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Thank you Mark. Very interesting. Well done!

Thanks for posting this entertaining video. You picked a lovely part of Japan (Kamakura) to retire in. Check out the Costco that's in Yokohama. You can find American style hot dogs and buns for sale there. You might even be able to make a decent Chicago style dog. Best of luck to you and your wife.

New subscriber here, vacationing in Japan until February, how does the US and Japan treat you for taxes ? Does the US government still get a piece of your social security cheque ? Does the Japan tax department give you credit for having to pay tax in the US? My country does have a tax treaty with Japan. Thank you for your videos.

Mark, A tremendous wealth of understanding beyond and below the history textbooks. Your insights and knowledge are invsaluable fopr those of us who wish to 'dive deep' into Japanese society, culture, and history. Looking forward to the next installment.

TH-cam just recommended me your channel today. Is your wife Japanese? I understand it's not that complicated to buy a places as a foreigner but what are you doing for the visa situation?

There's a water ambulence -- presumably that's used in the case of taking a pregnant woman to a hospital to give birth. And of course, people have died on the island. I personally know many people on Miyajima and I never heard of people being asked to move away as they grew older, but what you said about not wanting births or deaths on the island is correct as far as I know. Of course lots of animals die and are born on the island. The no birth/no death thing is definitely Shinto -- even though there are lots of Buddhist temples on the island, too. The town government used to seed あさり (a kind of clam) and people used to go claming for them in certain seasons. Somehow I suspect they don't do that anymore. The deer are nice, but I think most of them don't realize that they are not goats. They'll eat anything. I saw two college-age looking girls taking their picture with a deer, and I had to point out that the deer had started chewing on her dress while they were trying to pose with it. Beautiful pictures, by the way. Looking forward to your next video.

Sir, you're living the life I wish to live at your age, I wish you the best there in my dream country

Enjoyed your video which I just came across. Good luck with your Japanese study. I’m 71 and retired from teaching English at the end of March last year (2024). I moved to Aichi-Prefecture 33 1/2 years ago with my Japanese wife, a toddler and a baby. I only spoke English at home hoping our sons would be bilingual and I only used English for work. I’m not fluent in Japanese, however I only speak Japanese with Japanese. The exception is if I meet former students. Then I happily let them practice English with me. Now that I’m retired I’m trying to study several hours of Japanese a day. I have zero interest in learning how to write Japanese. My focus is speaking, understanding and reading Japanese. I hope we have a chance to meet someday. BTW, I’m from the US. I did live in Palatine and work in Elk Grove Village a few lifetimes ago. First came to Japan by ship off and on ‘75-‘79 USN. I’m not a TH-camr.

Dont bring other paste smuggers here.

Enjoyed your videos and experiences. Make more videos! That 'R' and 'L' language thing, those sounds exist in the minds of English speakers raised on them since babes - but not in the minds of those solely raised on Japanese speech. Once you immerse yourself into the Nihongo mindset it'll make a whole lot more sense - there is no 'R & L' only ら り る れ ろ sounds that fall somewhere in between.

Well you think it that easy

Nice, Merry Christmas to ya, hope to be there in the same capacity one day, and glad to see your content. :)

Merry Christmas Mark! Sending hugs and wishes for Christmas blessings to you and Akemi this holiday season!

Nice. Very nostalgic...

Thanks for sharing your experiences and the funny stories. I'm also trying to learn Nihongo as a way to exercise my old brain. I've been at it around an hour each day for 3+ months now. I'm having problem making it stick. Hope you will have better luck. BTW, your voice is very good, nice and clear.

You're not actually speaking Japanese! But it totally sounds like you, and if I hadn't seen an intro for this app last week, I wouldn't have noticed so quickly. That's an awesome app! Is it cheap? I'm from Detroit, been here.... a friggin long time... and I learned Japanese the old fashioned way. Speaking, reading and writing Japanese is really useful for lifers here. It's not too late! I totally recommend it. It will take a heck of a lot of stress off your wife and improve your relationship, too! (I speak from personal experience)... Just emember おむつをかえてください。(For the nursing home). I don't think you get to choose what gets deleted from your hard drive! -- oh, and recently another Japanese retirement channel (look for Ben Tanaka -- a brit, I think) had a video about "losing your second language ability in old age"... Seems like even people like me (lived here 30 years, speak Japanese fluently) might lose our Japanese ability as we get older. But since you've chosen Japan, I still think you should learn as much as you can. By the way for hiragana and katakana -- you can learn them each in one day. Really! (You'll forget them the next day, but you can re-remember them, and the second and third times are easier). You have the advantage over a true beginner in that you know lots of Japanese words and are surrounded by Japanese writing and signs and print everywhere. You should practice WRITING, but give yourself a pat on the back (or a beer) if you recognize a lot of characters. Let yourself study kanji with all the time you've saved over your plan. The fun part of studying japanese is not the actual studying -- it's the realization "OMG, I did it!" when you realize that you can understand (and read) things. I don't recommend climing up Mt. Fuji. But for people who do, it's the view from the top that makes it worth it, the climb is not the fun part. (and you can have bragging rights and a story until you get dimentia). And yes, JLPT is a great way to answer the question "what should I study next?" So that's a great idea. I look forward to hearing about your progress and more of your mind farts. Not tentacles, right?

I love listening to people who have so many years of life experience to share. Good luck!

The reason why Japanese people struggle with 'R' and 'L' is because in Japanese, the sound they have (　ら　）is actually in-between 'R' and 'L'. So to them the 'R' and 'L' sound the same. Just like Japanese has a single 'a' sound while English has five (apple, asleep, father, fake, ball). Yeah I'd recommend keep your channel focus narrow. When you try to cover too many topics, you become like a swiss army knife, jack of all trades and master of none. And we all know the swiss army knife always ends up at the bottom of the drawer unless you go out into the field. Also try to keep your video style simple. Many TH-camrs tried to get fancy with their editing, only to get burnt out by the extra effort required. I gave you a like for being informative with a good sense of humour without becoming obnoxious.

Those concluding remarks about 'language' are the stuff of Wittgenstein = good stuff Mark. A good definition of 'language is as follows: "An arbitrary system of sounds by which a community functions". Phonetics is the branch of applied linguistics which studies 'articulation'. The 'L' / 'R' question? Even in English, there is the clearly distinct 'rhotic 'r' , as in Australian English; and across the Contiguous states of the USA there is considerable 'regional variation' in phonology. English speakers are challenged by the glottal and ingressive vocalization of European languages. German is isotonic; Italian is mellifluous. As Jacob Long remarks below, spoken English is not without apparent illogicalities; e.g. through/bough/tough/cough; 'lookalikes' in writing, but... pronunciation? As for an 'explanation' of the 'L'/'R' issue, I suggest that it is the result of 'acquisition' (quite different from 'learning') of the 'mother' tongue, in the extremely cognitive-formative stage of 'acquiring' a language (any language). That's how Japanese infants hear the la/ra distinction: ラ, = there is NO such phonetic distinction in spoken Japanese, and hence, no plobem (in spoken Japanese). But Jacob may not be aware of that written Japanese, Kanji, are an 'import'; and that for any given kanji, there can be various pronunciations: On-yomi, and kun-yomi, used with semantic intention, or simply phonetic. Mark, a suggested 'word' for the day: 『どうも』, or more politely, doumo arigato; or yet again, doumo arigatou gozaimasu. It is ubiquitous, and can be used upon greeting someone; thanking someone; catching up with someone. Semantically, it is kind of meaningless; but it functions as a neutral way to initiate more substantive topics such as the weather, between friends, and people yet unknown alike. Another suggestion: Notebook → what words/phrases do you actually NEED in daily life? → refrain from consulting your wife, since translation is so accessible → carry and USE what's in your notebook in said situations → Memorize Katakana, and then Hiragana. WRITE them x >50 times each. Kanji? On a 'need to know' basis. Great introduction to the ranguage and the charrenges of Nihongo. Finally, buy a copy of JLPT 5 and dive in. As Oliver Twist reportedly said, 'More please'.

Thanks for your thoughts. Now that I am 76 and have plenty of time I would like to understand Japanese better. I lived there 35 years ago for a year. Is there a way to make my slow brain kick start again?

Good luck man!!

Your explanation of language categories is not quite right. Categories are designed to show how long they would take a native English speaker to learn, based on how different they are from English. There is nothing inherently easier about Category 1 languages (Spanish, Italian etc), and it would be just a hard for a Japanese native speaker to learn English as for you to learn Japanese.

Thanks for sharing! I'm in snowy Sweden, so our respective countries (swe/us/jp) are about as equidistant as could be, but your message of connection resonates all the same. I look forward to your next video, and from a fellow language struggler to another: 頑張りましょう！

Marko, loved the update. Keep them coming.

Thanks for sharing. I'll be starting my own Japan journey soon. Not sure if I'll retire there one day, but I do plan on getting permanent residence.

Loved this Mark. I just said to Peter we need to do something like this for our move to Samui

So glad to see you are happy and having a fab time

Love the intro

🤣

Came across your vlog. I am planning to retire in Japan (having lived in US, Tokyo, UK, and back to US). We have relatives in Tokyo, however I am intrigued by kamakura, and have seen some nice places for sale in Kamakura-shi. When I lived in Tokyo visited a number of times and loved it - love the beach, laid back atmosphere, etc. No experience living there though. Curious to know why you chose Kamakura over Tokyo or other areas.

Simply beautiful. So happy you are living your best life

Love the music background! Like the pic of the 3 Amigos. Nice job! Happy Easter to you and Akemi!

Great information but they fly by so fast on screen. Is there a way to slow down the facts or enlarge the font . Great job! Can’t wait to visit you there!

Good Job Uncle Mark! I absolutely loved it! Hope you are doing amazing!

Marko, Great story! So happy for you in retirement. Can't wait to hear the next one. Dana and I will have to visit you there sometime soon. Best Wishes

Loved it Mark! When does the next episode come out?

Check out the "COMMUNITY POSTS" on Channel Page. Also, I was able to fix the issue regarding comments. You are now free to leave comments, feedback, requests etc. I appreciate your interest in my channel and hope to make it entertaining. Cheers!