Hi everyone,
We are a small elementary school volleyball team from Japan 🇯🇵🏐

Our town faces harsh seasonal weather—heavy snow in the winter ❄️ and intense heat in the summer ☀️.
Right now, our young athletes are training hard and sweating every day in the scorching summer heat 💦.

For a small town like ours, the children’s challenge is truly remarkable.
This summer, they will compete in the Japan National Championship, the biggest stage for youth volleyball in our country, held in Tokyo 🗼✨.

Traveling all the way to Tokyo is a significant financial burden for our community.
We need support to cover transportation costs for safe travel 🚐 and accommodation expenses 🏨.
Recently, Japan has seen a surge in international tourism, and hotel prices in Tokyo have risen sharply 📈, making the trip even more expensive for families in our small town.

We are raising support to ensure that every child can participate without financial worry.

👉 Our project is hosted on READYFOR, a trusted and long‑established crowdfunding platform in Japan.
International credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted, so supporters outside Japan can contribute safely and without any issues.

Here is our project page: https://readyfor.jp/projects/nanjyo

Thank you so much for reading.
We would be truly grateful if you could support the children of our small town, who are giving everything they have to pursue their dream on the national stage.
Your kindness will become a powerful force for their future ✨🌈

Hey everyone!

I’m currently planning my move to Japan for language school and could really use some real feedback from people who have been through this process.

My end goal isn't just learning Japanese for fun. I want to hit JLPT N2 as fast as possible and then enroll in a Senmon Gakko in Fukuoka. Specifically, I'm aiming for creative/media tracks: Video Production, Content Creation, Digital Media.

Right now, I'm looking at options like FFLC (Fukuoka Foreign Language College) and Aiwa Language Institute, but I’m open to hearing about other solid academic schools.

If you’ve studied in Fukuoka with a similar track, I'd super appreciate your insights:

1. Which language schools in Fukuoka actually have strong career counseling and solid tracks for getting into local vocational colleges?
2. How strict/supportive are these schools when it comes to getting your N2 and prepping for college interviews?
3. Any specific recommendations for creative/media-focused Senmon Gakko in Fukuoka?
4. Are there any hidden downsides or red flags with specific schools in Fukuoka I should watch out for?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

I'm a pretty ignorant American and was just curious, are the mannerisms, social circles, and the way people get treated realistic compared to anime counterparts. I've seen a lot of anime and in romance anime specifically every character shares very similar traits and I was wondering if the way people act in these shows is it all comparable to the way people act in real life in Japan or if it's just formula based show making. Sorry for my ignorance but it's genuine curiosity.

Ok story time. i'm B1-ish, been studying ~1.5 yrs and yk how the japanese are with their social etiquette, i was trying super hard to get the politeness bit right.

Met my jap friends dad for the first time and used omae to him. casually bc anime made it sound totally normal. And there was dead silence. Turns out i've been collecting rude japanese from anime for years and using it in real life like it's neutral. "omae", "kisama", ending everything way too casually.

how bad did i mess up?

🏠 No English signs, no menu displayed, nothing to catch your eye. If you don't know they're there, you'll walk right past them.

In my time in Fukuoka, I stumbled across a couple of this places, specially in Hakozaki. If you've ever been to the city, you'll probably know that most famous restaurants are in Tenjin. But if you take the blue subways line to Hakozaki, you'll find some AMAZING food.

I can recommend this udon place called "Hakotaru" in Hakozaki. If you are ever in this city, I'd recommend it almost more than anything else - Probably the best meal I ever had in this country - and I lived there.. so

I'm playing this game called Tekken and there's two girl characters that yell something like this quite often.

Yahoo!知恵袋で投稿した時に、「不適切な言葉が入力されています。」が理由で投稿出来なかった質問を、代わりにRedditに投稿する人は多いですか？

Redditは日本ではあまり使われていませんか？

After being in China for a bit to learn more of my Mandarin I kinda regret learning Mandarin. I really wish I would have chosen Japanese because I really love the sound of it....But I have not liked my stay here in China and don't see myself coming back after I leave the school in a month. But I don't want to quit a language I worked so hard on because I have always wanted to be bilingual. It's been my dream to be. I mainly started learning Chinese because I always wanted to as a kid since my grandfather spoke it. And then I wanted to learn it due to wanting to visit Taiwan...But I fear Taiwan will be like China...What should I do?

To People Who Love Japan 🇯🇵

Hi! Thanks for reading my post.
I’m Japanese. I was born in Osaka and have been living in Tokyo for the past 10 years.
I’m currently traveling in Thailand, and I honestly think it’s such a wonderful place. Compared to Japan, it doesn’t feel as crowded, and people seem to live at a much more relaxed pace.
After living in Tokyo for 10 years, I have to admit that I’m feeling a little tired of the fast-paced lifestyle.
At the same time, I know that so many people from around the world choose to visit Japan.
So I’d love to ask you something.
What is it about Japan that attracts you so much?
When you’ve lived in Japan your whole life, it’s surprisingly difficult to see what makes it special. I’d really love to hear what you like about Japan and what makes you want to visit or come back.

Hello! I’m currently a high school student bound to graduate within the next year and I’ve been looking into going to a language school for Japanese hoping to find some resources such as schools and possibly scholarships to pay for school. Im not sure if this could help but I want to become a translator but I need to pass at least N2(?) before I do so. Any help would be greatly appreciated 🙏🙏🙏

日本の皆様に質問があります。 短い物語を書いています。皆様の文化における服装について教えていただけますか。 芸者は日本文化を代表する存在として広く認識されていますか。それとも、そうではありませんか。もし違うのであれば、日本文化を象徴する服装は何だと思いますか。 よろしくお願いいたします。

I'd like to learn more about clothing in your culture. Are geisha widely regarded as a symbol of Japanese culture, or not? If not, what type of clothing do you think best represents Japanese culture? Thank you very much for your time.(I used Google to translate sorry for any grammar mistake:3)

So recently I played a game called *Promise Mascot Agency* and now on Netflix I came upon a funny show called *Gokusen*. Both of these have a depiction of the yakuza as funny and quirky. I thought the yakuza was basically organized crime, like the mafia.

In European and US games and movies mafia / gangsters are always depicted as grim and extremely violent. Either you have poor kids in the banlieus / hood who shoot each other over nothing or you have the dangerous, extremely wealthy and powerful gangsters like in The Godfather and Scarface.

I have never come across any kind of media here that depicts organized crime as quirky and funny. Always as dangerous, nihilistic, and extremely violent. The closest I can think of are comedy tv-shows of lower class/white trash people with some dumb characters who sometimes try to steal something (and fail in a funny way). Like the Dutch tv-show Flodder.

Is the "quirky yakuza" a common genre in Japan? And were do you think it comes from? How are the Yakuza perceived by the Japanese public?

This sounds like such a fun word and I am curious, what is the etymology? Does anyone know about how this came into common use?

The most I could find was that it stemmed from ラリる (which appears derived from a loan word), and means stoned, drunk, or high.

There is also 乱離 (ラリ) "to scatter," but I am unsure if they are related.

But no idea about the パッパ.

Thanks in advance!

One thing I didn’t expect about living in Japan is how tiring it is to constantly worry that I misunderstood something. A short sentence from a manager, a notice from city hall, a bank form, a hospital explanation, even a casual comment from a neighbor can stay in my head for hours. It’s not because my Japanese is zero. It’s because I understand enough to know it might be important, but not always enough to be fully confident. That in-between level is mentally exhausting. For other foreign residents, when did Japanese stop feeling like a survival task? Or does that nervous feeling never fully go away?

皆さんこにちわ、I've been studying japanese recently to study abroad to japan as a requirement from my university and recently I've been using apps like duolingo and Ling as a way to study japanese. Ive been also trying my best at the immersion method where I switch everything to japanese; my environment, the music I listen to, and videos I watch on TikTok. Anyways I was wondering if duolingo is good enough for learning japanese and a tutor would be considered useless.

As the title says. I'll try to answer any and all questions to the best of my ability.

日本には「触らぬ神に祟りなし」という諺があります。

直訳すれば、
「触れなければ、神の祟りを受けることもない」

という意味です。英語なら、

If something does not concern you and causes no harm, leave it alone.

くらいが近いかもしれません。
ただ、この諺は単に「面倒ごとから逃げろ」という意味ではありません。
少なくとも僕は、日本人が他人の嗜好や文化と共存するときの、かなり根本的な考え方を表していると思っています。

それは、
「相手を理解できなくてもいい。好きになれなくてもいい。しかし、自分に実害がないなら、わざわざ触りに行く必要もない。」
という考え方です。

僕は1970年代の終わりごろから、日本でオタクとして生きてきました。当時のオタクは、今よりずっと偏見を持たれていました。

アニメ、漫画、SF、特撮、模型、ゲームなどは、現在ほど社会に受け入れられていませんでした。

それでも僕たちは、国家や一般社会に理解してもらうことを待たず、自分たちで雑誌を買い、同人誌を作り、サークルを作り、イベントを開き、文化を維持してきました。
そして約50年の間に、日本のオタク文化は非常に細かく分かれていきました。
外から見れば、どれも「anime」や「manga」に見えるかもしれません。
しかし内部にいる人間から見れば、それは一つの文化ではありません。

僕の得意な歴史の比喩を使うなら、「オタク文化」は古代ギリシア文明のようなものです。
後世の人間はまとめて「ギリシア文明」と呼びます。
しかし実際には、アテナイやスパルタをはじめ、異なる法律、価値観、神、歴史を持つ無数のポリスが存在していました。日本のオタク文化も同じです。
大きな意味では同じ文明圏に属していても、実際に人々が暮らしているのは、それぞれ別のジャンルです。
そして当然、互いに理解できないことがあります。僕自身、BLというジャンルを理解できません。
正直に言えば、僕には気持ち悪く感じるものもあります。
しかし、だからといってBLを攻撃したり、存在を否定したり、愛好者に説明を要求したりする理由はありません。僕が近づかなければいいだけです。
向こうも僕の趣味に口を出さない。それで何も問題は起きません。
これが、僕の知る日本のオタク文化における平和です。
しばしば「平和には相互理解が必要だ」と言われます。
しかし僕の実体験では、頑張って相手を理解した末にたどり着く結論も、多くの場合は、
「なるほど。自分には合わない。では互いに放っておこう。」です。
それなら最初から、すべてを理解する必要はありません。
相手のジャンルには、自分からは見えない歴史や文脈がある。自分が数分見ただけでは理解できないほど、深い井戸かもしれない。
そこまで分かれば十分です。理解は optional です。
Non-interference は、共存するための基本的な protocol です。

もちろん、同じジャンルの内部では争いも起きます。
原作派とアニメ派、古参と新規、解釈の違い、カップリングの違い。日本のオタクは、別にいつも仲良くしているわけではありません。むしろ頻繁に争います。
しかし争いが大きくなると、しばしばジャンルがさらに細分化されます。

同じ井戸で暮らせないなら、隣に別の井戸を掘る。

その結果、日本のオタク文化には、僕がオタクになった頃と比べて、おそらく何十倍ものジャンルが生まれました。僕はそれを異常だとは思いません。

むしろ、どんどん住み心地がよくなったと感じています。
自分が理解できないジャンルが増えても、自分の好きなジャンルが破壊されるわけではありません。すべてを一つにまとめ、全員に同じ価値観を求めるより、別々の場所で好きに暮らす方が、はるかに少ないエネルギーで平和に共存できます。

だから僕は、「相互理解」という言葉を少し違う意味で使っています。

僕にとって相互理解とは、
「相手のことを完全に理解すること」ではありません。
「ここは自分が踏み込む場所ではない」と理解することです。

日本には「触らぬ神に祟りなし」という諺があります。
相手を神聖視しろ、という意味ではありません。理解できないものを無理に理解しなくてもいい。好きになれないものを無理に好きにならなくてもいい。
ただし、実害がないものを、わざわざ自分から触りに行かない。
それは無関心ではありません。「境界線を守る」ということです。

全員が互いを好きになる必要はありません。全員が同じ価値観を持つ必要もありません。
嫌いなままでもいい。理解できないままでもいい。それでも戦わずに共存することはできます。
僕はこの考え方を自分で発明したわけではありません。
これは、日本人の日常生活の中にかなり深く存在する考え方だと思っています。
そして、日本のオタク文化はそれを極端な密度で実践してきました。

Understanding is optional.
Non-interference is enough for peace.

僕は世界を教育したいわけでも、救いたいわけでもありません。
ただ、約50年間オタク文化の中で生きてきた人間として、この仕組みがとても面白いと思っています。
そして海外のオタクにも、心のどこかに
同じ「anime fan」と呼ばれていても、この人たちのジャンルは自分には理解できない
という感覚が、すでにあるのではないでしょうか。
その感覚は間違いではありません。

無理に一つになる必要も、日本と同じジャンル分けをする必要もありません。
それぞれの国や文化の中で、それぞれのポリスが生まれる方が自然だと思います。
大きな一つの「anime community」になるより、互いに違うことを認めた上で、必要以上に干渉しない。その方が、たぶん住み心地はいいです。

I’m not Japanese but I was wondering if anyone on here who is knows how powerful the Japanese military could be in the year 2030 given all the spending increases and arms sales that have been going on since 2023?

I'd like to know local positions on Japan developping their own nuclear weapons considering:

• North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile capabilities,
• China’s expanding military power, and
• growing doubts about how reliable the U.S. “nuclear umbrella” would be in a real crisis,

How do you personally feel about your country developing its own nuclear weapons?
Thank you !