The primary premise is that Japanese is a niche language that is only spoken in Japan, not like English, Russian, Spanish and Chinese. Therefore, I think it is unavoidable that people can’t speak it and personally I have no bitter feeling when tourists talk to me in English. One of the reasons why the phrase is viral now on threads is all about tourists’ manners. (2/4)

Meanwhile, I met some young Japanese workers who don’t even listen to what I said when I was trying to speak in Japanese.

However, when staffs in tourist sectors getting rude at you even you’re speaking Japanese but maybe imperfect and with a foreign accent, that’s another story. I was kinda offended by a lot of staffs like that in Tokyo during my most recent visit in December and I do speak Japanese. 80パーぐらい忘れちゃったけど、また話せるのに、渋谷のレストランでめっちゃ無礼に「ちょっと待って」って言われて、腹立ったんですよ。残念ながら、こんな接客は東京でもう珍しくないと思います。

I've been to Japan 5 times now, staying for about a month the past two times. It really goes a long way to bother to learn the basics of politeness. Excuse me, please, thank you, and so on. And when all else fails, Google Translate can often help.

As a learner of Japanese I often experience another side of this problem. People speak fast, slurred Japanese with complicated vocabulary and, when I don’t completely understand, get frustrated and assume I don’t know any Japanese at all. I’m probably around A2/B1 level, and I’m fucking trying the best I can. So many Japanese have this black/white idea about their own English skills and impose it on to learners of Japanese.

My experience as a foreigner in Japan has been that most Japanese people are very polite, patient, and helpful if you are generally polite and make an attempt at communicating in Japanese. My Japanese isn't very good, but with some goodwill, smiles and laughter, I get by.