I live in Japan and English is my first language. Its a lot harder to find English reviews and English help than one my expect in 2020. I started being a local guide when I went to a horrible bar. Our bill was outrageous, the service was pitiful. If my Japanese skills were better I would have argued the bill or maybe even gone to police for the was should have been fraudulent charges. I wanted to warn other English speakers not to go there. Since then the review and tons of views. The vast majority of my reviews are positive reviews and I like writing those much better. There are a lot of local places that frequent quiet often. I have been going to the same hair stylist for over 13 years. The same small privately owned gym for over 6 years. I have many restaurants that I have been frequenting often. I have gotten to know the owners of these places and consider many my friends. Through Google local guides I am able to post English reviews and drum up support for their businesses. I have co-workers and acquaintances that run into me and tell me they saw my google review for this hamburger shop or that store and we share stories and information about local businesses. That makes me feel really good. There are also plenty of places in Japan that have little to no English presence on the web. So with these reviews English speakers can become more aware of the places I discover all over Japan and south east Asia.
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