@@GeorgeJapan Hello! Finn here! I was recommented this video and this is my first time with this channel. This maybe be stupid question but why is your name George if Your'e a Japanese, or is it just "online name"?
I still remember that one article from years ago when a Japanese train company (?) had to publically apologize in the newspaper for departing from the station a few minutes too early. I think that's pretty next level. EDIT: LOL, it was actually 20 seconds too early!
The trains are often late in really many countries. Finland is definitely not one of the worst countries to follow the train schedule. My biggest complait is the pricing. The trains are old, often too full and the toilets, air conditioning and Wi-Fi do not always work so paying 80€ to that luxury feels awful (Jyväskylä-Kajaani or similar distance).
My Japanese teacher told me a story about her Finnish friend living and working in Japan. He met a woman in Japan and they got married and moved to Finland together. It was a funny situation because Mika is a male name in Finland and a female name in Japan. They were both called Mika and obviously had the same last name.
funny how my dad is named Mika too and used to live in japan (he is finnish and moved back to finland) and my dad also married an asian but not a person named Mika
seeing foreign people living and enjoying life in finland has always been such a positive thing for me and i really love seeing channels and videos like yours!
My favorite word in Japanese. Kura, くら.. Kura in Finnish is mud (also used as adjective of something being "dirt"). Makes Kura Sushi really funny for Finns :D
I still think funniest thing ever is Beppu, city in Japan that sounds like Peppu in Finnish (meaning nicer/childish word for arse) and Beppu a city that farts a lot of sulfur. xD If I ever move to Japan, that has to be city I move in, because I'm childish.
Yeah we ate a couple of times in Kura Sushi when we were in Tokyo and it was always funny tbh 😅. It was really good, except the coffee I ordered tasted really bad. It was even funnier that the coffee mug's label read "Kura cafe".
I talked to a person from Finland last night online, I live in California. He was very chill and really helped me feel better, I have been having a hard time emotionally. They really seem like some of the best humans on the planet.
There are soooo many homonyms between Finnish and Japanese, and even more if you pretend L and R are the same thing (like kala/kara would sound pretty identical to Japanese ears, but they are two different words in Finnish). When I was on my exchange in Japan, I had to make a fun presentation for Japanese students, so I showcased to them “how much Finnish they already know”.
My japanese teacher who speaks finnish was so horrified when they took hiili (coal) to the grill bc japanese ppl can have a hard time distinguishing the sound, so she thought they were gonna grill hiiri (mouse).
@@GeorgeJapan Because Finnish and Japanese have similarities in the spelling/pronunciation there's a tiny branch of finnish Humour where you have jokes about made-up Japanese people whose names kinda sound like Japanese but are actually just (bad) puns made out of Finnish words. Like: "Did you hear about the Japanese boxing champion on the tv last night? His name was Jokohama Humahuta" = "Shall I Wallop Already?"
@@GeorgeJapan last winter there was over a metre of snow in my backyard! (I live in about middle part of Finland) My half sis who lives in northen Finland says that there is multiple metres of snow at winter 💀🥶
Yep. In similar vain Saku is a common nickname for the Finnish name Sakari (Saku can be a name in itself but it’s not as common) and it means blooming or in bloom in Japanese.
I remember once hearing about a yu-gi-oh character named Sora Perse, which is quite hilarious considering that perse means ass in Finnish. I must say that “gravel ass” is quite the unfortunate name
Im finnish and i can tell the results were wrong, you are at most 1% finnish because you smiled more times in this video than i have in my whole life! Jokes aside, nice video and i hope you enjoyed your stay, very cool that you learned some finnish language as well!
I must tell you about a one page comic I drew as a kid. There was a japanese tourist on a finnish beach, asking the locals there if it's safe to swim. He's greeted by a horde of terrified beach-goers running and screaming "HAI!", which he takes as confirmation :D
Hold up, I wasn't expecting this kind of video from George haha. Happy to see you enjoying your stay, as a Finn seeing foreigners exploring Finland makes me happy 😸
I loved visiting Finland ❤️ I'm Norwegian from the west coast (Stavanger) and I felt like home in Finland in Vantaa ❤️ People was so nice! I asked 3 random guys the way to the swimming pool and they went with me and talked to me all the way like I was allready their friend, I felt so lucky 🥰 I love salty liquorice ❤️ 1/2 of Norwegians love it and half hates it 😅
Originally, the Finnish word 'savotta' referred to a logging site. In contemporary Finnish, however, its meaning has broadened metaphorically to denote any task that requires prolonged mental or physical effort. So if you'll call your spouse/friend that i'm at 'savotta' not mentioning it's the restauraunt, you are litterally avoiding work. There are lot of restaurants named like such like "Ylityö" (overwork), "Toimisto" (office), "Homma" (doing something) etc.
It's kinda of a Finnish, long running joke to name a bar something that you can call someone else and be like "I am at [insert place of emplyoment]". Tampere also has Konttori, another word for Office.
Finland is safe, but don't leave your stuff unattended or you'll never see them again. It's interesting that you have 2% finnish heritage. I'm 100% Finnish, though born and raised in Sweden. Gen Takagi is a Japanese youtuber who now lives in Finland and does all his videos in Finnish. A collab while you're in Finland would have been nice.
Gen has become pretty weird. he swifted from a really funny comedic content to basically deleting every good video and now forcing the "manzai" thing down everyones throats.
@@definitelynotclickbait8283 Not really true. There are very dangerous places in both places, but safetywise theyre comparable. Kabukicho vs Itä-Helsinki is pretty equal lol.
As a Finn I traveled to Japan this summer and I also noticed the similarities. And almost everyone in Finland hates the weather. If it’s 28 degrees Celsius then it’s too hot and 5 degrees Celsius is too cold. Winter is also pretty challenging since the sun sets down at 5:00 pm and rises at 9:00 am.
I just had three Japanese volunteers this summer for a couple of weeks in my cabin in Vihti It was so nice to share cultural similarities / indifferences.
Another word is Osake. In japanese meaning alcohol and in Finnish meaning a business share or stock. Im pretty new to studying Japanese. I can read it but i dont know what the words mean. When i finally do learn enough, im gonna fulfill my lifelong dream of visitin Japan. -sincerely your 23year old Finnish dude
As a Finn, I would say that people arrive in time but trains are rarely in time. If I've understood correctly, trains in Japan are considered late if it's more than 12 seconds late. VR (the government owned train company) considers a train to be late when it's behind schedule more than 12 minutes.
If you like to be in Helsinki, you really should try our other cities and country side along the whole contry. Finland is a big and long country with amazing different region differences and people.
My roommate in graduate school was from Finland. She brought me some delicious Pulla, that her mom made. I had a Finnish friend, who lives nearby. She made me Pulla for Christmas. 😋
So nice to see it is possible to take photos/video of people enjoying swimming. I went to Zurich and wanted to take a pic of a dog swimming in the river and the owner went CRAZY screaming that that was forbidden, even if there were no signs about it.
Brilliant video! I was happy to see how you enjoyed our capital. And you had done your "homework" well and knew a lot of things and even so many Finnish words! That "Finnish weatherrrrr!" was hilarious :D
So good to see you again I love your videos. A few observations. 1. You talk about the trains being clean and quiet, no one talking loud. From everything I hear it is the same in Japan. You do not speak loud on trains and don't have any loud cell phone conversations on trains or any loud music or noises while on a train. 2. Public places, streets, parks etc are very clean, same as Japan from everything I hear. 3. Licorice, at least here in USA come in a variety of color and flavors. Black licorice to me being the worst tasting. Many people like the red - strawberry licorice. Me, I don't like any. 4. Finland along with Sweeden, Norway, Alaska is known as The Land Of The Midnight Sun. So glad you enjoyed your time there and glad you had a safe trip. Always wishing you Good Health, Safety and Happiness 😊
Finn here! The trains here are usually quiet and peaceful, but since the VR-trains have their own in-built restaurant and even delivery to seats, some people eat on the train. As a person with sensory issues, it gets annoying really fast. Not that it smells bad, but if one car is full of people and half of them are eating something, I’m gonna need some air. I’ve heard that trains in in certain areas can be late by tens of minutes, if not hours. Weather plays a big part in it. Bus schedules for students are also sometimes very messy. Even I’m sometimes amazed how clean the capital city area is. I live in western Finland, 500km away from Helsinki and there’s a bunch of trash everywhere. Parks are usually moderately clean but people like littering the streets and letting dogs do their business on the side of the road. Sometimes even the sidewalk. But you get used to it very quick and barely notice when people throw something on the ground. Most people are thoughtful enough to not throw everything on the ground but there are assholes and teens who leave their energy drink cans on the ground (I was guilty of this too) I am born, raised and taught in Finland but I do not like licorice. People always tell me to try it anyway and tell me I’m odd for not liking it, it’s quite a rare phenomenon to be a Finn but not like licorice. But I like red licorice, although it’s unfortunately not sold everywhere :( Also talking about rare phenomenons, the northern lights. I haven’t seen them that many times but the few times I have, they’ve been mesmerizing. It’s so cool to see a bunch of flowy, glowing colors in the night sky. Definitely worth seeing. Most people I know (including me) always make fun of living here compared to other countries, criticize the the government and call this country a shithole, kind of as a joke but also half-seriously. I watched this video and I’m a little prouder being Finnish. To see my country from a foreigners eyes is oddly uplifting.
@@maxisdead2672 I'm also born, raised and taught in Finland and I don't like licorice either. Well, the sweeter one is okay but salt licorice (salmiakki) isn't. It just tastes like medicine to me :D
Im really happy u had a pleasant experience here in Finland! and I totally get the weather part lol. I also like the use of finnish words in the video:D
Ok, I just discovered your channel and you must be the most likable travel vlogger I've seen! Love this video. I hope you visit Iceland and Mexico some day soon!
Aho is common surname in Finland, Which caused issues in japanese media when our prime minister Esko Aho visited japan back in the days (His name was written Ahou apparently). Also "Aku" is common first name. Also yes, "Kana" means chicken here, to which my Japanese teacher from Savo region said matches the noisy young japanese women (in group)
I have always seen Japan kinda like as our spiritual brother nation. We have so much in common. My cousin visits Japan 1-2 times per year and she told me that japanese people she meets are often very intriqued when they hear that she is from Finland.
You should visit some Finnish towns in winter. Ppl say it's super cold but if you have enough clothes, you'll survive with no complications. It can get up to -30 celsius but mostly it stays in the -10 or -20 celsius. Also we have a lot of snow in winter but during the summer it's so warm.
”Kai ne nai” I learned that in japanese its maybe something like: ”Kai is not sleeping” but in finnish this sentence means… ”They are propably having ’intimite fun’ together… ” 😅😂 I really liked your video and Im very happy you enjoyed your visit here in Finland. i think Japan is an amazing country and Im hoping to visit there someday. 😊 Im happy that I have had the opportunity to work with japanese people. During those years I learned a little of japanese culture and language and the similarities between our nations you discribed are true in my belief. Thank you for making this great video and welcome back to Finland anytime 🩵🤍 -Kurisu-chan- 🐿️
i'm glad you liked your stay! i'm finnish and i've studied a bit of japanese, and it feels to me too like there are interesting similarities between the two countries and cultures :) i'd like to visit japan eventually! my recommendation for another finnish food is riisipiirakka (or karjalanpiirakka/karelian pie but that name is protected), they're little "pies" with rice filling and taste delicious with egg-butter on top!
The Finnish weather is great for complaining about it. It's always too cold, hot, windy, still, dry or damp. Whenever two Finns meet there's always a topic everybody can agree on 😀.
i am Japanese and Finnish but i live in Finland. and winter is super cold and those. and i never felt like i was in danger. and the weather is sometimes bad but i am used to it. thank you for visiting Finland❤
Other shared words between Japanese and Finnish: Word: In Finnish - In Japanese Hana: Faucet - Flower Tori: Market - Bird (Combined would be Market Bird, so... a pidgeon?) Kita: Maw - North Kutsu: Invitation - Shoe Kasa: Pile - Umbrella Nami: Sweeties (Candy) - Wave Risu: Twig - Squirrel Sora: Gravel - Sky Taru: Myth - Barrel Not only that, but our cultures share names as well, but the genders are sometimes swapped! Name: Gender in Finnish / Japanese Mika: Masculine / Feminine Aki: Masculine / Feminine Em(m)a: Feminine / Feminine (Emma in Finnish, Ema in Japanese) Em(m)i: Feminine / Feminine (Same as above) Kimi: Masculine / Feminine Mari: Feminine / Feminine Riku: Masculine / Masculine Tomi: Masculine / Feminine (Not 100% sure if Tomi is a name in Japan) J(Y)uuna: Androgynous / Feminine (Including this one for a special reason, even if it's an extraordinarily rare name here, pronounced the same even if the starting letter is different)
There is a huge amount of totally similar words in Finnish and Japanese. But there are some surprisingly similar words. For example 切符 is in Finnish Lippu. They have a same meaning and only one letter difference. Of course there is a lot of similar words which have English origin, but I think that 切符 is real Japanese word, because it's written on kanji. Many Finnish words have similar structure as Japanese words. Like hana consonant vocal consonant vocal. Hana by the way means a tap in Finnish, not 鼻.
Finland looks beautiful, but I'm not surprised about the crappy weather. I don't know why those northern countries are so fond of licorice, I've tried it but I just can't do get used to it... I guess it's more left for them to enjoy! Anyhow, thanks the video, Finnish George!!
I'm so glad you're back on YT, George! This video was sooo good, your jokes were excellent haha! I am a massive Moomin fan so I was so excited when you showed the shop! I want to visit Moomin World theme park one day :) I grew up watching the Japanese animated Moomin series in the 90s and we had it dubbed here in England. The Arabia company make wonderful Moomin mugs. And omg that salmon soup looked incredibly tasty!!
As a Finnish person and Helsinki native I had to look up which K-Citymarket sells Japanese curry, but it's Malmi. Wow, didn't expect that, only seen that stuff in Asian stores downtown.
Malmi surprisingly has a lot of stuff even though it's so small. near it also has an arcade with a lot of rhythm games Funny how it links to Japanese language with it being called Sugoi
Maybe if you come visit Finland again we can meet and I show you some central Finland nature to you. 😊 Sorry you had some bad weather while visiting, but yeah, it is like that some times. 😄
Hi George 👋 I confess that I fell in love with Finland, so clean and peaceful 😊 I love Moomin! Yeah, there are really similarities with Japan in many things. The cinnamon roll with coffee looks delicious 😋 where will you go next? I was curious…see ya!
For similar words between the languages, for me one that comes to mind is 'hana'. In Finnish, it means 'tap/sink' (i.e. where water comes from in the kitchen/bathroom), and I believe in Japanese it means 'flower'.
Two words comes to mind, which are pronounced exactly the same - and actually even mean the same thing in Finnish and in Japanese. Those are Kamera (obviously camera) and Teema (theme).
Another one is Sora. It is a finnish word for Gravel (Smallish rocks, little bigger than sand grains). Also Kakka (finnish word for poop) And Aho (finnish word for meadow)
in finland we love japan so much that even my small hometown sometimes stocks popular japanese snacks like pocky in grocery stores! also, fun fact about the taffel sips, these megabags USED to be called megapussi, meaning megabag in finnish. we might all know why the name was changed, D:
Some similar words: hana means faucet in Finnish, and if I remember correctly hana means nose in Japanese. For me hana is the funniest, because in Finnish when we're having a bit of a cold and have a runny nose some people say "hana vuotaa", which means faucet is leaking, but in Japanese hana means nose, so I just like to think that we're mixing Finnish and Japanese :p Kasa means a pile in Finnish, and umbrella in Japanese. Btw it's been like 20 years since I learned about these words, so I might not be 110% correct. We had a whole list of Finnish and Japanese words that were similar but meant different things with some online friends I had in my teens. Can't remember most of them though.
kittos kun kävit suomessa! itsekkin ajattelen että suomi on semi turvallinen ja on ihana olla vaikka rannalla ihan illallakin! (translation)) THANKS FOR VISITING FINLAND!! i also think that finalnd is safe place and its nice to go to the beach with friend even at night!
5:34 it makes me happy too, i have visited Japan a while ago, i went to Tokyo, Shinjuku. And Osaka, i loved it there, i still miss the seven eleven foods, especially the tuna onigiri TwT
I like how you listed all the similarities while doing silly stuff around the room 🤣 immaculate humour. About Finnish and Japanese, "aika" means time in Finnish but it is a girl's name in Japan :P
That is so interesting, my mum comes from Finland, and according to face scanning I look a bit Mongolian. It is said that 10 percent of the eastern Finnish population has Japanese ancestors. I'm gonna do a DNA test too.
If you like Finnish way of doing things but hate the climate, you should visit Croatia. In my opinion as a Finn, Croatia is Finland of the Balkans. They also like to keep the appointments as promised. Even though they might seem a bit unfriendly and distant at first, unlike the others in southern Europe, if you go and talk to them, they're very warm and friendly. If you even try to speak their language, they'll love you (Dobar dan to all my Croatian friends :). They also had to fight for their independence, which I think is a very important thing we share. If you befriend a Croat, they will absolutely go sit in a tub of boiling tar for you. Very trusty and loyal. If I ever had to change my nationality, I'd want to be a Croatian.
Did you dip the rye bread in the salmon soup stock? If not next time try it, add bit of good butter on the rye bread and then dip it, the butter should melt a little but not much. Also I think yes lately our culture has turned more individualistic but I think community is still also a really important part of our lives, or at least to me and people I know. Also the SIPS are okay but they become next level with a dip, Taffel American, or Sourcream & onion dip, mixed into soured whole milk is incredible combination.
a couple of similar word between finnish and japanese are tori (fin: market square / jap: bird) and kakka (fin: poo / jap: honorific for someone high up, like "your honor"). also hanko is a small city in finland, and in japanese the stamps used for signing stuff. so interesting to find similarities between sich distant languages!
The funniest for me watching japanese media is hai kakka since it means shark poop in finnish :D Just love the light private laughs for me in dramatic war movies of japan :D
Since you liked salmon soup a lot you might be delighted to know that it only uses very basic ingredients making it fairly easy to prepare in any part of the world :) Pretty much just need salmon, potatoes and some (probably) common spices Im sure you can find a recipe in English on the internet
Thank you for this video. I always learn so much from you about different countries. And I love watching you eat! I had to rewatch your S Korea video after this. 😂
What a positive energy u have, hope you enjoy Finland more than Helsinki. Mökki is something you should go and maybe some festarit to see what Finnish summer is all about :)
Get used to the changing weather in Scandinavia, its unpredictable in those northern latitudes. As I am of Norwegian descent, the salmon soups has similar tastes.
7:22 So few people outside of Finland know to observe the (very) Finnish custom of having a bunch of bananas perched on one’s _left_ shoulder when talking about tipping. You _are_ Finnish, George, after all.
Oh, this did make me realise there's no trams in Tokyo even though trams with yellow-green colouring in little witch academia and other anime looked very familiar to finnish person 😁 I found this video because of your jaidenanimation reaction, so fun you were just in Finland, nice going youtube algorithm 😆 And yeah, bus/public transport-culture in japan and finland I think is similar with wanting to stay quiet (although nowadays people for some reason listen to stuff without headphones a lot, rude!) This comment got so long but I was not expecting you to put bananas on your shoulder like it's a pet or crawling under the table, awesome, 10/10 video 😂
