Well, I plan to live in Japan in the future. I'll probably be moving there within the next three years after taking an exam.
The exchange program is fully funded, and I wanted to ask foreigners studying in Japan something: is it difficult to make friends there?
I'm currently learning Japanese, and I know many people in Japan are not very comfortable speaking English. I've had some great interactions with Japanese people online before, and I was even called “mochi” once, which I found funny and cute.
For foreigners living in Japan (especially Westerners like me), has it been difficult to make friends even after living there for years? I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences.
Thank you for your attention! 🙂
by Left_Baker2132
6 comments
If you find it difficult to make friends where you are, you will probably find it difficult to make friends in Japan. If you find it easy to make friends, it will only likely be moderately more difficult. No matter where you go, there you are.
If you can make friends in your country you can make friends in other countries.
If you’re part of an exchange program, then they will likely have student mixers, field trips, local student “buddies,” etc to help you make friends and integrate into the university community.
Just be friendly, open, and be willing to make “the first move” to make friends, as students are often shy. You’ll likely make some friends if you do these things.
I never had difficulty making friends in Japan.
The two keys are speaking Japanese and joining groups.
Japanese people are very group oriented. They don’t do a whole lot of making friends just from bumping into them out on the town. They make them by being in groups together. Join a group, though, and you have an instant friend group. Is the exchange program in a normal Japanese school? Join the judo club or the acapella club or the club for whatever it is you are interested in, and you have instant friends. If the school is a foreigner-only language school, join an organized public group.
I do not live in Japan, however, I visited 3 times. Less than 1 month total. I have befriended multiple Japanese nationals & spent time with them.
If you have difficulty making friends in your home nation, you have to learn to develop your social skills.
You must learn at least a little Japanese, and show effort in understanding the native speakers. Either through gestures, translation devices or acts of service. Which… is similar to how most people make friends with their own countrymen, or those that don’t resemble you.
Find a hobby you enjoy, and meet people in those spaces. Be open to talking to a random person & getting to know them. Show people that you care about them. Not because of their nationality or as a form of novelty. But rather, who they are as a person.
I hope to live in Japan soon, too. I hope these tips help you!
Japanese people aren’t aliens. Generally if you’re sociable and can make friends at home, you can in Japan too. You’ll have more success with those who are interested in making international friends, so find those Japanese people. Younger people have more free time to be social and hang out, but once people become busy here with work and careers it will become much harder to maintain friendships. But that is the same in most other places.
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