Philosophies on Life, Multiculturalism in Japan with Sachiko

[robertsrashad]

I love the way Sachiko speaks english with varied japanese words lol.

[DrkVrtx]

Very interesting, especially the comments that someone isn't really aware of their culture, or even themselves, until they step outside of their comfort zone as it were.

[ck1film]

Finally found the time to watch this. I'm glad I did. Very interesting and informative. Thank you so much for sharing.

[kushinbou]

Long video but I enjoyed every bit of it, thanks:) I totally agree with the part that we don't realize what our own culture is until we travel outside of our country. I'm Asian-American and every time I meet people here, they would ask me "What are you?" If I to were to say that I'm American, they would just give me a blank look. However, not until after I went to Japan(1st time of of the country) did my answer changed. "I'm American." I truly never realized it till then, somehow it felt great:)

[Worldtrekker1]

Thank you for the video series you had made with Sachiko regarding foreigners renting apartments in Japan. I was saddened to hear she was robbed while in the USA; nobody would have blamed her if she went home and cautioned her friends to not come to America. Instead, she not only looked beyond the incident, but is actively reaching out to help us visit her country. Good marketing strategy aside, I would hope to bring her my business should I get the chance to return to Japan

[AdioS2007]

Your ideals are incredibly noble, Sachiko. Your clients are very fortunate to have you in their corner.

[mitsubishi777]

Hoshonin(保証人) problem is troublesome. Even most of Japanese ppl think so. Some revisions of the civil code of Japan will be required for resolving it.

[gruu]

This vid was great, learned alot!

[Acerola211]

you as one of their own, but I'd like to point out that those so-called 'multicultural' countries aren't really 'multicultural' so much as 'multi-skin-colored, but somewhat monocultural'.

It's interesting what you said about how you gave up fighting, though - I realize that Japan is very good at 'hammering the nail', so to speak, but in the US, the culture is to be stubborn about your beliefs and keep fighting, especially because it's easier to keep fighting in the US. Interesting . . .

[Acerola211]

won't actively try to suppress your rights because you are from another country, they're not necessarily accepting of your culture. I think that the same goes for other Western countries - they're 'multicultural' in the sense that the people's skin colors and appearances are different, but in the end, those people usually grew up in that country, and therefore have that country's culture. The problem in Japan, of course, is that even if you grow up in Japan, the Japanese people won't consider

[hitsugiluva]

@Acerola211 I agree with you in some sense but I don't think I do with your statement "I think the same goes for other Western countries" I am Canadian, born and raised, and many, if not all of my greatest friends and people around me immigrated to Canada and have no problem fitting in, (half of my teachers weren't from this country) they aren't judged for their accent and people won't judge them for speaking their mother tongue....

[hitsugiluva]

@Acerola211 ...Hell even my province offers free English lessons for immigrants struggling with the language to find a job, education, etc. Canada is multicultural in the sense that we have opened our Country for others to come and start a new (in some sense better) life and our government is even assisting them, and so far I have not witnessed or experienced any problems for foreigners.

[hitsugiluva]

@Acerola211 It is definitely different compared to where I live now - France. Where the French people are not used to immigrants or basically don't like anyone who wasn't born and raised. Many of my friends here in France are Moroccan and speak French fluently but "pure-bred French" as one man I met told me, are the only ones who will ever be accepted in their country.

[hitsugiluva]

@Acerola211 I have yet to meet someone who thinks otherwise and is open and accepting of other people here, which is a huge contrast from where I was born. And kind of a disappointment, I would love for someone to prove them wrong but in the time I have spent here it's a shame I haven't met a single person. The ones that are against it are either foreign or...foreign. :(

Long post is long but all in all I just wanted to add my say :)

[Acerola211]

Japan, China, as well as the US, of course - and when I talked about my tri-cultural background, a US co-worker said, "Oh, I thought you were American." I can kind of understand the frustration - the Chinese, French, and Mexican people sometimes talked in their own language, and it must have been frustrating not to be able to understand what they were saying - and it must have been difficult trying to understand their less-than-perfect English - but I realized just then that, while US people

[Acerola211]

when they have an accent in their English, etc.), then US people won't necessarily be as accepting. There are definitely more people who try to be accepting in the US than in Japan, and those people will insist on accepting diversity, but there are many people who will call real foreigners 'fobs (fresh off the boat)', especially people who truly come in regular contact with real foreigners. I realized this when I was working at a lab with great diversity - there were people from Mexico, France,

[Acerola211]

I'd like to comment on the US being 'multicultural' -

Hi, I'm a Chinese person (currently a US citizen) who lived in Japan from age 4-12 and has now lived in the US for 11 years. The US is certainly accepting of 'diversity' in the sense that they accept people of different appearances - they accept Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Indian Americans, etc. - but when people are different on the inside (aka. when people haven't grown up in the US, when they truly have a different culture,

[mrErikLundgren]

I sincerely love people who dedicates themselves to help other people. It's such an valuable attribute in an person. I love this video and thank you for introducing Sachiko. I'll go right over and check her channel out. As always; Thank you for another great video.

[dogoku]

Great video guys, i think what you are doing is great and extremely helpful for people aspiring to move to japan, like myself

[GMAlbright]

After watching this video, I wanted to find out more info about Sachiko's company. You have a link to its site on the plage for your series of videos, but may I suggest that you add it to the description for this video too? I'm sure others will want to check it out as well and not think to look there.

[tedebambu]

love her nihonglish.

[argiemerc]

Why does she say "ahh noo" a lot of times between phrases ? what does it mean ?

[DanielGuerrera]

@argiemerc

Japanese version for "um" or "uh" that you often hear in English spoken between sentences and words. I think Hiko made a video awhile back explaining why he uses "ano" so much and what it's uses are. Try searching for it.

[bmusilTV]

I only discovered you recently, but between your blog and vlog I think the content you produce is fantastic!

[Hikosaemon]

@bmusilTV Cheers man, very nice of you to say :)

[MeikaiBry]

amazing! glad i watched I wish I could do something more than just write a comment

[furetosan]

Awesome talk and video. Might send you a video response soon.

[Jessiebt]

I really enjoy your stories and the explaining what you have gone though. I young lady Iam sorry for you got robbed....so sorry, but though that you find a career to help others.....maybe one day if I come to Japan...I will be lucky to meet people like you two....Thanks for sharing.

[cloudstrifeification]

ビデオが好きです！面白くて、じょうほうりょうのおおいです！J­apan needs more people like you and Sachiko to help change the mindset of Japan and it's people one person at a time.

[smurashige]

That was a terrific conversation--very thoughtful and full of insights. Thanks very much for posting this; I hope you have further such conversations in the future.

[midori1]

:) Sachiko-san and you are making changes but just talking about these topics. I think it will make a difference.

[midori1]

Safety isn't such a worry for a male in Japan but is definitely a concern for foreign women.

[blondecrazygaijin]

I, too, went through a phase where I tried to "out-Japanese the Japanese", Hiko, and I used to constantly rollerblade around Kashiwa (Chiba), since I lived nearby at the time. I confronted a lot of the stumbling bocks that you did. The flyer of the place that accepted me after JET said, "Pets OK, MizuShoubai OK, GaiKokuJin OK" --I'm serious. The place was fine, but it made a great impression on me. :( God bless Sachiko. ^_^ Like her example now I always help JapaneseHere in the USA, always

[blondecrazygaijin]

Did Sachiko san attend Sacramento City College?

I did, too, long ago, and I can attest to the marginality of that neighborhood. Nowhere is perfectly safe, no, but Oak Park is far, far below average, even for greater Sacramento, which is a little scummy.

Oak Park even sometimes has shootings. I recall one time there was a flyer on campus at Sac City, warning the females of a rash of attempted and actual rapes there.

I thought your mix of Japanese and English in this vid was fantastic.

[blondecrazygaijin]

Your product is fantastic --material, pace, image. But u used an omnidirectional mic --birds were fantastic but traffic detracted a bit. U have a shotgun mic?  U rock and I suck but u might think about it, if budget permits.

[RoryGilmoreFan]

This was very informative and helpful. Thank you. :)

[Hikosaemon]

@kusoyaroun Japan is of course very aware of the European cases, and very conservative about large scale immigration, even though it sees such migration as necessary. The key correct part about Japan is that it is very strict about assimilation - you need to demonstrate a degree of "Japaneseness", and renounce all other citizenships to become Japanese, so it is much tougher than Europe, although I think it will probably become more lax with time.

[DJFriez]

I can't help but wonder why you guys are in black and white after the intro?

[Hikosaemon]

@DJFriez That was me playing around with filters - I liked the look of the green only filter and kept it.

[osakaben10]

Sachiko-san's genki factor was very fun to watch!

Even though I had experienced almost all of what you were talking about, She made me continue watching(just in case......) Now, I understand a lot of what I went through in Japan; I thought I was the perfect representative from the USA. We need more Sachiko-san^^

[Hikosaemon]

@osakaben10 Haha, too right!

[ElegeantFencer]

Ah yes. Conservatives always giving us Americans a negative impression to foreigners. I really wish people in my country would broaden their perspectives a bit more and accept that there are people out there who have different cultures then theirs.

[Hikosaemon]

@ElegeantFencer Well, people are people - you get all types in all countries. But it is nice when you see people open their minds a little to accommodate others.

[cheesesmiles]

i love this. i love how she also kept mixing her japanese with english . haha that was very cool

[Hikosaemon]

@cheesesmiles It's fun isn't it? I used to talk like that all the time in NZ with the Japanese girlfriend I had in college. It's a nice way to get comfortable with the feel of the language.

[cheesesmiles]

@Hikosaemon haha yeah it seems really fun! since im studying, i should do that then! btw I really enjoyed this! I hope you can make more video like this in the future ^^

[DOTQWERTY218]

so where is her channel? I don't see any links to it. Great video.

[MitchellC]

@DOTQWERTY218 Indeed. Hikosaemon, could you link us to the channel you were referring to?

[Hikosaemon]

@DOTQWERTY218 Actually yeah, she's been offline for a while, but she's genki. I'll see if I can chase up some new links from her if she has a new channel up.

[shafez666]

Great video ! i really enjoyed it. the cultural differences between other countries and Japan, the in depth perspectives of different people on the different sides of such an issues as finding housing or any other issue faced when someone visits a foreign country and the manner in which we can all learn and explore different ways to broaden our horizons and understand other peoples. great stuff keep up the great work. as someone trying to find an apartment in Tokyo this summer this was great ^^

[Hikosaemon]

@shafez666 Glad you liked it

[gokuo64]

Did you say Kashiwa! I first lived in a city called Kashiwa when I first came to Japan!

[Hikosaemon]

@gokuo64 Yeah man, I lived there nearly three years. In fact, Kashiwa was the second longest I've lived anywhere in my whole life ;)

[gokuo64]

@Hikosaemon Interesting. So you moved around a lot when your where a child? I lived there for about 3 years too. Now I live in Yamanashi, but I miss Kashiwa! :( Maybe I can go back one day.

[PGoomba]

Is it just me, or have you used a program like Apple Color to remove saturation for anything that isn't green? Thanks

[Hikosaemon]

@PGoomba Yep, it's a combination of filters I used in VideoStudio - just wanted to try something new. I played around with a lot of effects and liked this one.

[mattsn23]

Her channel is gone since a few days after the quake. I hope she's doing great (o^−^o)

[Hikosaemon]

@mattsn23 Yep, she's good - just heard from her today after the vid went up :)

[NinetytoFirst]

Great video, but I have to ask: why did she close her channel?

[Hikosaemon]

@NinetytoFirst Sachiko is well, but had some stuff go on. Hopefully we can get her back sometime so she can tell the story.

[zinglonsale]

I love how Sachiko code switches. With a clean California English accent nonetheless.

[neikaplay]

ah i am glad Sachiko is doing that. i had a hard time finding an apartment also. many of the ones i liked didn't rent to foreigners. the only options available were very old houses or houses on the outskirts of the city. so i wish more people would feel better about renting to foreign students.

[Hikosaemon]

@neikaplay Yeah, me too. Renting apartments in Japan still sucks pretty much, but it is slowly getting better thanks to people like her.

[pumpfever]

Thanks for this videos, they are pretty interesting! =) I love how her mixes japanese with english so natural xD

[kantishna39]

Of all the cities she picked to live in California, Sacramento is one of the worst. They are usually in the top 10 out of almost 500 cities as the most dangerous cities in California. Japan has three times the population of California and only half the murders. California averages about 5 murders a day. Foreigners need to do their homework before visiting the US. That's why I want to retire to a place where crime is minimal. I'm waiting for Japan to become lenient regarding long term Visas.

[Hikosaemon]

@kantishna39 I must admit, even compared to quiet little NZ, Japan is a haven - you really just don't worry about crime here. Not to say it doesn't happen, but you really don't have to always be obsessed by it like you do in some other places.

[totaldramaqueen108]

You should do more videos with her, Hiko!!!

頑張ってさちこさーん！

[Hikosaemon]

@totaldramaqueen108 Haha, Victor is FIRED!

[TheBlayzinAsian420]

Christ......her English sounds better then mine lol

[iliveforanime]

Her youtube channel and the facebook page are gone. I hope she didn't get any grief for what she is trying to do, I know that happens quite a bit in Japan as far as where youtube is involved.

[Hikosaemon]

@iliveforanime there was some drama but all is well with her now. Hopefully we'll get her back for an update sometime.

[Oldenyouth]

I plan to do a video response to this. When? Don't know. Where? Live from Kanagawa. Why? Well...lets just say I got a few things (similar and different) stories to share :) Stay tuned mate. So says the Old n' Youth.

[Hikosaemon]

@Oldenyouth Hey man, looking forward to it!

[goshinbi44]

I love Sachiko's Japlish ^^. Thank you for the video.

[Hikosaemon]

@goshinbi44 It's fun, isn't it? ;D

[OnionInYourHouse]

i like how Sachiko still fills in her English sentences with "ano" and "de". It kinda helps me learn how to interject them into Japanese sentences.

[Hikosaemon]

@OnionInYourHouse That's very true - it's exactly like that. By the way - I totally remember you from the hanami a couple of years ago. You had the awesome tatts on your arms, right? :)

[OnionInYourHouse]

@Hikosaemon Ha! Yeah, that's me. Going to Japan really inspired me to finish my degree and find a way over there. I may be a Gaijin myself in a couple of years. Thanks for your videos, too. They also help motivate me.

[jonesr227]

Great video, very informative and interesting. I wish Sachiko well in her business and I thank her for her efforts to help foreigners in Japan.

[Hikosaemon]

@jonesr227 Thank you - and there are lots more like her.

[MageThief]

This was a really great video, thanks for sharing it with us.

[Hikosaemon]

@MageThief My pleasure :)

[CrappyCartoons]

14:56 Actually, the number of Japanese living abroad remains significantly down in comparison to the to the Bubble when it was at its peak. My guess is that Sachiko it probably would have been easier for Sachiko in the late 80s to find housing in California. Back then there was a lot more available to service the needs of Japanese living in the United States.

[Hikosaemon]

@CrappyCartoons Good point - it's been in the media a lot lately how young Japanese are happy not going abroad to study or work any more

[RaimiiChan]

I agree that you don't know your own culture until you visit another country and see their culture.

[Hikosaemon]

@RaimiiChan I think instead of countries paying to house and feed their 18 year olds during military service, they should pay to send them abroad for two years instead. I think that would help sort out a lot of issues in the world.

[TheOneTitan]

Sachiko-san is so good speaking English, I'd like to speak Japanese =)

[Hikosaemon]

@TheOneTitan It's fun when you're both able to speak - highly recommend it.

[perdomot]

We need more Sachiko videos Hiko. She's cute and funny. I like the format you have here and its just like what Victor and Tomoko are doing on his channel. Sort of a beauty & the beast thing(gaijins being beastly of course LOL)

[Hikosaemon]

@perdomot Haha, I'll see if I can get her on another vid sometime then

[Tekkon123]

What a nice and pretty girl!

[fightclub1100]

I love these videos with you and Sachiko! Thankyou very much for taking the time to do them, and if you're ever tempted to do more with her, please do! :)

[Hikosaemon]

@fightclub1100 Actually, posting this video caused me to get back in touch with her for the first time in months. Sounds like she has had a lot of interesting stuff go on, so you never know... :)

[wheelieshinobi]

Thanks Hiko

[Hikosaemon]

@wheelieshinobi My pleasure mate

[nimabanai]

dude, that was awsome !!

[Hikosaemon]

@nimabanai thank you :)

[Hikosaemon]

@Hikosaemon thank you! ;D

[Bosque1994]

<3