I want to film where we order coffee in the Starbucks But I just found that the Starbucks is not really close from here. Do you know any Starbucks around here?
There’s one in town hall station or there is the one in Castlereagh Street, I think.
where is that
Towards Westfield.
Towards Westfield. You mean this way?
Yes.
okay.You mean downstairs?
Downstairs. Just a small one, though.
Okay. Where should we go? Where do you think we should go? This way?
That way.
That way okay it’s a little bit far but we can walk.
It’s fine there. I’m down.
I’m down I like it.
when you’re making plans, and oh you’re like, ‘ Oh, do you want to go to dinner?
Okay. Is it Anna or Anna?
Anna.
Okay. Is it wrong pronunciation if I say Anna?
I think it’s the Australian accent and how we say it .
Anna? Okay so nobody really says Anna?
That’s very American though
Oh, really? It’s interesting. I found this gimbal is pretty heavy. this is the first time I’m filming
It’s workout.
This is is the first time I’m filmed with this. Mika-san, it’s going to be a hard work for you today. How long have you lived here?
10 years.
10 years? you were born and raised here?
Yeah, I was born here. But my parents are both from Japan.But I’ve never lived there.
you never lived
I’ve never lived in Japan
Which is your first language? Japanese?
Japanese.
Which is easier for you then?
Ummm, Yeah.
I don’t think so.
Which is easier? Is Japanese easier for you to speack or English?
Every day, I prefer Japanese but
Oh, really?
But if I’m angry or if I’m upset, probably English.
That’s very interesting.
Japanese is hard.
Japanese is hard, you think?
Can you write like, kanji and stuff?
I can write my name.
You can.
I can.That’s about it.
That’s about it? Okay.
I can text.I can write it on my phone and I can read it but if it was to actually handwrite it, I don’t think I can.
I’ve heard that in Australia, at some point, you have to choose a language in school like among French Italian or whatever and uh is it allowed for you to choose Japanese in that situation?
I went to a German School.
German School? That’s random isn’t it?
Yeah, it’s a bit random .
what do you mean?
It’s a German-originated school.The philosopher is from German.
I’m already confused.What do you mean you got a philosopher in school?
The school is made by a philosopher. It’s a really old school. They actually have it in Japan as well.
But you went to the one in Sydney?
In Sydney, yeah.
I see.
So there, I had to do German. And then Japanese was an option. So first I did German and Japanese but obviously Japanese was too easy.
If I wanted to do Japanese for the HSC, which is the final high school test, I would have had to do a harder version.
Oh okay.
I don’t think I could do it because it would have been like Japanese middle
Like all the kanji it will be included
I think it would have been Japanese middle school standard. I don’t think I can do.
I think we’re here in Starbucks. Let’s see okay it’s quite busy. Okay. I’m going to order first and then we’ll see how you order.
I’m just here in Starbucks but I’m kind of nervous cuz this is for video. I don’t really say anything special. I just say … I I’ll do it anyway.
we’ll find out.
I just found that she’s really good at talking. Have you ever been on the media or something ?
Japanese media?
Oh yeah? What? Like YouTube?
It was a random TV show.
Can I have a ice long blac, small size, please? And what do you want?
Could I get the caramel frappuccino, please?With no whipped cream.
What size would you want?
Can I just get a short?
We don’t have short for this.
Okay, then tall.
Mika-san?
Another caramel Frappuccino. It’s a lot of sugar.It’s not healthy.
That’s okay.
With whipped cream? And with whipped cream,please. There’s a coffee in it already, right? in the CFE there’s already coffee in extra short no no yeah that’s good tall please tall yeah
Any food any food?
I usually notice when Japanese people speak in English, but this time I didn’t notice at all. like she was really good at speaking English. I thought she was just from Asian country or maybe she was born and raised like you.
Yeah, she didn’t seem like… Because the way she said no, it was very strong. like no. But did you notice? No okay yeah. wow. this is wow.
Mika-san’s husband is also Australian.
Australian.
So, you speak not Japanese, obviously. English when you’re at home?
Yes. But he speaks the Japanese a little bit. oh does he yeah oh okay cuz he mixed actually what with with food and yeah Mommy Japanese okay and then that is 100% Japanese yeah that’s why it’s a mix but was born here they grew up in Australia so that’s why and he gave up for studying Japanese at all and he didn’t go to Saturday school as well oh like Saturday school you mean like Japanese jaanese school oh I went as well you went to Japanese school she went okay well did like you have to learn Japanese day um yes it was every Saturday but um I think I gave up around year five thank you okay we could film and Starbucks which is good and are we going to uh it’s not a really a park it’s just like a space where there’s um like chairs and tables don’t you think it’s easier to be to get along with uh like oie people cuz they’re not like like I don’t know like when I see jaese person for the first time I feel like I got to be like I don’t know like there there’s a distance I feel like there’s a distance yeah cuz we have the formal and informal but I think for me I prefer maybe I prefer Japanese now how come I don’t know I just feel like I can relate a little bit more yeah but then again all my high school friends are Caucasian okay yeah so but I think now I prefer it but back when I was younger I didn’t want to hang out with Japanese yeah this is interesting because I um a month ago or two months ago I filmed with a a guy Japanese guy but he was born and raised here and his well his Japanese was quite good but not like 100% perfect.
And he was saying that like when he used to go to like high schools and stuff he um only hang out with the Asian people oh you know like some Asian Asian kids are like that here
we do that like some schools like if there’s if it’s mixed it’s always Asians are one group yeah the white people like one group yeah yeah yeah is it
I think maybe the culture is a similar and they think it’s easier.
maybe it’s easier but I didn’t have a choice.
So there were no Asian people in my class.
Oh really? Oh, because it’s a German school.
um yeah I mean it was very mixed.
Had a lot of European Australian, I think.
There was definitely some J kids as well but um what do you
what do you speak then uh at school no I mean like languages
I speak uh Japanese and English.
Japanese and English okay my German’s hor oh really I can’t speak it okay we should be able to find the seats oh there right so
I’m just wondering when Japanese people come to Australia, we got like kind of like a Japanese Community. but because you were born and raised here, like how do you get to see Japanese people.
so my first friends I ever had were all Japanese so until I went to kindergarten it was only Japanese people so all of my childhood friends were all Japanese and they’re the same as me so born and raised in Australia I mean some of them went back now because I think they came for like their parents’ work but I mean a lot of them are still here so when I was younger it was a Japanese Community my mom found a Japanese community in the NorthShore area where I lived.
But they like all born and raised in Australia?
Most of them, some of them were probably born in Japan and then came over, and then they went back again. But the ones that are here are the same as me.
so born and raised in Australia and They were my first friends. But then once I entered my school which is kindergarten all the way to year 12. I was in one school, and there was like no Asians there. I was like the one Asian there. I didn’t speak Japanese as much but I think my parents were worried that I would forget everything. So that’s why they sent me to the Japanese school which I hated.
cuz cuz it’s going to be sad you know if you forget how to speak Japanese, you know you can’t really speak to your grandma, grandad.
Exactly
That’s why like I live here and I’m going to settle down here and when I get a kid like I’m going to definitely say like oh like. Mom and Dad doesn’t understand like English, so please speak Japanese at home. So in that case, I think my kids won’t forget how to speak Japanese.
So in that case, I think my kids won’t forget how to speak Japanese.
I think some people born and raised in a foreign country. I mean Japanese people born and raised in foreign country when they got when they get like 18 19 whatever I think some of them like tend to be interested in going Have you ever been to the stage where you want to do it?
living there?
I think I did like because of COVID, because of lockdown, and I was so bored. I didn’t really know. I don’t know. It just felt like I was repeating everything. I had that moment, but luckily, I found a better opportunity for work. I did stay. Because to be honest, when you think of it in the long term, it’s a good experience. But for me, my priority was to kind of grow my current career as a hairdresser. I feel like if I went to Japan for one year because for me, I have family over there, I have a house over there, I could. But it was going to stop my career a lot. It would have made my Japanese growth, but I don’t know I don’t think it was the timing
You just wanted to work and have a better improve your career.
Yeah, I just wanted to advance my career.
I just said improve career. One of my Japanese friends in Australia, he was like, oh my hair is improving, like growing. So sometimes English gets difficult . I make mistakes sometimes.
no no but think yeah I think it’s fine like like some people like I’m teaching English every day to my students in my school oh yeah you have a school yeah I have a school like
I’ve got like heaps of students, and they, not everyone, but I think mostly people are afraid to make mistakes. But like I did, I make so many mistakes when I’m speaking and l’m not grammatically correct all the time, and you don’t have to. So I think it’s just good to give it a go, yeah?
yeah just do it like cuz I feel like that is a bit of an issue I do find because I mean I’ve worked in a Japanese company before and when they are they ask me English questions but they’re so afraid to use it cuz they can’t pronounce it And then I’m like, but if you never use it, you’re never going to learn, right?
yeah definitely,
And then I agreed. I feel like what you were saying with the Japanese Community the working holiday kids when they come over here, they only hang out with Japanese. And I’m like, well, if you want your English to really improve, I feel like you should just step out of your comfort zone.
Yeah, step out of your comfort zone, put yourself in the environment where you can… Which is very hard, So it’s very brave if you can do that. But I feel like that’s how you take advantage of your time That’s so limited over here as well. To take full advantage of the opportunity you get over here.
how do we do it, Go on a Tinder or what ?
yeah you can go on Tinder, you can swipe. You can swipe around. Even just like living in an apartment, like if you have flat mates, not moving into a Japanese flat mate house, right?
so we finished our coffee and Sydney is a big city but do you think there are many things to do here I mean if you compare it to somewhere like Japan yeah I know like that’s that’s the that’s the problem like that’s the problem my face all the time like Sydney is Big City and you have beaches and like everything but you don’t have many things to do I don’t think so yeah
so I’m walking to nowhere. I’m actually thinking maybe we can go to Circular Quay or something.
Yeah I’m down.
We can see the Opera house. We can show the Opera house to people, the Harbor bridge, and let’s see how it goes.
I think that’s what it’s like. Oh let’s go hang out in the city. there’s nothing in particular. Maybe we’ll get lunch, but the rest is just walking around.
What do you usually do? With your friends?
with my friends I rarely go out but uh oh really if I what what are you do then I like to be at home okay but if I do I usually my lunch I usually go somewhere I really want to go like somewh a bit pretty and then probably go shopping yeah but then again the shopping is not good
yeah I know everything’s too expensive it’s expensive and I don’t know it’s not that nice so so I’m confused you’re very extroverted but you prefer to stay home M I don’t really like going outside okay okay okay it’s a extroverted introvert extroverted int is your day off today yeah it’s my day off yeah we walked a lot already yeah it’s okay we’re burning off the calories yeah we have to oh you guys had a um the drink with the heaps of sugar yeah rapino I took my whipped cream off no you I think you no I think you guys didn’t I think it was just not there no no no it was an option it was an option could I get the caramel frappuccino please uh with no whipped cream okay a little bit healthier tiny bit tiny bit tiny bit oh the other day I went to uh a Chinese restaurant called m one you you know one I think heard that one yeah it was pretty good Mikan is born and raised in Japan and uh you’ve been living here for 10 years now what is the good thing about living in Australia and um hard thing about living in Australia actually for walk in the life balance kind of balance yeah pretty much that’s it that’s it yeah oh what what is the difficult thing to live in a Australia nothing nothing that’s only the visa thing Visa problem always have struggle for the Visa problem in past 10 years yeah yeah right of course I was struggle for the study English when I was stud when I came to Australia I just go like I try to speak English English for even a grar mistake and the broken English it doesn’t matter I don’t care yeah that’s why I don’t have any stress about it
That true it’s important like I said, I make mistakes. so many mistakes, but who cares? I’m actually going back to Japan in 2 weeks, maybe 3 weeks?
For a month.
Oh wow
I’m going to fix my teeth.
Oh okay.
I know it’s wrong to say complex. You know complex in Japanese?
Yeah like yeah complex. So what is it in English?
insecurity.
Insecurity, yeah.
Is it insecurity?
I guess yeah I guess it’s insecurity.
I think you can say complex. Oh, my complex is my weight, or my complex is my teeth no one says that. But in Japanese, we use that word so much.
Yeah so well complex or insecurity of mine has always been teeth. Because I broke my front teeth when I was younger. And then got rotten or something I’m not too sure. And then I lost three teeth. And so I had to get a bridge. it’s it’s it’s called a bridge I don’t know I don’t know how it’s called properly but anyway it’s called bridge and because I was really like a little M so you know obviously you don’t really have to spend too much money on it so I just got the cheap one oh yeah like plastic looking and then it’s just so yellow because I drink coffees and stuff and then finally I save a bit of money to change my teeth so but I just have to stay in Japan for a month it takes a long time like recovery yeah like to change to you know to to do everything also it’s a pretty big surgery then it’s not it’s not surgery it’s just uh you you have to like yeah you have to just get it done we are here yeah circular key circular key uh maybe we can just have a look at the um operate house walk around what is what is the park for Park yeah Luna Park no uh Garden oh there’s a garden I don’t know you don’t even know I don’t know I don’t come here Botanical Garden Botanical Garden oh is that here yeah oh maybe it’s a very touristic maybe it’s a bit like touristic place and the locals don’t even know I mean you go to a like for excursions but that’s about it yeah when we were in high school and and excursions I learned that when I studied uh vocabulary for to toy good to to to is like the test yeah like in Japan uh not here oh so Tok is a test like English test is it like the most popular most popular test exam English exam for Japanese people I guess but you don’t have a speaking and writing it’s just uh reading and uh listening oh so it’s not that’s better I mean like better than I yeah yeah I quite hard you know quite hard right you know there’s so many gacha gacha these days oh yeah you see gacha gcha how much is it that’s like okay one token it must be like $5 so oh it is 5 look at it so cute two token yeah that’s 10 bucks R I can’t say it is what it is I can feel now there are more Japanese people finally after I know there’s so many can you tell them can you tell the difference in the city I can yeah no I mean like when you see like people can you tell all oh yeah yeah yeah oh can you a Japanese person I can spot them a mile away oh really yeah I can’t even do it sometimes I can’t do it okay the Starbucks girl was a little bit hard yeah she got us cuz she was wearing a uniform and her English was really good but General like when you look at the way they dress you can tell the haircut the hairstyle I think M would understand but there’s like a TP like very Japanese hairstyle you can tell and I’m like oh they’re Japanese and the passion as well but you dress up like a Japanese as well I think I’m more yeah everyone says they think Korean yeah kind of kind of yeah Korean Japanese yeah a lot of people say I’m what does it mean like but I’m actually like ABJ ABJ Australian born Japanese okay but they’re like oh you look very suddenly you started using a difficult terms like AJ but I think maybe might be a little bit drry so you might not want to use I may I I don’t know beep I think it’s my makeup my hair my style it’s usually one or the other so my Japanese friends that are born in Australia they either become like a super like ABG yeah ABG there’s Asian baby girls Asian baby girls you know the that look or they become like my type where they become they look more like Asian Asian yeah yeah it’s usually one or the other oh that’s so true and then you were completely AJ I went to I went to the the Asian looking side Asian looking side yeah this is the first time in a long time to film like this and I just found that it’s really difficult to do I think it’s not really difficult I just like I have to get used to it to film in this kind of style yeah yeah like a filming a vlog yeah also you’ve never done like a vlog style before was it 4 years ago oh that was the last time yeah do you have a YouTube channel no oh no uh mentally it’s easier to do than uh the interview videos like randomly speak to people and ask ask them to if they can do a interview but it’s just uh difficult I mean we were in the city I think it was just loud it was hard to film EV maybe you can try like more chill areas like bit more quiet suburbs something I don’t know if it’s being a good lesson or not but like honestly I speak like this I was a little bit nervous because like I said I haven’t done this style for a long time but when I uh when I meet a person for the first time like this like I usually speak like this and just uh just throw some questions not too many questions obviously it’s not an interview um was I okay yeah no it was good it was fun good experience something new yeah I’ve never done this so you never done this I’ve never done this so you’re just naturally good at it no nous yeah okay anyway thank you very much for watching and I hope you like this video if you like it I’m going to do it again so see you guys again and thank you very much for your help today bye [Applause] [Music]
