Exactly. I can still remember the time I decided I needed to learn Japanese.
It was on our first trip to Japan in 1984. We were in hakone and mrsdrron and her mother came down with the lurgi. the weather was miserable. So I took my 9 year old son on the local train to the end of the line in the mountains. there was definitely no english spoken or written back then in the village. And no google translate!.
however we were able to make ourselves understood at times with sign language and a little guide book with some useful words. Ended up having lunch with an elderly couple in their house. Just beautiful.
