'They Never Believe I'm Japanese' British Born in Japan

What's it like to feel like a foreigner in a country you were born and raised in? I interviewed a family in Japan so rare, we don't even know what to call them. Alecia and Joshua are 3rd generation British immigrants to Japan who have never felt like a normal part of Japanese society.

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[breezeh]

Her and her brothers mannerisms are very culturally Japanese. She did seem so much more comfortable speaking Japanese ❤ What an interesting video 😊

[cas]

Its funny, Alecia has some of the Japanese face expressions and gestures 😄
She seems very nice and polite, just as you would expect from a japanese person 🙂 Very sweet

[jonorisin]

When the cart guy said "Oh--- you're Japanese? Excuse me. Then we're the same" - it was precious!!! He didn't question how it was so, he just accepted it with respect and love!

[maiyahtucker]

I’m American, born in Japan. Alicia’s expressiveness is perfectly Japanese 😊. My Japanese mother has been gone now 3 yrs. I miss her very much. She was almost 94. She never taught us Japanese, she said, because she didn’t want to confuse us. I knew better. None of my other half Japanese friends spoke Japanese either. Our mothers wanted to do their best to assimilate into the American culture after immigrating to the U.S. I remember a few phrases, but that’s it. I had a friend here in the U.S. that went on a mission to Japan who is full Japanese, but spoke broken Japanese. It was awkward for him to speak to them, he said, as they were confused at why he was full Japanese, but couldn’t communicate it well with them. I felt for him. Thank you for your channel. I’m really enjoying it!

[epikorean]

As an Asian born and raised in Europe, this story resonates with me. Thanks for the great content!

[matthewjames]

I will never get tired of these videos! Please keep them coming! Hearing people speak different languages is absolutely beautiful!!

[whushaw]

I really enjoyed hearing Alicia's story. You always learn something new from her viewpoint. Her unique experience is something anyone could learn from. It's great she got to have a rickshaw ride for the first time. A new memory formed! 💜

[dekaOsiris]

Japan IS a very lovely country, it is my favourite on Earth. I am blessed to live in Australia, but Alecia put it perfectly, there's a calmess and this sense of joy in Japan that i've never felt anywhere else in the world..

[toni]

It's a shame that people think London represents the whole of the UK. It really isn't. It's alien to people who live outside of London too.

[juromanz]

Congrats on one million subs. Great video again. I like the story of the two British-Japanese siblings.

[Rtc]

As an American Born Chinese (ABC) from NYC, I always loved it when other nationalities speak any Asian language, makes me feel proud of my heritage especially I was raised in a mixed culture household, some British and American along with Chinese traditions

[robertlalor]

That was so interesting. Thanks for making and sharing and well done on achieving your first million subs. Here's to the next million.

[callibor]

I like how the Japanese guy with a carriage learned that someone that looks foreign is born in Japan and speaks Japanese. That’s really cool.

[tommyleite-xo]

The part where Alecia said her parents made her speak english at home is so relatable as an immigrant. We are asians that moved to South america. My parents made us speak our native language at home, because we already got enough of spanish at school. But My brother and I can´t speak to each other in our native language... unless we had to say something secretly to each other ... and also, the shock from natives when they saw asians speaking spanish perfectly. Now there are more and more asians in south america, so in large cities is not an issue..., but if we go to the countryside, we still get people trying to speak to us using hand gestures....

[smre]

i love the rickshaw guys energy and the way he said "im japanese" was so cute❤ love the video~

[jayf]

Very happy to see you hit the million subscribers mark. Lots of hardwork on your part. Always having great content. You've come a long way. Congratulations!

[alexvargas]

I really liked this kind of content, I would love to see more! Keep up the good work, you've inspired me to start taking japanese seriously.

[chad]

this was adorable... i love japan can wait to visit. hope i have a good experience.

[sazji]

This was quite interesting, I had a friend who grew up in Iran; her parents were from America and also were missionaries there. But when 1979 came, they had to leave. My friend had completely American English and of course looked as American as anybody else, but something always seemed a little bit off, her reactions to things, her attitudes. When I stopped thinking of her as an American and thought of her as an Iranian who just happened to be Anglo-Saxon looking and spoke native English, it all made sense. it was hard for her though, because Iran was her home; she missed it a lot and was unable to go back.

[Paul_Wetor]

Alecia's reaction to the UK is interesting. I've only lived in one other state, briefly, but it does make you appreciate things you were never aware of. Same with my home town. As a kid, it was small and dull, but now I realize that being on Lake Michigan was way more interesting than being landlocked. Like _The Wizard of Oz_ sometimes - there's no place like home.