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98 Times Japan Took The English Language And Unintentionally Made It Much Better (New Pics)
Every country has its strengths and weaknesses. Japan, for example, perfectly blends old traditions with modern innovation and has become one of the strongest nations on Earth. But it does seem to struggle with English.
The Facebook group 'Engrish in Japan' is dedicated to all of the unintentionally offensive product names, confusing signs, and other translation fails people found on its territory.
However, if these slip-ups teach us anything, it's that breaking the rules of a language can make streets, stores, and restaurants much more entertaining. And not in a bad way!
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#1
Memory Lane, Tokyo
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#3
Found This In Sakae In Nagoya... Don't You Dare To Dump (Make A Dump Or Dump Garbage?) Or They Will Sue The Police!
#4
One Of My Favorites I Found When I Was Living In Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture
#5
Huh? 😂 Where: Yokohama Iekei Ramen In Hiroshima
Lost Panda 3 months ago
Trying to say that the onions help promote better blood circulation. The literal translation would be smooth blood.
#6
Found This In A Park In Aichi
David Paterson 3 months ago (edited)
This is true! For Apollo spacecraft, "barbecue roll" was the official American name for the manoeuvre where the entire spacecraft was slowly rotated relative to the Sun in order to ensure that all parts of the surface were evenly warmed by the Sun. To avoid the problems that would otherwise be caused by extreme thermal gradients. Not a mistranslation.
#7
At The Northern Entrance To Oze, Hinoemata Village In Fukushima Pref
#8
I Have No Idea What Could Possibly Be Going On In There At Night 😂 In Kanazawa
#9
Somebody… Please, Make A Reservation! Taken Some Years Ago Somewhere Around Noda, Osaka
#10
Ureshino, Saga
#11
At Supermarket In Shinagawa-City, Tokyo
#12
Nachi Falls Last Week
MrLiesegang 3 months ago
Okay. Pabu - lic: half romaji, half english. Romaji is the transcription of Japanese characters into Latin letters.
#13
“Please Start Eating” At Toranomon Hills
#14
"Please, Take Good Care Of The Stairs." Taken At The Kinosaki Ropeway, Around 2 Years Ago
#15
Yokohama, Kannai. In The Front Of A Residential Building
#16
Saw This One While Driving Around In Osaka. Unfortunately, My Friend (Who Took The Picture) Missed The Other Side Of The Column With More Gold On It
#17
Got Myself A New Tshirt From Aeon
#18
You'res Welcome!
#20
Don’t Take Spare Toilet😏 Where: Akasaka, Tokyo
#21
In Case You Need Some Really Small Tissues
#22
Charming Sign On Public Toilet, Outside Of Fukuyama Station. I Guess It Worked - It Made Me Smile
Liliana Spiro 3 months ago
What exactly goes on in there? Never mind, I probably don't want to know...
#23
Taxi In Kyoto. This Guy Deserves A Little Credit For Making The Effort
#24
Heart In The Form Of Pancakes! Taken In Gion (Yamatooji-Dori Street) In Kyoto Around 2 Years Ago
#25
In Sakai, Osaka, Japan
#26
Dairy Park!
#28
Minoh, Osaka
#29
Chofu Station Building
#31
Yeah, All Is Ephemeral
#32
From In Front Of The Microwave In My Hamamatsu Hotel
#34
Souvenir Shop At Oshinohakai, Near MT Fuji. There Were A Lot Of Bangers Today, But This One Is Absolute Peak
#35
Somewhere Near Umeda, Osaka
#37
The Penalty For Train Groping In Japan (Tenma)
#38
This Mall Always Has The Best Shirts (Kawachi Mataubara)
#40
They Meant “Pilates”. Near Asakusabashi Station In Tokyo
#41
Now I Have Questions. And Somehow, I Also Want A Bucket Of It
#42
For Those Embarrassing Moments When Your Skin Falls Off..(Yuzawa)
#43
Nothing Like It... If You Need Some Big Wood, Go To Okayama
Remi (He/Him) 3 months ago
According to legend, the drift store chain Hard Off, which already sounds vaguely pervy was originally gonna be Hard On, but luckily that didn't happen
#44
Seen Outside A Restaurant In Kyoto The Other Day. Thank Goodness They’re All Sold Out. I Nibbled On A Few Of Them When I Was But A Wee Lad
setsuriseikou 3 months ago
Well, there're still reservations available in case you change your mind
#45
"Never Touch This Pipe!! If You Touch, The Roof Will Fall And An Accident Will Occur." Shinjuku Golden Gai
#46
Found In Shizuoka Airport Yesterday. I Understand What They Were Trying To Get At But I’d Rather Not Have Orange Juice That’s Just Like Tap Water - Not Very Appealing
setsuriseikou 3 months ago
Could have been worse. "Tap" is written with kanji for "snake mouth" (蛇口)
#48
Looks Good Tho. Both The Flap And The Pafe. Which One Should I Order? 🙊 📍 Namba Osaka
#49
That Doesn't Seem Like A Very Good Business Model But I'm Flattered, If A Bit Weirded Out
#52
Vending Machine At Ohanajaya Station
#53
I Can’t Remember Where I Took This Photo. I Think At A Mochi Or Steamed Bun Store In Atami
#54
Rounge In Nishiazabu
#55
Stop Idling Around. Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu Parking Lot
#56
Was On The Toilet In A Public Restroom At Fuji-Q In Yamanashi, And I Noticed The Sign Below The Button That Says “Flesh Toilet”
#58
Toei Bus Will Touch You Firmly
#60
In A Restaurant In Hiroshima
#62
No, *you* Can't Make The Bed If There Are Things On It. Seen At Washington Hotel Plaza, Okayama
#66
Having "The Talk" At Hiroshima Station. The Ticket Office, I Think?
#67
Saw This In The Tunnel On The Way To Board A Plane At Kansai Airport. Apparently Can't Even Get On A Plane Unscathed
#68
My First Contribution To The Group. I Found This On Holiday In Okinawa This Week, Outside A Bar. It Has To Be Read With A "Yoda" Voice!
#69
Restaurant Menu In Osaka
#75
Itabashi Hotel Cup
Liliana Spiro 3 months ago
Apologies, but my mind wandered into an IVF clinic with this one ;)
#76
Found This On A Door Of An Establishment In Osaka
#77
The People At Shiroyama Park In Fukui's Takahama-Cho Beach Side Area Know All About The Devious Pocket Sand. So, Drop That Sand, Dirtbag!
#78
I Wonder How Much It Is When They Aren't Sick? Tsukiji Outer Market
#80
Saw This In An Ice Cream Shop At Akihabara Station
#81
Sounds Like One Of Those Escape Room Challenges
#85
Dug This One Up From A Little Over A Year Ago. The Worst Part Is This Was At A Translation Conference In Shiga
#87
Somewhere In Yokohama. Took This Photo Last May 2025
#89
They Must Have Been Busy Running Around All Morning And Had To Come To A Halt
#90
[meet]
Analyn Lahr 3 months ago
Ah, yes. The famous Crocodile Meet of 1999. Fun times. Crocodile Rock was had.
#91
Shioyazaki Lighthouse, Southern Fukushima Prefecture. I Guess It Still Gets The Message Across… Sort Of 🤷♂️?
#92
Spotted In Yokohama. Hare It Is On The 1st Floor
#94
Came Across This On My Way Home From Work Yesterday - No Bumping Garbage Allowed Here😅 Osaka
#97
Carpe Diem? 🎏a Beautiful Wall Reminder To Seize The Day While Waiting In Line To Enter An Onsen Bath In Higashi Kurume This Morning!
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What do you think ?
T'Mar of Vulcan 3 months ago
I guess this is the equivalent of gaijin putting hiragana/katakana/kanji on themselves that say nonsensical things.
Justin Case 3 months ago
One time in Japan I saw a sign that read "Best Transration Survice". And I said "No, I don't think so."
T'Mar of Vulcan 3 months ago
I guess this is the equivalent of gaijin putting hiragana/katakana/kanji on themselves that say nonsensical things.
Justin Case 3 months ago
One time in Japan I saw a sign that read "Best Transration Survice". And I said "No, I don't think so."
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