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Japanese, not exactly the easiest language to learn in the world however for some people, it is necessary. If you know that at some point in your life you are going to come in to contact with a Japanese person, or people, or even if you plan a visit to Japan, I would strongly recommend you learn the basics of the Japanese language. It's not easy, and will require a lot of motivation and dedication however, from what I have learnt over the past few years, the Japanese can get insulted and offended fairly easily therefore you do not want to do anything to upset them if you are either going to be working with them, socialising with them or spending time in their country. Japan gets a lot of tourism every single year, however most people will not take the time to learn any of the Japanese language before actually visiting.

Would you do it under a waterfall? A myriad of waterfalls, lush nature, transparent rivers... We must be somewhere in South America or Oceania? Right? - Wrong! We are, in fact, in the heart of Europe, a few miles away from Italy and Greece. See video below: The Plitvice National Park is an absolute delight, worth the trip from wherever you are in the world. For birdwatching, be equipped with a good pair of binoculars and a powerful tele-lens. And who knows? - Maybe you'll spot some interesting mammals too?! See video below: There are a few hotels in the area but, whilst we are talking Communion with Nature, go camping with your tent! Have you ever had a shower under a waterfall? - It is said to be a must-do of all your travels before you die. See video below: This is the ultimate survival experience. The jungle waterfall shower will propel you to the rank of a famous adventurer like Bear Grylls.The camping extremists like him would probably say that its not really camping if you don't hunt and kill your own food. See video below: So if you manage to get your rabbit, cook it well, and eat without forks and knives, like in the Prehistoric Times. Then, as you nap and consider the next steps of your travel adventure, remember how you got here in the first place: Bear Grylls survival clothing for your extreme travels to all corners of our wildest world:

I think that, in order to be respectful, everyone who visits a country, not just Japan but every country should at least take the time out to learn a fraction of the language. You can learn to speak the Japanese language, and learn to write it too. However, if you are visiting Japan, you will not need to learn how to write Japanese, just learn the basics of reading and writing. This will only, for the most dedicated of people, take a few weeks up to a month depending on how much you plan to learn.

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The basics you will need to know, to communicate with a Japanese person even just slightly, and so as not to offend them is definitely how to greet them, manners and also how to ask for things you may need to ask for whether this be things you may need to purchase, places you may need to visit or how to ask for someones name. For anyone, this should be more than enough to know for you to communicate properly. However, for people who are planning to spend a long time in Japan or who are going to be working permanently with people who speak Japanese but little English, you may need to take more time to learn more. There is no better way to learn Japanese than online courses, many of which are free. I personally paid for a course on a disc that I put in to the computer however I found it less effective and harder to learn than actually taking my own time to find a free way to do so and picking what I needed to know. I also have paid for online lessons however again, they are just not the same.

Overall, Japan is a beautiful country and is definitely an ideal tourism spot however I would definitely recommend you take a dip in to the culture and in to the language before you visit so you can be sure you can converse and communicate and socialise with them without offending anyone.

by Lucieh