to learn japanese is just cz i wanna enjoy anime . but i cant get a hold of myself , no matte rhow hard i try i get held back for every reason nowadays . just when i got serious , donwloaded 3 decks on anki 20 wrkds a day each , my examn srted hurayyy 🥺. i dont think i've wht it takes , happy tht u achieved the goal u wished for 😀😀
thanks so much for watching my video, im glad you enjoyed it!!
i totally get it, real life and responsibilities can get in the way of staying committed to studying 😪 my advice would be to maybe the daily goals smaller (e.g. 5 words a day instead of 20). this makes it a lot easier to stay consistent, which is the most important thing!
if you stick to it, you’ll be able to enjoy anime even more than before by understanding the nuances of japanese 😌 you got this 🥳✨
Wow super sweet video, this is certainly not the regular "I like anime" type motivation / basic interest but something very close and personal to yourself.
Future Video Idea:
So with the singing hobby maybe can suggest a Japanese song?
Maybe something famous like "Chiisana Koi no Uta". I also think that if you had a native speaker come and sing along with you it would be even better.
This story is definitely really near and dear to my heart, it started everything i have today 🥲 and “i like anime” is still a totally fine reason!! Mine was literally “i like mario and pokemon”
LMFAOOO hmmmmm idk if I’ve ever sung that one before but i can definitely look into it 🧐 maybe Sho would know it…..
As someone who is very passionate about learning about foreign languages, Japanese has always peeked at my curiosity. I took Spanish and French during my high school years, and became very involved in my school's foreign language honor societies. I was also very close with my teachers, and I am still in contact with them two years after graduation. However, once I began my college studies, my language learning was put to the side, and music became my top priority considering it's a rigorous major.
After three semesters, I decided to switch schools and majors after learning that music wasn't something I wanted to pursue professionally, and went on to pursue atmospheric and oceanic science (which is where I am at now). So far I am enjoying my studies, but I realized recently that I truly miss that creative aspect that both music and language brought to me, being in the midst of a bunch of difficult, STEM courses.
Just last week, I went on a trip to Tokyo with my dad, and I was absolutely mesmerized by the beauty of the culture, the people, and the innovation of the marvelous capital itself. Upon my return home, I felt determined to return to my foreign language studies and take Japanese I this summer at my college. I'm also planning on circling back to my Spanish and French, and reaching out to my high school language teachers to set up some group speaking sessions this summer.
I'm personally so excited to begin this new journey adventure!
absolutely thrilled to hear you were able to have an amazing experience in tokyo. actually visiting the culture and being immersed in everything was what inspired me to start my journey, and it sounds like it will be the start of yours too! really glad to hear you’re picking up your passion of languages again, as i agree just focusing on STEM 24/7 doesn’t always stimulate creativity.
wishing you the best of luck on your new language journey, if you stay committed to it like you have with french and spanish then im sure it’ll be very rewarding 😌🥳
Your story is very moving. I'm learning Japanese in order to migrate there, get my family away from the West for many reasons, among them the unempathetic and completely failed covid response.
That’s amazing you’re learning Japanese!! Ahhh yes, i think Japan’s covid response has definitely been a lot more on the safe side than Western countries, and the collectivist mentality means that people are generally more courteous to others. I wish you the best in your language journey! 🥳
@@TokuyuuTV thank you so much! I've binged all your videos in one sitting. Is there hope for more from your new life in Japan? Some reflections outside of learning the language very welcome. Btw, what was your school like? You seem like you might have had a non-traditional upbringing. lol, I mean this in the most positive way, suspecting you're a gifted kid which has its pros and more than a few cons.
I would love to make videos on reflections on living in japan!! I think I’ll be able to make more accurate videos once I’ve lived and worked here for a little bit longer and made more observations. And thank you so much for holding me in such high regard 🥲😭 but i had a pretty typical upbringing! Just went to a regular public high school and a regular university. Just also happened to develop an interest in Japanese and UA-cam along the way 😝 ill keep making more videos, and im very honoured you enjoy them so far!! 🙇♂️
I’m kinda late but there you go, I’m 20 and started learning Japanese on my own for almost a month, I would like to go there because I love anime (that’s the most common reason you could hear haha) but also the culture of the country, I hope I could there and at least know how to express myself correctly within 10 more years xD
that’s awesome!! sounds super similar to my beginning 😝 good luck on your japanese language journey!! it’s a long one but very rewarding 🤧 if you stick to it for even close to 10 years im sure you’ll be better than me 😂🥳
I do this thing where I just don’t mention it if I’m insecure about it or don’t want to get into all those issues
Oh god that was the last video of yours for me to watch... What would I do now?!? (on my breaks from actually studying Japanese)
LMAOOO I’ll be sure to upload another video asap so you can have another excuse to take a break 😉😂 thanks for watching my videos!! 🤧
トクユーさん！君のビデオはすごく上手だ！そして、めっちゃ楽しかった！All of them are!
I began learning 日本語 earlier this year. I think there were many things that influenced my choice to learn it: アニメ, my intrinsic interest in the culture and beautiful sounding language/scenery, my 4 years of training 少林寺流空手道, and of course the fact that I was starting to see a Japanese girl 笑。
Thanks for sharing your story, infectious sense of humor, and passion for Japanese! トクユー先生のビデオが大好きだよ！
- オーウェン
Thank you sooo much for your comment, オーウェンさん❗️i love how your passion for Japanese has so many different origins - it’s crazy how many aspects of life have Japanese influence right? And seeing a Japanese girl will definitely help you practice a LOT. I definitely encourage you to practice as much as you can with her 😙 動画を見ててありがとうね。これからもよろしくお願いします🙇♂️
@@TokuyuuTV I realize now that I never replied to your reply! ごめん！
Thanks for your tips and advice, and yes it is very interesting how many ways another culture can influence one's life! I'm still learning Japanese and I think I'm approaching N4 level.
I see you haven't posted in a while so just wanted to say that I hope all is well! You're living in Japan now right? If you choose to keep making videos I'll be here to watch them:)
トクユーさんありがとう、
また話そうね！
@@owynwithawhy1768 Wowwww amazing job getting close to N4, that’s incredible!! 😮🥳🥳 I’m so happy to hear you’re keeping up your Japanese, cause just sticking to it is the key.
My father actually passed away recently which is why I’ve taken a little break. But I’m doing better now and will start posting videos again, I’ll have one out in a couple of days actually 😈 Japan still hasn’t opened their borders but im praying to get in at the end of March 🙏 thanks for following my channel so closely, I’ll see you in the next video soon!! 今年もよろしくお願いします🙇♂️
I’ve been learning Japanese for almost a year now, spent the money and did a study abroad for the full cultural immersion. Got placed in a 3rd year high school where making friends was next to impossible due to timing and location of the school being on a mountain, making it so we had to leave school at a certain time or we’d be left by the buses.
I constantly cursed myself for my inability in 6 months to reach a level of total fluency, I had trouble to say the least and I almost gave up multiple times but I remembered why I started to learn Japanese, I love the language, the music, the people, and mostly the country itself (except for its summers lol).
I’ve wanted to be a voice actor for as long as I can remember so I while I was here I ended up going to a 専門学校 with my host mother (I won’t say the name of it due to privacy reasons) I instantly fell in love with it, it’s a single building that goes up multiple floors filled with different rooms, from tv recording studios, esports, drawing, programming, all the way to voice acting. I that was about 2 months ago now I think and I am bound to leave Japan on the 12th, something I’m dreading but looking forward as it’ll be the last time for a while I might see my friends, the jlpt is in December and requires and n2-n1 level for me to get into the school, I’m currently studying every way I can to meet that requirement in the 4 months I have left.
I may have problems with some things in japan but I think that opened my eyes to the real country that it is, I cannot wait for the day to say I’m fluent and will strive to become as native level as I can!
Woww, what an amazing backstory! Thanks so much for sharing 🤧 I too was expecting to reach full fluency within 6 months so i understand your feelings of frustration completely 😂😪 I love that you didn’t give up tho. It’s amazing you have a goal of becoming a voice actor, and I wish you all the best in pursuing your dream!! Good luck on the test in December 🥳🎉
@@TokuyuuTV thank you! I Hope to see your channel go far!
Japan was a mystery to me and i started to like japanese games and horror games japanese horror stories was something i began to love. and i also want to visit tokyo when I'm older
Wowww interesting transition from games to horror games, to horror stories in general! What is it about japanese horror stories in particular that’s interesting??
@@TokuyuuTV well you know horror games like fatal frame resident evil white day and mad father, i love puppet combo and chilla's art they make a lot of horror games and chilla's art make japanese horror games
Oh wow i had no idea resident evil was originally a Japanese video game!! 😮
@@TokuyuuTV yeah Capcom is a Japanese Company they first started in Japan
I'm 13 and I started learning Japanese 5 months ago but because I have school I can't study that hard but I can introduce my self talk about my favourite stuff I finished hiragana know a couple of kanjis and I'm still learning katakana.
that’s awesome you’re starting so early! I started when i was 18, so you’re well ahead of me 😝
keep up the awesome work!! 🤧
My reason is to communicate with more people, so it’s like the same thing as to what you said. I love talking with people, and I wish to become a translator! I’m currently studying both Japanese and Spanish and hope I can be fluent in both. Well, that’s it from me, and to everyone,… 皆ーさん、頑張れましょう！
ahhhhh communicating with people is really rewarding isn’t it?? i love it 🤧✨ japanese and spanish are both really cool languages, wishing you all the best!! 頑張れ〜‼️
@@TokuyuuTV うわあああああああああああああああ！ありがとうございます！
Wait wait wait, That's the kintai bridge @0:35. Were you in Iwakuni by any chance? I was stationed over there when I was in the military!
yessss it is iwakuni!! ahahahaha that’s crazy, it’s a really beautiful town - i remember parts of it even today 🤧
@@TokuyuuTV Hahaha, the scene there was super peaceful! Hiroshima was only an hour train ride away, there was a lot to do surprisingly in that small rural area! :D
BRUH SOSUKE BOSUKE i guess ima need to restart my japanese learning bc of this man...
ahahahahahah nothing would make me happier than to be the spark to start your studying again 😝
I mainly started learning Japanese because it's a beautiful language. That's also why I plan to start studying Spanish once I'm confident in my Japanese(probably like 3-5 years).
I love quick sounds. When I play the piano I instinctively play with staccato and 12000000x the normal speed, so fast languages like Japanese and Spanish are music to my ears.
Of course gibberish music rn but music nonetheless
Ahhhhh yes i totally agree, loving the sound of japanese was also a big factor in me wanting to learn it 😍 i also love the amount of abbreviations you can make, which makes it super minimalistic, and therefore easier to speak faster! I’ve never learned spanish, but i totally get the feeling of it being a fast and well-flowing language 😌
Thanks for video. You just inspired me to study it again cuz I gave up and never took it back since February of 2021. But I am sure I will become fluent. But I have a lot of questions , what app do u use to learn how to write kanji and since I am interested in learning can you tell me how to find a reason to study it. I study it but dunno why, but might be bcuz of I am artist or whatever. Thank you❤
studying kanji is necessary for learning how to read japanese! if you want to be able to read japanese books, text japanese friends, order from menus in japan, kanji are essential 😌 and i have a whole video dedicated to how i learned kanji!
So I'm attending university and my proficiency is a japanese translator (which is one of the worst decisions in my life, judging solely from my experience if you really want to learn something, especially languages, you should self-educate, that is most efficient). And since this video came out I was keep rewatching it when I lost passion, was lacking discipline and ect. because I really could relate myself to this story though I haven't been to Japan yet but was quickly enchanted with mere majesty. And lately I've been returning to it more and more until I lost all the passion that was in me. One day I woke up and all my dreams and goals were gone like someone pulled a switch while I was sleeping. The most disappointing thing is that all 3 years I was really try harding with anki, different media, following tips from this channel (if you are struggling with kanji watch a video about it from this channel, I adjusted his method a bit and managed to learn all of joyo with it, of course it takes A LOT of time, but nevertheless, it works perfectly). I think I am able to pass n1, but it all seems needless now. For some reason I stopped caring about Japan at all and the language feels bothersome. Past month I've been absolutely crashed and the most horrifying thing is how am I supposed to earn decent money with only unsatisfied language knowledge. That is truly darkest chapter of my life.
im sorry to hear you feel like you’re losing your passion for japan, i can see why that’s a devastating feeling after putting in years of effort and getting to n1 level. I’ve never had this feeling before, so I can’t say for sure, but it sounds like you’re putting too much pressure on yourself to love japan. At the end of the day, japanese is just a language and japan is just another country which has its awesome features but also its shortcomings, which isn’t enough to be your life’s purpose. I think you have to keep discovering what you’re passionate about, cause it will be many many different things, and japan and japanese will just be one them. For me, i like japan/japanese, making youtube videos, singing, etc. and i can often combine them (make yt videos about japan, sing japanese songs, etc) but it has never just been japan, or else i would also admittedly get tired of it eventually.
I think you can’t be so hard on yourself - you’ve worked extremely hard and consistently to get where you’re at in japanese proficiency, which very few people can do - this is a massive accomplishment. Yet even tho it’s a massive accomplishment, you haven’t completed all you can do in your lifetime. Keep searching for and pursuing passions, and as they slowly build you can learn to incorporate many of them in your life and you might not feel the stress of needing to have one be the centre of your life.
you’re doing an amazing job so far, don’t beat yourself up too much. Wishing you the best! 🥳
@@TokuyuuTV i feel like you're unreal cuz you're so handsome and sincere at the same time 🫠
Hello Lovely, I have a frustrating experience. Not knowing where to begin or hitting a plateau can feel demoralizing and make it hard to hit the books and study like you know you should…Having friends from other cultures makes me more creative. In fresh ways about space and how people create their own world and environment. It is best way to connect between creative thinking and cross-cultural relationships.
I 100% get it; feeling like you’re making no progress when you’ve put in so much time into studying is the most deflating feeling 😪 but like you said connecting with people from different cultures helps make us more creative and changes our perspective. Being able to make these new relationships keeps me motivated through studying 😙
for me, starting to learn Japanese was the most impulsive decision of my life. I was a rebellious 14 year old, almost failing hight school, but I somehow had enormous amounts of motivation for Japanese, which developed into motivation to get better at school at the same time. Looking back I wonder what motivated me, but it was one of my best decisions ever, without Japanese I would have failed high school, but I graduated as third best from my entire grade and went on to pursue economics in the international economics course.
wow that’s incredible!! really happy to hear that your motivation to learn japanese translated into motivation to do well in school 🤧 so interesting you can’t remember what initially motivated you to learn japanese, but you should be thankful for it whatever it is 😝 keep up the amazing work!!! 🥳👏
My reason to studying japanese is that in the future hopefully i will be able to travel to japan an explore the vast wonderful tourist attractions in japan, and now i became more motivated beacause i have a japanese girlfriend now so hopefully in the future i want o be fluent in japanese.
And also in Filipino 🇵🇭
LOVE FROM PHILIPPINES ❤️❤️
When you get the chance to travel and explore japan i promise you won’t be disappointed - it’s an amazing country!! And congratulations on your new girlfriend 🥳 that’ll definitely be extra motivation to study 😝 thanks for all the love and support!! Glad to see my videos are making their way to my filipino brothers and sisters 🤧
Ohh thanks for the extra comment i appreciate that and also you gained a new sub for this kind of content
i never really knew WHY i wanted to learn Japanese. i just felt a connection to it. i was in the middle of learning german when i thought- "why am i learning what THEY want me to learn? it's fun, but i don't think i want this for myself." I'm german, that was the main reason why- my grandparents and much of my family on my mothers side are german, IN germany. i found the idea of language learning fun, but did not feel really any connection to german. that's when i found japanese. there was something telling me "this is the language." my friends had recommended common languages like Spanish or french or even russian to me, but i didn't feel an interest in it. the more i learned about japan the more i realized just how amazing it is there, and how astonishing the culture is. nobody my age really TRIES to learn a new language, that i know personally. and you have absolutely no idea how much discriminative feedback i got from this- I'll tell people about my plans for my future, to one day move to japan, live a calm, organized life. they would laugh at me and tell me id never make it to my dreams, that i should give up and learn Spanish for extra money. or they would do the same, but call me a weeb (i dont watch anime). i want to prove them wrong. sure, people my age want to learn a language like Japanese, Korean, or french. we CAN. we just have to put the hard work into it. I'm trying my best right now. i want to show them i can do this. because the truth is, regardless of age, race, or gender, as long as we put the work in, we can achieve even our wildest dreams.
*dont ever let them control what you love, and what you do. you CAN do this. i know you can.*
i love your determination to follow your passion and learn japanese instead of other more ‘practical’ languages! Ultimately, for learning any language, the most important thing is to keep going. But if you aren’t passionate about the language you’re learning, it’s gonna be really hard to force yourself to learn everyday. I wish you the best of luck ok your japanese language journey, and i hope you achieve your dream of one day living in japan 😙
hey i wanna learn japanese casue i have this friend and she was like I am studying japanse I wish I could talk to someone, and I was like yea I'm here and now I'm just learning Japanese. honestly i keep doing this just picking the most random stuff and finishing it with so much determination and not having anything in the end. i live in India talk in 4 language and have no reason to learn this, i mean absolutely no logical reason but i guess i already started and there is no stopping
ahahahahahahah I absolutely love that origin story, so nice that you’re doing it for your friend too 🥺 reminds me of another viewer who said it started as a hobby but ‘now they’re in too deep to quit’ 😂
I got bored this summer, and so far I've studied hiragana and katakana in less then a month, I like to learn new things
damnnn that’s a really good pace! learning is definitely the best cure for boredom
i m learning japanese counting on the day when i go on my trip to japan i would be able to communicate to some degree ....also i think jp is cool
ahhhh nice!! your trip experience will definitely be enhanced by being able to communicate with people, even just a little bit. keep it up!! 🥳
🙌 .. 👏😁
I started learning Japanese during COVID-19 period. At first it was only a joke with a friend of mine. At that time I was already speaking three languages because of my parents, and everybody was saying that I have talent for languages. But you now what ? I don't think that's true, I was just hard working. It was a sorte of competition of the one who would learn the most. We were just texting us the vocabulary we've learnt and help us through if we found something new to learn. Finally it stoped when the world got back to " normal". Today it's three year later. I'm still studying Japanese, it's not a joke anymore... It has become a goal for my future...
wowww that’s crazy it started as a joke and is still going three years later!! i love that origin story, cause honestly, the ‘sillier’ the reason to start, the more incredible it sounds when people find out how much work you actually put it 😌 keep up the fantastic work!! sound like you’re winning the competition against your friend 😉
I'm trying to learn because I have two Friends that live there now because they're dad died and they're mom could not get a good job because she is not totally fluent in Spanish and that's why I'm trying too learn so I can go visit them and have a good time there because I miss them so much .
awww wow, sounds like two childhood friends who moved back to their home country, always sad to have friends move away 🥲 i think it’s really awesome you want to learn japanese so you can fully enjoy visiting them, sounds similar to my initial motivation 🤧 wishing you the best of luck, you got this!! 🥳💪