many places only accept cash I've had
that situation too and I just wanted to
pay the bill for an expensive steak
people are cosplaying just randomly on
the streets it is really not like that
it's not like they don't have these
emotions they do have that but they keep
it to themselves and wait for the right
time plays an occasion kind of thanks
tpo seems to be a big thing here in
Japan
hey guys and gals its Cathy cat right
now I'm here in front of Harajuku
station one of the most popular tourist
spots when tourists come here to Japan
however this time I'm gonna go and talk
with you about 10 common misconceptions
that foreigners have about Japan
[Applause]
[Music]
okay number one is a misconception that
has brought many foreigners into a lot
of trouble and that is that many
foreigners think you can get easily
wifer at every corner and that you can
use your credit cards everywhere it does
not work like that yes Japan is trying
to give out more free Wi-Fi in several
areas is very slow in places some
stations to have it but it's not as
widely spread as it for example is in
Europe same thing with credit cards many
places only accept cash I've had that
situation too when I just wanted to pay
the bill for an expensive steak and they
were like we only accept cash that was
embarrassing that will happen to you so
always be sure that he carries some cash
in you and I also know a friend of mine
who has a big problem with her credit
card it's a normal credit card I guess
we though master but it just does not
work in Japan so she came here and she
suddenly found herself not being able to
pay for her in because her card isn't
working so always have a back-up plan
maybe have a different credit card with
you of a different maker or make sure
you have any other means of cash on you
because you might find yourself in a
situation where you really really need
just normal like the normal hard cash so
always make sure you have a couple of
yen bills and a couple of coins on you
so you don't get into any very
embarrassing situations here in Japan
[Music]
another common misconception here is
that everyone loves anime and manga in
Japan and that people are cosplaying
just randomly on the streets it is
really not like that it is a hobby like
anything else and there quite a lot of
Japanese people who've never even like
watched anime admire once they've grown
up so something some people just grow
out we've interviewed a couple of normal
people on the streets in Japan and most
said no we interviewed a couple of
cosplayers at a cosplay event
says obviously yes however thing is that
many people will concept for example the
fashion in Rome right now is cosplay
which it is not and you can generally
not cosplay on the streets in Japan
unless you have a permission unless
there's an event there quite a lot of
rules around that and the nuances might
be very hard to understand for people
who come here the first time I get it a
lot with tourists here in Japan who
think it's okay to just take pictures of
me because I dress like this which it is
not so your general needs to be polite
and friendly to the people around you as
well so there's quite a lot of
misconceptions about the idea how people
dress here if that's cosplay or not and
like I said not everyone loves anime and
manga number three is that Japan is
weird and wacky you've seen the crazy
shows maybe takeshi's castle there loads
of things because like round Japan is
such an absolutely crazy country when
many people realize it's really not many
of things that you see on TV are made
for TV and actually you know what Japan
is probably the exact same image about
your country because the Japanese media
does the exact same thing and picks up
the weirdest thing in your country and
shows it as if everyone does it on a
normal day level so really careful of
course a couple of fascinating things
here and that you go like wow that's
exciting that's kind of crazy but there
may be branded to actually that to be
that crazy so they will attract tourists
they will attract customers or some
curtain kind of business so always like
hurtful things like that
Japan is a lot more cool and calm down
than you might expect it to be
Yodas Koenig Isis number for Japan is
very very expensive that uh totally
depends on you actually when do you book
what offers are there there's recently
very cheap flights to Japan if you find
a cheap flight and then find yourself
some kind of cheap accommodation you can
come here much easier than it used to be
in the old days like these and many many
years ago when the bubble economy in
Japan was a thing of course it was
expensive during those times but right
now actually traveling to some other
countries is much more expensive so if
you plan in advance and cleverly
planning at once you can get some real
bargains we've interviewed foreigners
coming to Japan and they all told us how
much it is to travel from their country
to Japan it really depends on your span
spending habits where are you from and
how early do you book so maybe check out
those videos and also have a look edit
yourself and just plan cleverly so you
don't have to work harder to make the
money but smarter and actually book a
better journey food waste it seems to be
quite a lot of misconceptions here in
Japan one of them is that leaving food
is good because it's a compliment to the
chef or that people in Japan eat cats
and dogs seriously guys you need to look
into those food habits and if you're
actually looking at the right country
because it does not like that year for
example one thing in Japan is it's
actually kind of impolite to leave just
plain white rice behind because the old
thinking of it is like how hard the
people that farmers worked to actually
get every little rice corn so you
shouldn't actually leave right rice
behind so maybe in restaurants it's
actually more polite to ask for a
smaller portion of rice than actually
leaving quite a lot over especially if
you visit someone if you have a host
family and such try not to leave the
white rice behind number six you can use
English pretty much everywhere you'll be
alright to get round Japan without
knowing much Japanese ideally if you
know a little bit of English and
Japanese ideally if you know live of
Japanese it will help you go a long way
in Tokyo people are really really trying
to crack down on issues where there is
not enough English supply their English
maps now there's like
information the trains especially for
the Olympics however there are many
areas especially once you go to rural
Japan you don't get that far with just
English every little bit of Japanese
house but again then communication wise
trying to just like gesture have a
little book with you and stuff helps you
but don't expect English to be the
language with which you can hope like
talk with everyone that that's a bit of
an issue I've seen a couple of people
struggle with that so you know bring a
Japanese book or a translator so you
don't get stuck number seven it's okay
to swear show strong emotions or say
sexual things in public which is is it's
not like that maybe in your country it's
like funny too square maybe in your
country is totally ok to talk openly
about sexual sexual relationships things
like that maybe unique country is
totally cool to like Center no table and
start crying because like that guy just
really upset you in Japan you don't see
either of those free Japanese people
really keep to themselves is quite a lot
of things and they will not share
certain emotions ideas and well sexual
things unless you're really really close
with someone if you break that to them
we can come on on is a little bit
intense before it is have the kind of
reputation of being very passionate
about quite a lot of things while
Japanese people it's not like they don't
have these emotions they do have that
but they keep it to themselves and wait
for the right time plays on occasion
kind of things TPO seems to be a big
thing here in Japan so try to not stand
out in a negative way or too strong away
don't come on too strong generally and
keep those things a little bit on the
quiet side until you know that people
actually feel comfortable with these
kind of things just watch out for that
and that would be to talk critically or
have critical discussions about Japanese
people Japanese culture Japanese customs
generally talking negative about Japan
isn't really sitting well with most
Japanese people especially if you just
wanna you know you want to have a real
discussion you want to ask them about
wheels you want to ask them about
Fukushima when I asked them about a
couple of things those are the kind of
topics such a penis people don't really
like to talk about as much and
again once you feel comfortable with
people you might be able to do that by
just going up to Japanese priests on
starting a full-on argument with your
opinion about whale hunting and stuff is
a very very behind idea and you don't
make yourself many friends with that so
voicing your opinions I know I'm not
saying you to keep your opinions in but
I'm just warning you that it won't sit
well with Japanese people so make sure
that you know someone well enough and
see if they're actually kind of person
who take a debate well before you start
that kind of stuff your school megasis
do Japanese people have the spirit of
the samurai or they're actually samurai
and ninja around in modern-day Japan
they're just very good at hiding now
this is a part of the Japanese culture
that is pretty much gone now I'm afraid
of course it lives on in the culture as
different parts but you won't find
ninjas in samurai here unless they are
attractions it's a little bit like you
know people dressing up like people from
the Roman Empire that kind of thing so
just be careful don't expect them to be
here unless they're a tourist attraction
[Music]
number 10 it is easy and pretty much the
same as it is in your country to date a
Japanese person know who they're quite a
lot of cultural connotations that come
in when you dating Japanese people and
they might be surprisingly different
compared to your country so you might
want to have a look into that otherwise
you might offend people scare them off
I just really go towards the wrong
direction also one thing that really
surprised me that I learned from living
Laura here in Japan dating might still
be closer to the things that you are
used to in your country however was it
comes to marriage the tables don't lead
her and they're totally different
responsibilities that just be careful
about that when you come to Japan
[Music]
misconceptions about Japan you know guys
I could talk all day the stuff I hear
sometimes is shocking and I'm sure you
heard some crazy rumors and
misconceptions about Japan before to go
share them with us in the comments I
want to read those I want everyone else
to see this let's check them out
together and see what run two
misconceptions they are maybe we can
pick it up for a future video thank you
so much for watching if you found this
funny please give this
like and if you knew don't forget to
subscribe for most of here from Japan
took you right now beautiful weather and
I hope I catch you soon
from what stuff here honest Japanese
this is Cathy cat and I catch you soon
[Music]