Comments by "Harry \x22Nic\x22 Nicholas" (@HarryNicNicholas) on "TAKASHii" channel.

  1. in my experience the most important thing to remember is to give gifts, even a small gift, even an envelope with some cash in, otherwise people see you as impolite and uncaring, the japanese will bend over backwards to be helpful, and it's not so much they expect reward as to not acknowledge that you SEE them being helpful is regarded as a major no-no. when i was there last my (now ex) wife spent all her time gift shopping and we made sure we had plenty of english teas and english biscuits to give as gifts. if you bear that in mind the japanese are extremely generous.
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  2. and very confident too, learning a second language fluently is double bonus.
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  3. my (now ex) wife's family lived in kanagawa and i tell people outside their front door was a car park, and in the car park is a small cemetery, and behind that is a golf driving range, and beyond that an american airforce base, and blackhawks and F16's circle over their house all day. amazing. they seem okay with the americans and although i didn't get chance to talk about the war, they didn't seem bothered about the history of the american presence.
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  4. not to detract from her taking risks or your admiration, japan is probably one of the safest places to live in. SOME people can be difficult, there is prejudice and crime, but if i was told i had to leave my home country, i'd pick japan without hesitation. it's not gut wrenching to decide to live there, it's actually logical.
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  5.  @mannyechaluce3814  and?
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  6. we need more sympathetic governments, just in the last five years here in the UK i've seen mental health care decline because of government cuts, it's dishonest government in the UK, people who don't care how others live.
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  7. just so you know, there are still a lot of people wearing masks here in the UK, i go to central london often and although people are more relaxed a lot are still complying. i've been to new york, it's filthy. my (now ex) wife said she could never bring her parents to england cos they would have heart attacks, it's so dirty, the people are so rude and the food is plastic 🤣 the japanese are so fussy!
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  8. i heard a japanese saying that you need more facilities for parents, creche's and kindergarten, child minders. the one BIG problem is the work ethic, even the students are working long hours and i am also told that even if you take a formal holiday you have to have a good reason or you get shunned by colleagues - the hours are too long to have families. space is at a premium, my in-laws in japan live with their parents even after marriage and children because housing is at a premium. all difficult things to solve, but all things that are recognisable problems that can be directly addressed.
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  9. yes, sport, i root for england, but i root more for japan cos england sucks. lol. (my ex is japanese, so my son is part japanese, and having traveled there i have great loyalty to my foreign family).
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  10. the escalator problem - i don't have the answer, but i will say when i ask my (now ex) wife the translation of words or symbol i will get a different answer every day for a week. some things cannot be explained apparently. lol, also with the mexican guy, before i met my ex wife i was dating a girl who was born in peru, she has relatives all over the world, her father is belgian her mother french, they had a place in spain and a flat in paris, and she seemed to have a relative in every country, it was odd listening to her talk to family on the phone because she would mainly speak french but with a bit of german and then the occasional english word thrown in, and the oddest thing was i asked her what "mage touts" translated to (to me it would be "eat everything" and she didn't realise it was french!
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  11. lol, this channel gives the term "diversity" a whole wider scope, "half japanese, half trinidad, raised in canada" oh brave new world.
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  12. i would say that drugs and alcohol are the RESULT of their situation rather than the cause, as someone else pointed out the japanese expected "a job for life" and when made redundant they couldn't get new work, i doubt that many homeless are homeless by choice or design. my (now ex) girlfriend is schizophrenic, she just can't hold down a job, she can't adjust to living in shared space, it's actually governments that put people in this position because mental healthcare in particular is so poor and care is so expensive, if we want to solve these problems. they need money....
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  13. shinto is my favourite religion, if i had to choose one that would be it. at least i know i have ancestors. xianity, islam and most other religions are silly and make no sense if you look close enough. having respect for nature and each other is much more useful than threatening people with hell.
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  14. these interviews are really good, even if you disregard the subject you find such interesting people to talk to.
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  15. i fail to see how christianity helps, unless you like to fantasise that everything will be alright and someone else is going to take care of you. shinto makes much more sense than the talking snake cult.the suicide rate seems to be high because the japanese tend to be overly conscientious, i think if you fail in the west you just deal with it cos everybody fails at something, but the japanese take failure way too seriously, and "ending it all" has been traditionalised as "honourable" when it clearly isn't the answer to any problem. and religion isn't going to help cos the emphasis is on the afterlife, xianity teaches this life isn't the main event. japan is similar to the UK in respect to religion, better to take religion with a large pinch of salt than to become dependent on a deity - who doesn't actually exist. if you fail, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start over, sod what anyone else thinks.
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  16. i love japan and the japanese so i'm biased but these interviews are really positive, and the attitude of takashi reflects japan i think, another good interview. i'm 69 and tempted to move there!!! and ah! that lis interesting cos i haven't been to japan since 2004, but navigating trains has always been a big problem, and i assumed from what i;ve been told more english is in use, so to hear that trains are still not in english (and fair enough, why should they be) then that's an eye-opener.
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  17. my (now ex) wife used to grade nationalities by body odour, watch out for that when you're with the japanese, personal hygiene is paramount, she said i smell like a pencil (i'm a graphic designer).
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  18. the hugging thing is interesting, my (now ex) wife used to be embarrassed about holding hands in public! open signs of affection are frowned upon apparently.
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  19. my (now ex) wife was impressed with my business card. lol. very japanese. we shouldn't have married really, but she was irresistible, we still see each other often, mainly to talk about our son, but all my ex girlfriends have been brilliant, it's me that's crap at relationships. faithful, but crap.
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  20. lol a perfect english accent would be more impressive :)
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