Learn Japanese

Why learn Japanese?

Let's face it, Japanese is a difficult language for a Westerner to learn. It uses three different alphabets, all of whose characters look, to the untrained eye, like meaningless squiggles (unlike with the Greek or Russian alphabets, where we recognise a few of the shapes). The concepts of Japanese language-construction are somewhat obscure to the Western student, who is very often forced to pick up his/her English idea and turn it around 180 degrees in order to render it into Japanese.

Can it be worth the mind-bending concentration required to learn Japanese? Absolutely! If you work with Japanese people, knowing the language will transform not only your relations with them but your whole work life. If you are going to visit Japan, knowing the language will enhance your experience immeasurably. For the very reason that it is so hard for us to get our heads around the Japanese language, learning it is essential for us to understand the Japanese people and their culture.

In the Summer of 1999, I went to Japan for a two-week holiday that changed my life. I absolutely loved the country and everything about it. When I came home, I ate all my food with chopsticks for months, started taking off my shoes in the house, changed from coffee to green tea… Lots of little adjustments to make myself more Japanese.

There is so much to see and do in Japan that I'm going to have to take at least six months off at some stage and do it all properly. Amongst a good many other things during my two weeks, I:

climbed Mount Fuji and sat at the top to watch the sun rise - 8½ hours up, 6½ hours down but unbelievably exhilarating
lounged in the hot springs - wonderful sense of wellbeing
spent a day at Tokyo Disneyland - fantastic!
explored the ancient temples of Kyoto - amazing!
visited the Peace Park at Hiroshima - well organised, honest and very moving.

Japan is not only an extremely exciting place, it is also deeply peaceful. I spent several hours in the beautiful parks and gardens, feeling somehow fulfilled just by being there.

In terms of language, I arrived in Japan with only an elementary knowledge of the spoken word and practically none of the written. I was uplifted by all the transactions I achieved in Japanese and greatly wished I could have done more. A couple of times I got terribly frustrated (and a little bit scared) by not being able to read signposts and directions. For example, the smaller railway stations don't have their names transliterated underneath and it's easy to get off at completely the wrong place. Next time, I will certainly make sure I have a proper grip on the language before I go.

Georgie