Vietnam in the heart of a Japanese

Having traveled to Vietnam for the first time in 2011 but not having much impression, Kaneya Manabu probably could not have imagined that his life would take a different turn after his trip to Vietnam in 2014. It is said to be a turn because after that, he decided to give up his attractive position and job in the police force in Saitama province, Japan to come to Vietnam and live in Hanoi from 2016 until now. And all because of Manabu's love for Vietnam.

Kaneya Manabu (second from right) in an interview program at Vietnam Television.

The important thing that made Manabu decide to live in Hanoi was because in Vietnam, he felt the happiness and optimism in many people when interacting with them, as well as the peace of this country everywhere and at all times. Happiness in his mind is very simple, it is the smiles and joy of Vietnamese people at work and that impressed him a lot when he came here.

Like many other foreigners in Vietnam, Manabu created a YouTube channel called HOCTV. Interestingly, Manabu means "study" in Japanese, so it can be understood as the Vietnamese Learning channel or Hoc's channel. The first videos on HOCTV were mainly Japanese lessons. At this stage, Manabu had just arrived in Vietnam, so he had difficulty communicating.

Manabu confided that although he had studied Vietnamese under a cooperation program between Saitama Police and Hanoi University of Science and Technology (now Hanoi University of Science and Technology) in 2014, and then graduated with a degree in Vietnamese Studies from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, listening and speaking Vietnamese was still one of his biggest obstacles until now.

However, throughout the videos made after this 42-year-old man came to Vietnam is his love for the country he has been attached to for the past seven years. In fact, these videos contain many of Manabu's personal thoughts and conversations, not the travel experiences, enjoyment and reviews of regional dishes of other foreign YouTubers. Maybe because of his somewhat introverted personality, and partly because he wants to focus more on expressing his feelings for Vietnam through very real and sincere sharing.

According to Manabu, Vietnam is an easy country to live in. The first reason he mentioned is the cuisine, with many delicious and rich dishes that he really likes such as pho, banh xeo, bun cha, banh mi, hotpot, and drinks are coffee and fruit juice. Another important thing is that in Vietnam, he can also eat Japanese food easily whether in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

The second reason, according to Manabu, is the natural beauty of Vietnam. Although he has not been to many places in the S-shaped land, he especially enjoys places like Ninh Binh, Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), Da Lat (Lam Dong), Sa Pa (Lao Cai)... Every place is beautiful and every time he goes there, he "still doesn't want to go home". Then there are the beautiful beaches in Da Nang, Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa), Phu Quoc (Kien Giang).

The third and biggest reason, as Manabu thinks, is that Vietnamese people are friendly and warm. This is something he talks about a lot because he always feels the friendliness and help that Vietnamese people give him wherever he goes.

Seven years of attachment to Hanoi, Vietnam is the reason for Manabu to mention the two words "Thank you", especially when his Vietnamese is not good, communication and expression are not good. He still thinks that if he cannot speak and understand Vietnamese, it will be very difficult for him to adapt and have an easy life in Vietnam.

Born in 1981 to a father in the police force, it was no surprise that Manabu studied and became a police officer at the Saitama Prefectural Investigation Department. He confided that civil servants in Japan have a stable income, with annual salary increases as committed until retirement, and there is no such thing as being fired, but the pressure is also great.

One bad experience he had was when he bought coffee from a vending machine and was seen by people around him and they called the police station to report that "a police officer was skipping work and buying coffee". They didn't know that he was very busy at that time, didn't have time to rest, and didn't even have lunch until late afternoon.

After that incident, Manabu felt tired. He confided that Japanese people, including himself, are sometimes too strict with work and work too much. Although it depends on the place and the person, the atmosphere and trend of working overtime is obvious in Japan, making people no longer care about their private lives. Manabu believes that if they spend time with their family, their happiness will increase, instead of being forced to integrate with everyone around them...

Those were the reasons why Manabu decided to move to Vietnam in 2016, even though his parents were very sad. In fact, he was shocked when he started to learn more about Vietnam when he went to Hanoi under a cooperation program between Saitama Police and the University of Technology in 2014. Because besides his previous work as a police officer related to Vietnamese people, he was surprised to find that Vietnamese people are friendly, approachable, and comfortable, and if he did not live in such a country, he would personally regret it later.

Manabu's attachment to Vietnam was destined, from his arrival in Hanoi in 2014; in 2018, he created a YouTube channel called HOCTV; and then obtained a Master's degree in Vietnamese Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in 2020.

At first, HOCTV only included videos teaching Japanese, then other topics were interwoven and gradually Manabu's own sharing and thoughts about why he chose Vietnam to live, the experiences of Vietnamese or Japanese workers that he needed to know when working in each country. Manabu's love for the S-shaped land grew day by day. Not only did he explore more places, he also learned about Vietnamese culture, customs, cuisine, and people.

He revealed that he still keeps the habit of following information about security and order in Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre newspapers... but he also started listening to Vietnamese songs and diligently translated them to improve his Vietnamese language skills.

Previously, although he had only studied Vietnamese for about six months, he tried to translate the "Declaration of Independence". According to Manabu, translating the "Declaration of Independence" not only helped him remember vocabulary and understand Sino-Vietnamese words, but also better understand President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese history. Thanks to that, he later made a video talking about the topic of learning and following the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh.

Videos with topics about studying and personal stories may not attract many views, but Manabu believes that because it is a HOCTV channel, he will still be loyal to this topic.

And talking about President Ho Chi Minh, he was very fond of his teachings on "Diligence, thrift, integrity, and uprightness" published in the newspaper Cuu Quoc in 1949: "Heaven has four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter/Earth has four directions: East, West, South, North/People have four virtues: Diligence, Thrift, Integrity, and Uprightness/If one season is missing, it cannot become heaven/If one direction is missing, it cannot become earth/If one virtue is missing, it cannot become a person".

After all these years in Vietnam, Manabu has made many videos about his changes, including learning how to save money. Previously in Japan, he spent a lot of money on cars, clothes, bags or watches. In Vietnam, he saw that everyone around him lived simply and he thought that buying such expensive things was no longer necessary.

Another change in Manabu is in his way of thinking, such as he cares about the people around him, becomes humble, calm, does not gossip, is discontented, complains, does not hang around in bars, and is not influenced by others like when he was in Japan.

Manabu still makes time to visit his family twice a year, still loves his homeland and its people, but he has come to consider Vietnam as his second home. The Manabu I met now looks nothing like the former Japanese police investigator or the Deputy General Director and Director in charge of the Japanese market of An Duong Group.

He has been living in a small apartment in an apartment building that the company rented for him in Gia Lam (Hanoi) for the past years, traveling on an old motorbike on weekends to make videos. Manabu affirmed that he considers himself a real Vietnamese and wants to find a Vietnamese girl to marry.

On HOCTV channel, everyone will see the words "Bridge between Vietnam and Japan" that Manabu puts in each video in a solemn and intimate way as a reminder of his life's destiny, as well as to spread the love of Vietnam to Japanese people and many other foreigners.

According to nhandan.vn

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