You Can Do This Much Even in Japan | The World Expands Without Going Abroad (Part 8: Practical Application in Roppongi)

Triggered by my encounters in Roppongi,
my life began to change significantly.

Until then, I was someone who:

- Studied at an English conversation school
- Used a little English on the weekends
- Spent my daily life in Japan while longing for overseas

That was my life.

But from this time on,
things started to change little by little.

English was no longer something to "study," but
a life where I felt it was something to "actually use"became my reality.

◆ Roppongi, where I started going almost every week

After becoming close with A,
we started meeting almost every week.

When work ended, I would hop on a train and head straight to Tokyo.

First, I would go to A's house
and drop off my bags.

And then,

- Ebisu
- Azabu-Juban
- Roppongi

going out to these places became our usual routine.

Thinking back on it now, I think I had quite a lot of drive.

I worked normally during the week,
and when Friday night came, I would go to Tokyo.

I would spend the weekend with A,
and return to my hometown on Sunday.

I continued that kind of life for a while.

◆ Only one goal

Our goal at the time was very simple.

To talk with people from various countries.

It might look like what you would call "playing around."

In fact, I was going to Roppongi,
going to bars and clubs,
and talking to foreigners,
so from the outside, I think it looked like I was just having fun.

But for me, it was a little different.

It was,
a place to practice English
for me.

At an English conversation school,
the teacher speaks according to your level.

But in a real-world setting,
the person you are talking to is not a teacher.

There are times when you cannot understand what is being said.
There are times when you cannot think of what you want to say.
There are times when you cannot keep up with the speed of the conversation.

Even so, the other person is right there in front of you.

So, you try to convey your message somehow.

This environment was a huge stimulus for me.

◆ An environment where you use English naturally

In the streets of Roppongi,
there were many foreigners.

If you went to bars or clubs,

• English was flying around
• You talk to people you don't know
• Conversations start on the spot
• People of different nationalities and cultures are just normally there

Such an environment was the norm.

At first, I was very nervous.

I didn't know what to talk about.
What if I couldn't understand them?
I would be embarrassed if my English was weird.

I had those feelings too.

But as I was there many times,
I gradually got used to it.

◆ Even if the words don't come out, just keep talking

Your English doesn't have to be perfect.

Just using words is fine.

It's okay if your grammar is a little off.

Above all,
try to communicate.

During this time, I learned that through experience.

At first,
I would try to translate Japanese into English in my head,
and sometimes I would get stuck for words.

But sometimes, the other person will wait for you.

If you try your best to communicate,
there are people who will understand what you mean.

And, surprisingly, it gets through.

The joy I felt then
was different from when I got the right answer at an English conversation school.

“It got through”

That feeling
led to the courage to speak again next time.

◆Before I knew it, I was able to “have a conversation”

At first,

・I couldn't understand what was being said
・I couldn't speak
・I didn't know how to respond

That was the state I was in.

But, by being in that environment almost every week,
things started to change little by little.

Even if I didn't understand everything,
I could somehow grasp the flow of the conversation.

Even if it wasn't a perfect sentence,
I could convey what I wanted to say.

By watching the other person's expressions and the atmosphere,
I could keep the conversation going.

Before I knew it,
I found myself having a normal conversation
.

Of course, it's not like I suddenly became fluent in English.

But I think the
"fear of using English"
had decreased significantly.

◆ How to spend a night in Roppongi

When I didn't have a place to go, I would just walk around Roppongi.

And then,

・Don Quijote
・Starbucks

I often spent time at these places.

When I missed the last train, I would stay until the first train.

Thinking back on it now, it was a very free lifestyle.

But for me at the time, even that time was fun.

While talking with A, I would think about where to go next.

We would talk about the people we just met.

I would recall the things I couldn't say well in English.

Such weekends had, before I knew it, become my daily routine.

◆ I never had a scary experience

When people hear Roppongi, some might have an image that it is "dangerous."

Of course, you need to be careful in any place.

Whether you are following someone you don't know, drinking alcohol, or deciding on the time and place to go home, caution is necessary.

But for me at the time, rather than a scary place, Roppongi was a place where

the fun memories were overwhelmingly more numerous.

I never once had a truly scary experience.

I think it was also a big factor that
I was with A.

It wasn't just me,
and because I was with a trusted friend,
I believe I was able to act with peace of mind.

◆ Everything became an 'experience'

Looking back on it now,
my life at that time
might have looked like I was just playing around.

But in reality,
I was learning a lot of things.

・The experience of using English
・How to talk to people I'm meeting for the first time
・How to gauge personal space with others
・How to read the atmosphere of a situation
・The sense to perceive whether something is dangerous or not

I learned things little by little in real-world settings
that you can't learn just from school or textbooks.

◆ Sensibilities that were useful abroad

When I went abroad later,
the experiences from this time were useful many times over.

・What kind of places look safe
・How I should behave
・How to maintain distance from others
・How to react in conversation

Everything,
I think, were sensibilities I acquired during this time.

Not just English proficiency itself, but
the sense for interacting with foreigners
was growing little by little.

◆ Even while in Japan, there were places to use English

Through this experience,
I felt strongly.

Even without going abroad,
there are places to use English.

There are also opportunities to talk with foreigners.

If you take the initiative,
the world expands even while staying in Japan.

At that time,
I was experiencing exactly that.

◆ And then, to an event that took things a step further

During my life in Roppongi,
there is one event that left a particularly strong impression on me.

It was the day
when A and I
decided to go to the home of a foreigner we had just met.

Of course, I felt anxious.

But that experience
is something I still remember clearly,
and it became an unforgettable event for me.

Next,
I will write about the night I went to a foreigner's house for the first time.

・The high-rise apartment we headed to by taxi
・The time we spent drinking wine
・The surprising fact I realized in the morning
・And the event that made me think, "It's a small world"

I will write about these.

(Continued to ⑨)

Related Articles

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・⑦ Expanding Encounters Edition
▶ Overseas Homestay Series
・San Francisco Edition
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