Question for travelling to Japan?

Question:

For a person that just wants to travel for 2 weeks(Maybe stay long in my later years) could I get away with not knowing all the conjugations of all the verbs, adjectives etc. Just knowing the basic grammar. Would they really expect much from a gaijin? :P

Eventually I will learn it, but currently I dont have a teacher so I have to wait till I move outta my small town and move some place like Toronto in hopes of finding night classes.

Also should I wait till after I have a Japanese teacher or would be ok to go before? Because I know pronunciation is key.

Answer:

Foreigners in Japan aren't expected to know ANY Japanese, and people freak out if you so much as know how to say hello. Besides that, most of the important things you would need as a tourist (e.g. street signs, train station signs, maps, signs at tourist sights) are bilingual or have an English option available. You can get by with no Japanese. That said, I would suggest learning at least a little before you (it's polite) and carrying a phrase book with you (like the very thorough Lonely Planet one) to cover your bases for the things you don't now how to say. While it's true that all children in junior and senior high school learn English these days, most people lack the ability and/or confidence to actually speak English with a foreigner. If you find yourself in a situation where you need some Japanese, you will want to be prepared with at least a phrasebook. If you're worried about pronunciation, there are plenty of free resources online that can teach you how to pronounce basic things. Japanese pronunciation is actually very easy.