A drivers license!!

You don't have to apologise for using big paper bills.

When you go shopping you don't have the German packing haste!

Bring your bags! meaning....

Otherwise it will be harder, or more expensive!

The Horror... sometimes....

Wear your home slippers.

Hey guys it's me CathyCat! If you don't understand German,

there are subtitles down below, so click on the little gear to switch on English subtitles.

For everyone else, let's start this in German.

Guys this time I will tell you some small common mistakes that Germans do in Japan

Try and remember those, so everything will go smoothly for your Japan visit.

Here are 8 things, little mistakes, that Germans often end up doing in Japan.

Number 8

Those are not "Zebrastreifen" (pedestrian right of way crossings)

In Germany when we have those white stripes on the street

which are called Zeebra stripes. There, pedestrians generally have right of way.

Now that's not the same in Japan.

These stripes are only there to indicate,

that that is a crossing for pedestrians.

Similar to the stripes we have left and right to indicate where the crossing is.

If you get that wrong....

like I did......

that could be really dangerous.

The first time I came to Japan,

I was almost hit by a car...

Because I thought those stripes indicated that pedestrians had right of way...

Wonderful!

I walked across the street while all my Japanese friends screamed

NOOOO CATHY NOOOOOOO

They just about managed to stop me from walking into that car....

Because the CAR did not STOP at all.

The driver didn't look out as much either.

That was a pretty dangerous situation there.

So those Zebra crossings don't exist like that in the same way.

In Japan there are specific pedestrian crossings,

where cars should stop. You can't always tell which they are.

The stripes on the street, that look to Germans like Zebra crossings...

are only an indication that that is where pedestrians could cross

You have to be JUST as careful crossing as when you're crossing somewhere else.

Look right left right or left right left

So be careful. They are not prioritizing pedestrians there!

Number 7

Having a drivers license from Germany can get you further than you might know. Many seem to think

that, because people drive on the left in Japan,

and because Germans drive on the right side....

and that is why the German drivers license is invalid here.

Ah uh!

Wrong thought! You can use your German driver's license here in Japan, and drive here.

However you have to let it get TRANSLATED officially.

Together with the official translation, and a normal German driver's license

you can drive here on the streets of Japan. I know right!!!!!!

It might sound very challenging and intimidating but

it is legal here in Japan.

Not all countries have it that easy.

Germans got an advantage there.

However this only works within one year with that translation.

If you decide to stay longer than one year, you will have to apply for a Japanese driver's licence.

Number 6. You don't have to apologise for paying with big cash notes.

I know in Germany, when you get a 50 Euro note and you pay with that at a magazine stand...

Or even a 100 Euro bill....

if you try to pay with that in Germany....

Then we Germans tend to apologise to the Cashier saying "I am sorry, that's the only cash I have..."

In Japan this is generally not a problem.

Maybe that's a leftover from the Bubble Economy of Japan

When many Japanese people used to carry a lot of money on them

So generally paying with large bills is commonly not a problem.

It might still be on a small flea market

it might be different. But in common stores

you can pay with large Yen bills.

You don't have to apologise for that!

Remember this Germans.

Number 5

When you go shopping you don't have the packing - stress

In Germany we commonly have a race to pack everything up as quickly as possible

at the cashier, cause we have to.

Because of the next person behind us. It's really like that, right guys?

In Japan we don't have to run that race.

Generally, there are either packing stations behind the casiers,

after paying or...

Or sometimes the cashier packs it up for you in Japan.

That means you really don't have to be worried about it.

And you don't have to stress or hurry.

I find that really nice and I admit I like that a lot.

You don't get the pressure to pack everything up as fast and run off.

I like it.

But with our Number 4 we stay on the topic of packing!

Number 4 is....

Bring... your... BAGS!!!

This means... In Germany we are used to shop with eco friendly cloth bags

and in Japan it is not quite the same. Meaning...

In almost every store, for almost everything,

you instantly BOOM get a PLASTIC BAG.

You will get so many.

I have once gotten a tiny plastic bag for some chewing gum.

So please bring your eco bags with you.

Otherwise you will find yourself....

with about 10 bags at the end of the day.

10 plastic bags and some of them are tiny, medium

all kinds of plastic bags... that you don't generally want.

Bring your eco friendly bags AND tell the cashier as fast as possible!

We were just on the topic of packing.

They cashiers are so fast at packing, you can't even react that fast!!!

You look at your wallet, you look up and suddently

everything is in plastic bags!

They are SO FAST!

Meaning...

seriously tell them early, or show your eco bag to the cashier.

Some super markets are currently not giving out bags straight away

but that is not common yet.

Some, when you say you have a cloth bag...

will take off 2yen off your bill or give you extra points on a points card.

But generally, especially in convenience stoes...

You get a bag without asking in jiffy.

So seriously...

Bring your bag and mention it fast

otherwise you'll end up with your bag and another plastic bag still.

The worst thing that once happened was.....

He packed it into a bag I said "Stop! No!"

"Please let's not waste plastic, I brought my own" he said "Is that so?"

And then he pulled the chewing gum out of the bag...

And threw the plastic bag right into the garbage....

And I thought... "Nooo I didn't mean things to come to this!!!"

Number 3

In German you might get used to nice bread and cereal

In Germany we love our breakfast and sometimes our tables are bending

with all the stuff we put on it.

In Japan the breakfast is different, a totally different type

which is great too.

It will be hard for you to get bread and cereal

and other "normal" things here in Japan. That includes types of dairy

like specific types like clotted cheese and similar.

It's hard to find things like that here.

Very hard.

Please don't come here expecting to find bread and muesli cereal.

And you will have to really look for it if you want it.

Generally, those Germans who live in Japan for several years...

Bring their own bread back from home, once they visited Germany.

Or they bake it themselves. Because after some time you tend to miss it.

Please don't expect common German breakfast items to be here, that will be difficult

or expensive or hard to get.

Number 2////

The horror!!!! Sometimes...............

Germans make the vital mistake........

to go to the shelf that says "sausages"

And you might think they are sausages, though they are wrapped in funny plastic....

and they have anime characters printed on the plastic........

but then.....

when you try eating them.....

and you expected.....

you wished...

it could have been a normal sausage....

but then the truth shows....

that some of their sausages here.... are made with FISH.

LOL

To be honest I am a sausage snob.

I am very hard to please.

But the fish sausages...

I tried it several times and every time thought "NO!!!"

No nonononono the horror the horror!!!!

So fellow Germans....

that every sausage here is a normal sausage. It could be a fish

a fish sausage in disguise!

The horrrooorrrrr

Number 1

Germany and Japan have one thing in common!

That's the custom of taking shoes off in people's homes and wearing slippers.

Yes and you might think, that it's exactly the same...

It's unfortunately not.

In Japan it's more strict. If you forgot something in the house in Germany

you might be tempted to tiptoe back in with outdoor shoes

Boo boo you can't pull that stunt off.

And then within the house there are different types of slippers to use.

Normal slippers

Guest slippers

Toilet slippers.

And then maybe slippers who are only worn on the balcony or terrace.

And you can't interchange them.

The balcony shoes are only for the balcony.

The toilet shoes are only for the toilet.

And then the normal slippers for the rest.

Walking with your toilet slippers is a faux pas...

You might make everyone laugh if you do that.

And accidentally wearing the balcony shoes inside the house could....

be a bit of problem because ... the outside of the house is generally seen as dirty

They are a bit stricter than in Germany.

And then also...

all those types of shoes have to be taken off if you have tatami straw mats.

On those you should only be wearing socks or go barefeet onto them.

That's a custom.

It's easy to get this wrong but now you're informed right.

So those were our 8....

things and mistakes that Germans in Japan often do.

I hope you enjoyed this video.

We are making videos in English, Japanese and German!

Would be lovely to see you around this channel for me and you enjoyed this

For me it's always a challenge to speak German again....

I always feel like my German sounds funny.

I think I might have made it somehow this time.

In case you can think of common errors and mistakes

that people do in Japan

Let us know in the comments down below. Even if you are not from Germany then let me know

what kind of mistakes people from your country often tend to do in Japan.

I am looking forward to your comments.

I wish you a lovely day and I see you for more on Ask Japanese. Bye!

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