A BIG thanks to everyone who emailed and commented on the first mini-series video. It seems like a lot of you are enjoying the content so I’m back with part 2!
I just recently got my Gaijin Card so I thought I would step through what I’ve done since getting my hands on that important piece of plastic. In this episode, I will talk a little bit about opening a bank account in Japan and getting a cell phone.
I’ve received tons of great suggestions on future topics and will try to hit on as many of them as possible here in the upcoming weeks! Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming!
Oh, and please be sure to check out our official facebook page that we just opened yesterday! Aaron and I figured this would be a great way to help our community meet each other and grow stronger. For now, we’ll be uploading videos from our Happy Hour Japan archives but stay tuned because we also hope to add some new, fun content on our facebook page in the not-to-distant future!
Ohisashiburidesu! I made it to Japan safely, and this is my first video from my new home!
Aaron and I are still trying to figuring out what our next version of Happy Hour Japan will be like. So in the meantime, I’ve decided to try creating a simple mini-series about my move to Japan.
I know this may not be as entertaining as our Happy Hour Japan videos, but I hope the information I provide will at least be somewhat useful to those of you out there who are planning to travel or move to Japan in the future.
In this first video, I talk about preparing to go to Japan and what to do immediately after you arrive. Most of the things I introduce in this first video are fairly basic and obvious, but I plan to cover more interesting topics over time.
And a special thanks to all of you out there who sent me messages wishing me luck and for all of you who have sent in your comments and suggestions regarding Happy Hour Japan. We really appreciate it!
Thanks for visiting us at ispeakjapanese.net! Aaron and I are back with our latest episode of Happy Hour Japan.
A couple of months ago, we received an email from one of our viewers asking us to do an HHJ episode on Japanese toilets. At first we thought it might be a little inappropriate, but we’ve since realized that it’s a really important topic to cover…especially if you plan to visit or live in Japan.
We’ll talk about the high-tech ‘washlet’ toilets as well as the more traditional eastern-style toilets that have terrorized foreigners visitors to Japan for decades!
Every time I visit Japan, I inevitably learn or realize something new about the country and its culture. I recently got back from a trip to Japan and this time around was certainly no exception. In fact, I ran into a very unexpected and unfortunate surprise when I ran out of cash while on my trip. Through this experience, I realized just how important cash is in Japan and the troubles visitors to the country often encounter when trying to access their bank accounts back home!
If you have any future plans to visit the country, I highly recommend you watch this episode!
Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting an episode for so long!
We got such a great response on our last video, we decided to make back to back episodes on travel! In this episode, we cover some of our personal tips for finding good deals on airfare, discuss more on places to stay, and each reveal our favorite season to visit Japan.
BONUS!! In this episode we welcome our first guest to Happy Hour Japan, Rob!
In this episode, we’ve taken a suggestion from one of our viewers (Ari) and will talk about traveling to Japan. There’s no way we could discuss everything we want to cover on this topic in a single episode, so think of this as part 1 of an ongoing series!
This time we’ll focus on onsen (Japanese hot springs), trains, and a tip on saving money on hotels. Enjoy!
This past October, I had the opportunity to take 3 weeks off from work and travel with my wife and baby over to Japan to see her side of the family. After working for about a year without any vacation (other than for holidays), It was a welcome and much needed break.
During my 3 weeks there, I had a lot of time to myself to think and to go on long walks in the inaka (country side). Maybe it was just something in the air, or perhaps it was all of the time to myself, but I began to experience a truly liberating feeling after about the first week.
Somehow I came to the realization that even though I was feeling so derailed about my job and life back in the states, nothing was holding me back from doing what I want to do in life. I could have placed an international call into work, quit my job, and life probably wouldn’t get any worse… in fact, I could see it getting better.
We could move to Japan, I could get into web analytics consulting, start an English school, or do a number of other things. I am the only thing holding myself back.
Three weeks felt like a lifetime, but also felt like it was nothing at all. It was better than great. I guess that’s what happens when you spend so much time in a part of the world so different from your own.
When we returned from Japan, I was equipped with the new attitude that I am indeed my own master. I had a new found power to be able to see new opportunities for myself, and realize that my job is a merely hold me over until I decide that I’m not “holding over” any more.
This past October, I had the opportunity to take 3 weeks off from work and travel with my wife and baby over to Japan to see her side of the family. After working for about a year without any vacation (other than for holidays), It was a welcome and much needed break. 