expression
don't believe everything you hear; hearsay paradise, reality hell
Proverb warning that things heard about often sound wonderful, but the reality can be harshly disappointing.
「聞いて極楽見て地獄」とは、話に聞いただけでは素晴らしく思えても、実際に見るとがっかりすることを言う。
The proverb 'hearing it's paradise, seeing it's hell' means that something may sound wonderful when you only hear about it, but when you actually see it, it's disappointing.
A Japanese proverb contrasting the bliss of hearsay (極楽, paradise) with the harshness of reality (地獄, hell). The exact origin is uncertain, but it reflects a common folk wisdom about the gap between expectation and reality.