As a housewife living in Japan, what are the words you use often and areas where it’s more difficult to travel without Japanese?
My life as a housewife started in January 2020 in Japan which was quite interesting and challenging as well, as Japan is not similar to other countries where people know English. Those winter days were freezing but it’s tolerable using winter essentials.
I get to explore Japan at weekends which mostly includes buying vegetables and groceries where we can hear the shopkeepers saying “irrashaimase”. I didn’t know the language so it was very difficult. I had learnt a few words from the internet- “doumo arigato gozaimasu “, “konnichiwa” , “sumi masen “, “toire wa doko desu ka”etc.. and numbers “ichi” to “jyuu”. In places where people speak only in Japanese, I would say “nihongo wakarimasen” and it was very tough to use translate and make them understand.
When it comes to sightseeing or travelling, without Japanese it was very hard to manage. In Japan, public transportation is very convenient to travel where it’s required to get an IC card- Suica/Pasmo with which one can get tickets for buses and JR trains. I remember listening to the word “mamonaku” in train stations when the train is about to arrive. Without knowing Japanese I could not ask for any route help as most people don’t know English and using translation at that time is a big task. During our initial days in Japan, we visited Tokyo Skytree where buying tickets was a bit easier as they provided support in English. Further visiting their Shrine/Temple is not much difficult as not all Shrine require entry tickets. Some sightseeing places in Japan provide English support to help foreigners who come for vacation.
I could understand the importance of the Japanese language within a few days of my stay in Japan. It took 3 months for me to learn the culture and adapt to it. In my opinion, life in Japan is knotty without knowing the Japanese language though it’s manageable. Hence I got enthusiastic to learn the language after seeing the Japanese people who are very humble and kind. The country is also very clean and beautiful. I could also say that it is a safe and secure country for women. If you get an opportunity to travel to Japan to admire the country, culture and the people.
