Preferably on youtube or available online. I want to have something to show my parents in video form about where I will be living. It should be in English, as they don't know any Japanese, and don't like reading subtitles.

Thanks.

Actually, I'm after similar stuff but in Japanese preferably without any subs. I have one one kyoto which is awesome. If anyone can link to any about any regions of Japan it'd be much appreciated.

mezbup Wrote:Actually, I'm after similar stuff but in Japanese preferably without any subs. I have one one kyoto which is awesome. If anyone can link to any about any regions of Japan it'd be much appreciated.

I just found a bunch of short movies about Osaka on a website of a tourist association:
http://www.octb.jp/movies/

http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/catego...62JDJmQm4x
thats the best I could do for a little english tour of Osaka. The camera is shaky but you get to see various aspects of the city.

yeah that camera is shaky. odd how such a big city as osaka doesn't have a documentary on it. or at least a tour video done by a travel agency.

http://tinyurl.com/yf7xhe2

jacf29 Wrote:yeah that camera is shaky. odd how such a big city as osaka doesn't have a documentary on it. or at least a tour video done by a travel agency.

Japan is very bad at marketing anything other than cars, personal electronics (though they are becoming more and more insignificant) and construction equipment to the west. That includes being poor at marketing the country as a tourist destination, and being poor at marketing/creating western-muki media such as documentaries.

The west is very bad at knowing or explaining anything about Japan, since most people don't really want to hear anything other than geisha/ninja/samurai/anime/wacky. They don't even get that part right either:

Geisha: weren't whores, not common in modern Japan
Ninja: were not cool 007 dudes who flipped out all the time, did not wear black pajamas. They just hid in plain sight, the same as spies today. Do not exist
Samurai: were not noble. The tomes about samurai chivalry and awesomeness were written hundreds of years after samurai stopped being warriors and became bureaucrats. Most major battles were won or lost depending on treachery. Rape, theft, killing women and children were the norm. No longer exist.
Anime: Being crazy about animation is just as nerdy in Japan as it is in the west. It's on tv more in the west than it is on Japan too, unless you subscribe to satellite.
Wacky: There is (almost) no such thing as a Japanese gameshow - 芸能人 acting on variety shows is a far cry from it. A lot of stuff espoused as normal in Japan on the internet are infact individual nutjobs (the chindogu dude), art projects (vending machine anti-robbery costume), or made up (used panty vending machines don't exist on every street corner, or at all - though backalley burusera shops are still around).

Though I suppose I'm preaching to the choir

It's not about Osaka and I doubt most parents would enjoy it, but Sour Strawberries looks like quite an interesting documentary.

Yo might want to try looking for Japan Land, which has a segment on Osaka. It's part really neat and imformative/part "oh wow, look at them wacky Japanese" at the same time.

strugglebunny Wrote:Yo might want to try looking for Japan Land, which has a segment on Osaka. It's part really neat and imformative/part "oh wow, look at them wacky Japanese" at the same time.

Thanks. I know about that woman already though, and at least in her book like one youtube comment stated she comes off as extremely condescending towards Japan. The video seemed to give the same aura. It seems like the kind of attitude towards Japan I don't want reinforced to my parents in a video I recommend them to see.

...and no one mentions the greatest documentary that came out of japan in the last 5 years.

Tales of an Osaka love thief,

http://www.thegreathappinessspace.com/

Ahh yeah completely forgot about that. I saw it and it was great. But problem is its in Japanese subtitles, and my parents won't watch a movie with Japanese subtitles. As I said in a previous thread a while ago, I think they have a completely ignorant view of Japanese that they refuse to change.

The only non-wacky non-historical documentaries I've seen in English were all pretty old pre-boom kinda stuff, or about discrimination. Probably also not good to show the rents. No one is going to make a modern documentary about anything other than Akiba type crap, since that is what people want to see.

In my case, my father thinks that Japan is like the ghetto red-light/entertainment areas he saw in Thailand/Philippines when he was in the military, since that is all he has seen of Asia. I never sought his permission/approval/help to go though... You've gotta start living your own life at some point.

iirc you're the one with the religious fanatic parents? You can probably never conquer their racial/religious hatred/suspicious/spite for others, but if it's more about your safety overseas here are some bulletpoints:

-Japan has the second largest economy in the world
-Japan has a higher standard of living than America
-Japan has manatory national healthcare, even for foreigners
-Japan is one of if not the safest country in the world (re: violent crime)
-Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world
-One can get by just fine not speaking ANY Japanese
-It's not actually that expensive if you adjust your lifestyle
-Food here is much healthier than in the US due to less use of preservatives, chemicals, additives, etc. Most western food is easily available if you want it, but you probably like Japanese food too anyways.
-It isn't a car based society so chances of dying in an accident are much lower than in the US (dying in a crash is #1 cause of death in the US iirc)
-While there is some discrimination, it is based on xenophobia and not racism (at least if you're a westerner) and so isn't directed personally at individuals as much (you aren't going to get lynched but it might be harder getting the apartment you want). Personally I experienced MUCH more xenophobia (of the hate variety) as a white Canadian in Texas than as a white Canadian in Japan.

If your parents don't know a lot about Japan, why limit yourself to a documentary about Osaka in particular? Find a general documentary that shows some city scenes and touches on food, culture, etc. Mention all those points Jarvik brought up because your parents are probably worried about what you will eat, is it safe, what will they do if you need medical help so far away, and so on. I remember my mom was a nervous wreck when I first lived in Japan because she didn't know anything about those topics either.

Don't know if it's any good but the St. Louis Public Library has a videocassette about Japan. Below is from their online catalog:

Title: Asia today. Japan Landmark Films ; produced in association with Adler Media.
Call Number: 952
Publisher: Falls Church, Va. : Landmark Media, c1998.
Subject(s): Japan--Guidebooks.
Travelogues (Television programs)

Description: 1 videocassette (50 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
Notes: VHS.Narrated by Paul Ryan.Written and produced by Darya Mead ; edited by Frank Bolger, Jr.One of the five programs in the series, Asia today, introducing Japan. In an area smaller than California live 125 million people. Japan has gone through many changes in a century and a half: from being a feudal, agricultural backwater, to a major military power, to a totally defeated and occupied state, to an industrial power house. Now Japan makes more cars than Detroit, more watches than Switzerland, and builds more ships than Europe and North America combined.

Mmm, what about travel shows? I guess they might focus a little on the wacky, depending. I know No Reservations has specifically an Osaka episode, with the stated intent of getting away from "stereotypes about Japan," however well it actually did that. Still, because of the basic premise (food), it tends to represent everyone as just regular folks who like to eat.

Jarvik: Yeah its pretty bad. They are not religious fanatics per say. Just heavily Italian. Think of that TV show Everybody loves Ramond. They are like his parents almost exactly like them, but without the funny. My dad could really care less what I do with my life and has these completely ignorant views like your on Asia in general. He too went to Tokyo for like 3 days for business, never really walked around, and all he says is it was dirty.

No joke, but like 10 minutes ago my mom brings me into my room for a "talk" where she starts crying nonstop asking why I am leaving her and my dad to die here (they have like 3 other kids they talk to and see all the time). And they are only like 64. She basically ended it with if you want to leave us forever, (even though I told her I would visit), you must not love us.

Oh man its bad. Only 2 more months of this and back to Japan again. And it doesn't stop once I get there. Then I have nonstop phone calls almost every day, mom crying on the phone every single time asking me to come back.

If anyone has any clue how I can make this easier please let me know.

Divorce your parents. They sound terrible. If they loved you, they wouldn't put you through that crap.

...and how anyone can say Tokyo is a dirty city is beyond me.

strugglebunny Wrote:Divorce your parents. They sound terrible. If they loved you, they wouldn't put you through that crap.

...and how anyone can say Tokyo is a dirty city is beyond me.

My dad really keeps to himself. He just works comes home watches tv. Actually its quite funny I swear they do the same thing every single weekday. Dad comes home watches tv with mom. Mom goes upstairs to read books. Dad falls asleep on couch, a few hours later goes upstairs to go to sleep.

My mom I'm pretty sure has some major psychological issue. She was the kind of mom who didn't make any friends. She had 4 kids and expected them to be her friends. Yeah messed up I know. Italian mother mindset. But yeah most likely some major psychological issues there.

Yeah I can't believe how anyone could say that about Tokyo either. When I lived there, I went to the worst areas of the city and even they werent as bad as most US cities.

I'm sorry I was harsh in my reply. I'm sure you love your parents, despite their faults, just living in Japan sort of changes you.

As for real advice....I don't know. You to live your own life, and hope your parents trust their tutelage and yourself to do what is right.

If my English doesn't make sense, it is because I've been in Tokyo too long, haha.

strugglebunny Wrote:I'm sorry I was harsh in my reply. I'm sure you love your parents, despite their faults, just living in Japan sort of changes you.

As for real advice....I don't know. You to live your own life, and hope your parents trust their tutelage and yourself to do what is right.

If my English doesn't make sense, it is because I've been in Tokyo too long, haha.

Even that sort of sounds harsh. My English is getting worse while I think my Japanese is not improving.

No man not harsh at all. I think its a matter of me sticking it out and letting them get used to things as they happen over time. They will eventually get used to my life and how I live it.