Can you survive in Japan without a word of Japanese… As a traveller?
According to wikipedia, just shy of 32 million people visited Japan in 2018 and you can be sure that the vast majority were not fluent speakers of Japanese. So simple survival, at least in terms of meeting one’s basic needs; is seemingly not a prominent issue.
Visitors are able to find food, shelter and visit the requisite tourist attractions for their entire journey without incident and without any knowledge of the Japanese language. They even manage to navigate the public transport system, at the very least in Tokyo where for example Tokyo Metro provides helpful maps and apps in English (and 6 other foreign languages) as one might expect in large metropolis.
Does this mean that traveling in Japan feels the same as say, visiting France in terms of the extent to which English is spoken, or how easy it is to get by? In this author’s experience – certainly not. Straying even slightly off the beaten path will lead you to fairly significant challenges even on the basics.
Let’s take grabbing some lunch as an example to illustrate the point. Imagine you’re in Italy, visiting a beautiful coastal town and feel like having some pizza for lunch. I find it hard to imagine an English speaker who wouldn’t recognize the meaning of a sign with the word “pizzeria” written above an eatery.
What about when you get hungry during your travels in Japan? You might see as sign such as the one below a typical town in Japan… Do you have any idea what is going on here? I’ll give you a clue, it’s not pizza, but something you might think of eating when in Japan…
This is not intended to be a criticism or denigration of Japan in any way. There is no reason to expect signs to make sense to foreigners, indeed why should they? You’re just as unlikely to see signs in Japanese in New York City (with perhaps the notable exception of Japanese restaurants) so why should a double-standard be applied?
Rather, this example is pointing to some of the practical issues you may face as a traveller in Japan. You may be familiar with many elements of Japanese cuisine or culture; but the moment you arrive in Japan you will find yourself from time to time functionally illiterate in a way that doesn’t happen when you travel to a place which uses an alphabet based on latin. It will of course occur in other places, for example in Russia where the Cyrillic script is used; but that is a subject for another time.
Despite these challenges, Japan is a relatively easy place to travel overall. The standard of living is very high, hotels (and almost everything else) are exceptionally clean, petty crime is virtually non-existant and trains run on time. Missing a sign here or there is a relatively minor problem for the traveller.
With the upcoming 2020 Olympics, even more effort is being made to smooth out and refine the experience for visitors to Japan; so you can expect that more of these kinds of barriers to be lifted in the near future.
Overall, visitors to Japan can safely assume that they can travel here and have a great experience without any Japanese language skills whatsoever. Knowledge of the language would of course give you access to a deeper experience, but this is a bonus rather than a necessity.
What about residents of Japan?
What about for those living here? Perhaps it is reasonable to assume that those same basic needs required by visitors will be sufficiently met without access to the local language. Similarly, the basic challenges also translate fairly directly. Living in a place however, brings different pressures. One needs to interface with one’s local authority, pay taxes, arrange health insurance, see the doctor, drive a car, find a job… The list goes on.
Living in a place though brings different pressures. One needs to interface with one’s local authority, pay taxes, arrange health insurance, see the doctor, drive a car, find a job… The list goes on.
Different contexts
If you live in a large, metropolitan city in an English-speaking country, there may be many people living there who are not fluent English speakers. Maybe they do just fine – but you want to swap language skills with them when applying for a job, or reading the terms and conditions of a pension plan?
Even if you’re not convinced yet, please also try to take into account the differences in context between your home country and Japan. According to U.S. census data, in 2016 more than 15% of the adult population in the U.S. spoke a language other than English at home. Many English-speaking countries have a much longer and more developed societal experience of living together with foreigners and those with limited skills in the local language.
Japan is not the same. Historically isolated or at least insulated from outsiders; Japanese society is much less used to foreigners in general, but particularly so in the context of foreigners living in Japan. Although things are changing rapidly, and the country is making moves towards embracing and welcoming foreign residents, Japan is still a way off from being a place that English speakers can smoothly integrate into.
The reality is that to be a functional member of society; one who is free to enjoy the rights and uphold the responsbilities of a resident, will require a rather significant degree of Japanese language skill.
Is this not what you wanted to hear? Are you really that surprised?
When you first move to Japan, you may need somebody to “hold your hand”, getting you through opening your first bank account and other early steps you may need to take to have a reasonable quality of life. There is no shame in this, not everybody moves here by choice or with enough notice to join an intensive language course; not to mention whether they have any intention of learning the language.
If you plan on living in Japan for any significant length of time, acquiring even a basic understanding of the language will pay dividends in terms of your independence, ability to build social bonds with Japanese people and the scope of your career options.
It is difficult to assess the impact of language fluency on your own life in Japan without becoming fluent in the first place. Whether you want to aim for native-level fluency or just the basics; if this is a challenge you are willing to accept, JP lifehacks aims to provide content which will help you move towards this goal.
This post is the first in a series addressing whether you need Japanese to live in Japan. If you enjoyed this content, please feel free to comment and check in from time to time for updates.