I came to Japan having never ever taken any formal classes in Japanese. All I had was about half a year’s effort in reading my wife’s Japanese textbook and watching One Punch man with subs. I was quite confident, to be honest. I can read Hiragana and Katakana characters and I could make out some Kanji characters with my Chinese. I was pretty much mistaken immediately when I arrived in Tokyo. I couldn’t understand what the lady in the ramen shop said when I ordered.
Throughout my 3 weeks here in Oita, it has been a struggle to fill up forms, transfer money and ask for things like the bill. My wife also sent me to find Ibuprofen and print some things today. That was a challenge. Oh and I mentioned I knew Kanji right, well let’s just say reading it and listening to it in speech is very different. And in Japanese, the same Kanji can have more than 3 very different ways to say it, unlike in Chinese. So painful…..
After countless trips to Don Quijote (sometimes more than twice a day), I finally manage to say “I don’t need a bag” to the counter staff. Small victory. Also, it seems that the Japanese people are really patient when you try to speak to them, especially the service staff. I’m more used to impatient looks and people telling me to hurry up. Feels less stressful for a change. Now on to the next thing… getting a haircut.