Written by: Nicole Castro
Published on: January 18, 2022 at 15:36 PHT (GMT+8)
As amazing as anime shows are, most of us can agree that real-life Japan has just as many magical wonders of its own. It just takes the right kind of people (plus a decent level of Japanese language proficiency and/or subtitles) to show us the way!
So, here are seven more YouTube channels (in no particular order) that answer some of our most burning questions about the Land of the Rising Sun.
1. Nobita from Japan
Nobita from Japan is a Japanese native YouTuber who opened his channel in 2015. He is known for presenting documentary-style videos about cultural and societal issues in Japan. The video above presents a widely discussed issue: Japan's aging crisis. But Nobita goes the extra mile by interviewing experts for proposed solutions as well.
Like Nobita's content? Check out his video on Having Autism Spectrum Disorder in Japan.
2. Ask Japanese
Ask Japanese is a YouTube channel that opened in 2014 with videos narrated by German native and long-time-Japan resident Cathy Cat. Cathy often walks around the streets of Japan asking Japanese people for their opinions on daily life matters such as the pros and cons of dating foreigners. But sometimes, she and the staff also dedicate their efforts to answering frequently asked questions about Japan as concisely as possible. The video above is a helpful guide for foreigners on the different types of apartments in Tokyo.
If you are particularly fond of Cathy Cat, she has her own YouTube channel here.
3. Paolo fromTOKYO
Paolo fromTOKYO is a crowd favorite because he presents his videos in a very fun, interactive way. Watching them always makes us feel like Paolo is touring us around Japan as his visiting friend! His "Day in the Life of a Typical..." series is especially interesting because he features Japanese people from all walks of life. For the video above, we see how it feels to be a typical office worker, but he has other similar videos featuring people in other occupations such as housewives, mechanics, and farmers.
4. Nami's life
If you need to relax after a long day, Nami's life is for you. Nami is a single office worker living alone in Tokyo, Japan who vlogs about her daily life. What makes her stand out are her organization skills combined with her minimalist aesthetic. You'll either find yourself relaxing through her routine or gunning yourself up to put in just as much effort. She does a lot of cooking that you can follow too!
5. TAKASHii from Japan
TAKASHii from Japan is a native Japanese college student living in Tokyo who also goes around the streets interviewing locals about their experiences. TAKASHii speaks fluent English himself, so he makes use of this to interview more kinds of people such as native Japanese, foreigners, and half-Japanese to offer more perspectives.
6. Life Where I'm From
While Japanese natives are often the best source of information about Japan, sometimes it pays to have foreigner YouTubers talking about their Japan experiences as well to help us get an idea of how to adjust there. Life Where I'm From features Canadian Greg Lam, who currently lives in Tokyo, Japan with his Japanese wife. In this video, he features the very relatable experience of driving.
If you liked how relatable the driving video was, you might like Greg's video on Shintoism in Everyday Japan. It helps make the traditional topic easier to understand in our modern setting.
7. Japanese Comedian Meshida
Caution: Topics for mature audiences only.
Alright, let's be honest. A large part of why we're curious about Japan has to do with the less...socially appropriate topics. But that's why Japanese Comedian Meshida has you covered. He's here to get real and talk about the soaplands, the sugar daddies, love hotels, etc., all with a balanced combination of humor and information. For now, here's a video on the sugar daddy industry in Japan. We'll allow you to explore...the other videos on your own. 😅
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