Visiting Japan? Watching YouTube videos is a fantastic way to learn more about the country and culture. When you know what to expect from a country, you can enjoy the experience more than being confused and out of place.
Luckily, there are lots of great YouTube channels that have dedicated their time and resources to bring you helpful content all about Japan!
Many of these channels are run by vloggers who have moved to Japan or are staying there long-term. This list of YouTube channels should be your first stop if you are thinking of doing the same.
Rachel and Jun are an American/Japanese couple that loves to share their life with the world. As an intercultural couple, they share their experiences in Japan over the years. From daily life to things like social issues and culture, and even their cats!
These two have been around for a while, and love to travel to lesser-known spots around Japan. Stopping by their YouTube channel, there is plenty of useful information you will come across to help you with your own Japan trip.
The hint is in the name – Brian loves traveling the country to find the very best ramen that Japan has to offer. Who knew there were so many types of ramen out there? You would, if you watched his YouTube channel!
This channel offers a pleasant perspective, with traveling all over and enjoying different environments and atmospheres. Any foodie is going to love this channel, and you can get some great recommendations on where to head for some killer ramen.
Greg from Canada gives us the chance to see life in Japan from his point of view. He lives there with his Japanese wife and two children and covers everything from daily life to special occasions.
Videos are entertaining and always offer some enlightenment as to the reality of life.
He covers topics like schools in Japan, various cultural quirks, and extensive details for trips for anyone who is planning on traveling to the country.
Interested in visiting Kyushu? Micaela’s channel is a must-visit to find out everything you need to know.
She has lots of experience in the entertainment and media industry, and enjoys making both fun and educational videos to help people learn more about Japan.
You can join her on her trips around Japan, and see all the cultural differences. Her videos are honest and humorous, so you will always be entertained and come away with something new.
Paolo from the Philippines has lived in Japan for some time now and is a pro at all things Tokyo. His YouTube channel is all about experiencing life and seeing new things.
From taking his viewers to check out various street food to university and rent. He also covers some more difficult topics, such as discrimination, so you can be sure to get helpful insight into Japanese culture.
This channel is unique in the way that many of the videos on it are actually live streams! John loves to explore and enjoy Tokyo and the surrounding areas and bring you along with him.
He frequently goes to shops and events, and sometimes just takes a seat and relaxes to watch the world go by.
On this channel, you will get a good idea of what recent life in Japan has been like, and what you can expect when visiting.
As one of the newest channels on this list (started in 2020), Ryotaro’s Japan is still full of excellent snippets of information. He likes to show quintessential Japanese spots, and all the best places to visit wherever he goes.
You will always find something useful in his videos, and get a feel for life in Japan.
Chris loved creating videos all about being abroad in Japan. He posts incredibly useful information about planning your trip to Japan, and what it’s like as a foreigner.
You will get to join him on trips around the country, and also experience different cultural curiosities wherever he goes.
You will find that he will often get his Japanese friends to join him on-screen, and even act as unofficial guides while traveling. It can’t get better than that.
If you want to make a point to travel to the parts of Japan that aren’t talked about so much, this is the perfect channel for you. Angela believes in exploring everything there is to see – and there is so much more to Japan than tourist destinations.
For an ‘off the beaten track’ vibe, this is the perfect YouTube channel and one that you will quickly fall in love with.
Starting out as a university exchange student, Sharla quickly fell in love with Japan. She primarily posts live streams of daily life in Japan, simply enjoying what life has to offer.
She has an extensive video library covering trips to various areas, and showing what life is like.
For a laid-back and authentic taste of Japan, these live streams are a fantastic place to start.
Emma only moved from Australia to Japan in 2016 and is still discovering all the fun and excitement to be had. You can follow her daily life in her new home country on her YouTube channel, and experience life in Japan from her perspective as a newcomer.
You are guaranteed to have a good time here. Not only does Emma make every video fun, but she’s interested in exploring what we all want to see more of – animal cafés and karaoke!
After moving from Germany to Tokyo in 2016, Sanna shows us what life is like in the capital and surrounding area.
She will give you lots of useful information regarding great tourist spots to check out, and also what pregnancy and motherhood are like in later videos.
Living in Osaka, Hannah offers pleasant and well-paced videos about her life in Japan. She travels around and isn’t afraid to show her viewers the ups and downs – including when things go wrong.
Watching this channel, you will get honest reviews and useful insights about daily life as well as fun activities to do around the country.
For those interested in traveling to other parts of Asia, Hannah also posts videos about Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, and many other countries, too!
Some Channels To Grasp The Basics
If you are looking for some helpful channels to get you started on learning Japanese, culture, and colloquialisms, these are two fantastic suggestions.
The channels below not only help you understand the language more, but they also give you some insight into life in Japan, and useful words and phrases you will need to know when visiting.
Looking for Japanese learning videos that are on the shorter side to keep your attention? Miku Real Japanese is going to be perfect – and very effective.
This channel focuses on grammar and tests and goes through everyday scenarios that will be useful to know if you are visiting Japan.
There is plenty of humor throughout the lessons, which works wonders for making the content stick better. If you want to learn more extensive materials, then there are also packages available that you can subscribe to.
So, there is content for every level if you are willing to pay a little.
Intermediate Japanese learners will do well to check out That Japanese Man Yuta’s YouTube channel for a casual lesson. Not only will you learn about the Japanese language, but also the culture of Japan.
He conducts street interviews and even goes through slang terms you might encounter in the country. Through his channel, you can learn so much more than you ever bargained for, and get a real taste of what life in Japan is like.
Final Thoughts
If you are planning a trip to Japan and you aren’t sure what to expect, YouTube can be your best friend.
Take the time to look through the channels mentioned above, and see what you can learn about real-life experiences before you hop on the plane.
This will work wonders for you, and help you learn what to expect so that there are no unpleasant surprises. That way, you will truly get to enjoy the best that Japan has to offer.
Hi, I’m Jason Patrick, and for as long as I have been alive, I have been obsessed with Japanese culture. From the sights and sounds of Japan’s many cities to its culinary delights that have become famous worldwide, I simply cannot get enough of this wonderful nation!
I hope that, by exploring this website, you all will develop a much deeper appreciation for Japan, and that it may even influence you to pay it a visit yourself eventually! It is definitely a trip of a lifetime, and whether you experience it firsthand, or through my own website, I’m sure you will become just as passionate as I always have been!
![20 Best Japanese Directors [And Their Most Famous Movies]](https://justaboutjapan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/20-Best-Japanese-Directors-And-Their-Most-Famous-Movies-150x150.jpg "20 Best Japanese Directors [And Their Most Famous Movies]")
