Hello guys, my name is Max, I'm from Sweden and I'm currently studying at Toyo Language School
in Nishi-Kasai
What you see behind me is International Day Festival here in Nishi-Kasai
Our school, Toyo Language School, is currently serving food from four different countries
We have Sweden, Thailand, South Korea and France
And so far, everyone here in the local community of Nishi-Kasai has really been enjoying our food
Here we are trying our best to cook Swedish food
with the actual ingredients that we could find in a Japanese supermarket
I think it's cool that there's such a diverse crowd here
and I've already made so many friends from countries that I've never even interacted with
Even in America, they call it a mixing bowl of cultures but I have a Thai friend,
I have a Korean friend, a friend from Sweden here, and I really think it's cool
So far, I've only been here for two months,
but I feel that I'm already very integrated into the local society
All the native Japanese people are really kind to me, and I really feel at home here
even though it's only been two months
And I've got friends from all over the world already, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, China, Hong-Kong
So far I'm really enjoying it
It almost doesn't even feel like a Japanese language school, it kinda feels like an international school
and I really like that about here
Because there's a bubble
Even if I didn't know how to speak Japanese, the people here are nice enough
that they would help me out if I needed something
If I look lost on the train station or something, the Japanese people would come up to me and ask me
"do you need help?"
If you come to Japan, you'll have more time for yourself
In this school you have classes in the morning or in the afternoon
So when you're done you have free time to go in town, get to know people and speak Japanese
If you want to study Japanese, I think that Japan...
well obviously, but what I mean is that
Intensity. The intensity is different, and you can really enjoy learning the language here
That's an earthquake simulator
They try to teach people how to act during an earthquake
It seems pretty cool
Being here makes a huge difference
When you get here, if you don't speak a word of Japanese people won't understand you
So you really need to work
I feel that Nishi-Kasai is a living area
It feels like the local neighborhood that you come from back in your home country
There are families walking, people walking their dogs,
You can find waterfalls in the middle of the road
It feels really family friendly and casual
If you come to Nishi-Kasai you will know, but it's the part of Tokyo where you can find
the most parks and nature
It's known as a suitable place for Japanese people to live
There's a whole lot more nature here, so it makes it almost feel not like Tokyo
If I had to choose between Shibuya or here, I would choose here
It's much more quiet, we are 15 minutes away from the city
So we have everything close by
It is calm here so you can peacefully study in a quiet environment
We don't have all the permanent noise from the city
Tokyo never sleeps, it must be terrible if you live downtown
Here in your everyday life, when you see your friends in the morning you would say "ohayo gozaimasu"
Like, greeting the people in the supermarket, the teachers
You're pretty much forced to speak Japanese and I feel that
it makes it much more effective to actually learn and become fluent in the language you're speaking
Every two weeks, we have what we call a "doyo cafe", where the school invites local people from here
to come and discuss about a topic that is decided and we share opinions with Japanese people
The district of Edogawa is a place where many Japanese people live
so many of them are invited to be a part of our classes
and help our students in their studies
We invite 1000 people per year
1000 Japanese people come to the school to help the students during some classes
We are waiting for you in Nishi-Kasai!