Interview with a Japanese Kansai Gaidai Student

[LifeFirst]

Why do Japanese girls dye their hair??

What the hell kinda stupid question is that? Why do anyone dye their hair? Why do White people dye their hair? Why do Black people dye their hair?

You gotta be kidding me...

[Slambertmilam11]

japanese kitchens look weird.

[BayviewFinch]

ほにゃほにゃほにゃ。。。

[pena545]

Nice video.

[Nat4Brendan]

Oh my freaking God she is adorable. xD And smart! Great interview.

[lebensraummetal]

Speak japanese through most of video.

SUDDENLY, SPEAK PERFECT ENGLISH AT END.

[longlivethekingisded]

your so great!

i know!!

[SilverGunZoO]

いいね

[whatabeautifulSAN]

Check out my exchange student videoblog too!!! :-D

[ebazz8305]

This video just added more fuel to my desire to study abroad a year at Kansai Gaidai...thanks again for uploading and sharing....

[ebazz8305]

OMG I really love this Kansai dialect....it just sounds soo beautiful in my ears...and thanks for this video...I am learning quite a lot from it...not that I care if a woman is pretty or not...I'm one of those that don't make first impressions based on outside appearances....

[SuperKawaiiChannel]

みかちゃんほんとうにきれいです。

[88Kamikaze69]

Cute, intelligent, polite, funny and attractive... There's gotta be some major flaw we aint being shown ^^

Japanese society is so... odd... it makes me think of how humanity would be living in all cities come space travel and planetary colonization, I hardly think people could get by 10 years without major fighting on a new planet unless we took some wisdom from the Japanese society.

But, there are hidden elements to Japanese society I fear would also be present, might even be needed... oh well

[BlackMasterRoshi]

@88Kamikaze69 Their secret: very few foreigners.

[88Kamikaze69]

@BlackMasterRoshi

Hm... I'd say there is more to it than that, here's a thing you might not know:

There is something almost hidden in the mist of times, a little something back in WWII called "unit 731" in Japan, do some research on that name...

After doing said research take in over you the fact that some of the major players involved in unit 731 became and some still are: vice president of the Green Cross, president of the Japan Medical Association and much more.

So.. foreigners you say? mhm.

[BlackMasterRoshi]

@88Kamikaze69 Aww shuddap. I know all about Iwane Matsui and his crew. I know the deal they made with the US state department and the immunity it gave them. Your comment is a red herring, so stuff it.

[88Kamikaze69]

@BlackMasterRoshi Oh dont try pulling that one, this sort of attitude (conscious ignorance and denial) is permiated throughout Japanese culture!

Dolphins and whales.

Animal curelty in general...

The crack down and actual dissappearance of several of the more outspoken journalists.

Forcing students to eat radioactive food.

Forcing workers to stay behind at the melting plant, greater good, yes.. but still..

Active racism.

The jakuza, #2 crime syndicate in the world.

March 1995, Aum Shinrikyo...

[88Kamikaze69]

@BlackMasterRoshi

Oh dont try pulling that one, this sort of attitude (conscious ignorance and denial) is permiated throughout Japanese culture!

Dolphins and whales.

Animal curelty in general...

The crack down and actual dissappearance of several of the more outspoken journalists.

Forcing students to eat radioactive food.

Forcing workers to stay behind at the melting plant, greater good, yes.. but still..

Active racism.

The jakuza, #2 crime syndicate in the world.

March 1995, Aum Shinrikyo...

[Subjugator1866]

@88Kamikaze69 wisdom from jap society? yeah like rape of nanking and unit 731.... the only reason you think they are so happy nice special is because U.S. nuked them into submission and then planted permanent military bases on their mainland to make sure they keep in line.

[88Kamikaze69]

@Subjugator1866

...

Relax, I wa getting at that.

Take a look at my replies to BlackMaster and you might actually notice that I was coming to mention 731 amongst other things.

The USofA nuked them after they had capitualted, for no other reason than to show to coutries like Russia that was thinking of invading at the time on account of the depleted US arsenals that they still had "aces up their sleaves" as it were and for the chance of a full scale test of the weapon system itself...

[heyjeySigma]

the last part made me laugh real good, that was adorable.. perfect conclusion =D

[TheSilviepie]

Wow I learned more from this interview than a bunch of others put together. Mika is so candid and intelligent - I love how she answered all the questions. It's her honesty that connects with the audience and teaches us more about Japan. I really appreciate the upload!

[omarct]

Wow this girl is amazing. She is very intelligent and beautiful. This is what they call love at first sight I guess haha. I felt that she kinda dodged some of the questions, but overall it was great.

[ThinkWeCanVlog]

Nice interview! Very interesting... and quite similar to South Korea I think!

Thanks for sharing! :)

[del787b]

she is super cute i like Kuro kami in japanes girls

[PopeOnArope123]

lol is nicole richie rly popular in japan or something?

[watcherofzideozeszz]

"u r so great"

"I KNOW!!!!!!"

[lordoid]

What a smart, cheerful young woman. Thank you Mika for givin' us a liitle insight into japanese culture from your points of view. Greets from Germany!

[Constellashun]

asians are awkwardly self conscious

[sarkaura]

I want this girl to be my friend...

[purplepikau]

hehe I love how she says "I know!" when you tell her she's great!

[horsesrmylife54]

"You're so great!"

"I KNOW!!"

Lol XP I really love this woman

[Mrsupwhooli]

woooww japanese is sooo awesommee!

[ninjatot]

i never thought that some Japanese girls are conscious or, they don't like their single-lid eyes. here in Philippines, we find single-lid eyes cute, Filipinos love "chinitas". I always dream of having single-lid eyes, but like Mika, as I get old I'm learning to appreciate my double-lid eyes. nice video!

[BeamMeUpSir]

@ninjatot Almost all eastern asians hate their monolids. They want caucasian eyes. My wife is vietnamese & I have been with vietnamese or japanese or korean women my whole life & I can tell you they all want to have white features but somehow still be asian. Its a paradox.

[ijcn0jir3nvjn3fjcifn]

@BeamMeUpSir i had 4 japanses girlfriends and theyr so weird. theyr so hard to guess what theyr thinking

[Wrbna]

I'm very impressed. Never thought a japanese person would be so open, honest and cheerful, while trying to provide insight into their culture. She seems like it'd be really awesome to have a "beer chat" about the world with her :) Thumbs up from Prague!

[IWantMyVisionBack]

Why did you ask her what she thinks of Nicole Richie and not any other American female celebrity?

Did she state that she was a fan of her beforehand?

Peace & Thank You.

[xxugg]

@IWantMyVisionBack nicole richie and paris hilton are (or were, idk if still) seen as fashion gurus in japan especially to gyaru girls, the ones that are really interested in western fashion

anyway she's a very smart and interesting person! i wish she had a yt channel

[IWantMyVisionBack]

So beautiful.. Her Essence pulls me in.

[IWantMyVisionBack]

I've been searching for this video for a while, and I finally found it!

[xixnarcissist]

Hands down. I can never talk like that.

[TheStoutTeapot]

wow she is super cute! i love her honesty and forwardness, usually when you see interviews done with native japanese people they are super polite. it's to be expected since that is a big part of their culture but it was also very refreshing to see a different side. :) lol at men's fashion looks kind of gay

[bradynbear]

um I think I"ve heard of Kansai being a dialect. If she is speaking in this dialect, then I really don't like it. Do all Japanese enunciate the ending of their words like that? It sounds... whiny like.

[Burugariano]

She is indeed charming and good natured. Thank you for the video !

[midnull]

We all know Japan is sexist and is obsessed over pedophilia. Nothing new.

[xAEMxBlankAngels]

Thats it!!!! Im studying abroad...

[ov7spears]

japanese has to be the hardest language to learn wow!!

[ThePiratesHQ]

'Japanese guys look gay'' xD

[DrXoz]

Hey Matsumi-senpai you look ugly :o

[CheerySummerBaby96]

Mika is now my favorite person in the world right now! I love her so much right now ^.o! <3

[xxM1cka3lxx]

im going to subscribe to you your videos are intresting they keep me watchin while im supposed to be chatting with my girl lolol

[KatiushaVN4]

she looks 30s something

[310BPM]

@KatiushaVN4

are you blind? lmao.

[NewbVeronica]

a few things she said are true to the USA we just dont say them out loud as much haha

[blahblah2018]

how is kansai gaidai? I've heard a lot of good and bad things about it

[takatoekoe]

she is very smart :o

and japanese is such a beautiful language

[Baleur]

God i so agree with her about the whole men & women in society thing, just the same things i personally believe.

[Roberttimes100]

She's a very inspiring person and sweet person!

[CRZEDMEX]

that last part of the video was funny. :P

[MeeBooh]

ooh is this the kansai accent? or dialect?

[reshjuk]

I liked it very much. Thank you.

The girl is very pretty and she should not think about having any eye lid surgery done to her.

[orbulon]

great video! thumbs upped, favorited and subscribed :)

[Expresso98]

Please pass on my compliments to Mika-sama. Aside from reminding me of a Japanese Catherine Zeta-Jones, I just adored listening to her speak. I could listen to her all evening!

My Japanese is nowhere near advanced enough to understand all she said, but she is precisely the type of にほんじん to inspire me to never stop learning and practising にほんご until I'm equally fluent. Her えいご is excellent too. If she needs any practise, tell her to contact me! どもう ありがとう ございました!

[ericssson]

that's why japan so fuck up

women don't do anything productive in japan

i stayed in the kansai area for almost a year

and saw some of the most disturbing shit perverted and immoral

[Vol4eg01]

@ericssson immoral and pervert person will find such kind of things anywhere he/she goes

[EienAii]

Very informational :D I was listening to her speak and reading the subtitles and I could only understand a few words of japanese.I only took japanese for half a year and it seems like just to learn everything she said would take very long to understand that:X Its scary learning a new language but also fun !

[gieltjejnssen]

I think too it's har to be a woman in Japan somethimes,

[gieltjejnssen]

she's pretty



[jnh113]

she was so cute at the end!!

[BobbyDigital314]

oh my god...my ears can't keep up with the syllables. Maybe I just need to expand my vocab since I can only hear words that I know, but still...I have trouble hearing some of the syllables.

[subzero879]

@BobbyDigital314 it could be the kansai accent

[interfear1]

Well she is modest and good-looking XD

[SirenoftheVoid]

very nice :) i found it interesting

[Anewlife21]

Awwww she is so interesting and adorable! You have to love a intelligent , natural beauty! I cant believe that she thought her eyes weren't pretty when she was younger!! She has BEAUTIFUL eyes! :)

This was a really interesting look into how a Japanese women thinks about her society and herself. Arigatou gozimasu! :)

[mellamokori]

i don't even know how i stumbled upon this video, but it was great!

and i like that she has grown to love her eyes. i hear quite often how many people in japan get eyelid surgery and it's astounding to me that that many people want to change what makes them different from other peoples of the world. smart girl.

[LlamaSims2010]

Wow...this is so interesting!

I was surprised when she said she hated her eyes! They are beautiful, though! I would kill to look like her!

[noodlequest]

This was a great interview, and Mika is so thoughtful and even-handed in her comments. I teach Psychology at the University of Mississippi here in the U.S.: I played Mika's interview in my class (along with interviews from a few other countries). My classes are generally about 200 students, so if you're still in contact with her, she may be amused to hear she has many fans in the States! She was by far their favorite. Thanks for the great post.

[ippikicoqui]

@noodlequest Wow this is amazing. I never would have thought this would have reached out so far. I will definitely let her know. Thank you so much. I am glad to see that this came to use even in a class setting. It's much appreciated.

[noodlequest]

@ippikicoqui My pleasure! I'll be showing it again for a few course cycles (if you as the author are ok with it), so overall a few thousand people will have a chance to see it. I want to give my students perspectives on what it's like to live in different parts of the world, and she did such clear-eyed job of talking about it. I'm not sure how much of what she said is sinking in: when I ask for thier reaction, by far the most common response is "She's hot!" ;)

[cheesesmiles]

I love her the way she speaks ^^ not too fast and she stumbles alittle chou kawaii~

i hope to speak like her in a few more years! love the interview btw!!

[KMO325]

I lol'ed so hard at 3:30!

[Ninensei18]

She's so smart ^^

[Cinlouxx]

She's cute and I'm glad she feels comfortable with the way she is.

[MaximusAurelius]

Not only is this woman incredibly beautiful but this is exceeded only by her intellect and further surpassed by her humbleness. No wonder American woman wonder why we're being stolen by overseas women. Great video.

[Nastrodamous89]

I really like how honest she is about responding to your questions. This is a good informative video. I like it alot ^_^

[KureriannXanimeXgirl]

Boricua in Japan! WOOT!

[qchome]

why was this particular women chosen 4 the interview?

[ippikicoqui]

@qchome she's a friend of mine and i had these talks with her before. i thought it was interesting because of how honest she is compared to other japanese people. so i asked her if i could record her and she said yes. : )

[qchome]

@ippikicoqui everyone else gave glowing comments to this interview...so i will-w/kid gloves-give something different;

-i could tell she was a friend of yours and that it was somewhat rehearsed.

-just because it is honest doesn't mean it is either interesting or correct.

>most people get very upset about anything that are not positive comments...so i will end there.if someone else brings up the same constructive criticism..maybe it will help u to tweek your next interview.

good luck.

[ippikicoqui]

@qchome i don't think there is anything wrong with her being my friend. is that a fault in your opinion? and the only thing that was "rehearsed" was me having a list of questions and her

-does that mean you didn't find this interesting? the point was to educate people about a different opinion of what they are used to. it wasn't meant to change anyone's opinion. and not everyone has positive comments to say about japan. it's a reality. i'm not sure i understand your constructive criticism.

[ElAposentoSecreto]

@ippikicoqui dont even bother with stupid comments man -_- shes a friend and he has a paper with questions she doesnt see coming ok? thank you have a nice day now beat it dude sheesh...lol

[NatsuFairTail1]

this a big LOL

[thaifaq]

Very informative video. I haven't spent much time in Japan but it would be interesting to me to ask the same questions from a girl who has never left Japan. I see many Japanese who study abroad and it always comes as a big revelation to them how different the rest of the world is compared to what they are taught in Japan.

[ippikicoqui]

@thaifaq yeah good point. it would be interesting to see how someone would answer these questions and has never left japan. really good point. and i agree. there is such a huge gap between japanese with abroad experience and those that don't have any.

[thaifaq]

@ippikicoqui I'll be attempting to interview some young Japanese about the issues facing their country on my next trip to Tokyo in August. I'll let you know when I post my video.

[ippikicoqui]

@thaifaq really?? sounds awesome. i'm looking forward to seeing it. : ) good luck

[ToLokyo]

Cool - I hear a lot of Japanese people talking like this, but it's rare to see it in a video. They tend to get shy about it once the camera comes on. It's cool that she'd be open to speak as usual even though the camera's on.

[ippikicoqui]

@ToLokyo yeah i've noticed the same. a lot of japanese sometimes try to brush off the questions as well. sometimes they only hold a strictly japanese point of view on a subject. it was cool to get a good balance with her and to be able to show that to other people. thanks for the comment

[yuichituba]

Wow, I really like this video. She does seem very unique because she actually thinks about things, self-aware, and doesn't feel the need to have to fit in a 100%.

Great video! I will feature it on my channel.

[ippikicoqui]

@yuichituba yeah i was really happy that she let me interview her and share her with people who maybe don't have the opportunity to meet such an open japanese person. really great to meet people like her.

ahh really? the video is a bit sloppy but i appreciate the time you took to watch it and comment : ) thank you

[fahdelgheriani]

she seems wise

[damanuit]

does she think she is pretty or wat:S

i think her words are very superficial, in every country people are more attracted to attractive people, that doesnt mean you're life is going to be worse or it is harder for you to live in society if you are "ugly."

if your life depends on your appeareance it shows u are not a happy person

[ippikicoqui]

@damanuit i also believe that it is harder for people that are not as attractive to succeed. it's a harsh reality of society. and i also believe that her reply to my question was her attempt to describe japanese society as one where many people's lives depend on their appearance. it was to honestly exemplify the mindset of many japanese youth.

[bubblygurl]

@damanuit I don't think you quite get her point.

[pedazodecola]

彼女は本当に美しいだね！また頭が良いよ。留学するの為に日本に­行ったら、彼女のような人が知るようになりたい。

[MizukiShinju]

She is very cute and adorable.

I am glad you made this video sir.

I have watch some others and I like the effort you put into making them.

You have pointed out some good questions and Mika answered them very well.

Thank you!

[ippikicoqui]

@MizukiShinju thank you thank you. i admit im not much of a vlogger so thanks for the comment. glad you enjoyed it

[hechicera9]

such a mature girl!

the best wishes for her! and you :)

[ippikicoqui]

@hechicera9 thanks for the comment. lol i like your username btw

[chchchchill]

she seems very bright!

[dan892k7]

I'm surprised that the Japanese find 'double-lids' cuter. From a western perspective I find single lids very cute indeed! Makes their eyes look almost like they're smiling. I really enjoy your videos by the way, I'm looking forward to being a Kansai Gaidai student in 2011, I need to brush up on the 日本語 a canny bit first though ;-).

[ippikicoqui]

i agree. then if you tell them that you like their eyes they are just like "noooo western eyes are better"

good luck for 2011 : )

[dan892k7]

I'd just disagree until they're forced to admit that it's true :-p. Haha, typical Brit, I'd cause an argument over something as small as who's eyes are prettier ;-).

Dan

[stormtrooperTK474]

@ippikicoqui eyes are eyes it doesn't matter if they are beautiful or not maybe the colour but im a Scotsmen and we win arguments really easily lol but its true

[smokelakes]

@dan892k7 agreed. but theyre not even half as bad as koreans when it comes o the double eye lid obsession. its crazy in korea. i even know some korean girls who have went to korea just to get the surgery. their parents pay for it.

all of my smart guy friends agree with me that its fuckin stupid and wrong

[IWantMyVisionBack]

@smokelakes

It may not be the most intelligent decision, choice, and/or action, but you have to know that these females are influenced/programmed to strive to look like that. People all around the world face challenges on what is perceived as attractive.

And as for Korea, double eyelids is one of them. It's a shame really.

[smokelakes]

@IWantMyVisionBack yea for sure. and the natural japanese/korean/chinese eyes are so much prettier and unique....in my opinion

[IWantMyVisionBack]

@smokelakes

When I see asian people with 1 eyelid as it were, the thought doesn't even come to mind. And these things are targeted towards females much more then males. And an end result? They start to feel insecure about themselves..

[smokelakes]

@IWantMyVisionBack i can only speak as an american, but its hard for us to tell the difference between 2x and natural eyelids, and put our opinions out there. the only reason why i can tell the difference is cause i worked at a korean bakery for 2 years...

thats why itd be hard to make it really public that we really like natural. but im talkin about the US. the only thing im able to do is complement them on their eyes(if the topic arises)then tell them to never get surgery aha(which a lot wont)

[TheAbridgedGamer]

@dan892k7 I envy you so much.

Have fun studying in japan ^^

[bjeramos]

very impressive. thank you for this.

i suspect you owe mika some 義理チョコ in light of valentine's day (or white day next month) for taking some time to do this for ya

[ippikicoqui]

thank YOU for watching and commenting : )

ahhh i would but she went to australia just a week ago to study abroad for a year : (