Pros and Cons of Life Outside Tokyo | Rural Japan
Vložit
- čas přidán 23. 12. 2018
- I usually tell stories about what life is like in Tokyo, because that's where our family lives. But today we head out to Matsuyama in the prefecture of Ehime to find out what life in non-Tokyo, the countryside of Japan, is like.
Special thanks to Sherry for showing me around Matsuyama/Ehime. Check out her CZcams channel / sherryberryinehimeeng
Sources
cornerstonemag.net/urbanizatio...
esa.un.org/unpd/wup/
population.un.org/wup/Country...
www.theatlantic.com/business/...
www.mof.go.jp/english/pri/pub...
www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese...
apjjf.org/2017/06/Matanle.html
scholarship.depauw.edu/cgi/vi...
Matsuyama - By Reggaeman - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Website Post
→ bit.ly/LWIFEP118
Video Gear I Use
📷 Camera: amzn.to/2C1Ufsw
📷 Wide Lens: amzn.to/2BcJCGJ
📷 Prime Lens: amzn.to/2C2LEpt
🎤 Microphone: amzn.to/2BJi114
📺 Monitor: amzn.to/2E8XzUI
📷 All the rest: kit.co/lifewhereimfrom/youtub...
Connect
🗲Patreon: / lifewhereimfrom
🗲Life Where I'm From X Channel: bit.ly/ytlwifx
🗲Website: www.lifewhereimfrom.com
🗲Facebook: / lifewhereimfrom
🗲Instagram: / lifewhereimfrom
🗲Twitter: / lifewhereimfrom
Music by Epidemic Sound www.epidemicsound.com/
Hey everyone, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and in general Happy Holidays! I've heard a few comments about the definition of rural so I'd like to explain a bit. Matsuyama city is definitely not rural. I don't think it'd be considered a big city in Japan though, it's 33rd from the top in terms of size. More importantly, it's 248th in terms of density with 1,200 per sq. km. or 3,000 per sq. mi. To put it into context with the U.S., it's as dense and populous as Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ehime, the prefecture (think State or Province) that Matsuyama is located in is mostly rural though (at least in comparison to the Tokyo area or Kobe/Osaka/Kyoto). Sherry doesn't actually live in Matsuyama, but in a smaller town outside of Matsuyama. So she kind of has the perspective of both living in a town, but also being very close to a city that's a decent enough size to have good amenities. Because it's located on the smallest main island of Japan (Shikoku) with no shinkansen train, it's more quaint than places closer to the two big Kanto and Kansai areas. Hope it makes sense. Next time I'll most likely be taking you to a town that's more rural and more distant from a bigger urban area.
Tbh I'm just like sherry... I like to live somewhere near the countryside where there's no loud noises other then the wonderful sound of nature, I also like to be somewhere traditional and experience many japanese things where I would learn more and enjoy life .
But... living in a city like ( Tokyo ) would probably wouldn't be my number one favorite, cause their loud noises and alot of people been crowed like sardines and I don't really like to be around people's.
I don't hate Tokyo but I don't recommend living in Tokyo , I mean... Tokyo has amazing attraction and fun activities to do and also definitely would go for the food!!! But don't intend living in Tokyo.
I'm just a young teenage girl with big dreams ahead and would one day love to visit/live in japan . Would like to travel from North/south of japan to it main outside islands to explore and experience.
Should save up and wish me luck! 😊✌
I was stationed at Misawa Air Base back in the 90’s. One day I will go back for vacation.
dude what about Iabaraki !! ^^ merryXmass
she's beautiful!
I'm from New York City here in the 🇺🇲. I love everything about 🇯🇵. The history, the architecture, the beauty of those cherry blossoms and I've even made some "attempts" at learning Japanese.
But above all of that...
I will definitely look forward to making that trip over there with my girlfriend and have a great time and meet some kind, respectful people.
See you soon...
Japan 500 000 - Rural
Finland 600 000 - Capital
Capital doesnt always mean big population
But i get ur point
India and China - Hold our bears.
@@mrht6094 The population of Mumbai city itself is around 19 million.
a small district in India 500,000.
@@mrht6094 I'm not holding your bear
Thank you for this opportunity!! It was very interesting to compare the countryside and Tokyo like that:D
Thank you very much Shiori!
Shiori you are as beautiful as Ehime!😍
Born & raised in Hawaii, my thoughts are once you make those changes & bring in tourists, you can Never go back.
Hawaii once was beautiful, nature more than buildings, not over-crowded, people were friendly ... okay, some still are but the influx/"take over" of tourists have caused many locals to, well, not be so friendly - mainly because too many tourists have treated the native people as though they, the tourists, are better/above them. I have seen & experienced it.
Hawaii, sadly, relies mainly upon tourism for survival. Where once the natives had huge fields or ponds for growing their own food supply, tourism has brought in big business, which has bought out land & turned it into over priced stores/parking areas, or private beaches - no public access, and over priced housing.
As with Japan, Hawaii is an island nation, there is only so much space, and the cost to live there is SO ridiculously expensive that many natives have left. We're spread out across the mainland, missing home, yet home isn't home any more.
Personally we (my family) did go to the more urban areas at first, realized it simply wasn't for us, and moved to smaller & smaller areas. The nearest urban area to us is at least an hour drive away. It's worth it to us to have our privacy, the quiet, fresh air, nature.
I know many like the urban areas. But those urbanites also like our small towns which in winter becomes a snow covered wonderland (tourists flock to the ski resorts) and in summer has fishing, hunting (fall), hiking, etc. So even in our very small town we do have occasional tourists - and it's always nice to see them go home so we can get back to "normal", lol.
Side note - I absolutely love your videos about Japan, thank you so much for sharing with the world your experiences, and for having great guests to share with you. I think this is one of my favorites so far =)
May I ask why you use the name Sherry instead of Shiori? I think Shiori sounds at least as good as Sherry. :P
Was surprised to see you here. And we learn your real name ^_^
when you're young, full of dreams, life in rural area feels extremely boring as there's plenty of things you could do in the city but when you're tired from the bustling city life you just want to slow down so rural areas appear more peaceful to you.
Hahaha... I must be wierd then. I don't think I could ever survive in the city because I love nature soooo much. But, I like your explanation. Thank you 🙏
Not necessarily. I'm 29 and rural life has always been my appeal.
I'd migrate there in a heartbeat. I prefer being in the coutryside instead of the city.
As someone who lives in the city, you and me both brother.
i fkn hate cities.
I live in London and I'd definitely move there too lol
Same here. I also prefer to live in countryside.
When I was in my 20's I had to be in the big city- it felt so cool and exciting. So I moved to NYC after college and in many ways it was really was everything I wanted at the time. So fun, fast-paced, exciting, etc.
That being said as soon as I got closer to 30 I felt so smothered and worn out. Tired of the congestion, both actual pollution and noise pollution, lack of nature, etc. I left for rural Texas three years ago and some of the friends I made in NYC couldn't fathom it. Well fast forward and I couldn't be happier, more relaxed, etc. and most of those friends in NYC are now BEGGING to get out of there.
I can definitely understand where she comes from. All the pros and cons. I live in a rural community myself. Only 5k in people. I came from a large city which had 4 million people. I moved to rural life for my health. The stress at my past job was literally killing me. Having epilepsy didn't help. It was to the point of a seizure every couple of days. I had to make a change for the better. A slower pace of life, but you give up convenience. My health improved dramatically. I wouldn't trade it again by moving to a large city.
What country do you live in? :)
Go rural is also my goal, I only have to figure out how to get an income to afford it.
It really depends but I am glad your health has gotten better. I didn’t live in a rural area per say (my city had a population of around 60,000) but in Canada the healthcare provided in the rural area is so bad compared to the cities... I would think twice before moving to a rural area especially if I had a health condition and needed proper healthcare
Heinz Mustermann , I live in the United States.
DotoriRN , yes that is the downside of living in a rural area. The healthcare system isn’t the best. Every doctor appointment, you need to travel to a city to get a checkup .
To me 500,000 is a huge city. But I'm from a small town (15,000 people) in Australia, and we only have 6 cities with a population above 500,000
Yeah that's what I thought too.. my hometown is 18000 .. population of my hometown was 21000 growing up but due to lack of Jobs, quality of life and aging population huge negative growth now... Living in a city of over a million my quality of life is so much higher than before... Also a lot less ignorance in the cities.. Rural America is a dead dream at least in my state..
It's important to look at the population density rather than just the gross population. Many inaka are actually several old cities rolled into one, so this number if people is spread among a large area.
Ollie I’m Australian. Our population density is extremely low. Like 2 people per square kilometre on average. Yeah towns have a bit more than that but I’m used to low density. To me 1000 people per square km is crazy. So whatever density they have is probably crowded to me
500k may seem big but depends on density. My city of Indianapolis technically has 900k. But back in the 60s, the city consolidated the entire county (think the surrounding towns, villages, and rural areas that surround a city) into the formal city limits. So even though we are a "city" of 900k, it is very spread out, over 60 square miles more than Manhattan. There are only a handful of areas that really even approach density that you find in the big cities. You can still easily find corn fields and people riding on horseback within the city limits.
@@Ari-kv3ci Oh jeez, yeah haha. I live in sort of a small town in the US and most inaka in Japan have half the density that my town does, even though it never feels crowded to me here.
The fact that the 'rural' locals built their own onsen to avoid outsiders says everything about making the small town a tourist attraction..... BTW I love Japan:-)
I live in rural Shizuoka prefecture. Although my town amalgamated with others about 10 years ago and is officially about 50K people, the town centre near where I live is only a few thousand people. We have a bus that runs fairly regularly to Shizuoka city (about 700K people), but it takes 1.5 hours to get there and costs about 2,500 yen (~$25) round trip. Unfortunately, the train line in my town was closed 50 years ago :-(
I'm Canadian, but I've lived in this small Japanese city for about 10 years now. I love it. It's so quiet and friendly. There is a lot of nature everywhere, but it is also convenient. There are 3 (!) grocery stores within a 25 minute walk of my house. There are also a surprising number of extremely good restaurants. I have a car, but only my wife uses it. There is no real need to have one in such a small town. However, when you live here you are *definitely* in Japan. The point about diverse culture in large cities is well taken. Whether it be food or clothes, or anything else: if it's foreign, it's hard to get without going to the big city.
I work remotely as a computer programmer. At the moment I do work for a UK company and everybody I work with is 8-9 hours behind me. By the time I'm finishing my day, they are just starting. This is difficult because I lack any real social life. I've only ever met 1 other computer programmer who lives anywhere near me, so I have nobody that I can share my work experiences with. Because my colleagues are all time shifted, I end up working a lot of nights, which has me wandering the countryside during the day. This is very nice, but the only people I meet are retirees. This has resulted in me making friends with people in their 60's and 70's, which is nice, but again it's hard to find anyone to talk to that can relate to me at all.
I think one of the big advantages to living in the countryside for a foreigner is that you are immersed in Japan. As I said, there is no escaping it. There is a certain pace of life. I must buy seasonal food because that's all that is available to me. On the other hand, when you see the pictures of the farmers on the produce in the store -- those are my neighbours. I recognise them. I see them working the fields. I know the care that they put into the food. My neighbours all know me and I'm expected to help out with cleaning of the neighbourhood or attending the various festivals. They chastise me when I work on national holidays (because it isn't a holiday in the UK ;-) ). They bring me omiyage when they travel and expect me to return the favour. I'm not sure how easy it would be to settle in so completely in a large city.
Anyway, this is my home now and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it's definitely a lot of give and take. It's strange, because I'm typing this in Canada as my wife and I are visiting my parents. I'm always homesick when I come to Canada and can't wait to get back to Japan. Watching your video helped (especially since I have fond memories of cycling in Ehime and visiting Matsuyama). I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
That was well written, thanks for sharing.
thanks buddy, am canadian as well hope to move to japan after this covid thing for 6 months and up my japanese and live in the quiet of rural life.
hailing from toronto.
thanks for sharing! :)
Btw how to work remotely as a programmer? Is it full time or contractor?
@@denshaSai I work as a contractor. For me, it was basically contacts that I already had. My advice is to start out in the industry with a normal office job, meet a lot of people and then think about doing contract work. There are very few remote full time positions in Japan, so I think contracting is the easiest route.
I would rather live in rural Japan than Tokyo. She did a great job at explaining the differences. I would bet that people are happier there overall than in Tokyo.
Tokyo is a shithole. Tons of stuff, tons of people but nothing exciting.
I am Japanese and I couldn't agree more.
Rural Japan is like a dream to me, coming from a person that living in big city here in Philippines
anti hero Similar to London..
Depends upon yr opinion 😉
I grew up in a town with 368 people in it, including me and my 7 siblings.
I cannot relate to calling this rural lol.
😂
More like a tribe huh
Yep my family's farm is in a village of 420
I'm from deer creek oklahoma. I feel u
I feel you. The village I am writing this from acutally just has 70 people in it :D We don't even have street names.
Her real name “Shiori”, is soo cute and nice!! I feel like a lot of us non Japanese people really like Japanese names.
Wish I knew the hanja for mine. I could translate
I lived in Sapporo, Hokkaido until I graduated from high school. The climate is similar to Scandinavia. The population is 2 million people. There are many nature, brown bear, beet fox and squirrel live.
MAI YAMANAKA cool
Sapporo is my favorite place in Japan! Probably because I came there first when I visited Japan and I have a lot of fond memories there. I'm also from Scandinavia so the climate is good for me. ^_^
People are also very friendly there. I lived in Tokyo for half a year as well and while there were of course more opportunities and things to do, it was also a very stressful and crowded environment.
Hokkaido is beautiful and in my head I can still hear that "Hokkaido song" playing in Susukino. I want to go back and visit again. :)
I visited Sapporo during my stay in Japan a few years ago. The most beautiful scenery I've ever had the pleasure to see.
I hope I have a chance to visit Sapporo when I go visit Japan.
I spent 3 days in Sapporo last time I was in Japan and it is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen
I prefer to live in a small town with a train ride 45 minutes to 1 hour from the city. Go to the city to have fun, go home to your quiet neighborhood to sleep.
I've noticed that a lot of people who move to Japan because they got interested in Japan through anime or Kawaii fashion, or karate or whatnot, often go to metro Tokyo because they feel that that's where they should go, or that's where foreigners go, but then they don't like it - because it's like Manhattan x 100, and then they leave. Often, i think the problem is that they're just not comfortable in big cities. For people who like a smaller town or grew up in a small city, if they look to live in a small town or smaller city in Japan, i think they may have a completely different feeling than if they force themselves to live in Tokyo. Tokyo is a culture shock for that reason, but if you're from a small beach town and move to somewhere in Okinawa or from a northern mountain area and go live in Hokkido, it may still be a culture shock with language and customs, but the feel of the place will be familiar and cozy.
I’ve always wanted to live in a rural Japanese town.
When I was first introduced to japan I was introduced to the traditional japan.
I don’t want to live in the big technology city of Tokyo but a small little farming town.
When I first was interested in moving to japan I looked at Ehime.
Now realising that all the major jobs are in Tokyo I think Kanagawa would be the best place.
But since I want to be a teacher I think I might be able to find a job in a small town.
And where are you from? And why Japan?
True weaboo
Shikoku is like... on ANOTHER level of chill & kindness. I went there a year ago, and I live in Osaka. I've been to many parts of Japan. The level of chill there is just...... I wasn't even sure if I was in Japan anymore. Driving on the roads I didn't have to worry about someone cutting into my lane with 1 inch of space, and everyone just gives off this relaxed/stress-free vibe. I love it there. If I could, I would love to retire there. My only issue is (FUN FACT!)........... there's not a single Saizeriya on the island LOL!!
hello yukinoshita. Is saizeriya famous all over japan or is it like a chiba thing only? Btw I'd like to say that i really have minimal knowledge of Japan
cyberslowpoke I concur! Really enjoyed my time in Shikoku back in 2017! Would love to revisit it one day.
My definition of rural is walking 30 minutes to see another human being
Mines 2 hours
Sounds like a serial killer
Hyman bean
As a foreigner living in Shikoku (Marugame, Kagawa) its really nice and peaceful here compared to the busy life in the city. Thanks for featuring Ehime, its really beautiful there!
For living in America for 3 years her English is amazing
Ikr I could understand everything she said and her accent didn't show much either. I met a man in his 40s who learned English in 7 months and it was really good
Sherry is gonna get flooded with subs :D
Hopefully, she deserves it! ^_^
Lol ive just subscribed to her channel xD
I think i heard Shiori?
I'm from Serbia. The cons are that rural villages look like something out of a Soviet movie from the 70s. There's usually just a few roads, the houses are old and decrepit and it's extremely poor. There are no good job opportunities since the only industries are agriculture and meat and those pay next to nothing. There is obviously nothing really to do in your off time so people drink in excess. It's especially bad because home-brewing extremely potent spirits is ubiquitous with Balkan countries meaning there is an infinite supply of essentially free alcohol. I probably have a dozen or more relatives that have died due to alcoholism in the past few decades. It's a depressing state of affairs. I assume it's similar in most other underdeveloped countries but it's particularly bad here because the capital, Belgrade, is one of the largest in southeast Europe which means that people in rural areas have even less incentive to stay and develop it when there is a city with 2 million people a few hours away. As for pros, there really aren't any. The vast majority of rural areas don't have any particularly noteworthy nature or culture to speak of. I wouldn't wish living there upon anyone.
@Tesla-Effect Hey, I'm from Bulgaria and I can totally relare to what you just wrote. The situation here is pretty much the same. The people (especially the older generation) constantly complain about the state of the country, but nobody ever does anything to make it better. It really irks me to no end to hear those complaints constantly and I think it's gotten to a point that is is more like something of a learnt responce to everithing bad that is happening. They even made a crappy commercial about it promathing some bank loan packet...
Anyways I liked your comment and wanted to reply. Hope you have a nice time :-)
@Tesla-Effect What you guys are talking about here is really interesting, thank you for sharing. But one thing struck me as strange, what do you mean when you say that the Serbian countryside is peaceful compared to the rest of Europe? Except for the really poor eastern parts like Moldova, part of Ukraine etc, surely the former Yugoslavian republics are among the least safe places in Europe? Walking around after midnight in any large city safely is something you can do in pretty much all of Europe. That's not particularly safe, that's just normal!
Self hater
Agreed
Same thing for Romania :
If Ehime is rural then my village is stone age.
I think if you trade a few more times it will quickly advance to the futuristic age. 😋
m.czcams.com/video/Tz1Wnsk8FH8/video.html
Be glad you live in a place like that
Same here man where I live has like a max population of like maybe 2000 people.. And then I feel I still overestimated it😂
They coundnt find any better example for rural like Fukushima or Hokkaido (outside of Sapporo) or Tottori. Those are more legit example of rural
like someone mentioned before, it;s all relative. this would be considered rural by japan standards
I lived in Shanghai for 10 years and when I moved to Atsugi (a city with 300K odd people), i never thought I can survive for a day, but here I am loving the 'rural' life here. It's supposed to be part of so-called 'greater Tokyo' area, but it's really not. Wagyu dinners for two 9000 yen, apartments for less than 90K yen a month, lots of mountains and farms, and great connectivity to Tokyo and Yokohama. I don't think I can ever live in a big city again.
Hi, I’m from Malaysia and lived in the city for 25 years. Well, it’s been 2 years since I’ve migrate from city to rural area. The pros living in the city are the people’s buying power is greater than rural area and job oppurtunity is more vast. The cons for me living in the city are the congested traffic (our public transportation is bad), parking and evergrowing migration from rural area. I really enjoy living in the area just like all the reasons Sherry stated, but being young and have student debt set me back. There not a lot of people hiring for you here, and the buying power in here is very low. Just like you said, rural area have less population and majorly senior citizen.
What a great video Greg, thank you for your high quality videos as usual! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas! 🎄
Man, this quality, and this tone of voice and this pronounciation. It's just perfect.
Thank you very much for your videos
I love the fact that these documentaries are at the same time greatly produced, feel somewhat personal and packed with knowledge.
Keep it up!
If I were to ever get the blessing of moving to Japan I would definitely move to a smaller town I think I would really like the life there can always visit Tokyo. But the beauty of nature that exist in Japan is incredible and I would rather have that outside my door every day. And I think the people would be absolutely lovely. Hey if there's a program that will pay for me to move there and I could help out the whole town I would do it in a heartbeat. Merry Christmas y'all
@ravienator I am very interested in moving to japan. I'm currently living in barcelona and learning Japanese.
What enticing me about Japanese rural is they have everthing that we in rural Malaysia need, eletricity and road
Jgn Komen begitu. Nti macik pacik bawang serang ang...kih3
AwiN Niwa Are you from the peninsula or the east?
And everything seems nicer compared to the rural areas in Malaysia haha
Deni bdarah org asli agaknya
You guys don't have electricity and road?
Majority of rural areas in Indonesia already had those basic. The only problems are entertainment, average education, and slow progress but luckily Tanjung Pinang has a really a progress thanks to Batam and being a strategic place which is also close to Malaysia and Singapore.
What were your governments doing all this time?
On the edge of my seat once again. All I can say is keep up the great work, can't wait for you to continue on this series!
I am Japanese middle school student living in Matsuyama (what a coincidence, haha) and I am learning English from my dad, who is British. I enjoy living in Matsuyama bacause all the people are super nice. Thank you for this video!
May I ask what your dad does for a living? I sometimes think of going to Japan so am curious what other foreigners do there for work.
For me who like calm and quite atmosphere, rural japan is the ideal place for me and for me there's more pros than cons for me
My experience for living there for only 3 months XD
Pros that i had : i was able to control my expenses better and i spend less because the price are cheaper and the only konbini that available was 7-11. People were also more interactive because there's weren't many people live there to begin with.
Cons that i found were mostly due to lifestyle issue like attending a major event, and my nation embassy also
adi parte are you in japan cause of the military?
Japan is a special case here. I personally do not like cities for a multitude of reasons, yet a few or many of my reasons (safety, cleanliness) do not apply to a Japanese city. I wouldn't mind living in a Japanese city vs an American city. That being said, small towns and villages are better, especially if they are in driving distance of a big city for visiting.
I totally agree with this.
True, a japanese city of 1 Million, has lower crime rates than quite a lot of European cities with 100 000 People
@@eberbacher007 and why is that🤔
@@podjun80 I would guess that the difference in culture influences it to some degree
Agreed. I think a smaller town within an hour of a big city is a perfect trade off. You can have the best of both worlds that way.
Wow - Sherry’s comments reminded me so much of my own suburban community and some of the challenges we face! Amazing how many themes can feel so universal. Great video.
I love these videos exploring the countryside and traditions of Japan in locations off the beaten trail and with a bit of history or documentary style info.
Keep up the great work!
Her English is exemplary for having just lived for 3 years in America
not when she calls a city rural lol
@@Micolash_is_behind_you its rural by japan standards also that has nothing to do with her english skill
Tehe, this is why I love living on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Go one direction and It has all the pros of a larger city (as it is the secondary financial hub of Britain and is also a "student town"). Go in the other and it has all the pros of living in the countryside.
Pros:
- amount of greenery within the city.
- culture, history and entertainment, from the Castle to the annual fringe, there is plenty to do and explore.
- the relaxed atmosphere where everyone is always ready for a chat.
- geography, hills and next to the sea so it allows for some excellent scenery.
- daylight during summer. Its not uncommon for the sky to never turn completely dark and if it does, its usually only from 12pm to 2-3am.
- job opportunities.
- education, we have it all, internationally renowned University plus 3 others, international ES/HS, some of the best private and state/public schools in Scotland ect.
Mediocre:
- cost of living, specifically housing. It is significantly more expensive in Edinburgh than anywhere else in Scotland.
- public transport, no surprises here, it does the job but could be much better.
Cons:
- of course this makes the list...weather. With it statistically raining 1 out of 3 days and being grey 1 out of 2 days, it's not great.
- daylight during winter months, it's starts getting light outside at maybe 9am and then it goes completely dark by 3pm.
Man, the quality of this channel's videos and content is unbelievable. Congrats on that!
Thank you so much for touching a topic that everyone likes but rarely someone takes initiative.
Thanks for creating such simple, subtle and sublime video.
I mean, that's rural??? In my country, that's considered a big city.
its rural by japan standards. when the capital tokyo has a population of 37 million, this town is rural in comparision
Thank you! In Sweden a 500K city is considered a big city. If my memory serves me right I would be the fourth biggest even!
Has Aiko stoped being in your videos? I miss seeing the world from a kids perspective. It was really fascinating to hear her. It comes from a more...hmm....everyday kind of feeling from her since it is her "normal" being a kid in Japan.
Hey!
There's only 2 cities in Sweden with more inhabitants than 500k (Gothenburg and Stockholm), the thirs biggest one ony have 300.000 people :)
500k is quite big haha
I love Sherry's channel. She's beautiful, smart, funny and so genuinely passionate about everything she does. I also love this channel and Tokyo Lens. All top quality!
Congratulations! The focus and perspective of the issues is pertinent and to the point, however, your delivery and Shiori’s are wonderful.
I think a good thing about living in the Japanese countryside is that people don't automatically assume you are a tourist, and so you end up having more meaningful interactions. I can't say so much for the big cities, but I imagine the community spirit in your neighbourhood is likely to be better in the countryside too.
Oh....man I love your channel so much
I always wanting for new video 😍😍
I want to see more of Sherry! Also, investing in that drone was one of the many great ideas you had in 2018... brings your vids up to another level :)
Another great production, Greg. Your guests are always so charming!
I live in rural Holland, region called ‘Achterhoek’. Literally translates to ‘Backcorner’. There are 57.000 people in my city. A city of 500.000 plus people would be a mega city over here btw. But yeah, if you want a big career at a prominent company you have to move to ‘the West’. That is Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam. I did for 10+ years too, then returned home. So this video could be transplanted one-on-one to where I live. In Holland, my area is called a ‘Krimp Regio’ ie. ‘Shrink Region’. Ageing population, young people moving out as there are no Universities here. Only good thing: Holland is small, Amsterdam is ‘only’ one and a half hours drive ( because we all have a car ;-) ).
Eric V - We do not have mega-cities. Amsterdam is only 800.000 people or so. So yes, Utrecht is one of the bigger cities in The Netherlands. The West of Holland is basically one big urban area ( called Randstad ). But not concreted up like Tokyo. Holland is one of the most densely populated countries, so finding a place to stay is hard or very expensive. I live in the east close to the German border, there’s still space here 😉
I stayed in Amsterdam (technically it was in Amstelveen) for a few months a few years ago. Even downtown Amsterdam didn't feel that much like a big city - relatively fewer people on the streets, etc., No high rise buildings in the city center. Though I must say.. the bicycles were something else. I've never seen so many bikes parked in one place in my life.
Eric V
Yeah it's the 4th largest city and it is considered big here
There are only 2 mega cities in Europe at international level. London and Paris.
Can people do job at home via internet? Holland internet infrastructure is pretty good right?
I guess we are really facing a problem here.
I myself grew up in a small mountain village with 700 people living there. For university I moved to Vienna, the capital of Austria and I see why a lot of people my age would do that. Like Sherry mentioned, you got way more educational options in cities and more job opportunities. Im currently studying molecular biology and that would have never been possibile if I just stayed at home.
Personally I prefer the city over my village because I just feel so isolated at home. We don't even have a proper internet conenction which I think is important nowadays.
Though I also notice that a lot of young people near me do leave the area for education BUT they return afterwards. So I think right now my area is not really affected by this immigration movement, because at least 50% who left once, come back at some point.
Unfortunately I don't really have that option, because there are no jobs for my study field so I have no choice but to stay in a city.
Im sorry if I made any misatkes, english is not my first language :D
Thank you very much for making these kinds of videos! I think they are very interesting. Keep up the good work!
Only 700 people? that's the most less people in a town i've ever heard, but i get what you want, internet connection in rural areas is one of the worst but i really want to try rural living like this one in the video because i'm living my whole life in the most populated city in my country Philippines which is 2.9 million so i feel challenge everyday because of traffic and mostly crowded places whenever i go into a mall, restaurant or store.
The quality of your videos is amazing! This is so interesting. Thank you!
Wow, I really like the quality of this series and it's insight. Thanks for doing a great job!
Woah, she doesn’t seem to have an accent like most people who learn English at an age older than 15. That’s awesome!
At 3:25 that's in Innoshima, i took a pic in that exact spot a couple months ago, amazing place!
8:18 little notice for anyone who hasn't caught onto it: it's not because it's further North (though it still is slightly more North) but because it's further East, meaning that Tokyo reaches night time first despite being in the same time zone
Awesome video. Can’t wait to see more!
This is basically Anime backgrounds IRL
The elusive anime houses with concrete and stucco fences, a 15 metre × 15 metre lot, and a 2-storey house may just be a myth. I cannot find any that still resemble the ones displayed. Are they what's in the illustrators mind of what was torn down decades ago?
1.bp.blogspot.com/-mYxnZvpHri8/WjqqQd945hI/AAAAAAAASqU/SKg7chptEh4rwrVdwRYO_0af7KM1A6F7ACLcBGAs/s1600/haruhi201-21m54s.png
41.media.tumblr.com/6cf26cc5724d1baa1daba65914a21d65/tumblr_nmzy00vJBP1tg9k99o1_r2_1280.jpg
thumbs2.modthesims2.com/img/8/6/3/2/9/7/5/MTS_Morbose-1443250-tumblr_m1bcve9qgr1qaqjk6o1_500(1).jpg
@@user-nf9xc7ww7m i see a few of those on japan websites for apartment/house rentals/for sale tho
did a quick search.
en.sekaiproperty.com/properties/2199/matsuyama-shi-minamiumemotomachi-house-minamiumemotomachi-matsuyama-shi-ehime
en.sekaiproperty.com/properties/1158/matsuyama-shi-oguri-house-oguri-matsuyama-shi-ehime
those are from ehime too lol
idk about the measurements, but there are definitely houses in japan like the ones u are looking for, just depends on the neighborhood
6:48 is giving me chills
Your "bye" on the end sounded a little sad 😔
baai..
Great video. I really love your cinematography and drone shots! Beautiful job! 👍🏾
That ”small city” is 10x larger than where I live. A city near the mountains, beaches, and that many people would be a VERY competitive place to live in the states.
10:37 - I lived in that little town (Yunogo) for a year in the mid 1980s!
I bought an old house in a small village in a farming community on the Sea of Japan. My neighbors are the finest people a man could ever meet.
I came unprepared. Instead of turning their backs on me. They came together and raised me like a baby bird.
This video (actually all your videos) is so calming and insightful
Keep it up!
I was in Japanese club in high school and I love you guys’ videos, and this one was so awesome!! Urbanization is a part of Japanese culture, but only so much. I love how you guys show us the different, less talked about parts of Japan, it makes me so happy!
I have always wanted to go to Tokyo
It's brilliant, you have to go some day 😁
Aaron Juars umm could you write it more clearly please
Aaron Juars Scotland 🏴 but I’m Filipino
Aaron Juars nice to meet you too and Merry Christmas 🎄
@Aaron Juars did you guys already meet? I'd always love to hear stories like this haha
I've for a while now believed rural, suburban, and smaller town/city populations will rebound as working from home moves from being a perk or rarity to a common aspect of many careers. With middle class wages weakening, cost of living is becoming overwhelming in many cities. Traffic congestion can only be alleviated so much without huge infrastructure investments. Working from home can save people an hour or more a day in travel and potentially thousands of dollars a year in cost of living being further from metropolitan areas. Businesses save money in being able to pay less to accommodate for cost of living as well as overhead in office space in these same expensive areas.
Still, people do want the amenities of living in larger cities, but I think there's a middle ground that will be established over time where moderate population areas become the new haven for young professionals by providing these amenities while also being affordable and giving people room to breath.
Well done Greg in putting together such a good documentary. Well shot and very interesting.
Fantastic video Greg, and the cinematography was phenomenal! Loved the subject and your work. Great choice in guest j-vloggers too. 🙂👍
Life Where I'm From: 516,000 is rural
Me: laughs from my ranch outside a town with 50 people
Merry Christmas Everybody!!!
As always, thanks for the great video!
*i love when aiko was in everyvideo and shin doing crazy stuff..... i know they have school and stress but still it would be fun watching them*
I agree with shiroi on many points mainly big cities have the meanest bunch. I dream to live in an isolated small rural village but maybe when I'm old because I don't have enough money to ditch the city life.
@Gary Oak Always seemed a poor way to live, treating people like things or obstacles to what you want instead of like other people, no matter if you see them again or not. And small town people can be small-minded, provincial, ignorant, credulous, and mean-spirited, holding a grudge forEVer.
cool video 👊
Thanks for exploring this with someone who has experienced both and, even beyond national borders.
Living outside Japan it was interesting to see this get addressed more and more in TV and movies over the last couple of years, but it's just much more useful to hear from someone who can speak from her own personal experience.
I love your videos sooo much. Happy holidays!
I prefer a mix between "city" and "rural" like for example Osaka or Kyoto.
Same
Dude, those are still pretty huge cities...
Notification squad
:D Merry Christmas Eve
thanks, its already christmas here so Merry Christmas 🎄🌅🍖🍪🍬🎄
Great video man! Glad I just stumbled upon your channel. If the videos are consistently as good as this one it may become one of my favorites!
You are probably the most interesting foreign youtuber in Japan that talks about living in Japan, you also have quite a lot of videos about topics that other youtubers don't even mention or acknowledge.
Generally, the bigger the city, the more that specialized services are available than smaller ones. This seems to be true all over.
I can't believe Shiori lived for only three years in the US. I could not speak Japanese as well as she speaks English even if I lived there for twenty years.
Her English is very good and very nice, but she never said she had learned English in USA. It could have been really good already before she went.
Thanks for always bringing good content! I’m actually going to move to Kochi, in Shikoku, around August of this year. It’s good to know there are people interested in living in rural areas. Looking forward to more content on the rural Japan! Cheers!
I've lived in the big city my whole life and watching this makes me want to move to somewhere peaceful & quiet. Maybe not far away enough that I couldn't access the city, but far enough that it's not at my door step. Nature being around the corner is also a huge plus.
Welcome!! from Matsuyama!!
12:50 yep life is complicated when you are young and surrounded only by old people... Same issue in Europe.
However nowadays with the massive spread of internet things can be easier than before.
i really appreciate this video. almost every video out there talking about life in japan, positive or negative, talks about tokyo, it's like the rest of the country doesn't exist.
Great video ehime looks beautiful. As does sherry. Thanks for the amazing video. Keep up the great work. I’m from Los Angeles and this place looks amazing.
4:30 Il Positano, you will always find an Italian restaurant in this world XD
haha true
This video reminded me of Sakura Quest.
YES!!! "matsuyama" ...sounds so similar to "manoyama" :D
Congratulations on reaching 1M subscribers! Love your channel.
Hi Greg, great video! Thank you for all your hard work
Well Rural areas have much to offer too , also in Rural Japan !
6:08 Not all people need to go to college , for many rural jobs a Agricultural High School is enough , after that can work and continue to learn ...
*especially easy now days with the Internet
Example Silver Spoon (manga)
It's like really amazing how many times she says like. So America like
More "like" horrifying. . .
@@patrickfitzgerald2861 Amazing can mean both positive and negative. I mean it in the negative sense- more like extremely annoying.
I got it Rahim. I spent several weeks in Europe this fall, and was amazed (in a good way) by the English language skills of the young people there. Unlike here in the US, they could engage in lengthy conversations without using the word "like" once.
She spent high school in the US and speaks English like a typical US teen, it’s cool!!
@@AmyStylinson it is like not cool at all. It is annoying.
I want to move to Japan and I'm learning Japanese and when I imagine myself living in Japan it brings happy and sad tears on my eyes
Hope you make it to japan! Best of luck on your journey.
Your videos are always sooo great!!!
Keep Enime a hidden secret of Japan💗
Her voice turned cute when she started speaking japanese lol
your videos are all of depth ,great job
So, the very big difference between every other vlogger or youtuber is. Life Where I'm From, is like a small documentary series, the way how he set up his videos with him talking over it with a very calm voice. And then his music, or the Nature sounds he pot in his videos, beautiful. Pure perfection !
So pleas keep up the good work, and ty very much for your awesome content !