Name: Day in the Life of a Japanese Construction Worker
Uploaded: 2025-07-24T18:31:33.000Z
Duration: 15 min 23 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Adverbs of degree

This is a day in the life of a Japanese construction worker This is Kaori, 39 years old, living in the outskirts of Tokyo And she's just waking up for work She's a single mother with two teenagers and to minimize her cost of living She chose to live in a Danji, an affordable Japanese housing complex run by the local government.

Adverbs of manner

In Japan It's actually quite competitive to live in such a place since the cost is relatively low The average monthly rent is about 23,000 yen, 160 dollars, while the average in Tokyo is 89,000 yen, 620 dollars Hey, you got a lot of protein Okay She usually eats a light healthy meal with protein to ensure that she has enough nutrition for her tiring workday ahead Do you always eat that?

Hey, so how is it being a single working mom?

Ah, that makes sense Now she makes breakfast for her kids and since she usually leaves the house before they wake up for school She leaves the food on the counter for them.

The average monthly food expense for a family of three in Japan is about 81,000 yen, 560 dollars, while she spends less than 30,000 yen, 200 dollars, which is far below the national average Nice, that's a kuchofuku, a.k.a. air-conditioned jacket, a popular summertime outfit for construction workers in Japan How many hours does it last?

Before leaving work, it's always been her routine to hug her kids goodbye At 7.15, she leaves the house These days, she's been working at a site close to her home, but depending on the construction project, she sometimes finds herself commuting up to two hours On her way to work, she stops by the convenience store to get some groceries The convenience store has its common for many Japanese to pick up snacks or even a lunch before their workday starts Nice, she's picking up some frozen drinks, which are available during hot summer months at the convenience store Good morning everyone, I'm back with another day in the life and this one is gonna be a super hot one I'm on the construction right now.

I can't wait for this one to get started Luckily, Kaori should be arriving soon Good morning!

Kaori has been working at construction sites in Tokyo as a heavy machine operator for about 9 years now Initially gaining her experience at her previous company for 6 years While now, she works as a hitori oyakata, a term used in the construction industry for an independent contractor Directly translated as one boss For me?

Other workers are here Every morning the construction crew starts with an exercise called radio taiso A very common practice often seen in traditional Japanese companies Especially when manual labor is involved The crew perform this warm-up calisthenic together in sync with the music To help prevent injuries that may occur during the strenuous workday ahead Then the crew quickly have a meeting to discuss their tasks for the day to ensure that they're all on the same page And to complete the meeting they perform a safety inspection So Kaori, what are you doing now?

Oh, how long have you been working at this site?

Now she gets to work Before starting she greases the joints of her excavator to minimize its wear As it's ultimately her responsibility as an operator to maintain her vehicle Kaori operates various construction vehicles such as bulldozers and backhoes But her specialty are YUMBO, aka excavators The Japanese name dating back to the 1960s when they were first produced and named as such Ever since then the name YUMBO has become synonymous with all excavators in Japan And to operate these construction vehicles special licenses in Japan are required In addition to a large-sized vehicle driver's license In total, Kaori had to test her four different licenses in order to do her job So it looks like Kaori's going to be doing this for a little bit longer So while she's doing this, let's see what we can dig up The hard thing about this site is there is no steps Looks like we got a cool little dump truck right here Got a bunch of hose right here And got a tank right here Let's see if we can flag him down and ask him some questions Hi, can I ask you a question?

Have you been doing this for a long time?

Wow, why did you decide to work in construction?

Oh, so what's the most challenging part when operating heavy machines?

He says that it's imperative for operators to always be on alert As even a minor distraction can be dangerous or worse, fatal Like accidentally dropping dirt on a co-worker or driving into a ditch So what's the best part about your job?

Okay, thanks So, gotta make our way through here I'm so drenched Hi, so how long have you been doing this?

Damn, so why did you choose construction?

Like father, like son, awesome Actually, I saw this earlier, but check out this van?

So just below here, it looks like it says HH style But it actually says Age Age style Which means like raise raise Like to raise it up, which is pretty cool Okay, let's see what's in this room This room has some air conditioning, which is nice Not too much in this room except for the tools that I've got here This room feels so nice This shirt is drenched Man, I feel for all the construction people that are outside working on hot summer days It is amazing to see the fortitude that they have to work through these hot days Now, Coyote has a break Typically, construction workers get two short breaks plus an hour lunch Working at a construction site, it's crucial to take these breaks To prevent accidents caused by lack of concentration As well as heat-related illnesses in Japan's scorching summers Coyote, so what's the most challenging part about your job?

That makes sense Well, spoken with true craft and experience But apparently, it wasn't always like this As a woman, when she first started her journey She wasn't taken seriously And even had trouble getting a job But over time, she persevered, got her opportunity, and proved herself Ultimately gaining the trust of her co-workers See, in Japan, female construction workers are still rare With women making up only 2.3% of the workforce Around 80,000 out of 3.44 million workers Which motivates Coyote as she works passionately To inspire and lead other women in the industry Oh, she's switching to a different YUMBO This one has a more advanced digital camera display system And air-conditioning Ain't that cool?

So Coyote only discovered her interest in excavators late in her 20s Working as an office cleaner, she noticed them from her office window Dreaming how fun it would be to operate one During lunch, she ran into one of the vehicle operators Who she confessed her dream A man laughingly told her to get a license To his surprise, she would one day return without license in hand Shocked, all he could do was help her get a job at his company Now, she has an hour lunch break Wow, her senpai got her some ice cream He's super nice How many calories does it have?

Hahaha Now, she eats onigiri she brought from home in her car At construction sites in Japan It's common for workers to take breaks in their car As it has its own AC Coyote, what's that in the back?

Construction work environments often lack proper accommodation for women Such as adequate toilets So it's become one of her goals to help all women in the industry Improve their situation So she founded LadySite A community platform for female construction workers To gather feedback from members And to advocate for necessary improvements Now, she still has some time before her break finishes So she usually takes a nap Have a good nap?

In the afternoon, she basically continues on with constructing the wall And she not only works in the excavator But she's also responsible for doing other tasks throughout the day So Japan's construction industry typically has a hierarchical approach Frequently using zernekon A.k.a. general contractor Who receive the entire construction project directly from the client And then subcontract the work to other firms Even in smaller construction projects Like individual homes or minor renovations As Japanese prefer the convenience of trusting one party for the project That will ensure it meets all of Japan's strict and complex architectural restrictions And safety regulations Over the hassle and burden of trying to manage multiple subcontractors On their own Despite any savings they would earn Are you done?

She says as an excavator operator She doesn't usually have to work overtime And normally finishes within her shift Before going home She stops by the supermarket to pick up some meat As she's also responsible for her family's dinner Look, your kid's finished your breakfast After a long grueling day of physical work in the heat She doesn't skip a beat And gets right into her house chores It sure isn't an easy life But she says she's grateful for her healthy growing kids And a job that she loves So, what do you do on your day off?

Oh, that's cool And what did you want to be when you were a kid?

So over the years Kaori has gotten so skilled at maneuvering the excavator arm That she's able to write Japanese calligraphy with it And now one of her dreams is to perform it At one of the international exhibitions Hopefully she gets a chance at that dream That's for her oldest son Apparently he's not eating with them lately So she kindly brings his food to his room You don't want to eat?

I don't want to eat I forgot to cut it If you guys want to help support the channel Then definitely check out the merch As well as my hot sauce I'm telling you, it is fire And if you guys want to see more videos like this Or anything related to Japan Hit that subscribe button and the bell button I'll catch you guys in the next one