I’ve been living here for well over a decade. I have a fair number of foreign friends that I meet all the time and a small number of Japanese friends I speak Japanese with and have known for many years. Though meet with them infrequently.
Over time, I’ve met many other Japanese people, through various hobbies but most of those connections haven’t lasted. I sometimes feel that these relationships don’t naturally deepen, and to be honest, from my side it can be difficult to know how to maintain them for the long term. I’m sure that uncertainty probably comes across to them as well, and definitely does not deepen any connection.
However, I’ve noticed that I tend to connect more easily with Japanese people who have lived abroad for some time, and those friendships often feel more comfortable for both sides, I think.
The thing is, I genuinely want to build closer friendships with more Japanese people, without being defined mainly as “the foreign friend,” which I’ve experienced before and would like to move beyond, especially if I feel forced to converse in English.
For those of you who have close Japanese friends, how did those friendships develop? Are there ways to build deeper connections without changing the way you are?
by SunDaze009