Is tokyo a very english speaking place??

Question

I intend to visit potentially moving their but I can't speak japanese and am far from reading it, how english speaking is it? would it be very hard?

Answer 1

I wouldn't call it "very" English speaking. However many residents of Tokyo have a rudimentary knowledge of English, however they are shy in their usage of it. Also, many of the signs are in both Katakana and English.

Answer 2

There's very little actual English, sorry.  Japanese are required to study English in school, but the classes generally focus on rote memorization, no conversational skills; so, while some Japanese are eager to give their skill a try, most really can't carry on a conversation in English because they never have actually conversed in English -- rather like being asked to fly a plane after you've read a book on the topic, with no hands-on instruction at all.

There's a lot of English phrases tossed here and there for "coolness" factor, and a lot of English spelled out phonetically in katakana, but, the country is not a melting pot like the US is.  It's 98% Japanese people; so, the language *is Japanese*.  If you want to live there, you must learn the language.   If visiting as a tourist, you can get by with only a smattering of polite phrases (you'll be like the dancing bear... nobody notices how well it dances, they're just amazed it dances at all!) but to live there, you need more.

Answer 3

I suggest you learn Japanese, even simply basic conversational stuff, before going. www.yesjapan.com has useful lessons and stuff, or  http://www.timwerx.net/home/index.htm  is good for free lessons. Learn how to write hiragana and katakana and some basic kanji.

Though you are foreign and aren't generally expected to know Japanese, learn basic stuff so you can get around by yourself/with minimal help. You'll be more respected. Visit first, get a feel for the language, maybe take some lessons (and if you wanna go to Japan, enroll in a language school in Tokyo!). It'll make your trip better

Answer 4

No English here in Tokyo! You must know how to speak Japanese.

Answer 5

No. And you just can't move there. You need a four year degree just to work there.

Answer 6

I would say no, my sister and her husband went there for their honeymoon, and their comments were" The Japanese people were very polite and friendly, but they could not understand English very well"

So my sister had to rely on her memory of the Japanese she learnt in high school .

Answer 7

You can get by reasonably well in Tokyo thanks to the train system being bilingual.  I moved here with only very basic knowledge of the language and although I was able to get around and do a few things I've found that Japan is far more interesting and much easier to navigate if you can learn hiragana and katakana before coming.

Beyond Tokyo its very difficult to get by with no English, even in Osaka, as far fewer tourists venture beyond the city limits.

If you want to move here you'll either need to get a job (teaching english, obviously) or go to university.

Answer 8

You at first can see English board signs everywhere comfortably in Tokyo, however, You 'll soon find out that people next you are never able to communicate in English with you there.

They may answer Yes or No to your question but just that's all. You then become to feel unrest for Japanese because you can't understand if they really know what you say for sure.

The situation usually make Westerners irritated.

Answer 9

No, it's not. Most people in Japan do not speak English.

Yes, it would be very hard for you.