Japanese Talk 01 – Do You Need to Know Japanese to Visit Japan?

Wes and Jenn recently went to Japan for a short trip! So they decided to start off the Japanese Talk Online Podcast talking about the Japanese you need to know in Japan.

The English you find in Japan is very different from when we first visited Japan 8-10 years ago!

[Download MP3] [SoundCloud]

You can find MORE useful tips about learning Japanese on Japanese Talk Online.

What’s In This Podcast?

00:26 – We went to Japan! (Introductions)
01:15 – Do you need to know Japanese to visit Japan?
06:30 – Going to Japan to practice your Japanese and deciphering Japanese from context.
16:00 – Going out of your comfort zone & forcing yourself to speak Japanese (discussing home-stay).
21:25 – Prepping key phrases for Japan.
29:40 – Wrap up!

Resources Mentioned:

italki – Site to find speaking partners and teachers. You can practice with them online and then possibly meeting them in real life in Japan.

Lang-8 – Site for practicing written Japanese and natives will correct them. You can also make friends with people here.

Key Phrases Discussed

I’d like to go to ____ but…
___ にいきたいですが。。。
___ni ikitai desu ga…

It’s not much but…
つまらないものですが。。。
Tsumaranai mono desu ga…

I will humbly accept this.
あまいことばに
Amai kotoba ni

Thanks
どうも
Doumo

Thank you very much (avoid using just “arigatou”)
ありがとうございます
Arigatou gozaimasu

Some Other Useful Articles

• The Benefits of Studying in Japan


• Studying Japanese in Japan


• A Cheap Way to Visit Japan – WWOOF


• Other Travel Japan Articles