talk about the things we wish we knew about Japan before we moved here. Hopefully they're

今日のトピックは、来日前に知っておきたかった事です。

helpful. Hopefully we're not just stupid people. Here's something that I really wish I had

単に私達が無知だった訳じゃないといいけど...

known... This happened on my first trip to Japan, so I was 17 years old. Didn't really

私が来日前に知っていればと願ったのは

speak Japanese. I had like not even the basics down. I knew a few words like ringo and orenji.

初来日の時だから、17歳で、

Your fruits. Seriously, it was bad. But we were shopping and the people at the store

日本語もサッパリでした。

would be like "irrashaimase!" when you go into the store. And I figured they were like

語彙はリンゴとオレンジくらいでした。

saying hi to me, because in Canada you'll go to the store and they'll be like "Hi, how

果物だけ？

are you?" or something. So I was like, oh I guess they're saying hi, I'll say it back.

マジでヤバかった。

So they'd be like "Irrashaimase" "Oh, irrashaimase!" I'd say it back to them. So any of you guys

それで、買い物に出かけた時なんだけど

who speak Japanese know how idiotic that is. Nobody that was with me told me I shouldn't

店員さんが「いらっしゃいませ」って出迎えてくれて

be doing that so I did it several times. And then finally my Japanese teacher who was with

“Hi.”みたいな挨拶だと思ったの。

us saw me doing it. He was like "NONONONONO they're WELCOMING you to the STORE. You don't

カナダだと、店員さんがそんな感じで話しかけてくるから。

say it back." And yeah, that was so embarrassing. I felt like such an idiot. So when you go

だから、私も言い返したの。

to stores in Japan they will say "Irrashaimase" and it means "welcome to the store" and it's

店員「いらっしゃいませ~」 私　「いらっしゃいませ！」

not something that you say back to them. The typical response is to just like ignore them.

日本語ができる人なら、どれほど酷いか分かると思いますが。

Or you could like nod to them and acknowledge that they're there but most people will just

誰も教えてくれなかったから、何度も繰り返したわ。

completely ignore it. It's just something that happens, it's something that they do,

後で、私の日本語の先生が「違う、違う。いらっしゃいませは言い返さない」って教えてくれて。

and it's not rude to not say anything back and not acknowledge them. Yeah, and I was

メチャクチャ恥ずかしかったわ。

surprised by that in the beginning because I felt rude not acknowledging them. Yeah,

とにかく、日本で「いらっしゃいませ」は歓迎の挨拶で

right? Because in America... I still feel kind of uncomfortable with it. Yeah, I'm always

言い返すことはしません。

used to saying hi back, or thank you for welcoming me or whatever. But here you ignore them.

大抵は無視か、軽い会釈くらいで

I still will usually at least smile. I had no idea that Japan was so hot in the summer.

返答をしなくても、特に失礼にあたるとい事はないみたいです。

I was not prepared for the weather here. I don't know why, but when I studied Japan in

最初、返事をしないのが失礼に感じて戸惑ったわ。

Canada we never talked about the weather. From some reason I guess I just kind of assumed

アメリカで店員さんに返答する習慣がついてたから。

it was nothing too extreme. I wish I had known that so I could have brought some proper clothing.

こっちでは特にしないです。

Because it was so hot! It's the humidity. It's so humid in the summer. Literally I would

私は居心地が悪いから、スマイルするけど。

walk out my dorm to go to class and within a couple minutes I would be drenched in sweat.

あと、日本の夏が暑いのを知らなかった。

Yep. Not even a couple minutes, like 20 seconds. It's ridiculous. A lot of places turn on the

だから、全然準備してなくて。

air conditioning really high so once you've been in there for more than 5 minutes then

カナダで日本語を勉強中の時も、気候の話はしなくて。

you can start to get like really cold. So even though it's hot you can see I brought

そんなに暑いはずがないと思い込んでました。

a jacket with me to Tokyo. Your hair will be a frizzy, humid mess. And if you're not

知っていれば、夏服もしっかり持参できたのに。

used to that then you don't know how to deal with it. Because in Canada my hair is always

とにかく、湿度。

smooth and I never have any problems, then all of a sudden in Japan... I have to be so

"蒸し"暑いんです。

careful that I have to put oils and products in it so that it doesn't frizz out in the

寮から出て2~3分で汗だくになりました。

humidity. All the Japanese people will be walking around with perfect hair because they're

2~3分じゃなくて、20~30秒だよ。

acclimated to the weather. And then my hair's just like POOOFSHT everywhere. Do bring products

だからエアコンが非常に強い所もあります。

that you know work for you. You can get stuff here but you'll never know how it's going

確かに。

to turn out. And sometimes it can be really expensive, or sometimes they don't have the

5分もいれば、身体が冷えてきます。

thing you want. Especially for me, lots of different acne medicine they don't sell here.

だから、東京は暑いけど長袖持って来ました。

You can get it online but they're importing it from America online, so... It's a lot more

髪がボサボサになります。

expensive. Bring as many beauty-related products with you as possible. Probably the stuff in

慣れてないと、ホントに大変で。

your own country is going to fit your skin type. You're used to it, you know what works

カナダにいた頃は何の問題もなかったけど、

for you. Hair oils, a lot cheaper in America. Every time I go back to Canada I will bring

日本だと、しっかりオイルとか湿気対策のケアをしないといけません。

definitely bras and underwear, because the sizes are a lot smaller here. And also shoes.

でも街行く日本人の人達は、バッチリ決まってます。

My feet are a little too big for Japanese shoe sizes. How about you? I have a size 7.5

気候に順応してるみたい。

in America for women, and I'm at the largest commonly found size here, which is 24.5cm.

私はボッサボサなのに。

I'm 8. Even like bra sizes, yeah. Bras, yeah. We won't go into details but just know that

使い慣れてるモノを持参した方がいいです。

you can't get probably over like a B cup. And it's not like it's the cups that are the

多分こっちでも買えるけど、ちょっと面倒だし

problem, it's that the band around the rib cage is really small. I guess nobody has a

割高のものもあるし。

large rib cage here. They do have really small rib cages. Yeah, and I have an abnormally

モノ自体がないこともあるし。

large rib cage so even in Canada I need like a big size. But here it's just not going to

私が使ってるニキビ化粧品は売ってないし、

happen. When I first came to Japan I noticed that they didn't have a Wal-mart level store,

ネットで買えるけど、アメリカからの輸入になるし。

which is like very low end. And they don't have one large cheap center like that. That

化粧品はたくさん持参しても損はしないと思う。

has everything. There are cheap stores, like cheap furniture stores and cheap clothing

自国で使い慣れてるのが、きっと1番だと思います。

stores, but there's no like one place that has it all. Right. And because we're used

確かに。ヘアオイルはアメリカの方が安いし。

to finding lots of stores that just have it in one place, I thought that you couldn't

カナダに戻る時はサイズの違いで、いつも下着を持って帰ってきます。

really get cheap stuff in Japan. But you can, you just have to know where to look. So you

あと、靴も。

need to know the names of the cheap stores specifically so you can go there. So for like

私の足は日本では大きい方なので。

furniture stores there's Nitori, which is a very cheap furniture store. There's the

レイチェルは？

catalog Nissen, which is reasonable. They have IKEA here in some cities. For clothing

アメリカ規格だと7.5で、日本だと24.5cmで、大抵1番大きいサイズかな。

they have really cheap stores like Shimamura. It's not like super cool or anything but sometimes

私はサイズ8...

you can find cute stuff there. And they have of course thrift stores here. YES and the

ブラも同じかな。

thrift stores are amazing! I think I just spat in the camera in excitement. The thrift

そうだね。詳しくは触れませんが。

stores here are amazing. They are. The clothes at thrift stores here are trendy so they're

Bカップ以上になると、探すのがちょっと難しいです。

not like really old, like in America--I'm sure it's similar in Canada. Yeah, they accept

問題はカップじゃなくて、バンドの長さが短いことです。

everything. So you'll get like sweaty tshirts with holes in it. It's like why would you

日本人女性は胸郭が狭くて細いからだと思います。

try to sell this? Everything has shoulder pads because it's from the 80s. Oh yeah, yeah.

私はカナダでも胸郭が広い方なので、

But no, the thrift stores here are really good. And there are two types: there's the

その所為で大きいサイズだし。

ones that resell brand stuff so they're kind of expensive, but don't be fooled because

こっちだと大変です。

they have the really cheap thrift stores, too. Yeah, there's both. I could just live

初めて来日して思ったのは、ウォルマートみたいな非常に安い総合大型量販店をあまり見かけないことで

off of thrift stores here. I don't need anything else. That's what I do. This is a little abstract

日本の総合大型量販店は割高なところが多いです。

but I wish I had mentally prepared for how inflexible some companies can be here. I talked

例えば、安い家具のお店とか、安い服のお店とかはありますが、安い総合店はあまりないです。

about this a little bit before kind of, in my shouganai video. Where sometimes you just

欧米系の人は1つのお店で買い物を終えることに慣れているし、

have to accept things the way they are. Shouganai, that's the way it is. Things that we're used

日本ではあまり安いものを買えないと思っていました。

to in America like the customer is always right--and not even being a dick about it,

でも、実際は買えます。ただ、そういった安いお店を知っていないといけません。

but just like things that we take for granted like people giving you extra sauce packets.

例えば、家具ならニトリとか、ニッセンという通販もありますし、

Oh my god that does not happen here. EVER. Do not ask for a sauce packet. They'll look

イケヤがある所もあります。

at you like you're crazy and they won't know how to handle the situation. I just started

安い服だと、しまむらとかもあります。

ordering pizza here because I was missing pizza from not eating it for so long, and

すっごいお洒落って訳でもないですが、良いものもあります。

I like putting crushed red pepper on my pizza. And in America you get like five crushed red

あと、リサイクルストア。

pepper packets or you can ask for more, and if you ask the worker will literally just

日本のリサイクルストアはスゴイです。

put his hand in and grab a giant handful and put it in your bag. And here I asked for ONE

ホントに。

extra crushed red pepper packet. It's a packet this big and they're like... No. We can't

日本のお店はトレンディで、

do that. I was like, it costs you company like 2 yen! Not even. Why can't I have more

アメリカだと古めかしいんだけど、カナダも同じかな？

crushed red pepper?! It's like can I pay extra for one...? Um... no... I don't think that's

うん、何でも受け入れるからね。

on the menu... AHHHH. Yeah, they're not very flexible dealing with things that aren't on

汗臭い、穴の開いたシャツとか。

the menu. Or if you want extra of something or you want something taken out of your burger

80年代の肩パッド付きの服とかも。

or something. You want to customize your order. I don't think you can really do that. No.

日本のリサイクルストアは良いです。

When I first met Jun's family we went out to Gasuto. And I got a burger there and it

また、種類も2つあって

came with onions. And I was like, "I don't really like onions. Can we ask them not to

ブランド品を取り扱う、ちょっと高いお店もありますが、

put onions on it?" And Jun had to talk it over with his mom. He was like, "Can we....

非常に安く売っているリサイクル店もあります。

can we do this?" and they were both like, "I don't think you can do that." And I was

リサイクル店だけで生きていけるよ。

like, "Well, can we just try? Why don't we just ask?" And so they're like "Okay." And

私はそうしてる。

they ask the waiter. The waiter was like, "Um... okay. I'll... try." And then when it

使えるものが沢山あります。

came it just had the onions on it. They didn't say anything about it. They were just like

あと、ちょっと抽象的ですが、来日前に融通の違いを知っておけばよかったと思います。

"Nope. Here's your burger. This is the way it comes on the menu." You just get things

「しょうがない」というカルチャーショックの動画でも少し触れました。

on the menu. And you can take stuff off if you want yourself. That's just how it is here.

受け入れて前に進むという考えに至るのですが、

But I also feel bad asking because you can tell the workers get stressed out because

アメリカでは客の要望に融通するという習慣に慣れていて、単にその違いだけなのですが

they're not used to people asking. They panic. They're like, "I don't know, I need to ask

例えばソースパケットを追加でくれたり

the manager!!" Like, it's just a crushed red pepper packet! You don't have to ask the manager!

もらったこと無いよ。

I just want a packet of pepper! I feel really bad about it. So be prepared. Be mentally

下さいって言わないほうがいいです。

prepared. Use a card for the train. Using the IC card is so easy, so I really wish I

「何言ってんだコイツ？」って顔で見られて、戸惑わせることになります。

had known about that. It took me like 3 years of living in Japan to realize that it was

最近、久しぶりにピザが食べたくなってお店で買ったんですが、

so much easier to use a card. I don't know why but I was always buying the tickets. So

私はレッドペッパースパイスをトッピングするのが好きで、

the problem is when you buy the tickets you have to look at the map, you have to see where

アメリカでは4、5パックくらい付いてくるんですが、

you're going and how much it'll cost. You have to calculate how much it'll cost and

頼めば、鷲づかみで何パックもくれます。

then you have to buy that amount of ticket. So it's kind of a pain in the ass. But if

でもこの前、追加で1つお願いしたら

you have the card, you can fill it up with money and have, say, 2000 yen on your card

この位のサイズですが、

and then you can just BEEP. You don't really have to look at how much your trip's going

「No...できません」

to cost. It'll automatically just take off how much money from your card that your trip

スティック砂糖はよくてペッパーはダメなの？

costs. So it saves you time. There are a bunch of different brands of cards. There's like

１つで良いんです。

PASMO, SUICA... PASMO and SUICA are the two in Tokyo. I think you guys have some different

お金を払ってもダメ？

ones down in Nagoya. Oh, we do, I don't know. I use one I got in Tokyo. So I don't know

申し訳ございません。メニューにありませんので。

the names. SUICA and PASMO are the main ones. Some of them work differently. The one in

メニュー以外の注文にはあまり柔軟ではない所が多いです。

Nagoya has a point system. You build up points and then you get a discount at the end of...

具材にもあまり注文できないと思います。ハンバーガーとかも。

something like that. But anyway it's cheaper to use a card and it's so much more convenient.

Junの両親と初めて会った日にガストに行ったんだけど、

And I feel uncool using tickets now because everyone else uses a card. And they just walk

注文したいバーガーの玉葱を抜いてもらうようにお願いしようとしたら

through like BEEP BEEP BEEP. I'm always surprised when I see someone using a ticket. And I dig

そういう注文が出来るか家族会議が始まって

through my wallet and take out a ticket and I gotta put it in the machine and pick it

私の提案は否決気味で

up. Even if you're just here for a trip, even if you're not moving here, get a card. I think

それでも一応聞くだけ聞いてみようって事で聞いたら、

it costs 500 yen (a deposit) to make a new card. But it's so worth it. I'm sure there

ウェイターさんは「かし、こまりました...」

are tons of things. We'll probably be able to think of more stuff later. Yeah. Do another

で、結局、玉ネギは入ってたんですけど。

video on this. Part 2. There's lots of stuff we didn't know. But for now that's some of

無言でサーブしてくれました。

the stuff we wish we had known before we got here. So I hope it'll be helpful for you guys!

ご注文のバーガーです。

Thank you for watching! Again, check out Sharla's channel if you're not subscribed to Sharla!

メニュー通りです。

Thanks for watching! Bye!

自分で除けて食べればいいんですけど。