How To Live In Japan If You Dont Know Japanese?

ghoust.lansex

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Just curious a friend of mine

Wants to come to japan but he asked me this exact question.

Anyone knows any good japanese language school?
 
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Not sure why this was locked.

If you don't speak Japanese, obviously things will be limited for you... but not impossible.

There are plenty of decent Japanese language schools, Google would be helpful for this.

We don't recommend or endorse one school over another.
 
Depends how wealthy he is.
It's easy to get by in Japan with zero Japanese if you live in Roppongi, Akasaka, Azabujuban areas, as these have very big expat communities so cater to people who don't speak Japanese. You pay the premium for it, and have to pay extra for everything else (doctors, dentists etc).
 
There's also jSpeak an app from NTT Docomo for mobile phone and Apple devices. I used it on my iPad while in the hospital for knee surgery three weeks in June. It's not perfect, but it was lots of fun interacting with the nurses and they laughed quite a bit.

NTT Docomo makes voice translator app available for iPhone

NTT Docomo Inc. said Monday that its Jspeak smartphone voice translator application for foreign tourists in Japan has been made available for users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

The app, released in November for smartphones using Google Inc.’s Android operating system, can carry out voice translations between Japanese and five other languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Thai and Indonesian.

The app can be used free of charge until May.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...slator-app-available-for-iphone/#.V7wIH5h94uo

And more info from the Docomo site-it also helps you get around sightseeing and eating out.

http://global.smt.docomo.ne.jp/jspeak2/en/usage.html
 
A school can help you to get started, I recommend to study alone as well. Best way is to study the language by reading and listening to stuff you like. Marty Friedman got fluent in Japanese by reading porn manga. I assume we all share a similar hobby, since we are here on TAG ;-)
 
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As someone's who fluent (albeit I came here young and it's easier to pick up a language at a younger age) I found that by putting myself out there listening reading and speaking in everyday situations helped me a lot. I did do book study for a while but I don't think you should reply on that just use it as a referral
 
There's also jSpeak an app from NTT Docomo for mobile phone and Apple devices. I used it on my iPad while in the hospital for knee surgery three weeks in June. It's not perfect, but it was lots of fun interacting with the nurses and they laughed quite a bit.

NTT Docomo makes voice translator app available for iPhone

NTT Docomo Inc. said Monday that its Jspeak smartphone voice translator application for foreign tourists in Japan has been made available for users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

The app, released in November for smartphones using Google Inc.’s Android operating system, can carry out voice translations between Japanese and five other languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Thai and Indonesian.

The app can be used free of charge until May.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...slator-app-available-for-iphone/#.V7wIH5h94uo

And more info from the Docomo site-it also helps you get around sightseeing and eating out.

http://global.smt.docomo.ne.jp/jspeak2/en/usage.html

I am a little confused, it can be used free of charge until May? May of next year?
And I checked it on iPhone's App Store, it's free for downloading but subscription is required for using.
 
In my earlier days here I just pay and get, my nice colleague helped me dealing with Japanese when it's necessary, such as finding apartment, setting up gas, water, and electricity. And I began to study the language after 2 months of arriving, so I can manage things by myself now though my Japanese will confuse the native people sometimes.

If you want to live in Japan cozily without knowing the language all the time, the answer is being rich, you can always hire people for running errands and escorting you.
 
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My friend is a student, im pretty sure he is not rich, thank you for all the suggestions everyone I will let him know
 
The best bet is to check around facebook and then see which active pages have their own sites. And from the facebook page you can ask the actual students about the school.
 
There's also jSpeak an app from NTT Docomo for mobile phone and Apple devices. I used it on my iPad while in the hospital for knee surgery three weeks in June. It's not perfect, but it was lots of fun interacting with the nurses and they laughed quite a bit.

NTT Docomo makes voice translator app available for iPhone

NTT Docomo Inc. said Monday that its Jspeak smartphone voice translator application for foreign tourists in Japan has been made available for users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

The app, released in November for smartphones using Google Inc.’s Android operating system, can carry out voice translations between Japanese and five other languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Thai and Indonesian.

The app can be used free of charge until May.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...slator-app-available-for-iphone/#.V7wIH5h94uo

And more info from the Docomo site-it also helps you get around sightseeing and eating out.

http://global.smt.docomo.ne.jp/jspeak2/en/usage.html

You were able to use that successfully?

I've found even the best translation apps goof up complex topics. Even when I try to keep sentences simple, there is a pretty good chance it will take a sentence in an entirely different direction.

I use translation apps as dictionaries for the most part.
 
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Learn Japanese. You'll have a lot more fun.
 
You were able to use that successfully?

I've found even the best translation apps goof up complex topics. Even when I try to keep sentences simple, there is a pretty good chance it will take a sentence in an entirely different direction.

I use translation apps as dictionaries for the most part.

Depends on who you are using it with and your purpose.

The nurses loved it!

If I were single, I would now be in nurse heaven.;)
 
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Depends how wealthy he is.
It's easy to get by in Japan with zero Japanese if you live in Roppongi, Akasaka, Azabujuban areas, as these have very big expat communities so cater to people who don't speak Japanese. You pay the premium for it, and have to pay extra for everything else (doctors, dentists etc).

Naaah

You can live anywhere in Tokyo and get by with zero Japanese - it's not like we live on Mars.

I think more people who live in the areas mentioned above should realise this and they would have a much more rewarding experience.
 
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apparently, the less you know, the better youre getting treated... at least it seems that way...

on a more serious note, it is no problem to live in japan without knowing any japanese at all... of course, it is difficult if youre not living in a bigger city, but since everybody wants to live in cool tokyo these days, i guess that wont be the issue here...
 
Despite living in Japan over seventeen years, I speak minimal Japanese, travel far and wide on my bicycle, and have great experiences.

I have always depended on the kindness of strangers and rarely have been let down.



 
Despite living in Japan over seventeen years, I speak minimal Japanese, travel far and wide on my bicycle, and have great experiences.

I have always depended on the kindness of strangers and rarely have been let down.





Despite all the bad crap that happens in the world, the vast majority of people are really nice.

Oh, and since you posted a song from A Streetcar Named Marge, we might as well listen to New Orleans, where the people also nice, but tend to be pirates, drunks and whores.

 
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Just curious a friend of mine

Wants to come to japan but he asked me this exact question.

Anyone knows any good japanese language school?

Find work with family and people from your country. This is how I survived 8+ years with zero Japanese