The Japanese Language Class I Wish Existed
Skip the Kanji. Learn the Mountain.
Tj on a mid mountain cig break
There’s something drastically different about spending extended time in Japan than anywhere else.
Culture shock is an overused term, but it fits Japan. And the weird thing is the more time I spend there, the more culture shocked I get.
You’d think it would be the opposite.
On vacation, Japanese people are so accommodating you think, “oh wow, this is easy.” They’ll patiently wait while you Google Translate back and forth as many times as you need.
But the longer I do business there, the more I bump into deep cultural differences.
One of the starkest: resourcefulness.
I don’t love generalizing, but ask any foreigner living in Japan and you’ll hear the same thing. Japanese people generally don’t color outside the lines. The way is the way. There’s a process, and you follow it.
Americans? We figure stuff out. And if we have to bend the rules to make it happen, we make it happen. That classic American can-do attitude clashes constantly with the Japanese process-driven, bureaucratic way of life.
So I’ve been learning Japanese, to do my part, ingrain myself in the culture, and show my neighbors I’m trying.
What I’ve learned, both from Japanese and from learning Ukrainian before it, is that the language teaches you the culture. Like in Arrival , where learning the alien language lets the linguist think differently. It’s like that.
But the problem with most language classes, including mine, is my teacher focuses on hiragana, kanji, basic phrases, time and dates, university names and year. Foundational stuff. Which is great if you want to become fluent.
And I do, so i’m along for the ride.
But that’s not the goal of most people coming to Japan.
Our clients spend 2 weeks to 2 months a year here during ski season in their akiya. They live at the resorts. They hike off-piste. They hit the izakayas and sing karaoke until 2 a.m.
They have zero intention of becoming fluent. They just want to communicate with the people around them, and in the worst case, stay safe on the mountain.
So we built something for exactly that.
Avalanche safety vocab. How to call 119 and explain where you are. If you’re hurt, what’s hurt, and what dispatch will say back. Every ski term we could think of: snow conditions, lift terminology, gear, off-piste lingo.
And then the fun stuff. Ordering at the izakaya. Beer vocabulary. Karaoke. How to flirt in Japanese. How to make fun of your friends in Japanese.
We took our yearly 3 month trip to Japan and asked: what would we need to say to actually live it in Japanese?
That's the course. And since your trip probably looks a lot like ours, we think you'll get a ton out of it.
Duolingo is great, but you don’t need to know “college,” “university,” and “computer scientist” for your trip to Hokkaido. You need to know how to order another round of highballs and ask if the lifts open early tomorrow.
This course is built for your trip, not for a fluency journey you’re never going to finish.
We’re putting the final touches on it now with a brilliant Japanese teacher who’s helping us make it actually fun (games, graphics, the works).
Join the waitlist: Ski Language Crash Course
Browse opportunities yourself: Check out current listings at Nipponhomes.com
Book Consultation | Subscribe to our newsletter
We’ve been building out a solid list of travel + ski partnerships lately.
If you’re gearing up for a trip and need things like luggage, Goggles, insurance and much much more there are some really good deals below.
We’re always looking to partner with great travel + ski brands.
If you’d like to be featured on our perks page or partner with us, reach out here:
This content is for informational and educational purposes only and reflects my personal opinions and experience. I am not a licensed financial advisor, tax advisor, or attorney. Readers should conduct their own due diligence and consult qualified professionals before making any investment decisions.