10+ ways to make Japanese friends.
Posted by: kirin on 
Aug 5th, 2009 | 
Filed under: Useful tipsI recieved messages from my blog readers and they wonder if there is a good way to make Japanese friends. There are several ways but things are different whether you live in Japan or not.
First, for those who live in Japan and look for Japanese friends, hopefully to exchange language and culture, how about checking out following sites or events? Or you could stay at shared accommodation with Japanese people.
1.Metropolis
2.Tokyo Notice Board
3.eme
4.Tokyo International Friendship
5.Tokyo Friends
6.Vibe Tokyo
7.Hiragana Times
8.Military Friends Board
9.Sakura House
10.Borderless House
11.Sharese.com
And there should be several other ways.
Then, how about for those who live outside Japan but want to make friends with Japanese girls or guys living in Japan? There will be limited resorces, compared with above.
1.WorldFriends (as you might know already)
2.Japan Forum
3.Japan Forum dot com
4.English diaries at Blog Mura written by the Japanese
5.Other languages at Blog Mura
6.Multilingual Network
7.My Language Exchange dot com
8.Be a friend of Kirin! 
or find other Japanese bloggers who are interested in you, your country or your language.
Do you come up with any other ways?
Let me tell you how Japanese people are basically. We are very shy and most of us cannot even look straight to your eyes when we speak to you. (I’m talking about things in general) We are very shy and that’s why we care too much about making mistakes, which is the main reason why most of Japanese people cannot speak English well in spite of over 10 years of studying it at school. Our culture likes ambiguity and it is regarded good in Japan to be somewhere between yes and no. (I have hard time fitting myself in it, though) Many of us cannot get rid of this Japanese culture even when we communicate with non-Japanese people. It is said Japanese common sense is not the common sense of the world, which is true in a sense. Anyway please remember most of Japanese people are very shy! (No wonder Facebook is not popular!?) If you’ve ever tried to make Japanese friends but didn’t work out, that maybe related to this cultural difference, because many Japanese love to make foreign friends, indeed!
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Tags: Japanese friends
August 5th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I didn't know that Japanese people are so shy. I'm a little shy, but mostly with boys, haha. ^^; I think it'd be really cool to be penpals with people from Japan, so I'll probably try one of those sites! (Awe, Kirin! Let's be friends.
)
August 6th, 2009 at 1:24 am
I am very happy if I could make friends with people through this blog. That's one of the main reasons I am doing this.
Thank you Miss Ia for your frequent comments to my blog. I enjoy exchanging comments with you.
August 6th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Same here.
August 7th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Although i have heard the Japanese are very shy in general, i never actually heard it from a Japanese person. I have a shy personality but everyday i am growing out of it because where i live people are not very sympathetic about it. That really makes me think about why it would take a great effort for my japanese classmates to participate in our group assignments. I wouldn't mind looking for a penpal, i did not know people still did these things when we have instant messenger ~_~.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Ah, no eye contact
. I always used to do that ( not making eye contact when talking to people ). It's considered not very polite here, because when you talk to somebody and never look into the eyes from time to time, it makes you look as if you're thinking about other things.
)
So I"ve had to work hard to keep making eye-contact during conversation :S because my job required I talk to customers and have plenty of meetings.
Especially when listening to somebody, you're supposed to keep eye contact .
So I'll have to untrain myself when visiting Japan ^_^
Thank you for the links. As soon as I have more free time, I'll look into them (which will probably be in my next life or the one after that
August 8th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
This is only my opinion but we (Japanese people) are actually very good at writing, reading and grammar (I'm speaking of English) but very poor at listening and speaking. That's why we feel more relaxed or safer with email communication. I can feel it very well. I feel that writing a blog post is much easier than speaking to the Youtube video. :p
August 8th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I am fine with eye contact by now, but I still remember this very clearly when my Mexican friends asked me why I didn't look at their eyes when we talked, which was when I was 20 years old and when I learned English at a college in the U.S.
It was very shocking to me because I didn't realize that until pointed out. I do appreciate him at that time. So when you are in Japan and you cannot get eye contact from some Japanese people who speak to you, never mind too much about that. It doesn't mean they are day dreaming or trying to cheat you. XD
August 9th, 2009 at 5:31 am
I’ve always been fond of Japan and it’s culture. I never knew that Japanese are shy. In my culture, looking one in the eye seem more like a disrespect or arrogance. Not sure if this is a general part of our Asian culture but I love to look at someones eyes when speaking to someone- so I guess, I don’t have that problem. I love meeting new Japanese friends and I’m glad to find you! Konnichiwa!
Maricris
http://zenforyou.dalefg.net
August 10th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Yes, I noticed that it was quite difficult to make friend with Japanese people, unless you come and talk with them, but yet, it doesn’t mean they see you as a friend. I also came to learn that when they tell you see you later on or I’ll see you again doesn’t necessarily mean they will indeed see you again soon, it’s just a kind of politeness, but yet I love Japan and its people!
August 10th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Konnichiwa, Im also very keen of knowing a few japanese friends
. Currently Im taking japanese language Lvl 4 for beginner. Hopefully can pass JLPT, and I can visit Japan next year. The te-form and those sentence structures are sometime very complicating, one of my coursemate said “No wonder japanese don’t have time to learn other language” 
August 10th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I have a few Asian friends and found that they were all very different when it came to cultural things like making friends. My Thai friend Lek was shy at first but once we got to know each other (over about a year) she became very warm and friendly. My Chinese friends have lived here in the US a long time but it took a while to get to know them too but they are warm, affectionate and outgoing, much more so than many other Asian cultures. I don't know what they would be like in China for instance but many of their friends come to this country and adapt quickly.
Kirin you are my first Japanese friend which really excites me because I love Japan and Japanese culture so much and Japanese people. Being Buddhist I identify with many Japanese ways (since Buddhism is such a part of the history of Japan) and I have read much about Japan and its culture and studied Zen Buddhism for many years.
I think I might frighten some people because I am not reserved, I am boisterous, funny, warm, affectionate and silly. I don't have a shy bone in my body though I used to when I was a child. Now I am outgoing so I might be shocking to the Japanese. Hopefully someday I will find out since it is my dream to go to Japan.
I will need a whole bunch of money though because I will buy so many kawaii things that I will need a freighter to get them home!
August 11th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Thank you for your comment. I am now OK about looking at someone's eyes directly when I speak to him or her, but as you say, this might be related to some Asian things, too. Thank you for your interesting comment.
August 11th, 2009 at 10:12 am
As a Japanese, I like my Japanese friends a lot. I really like Japanese people in a way. Most of us would not hug or kiss between friends, which is totally different from Western culture, but it doesn't mean we are unfriendly. We just do not express love or friendship as much as American people for example, but we express them by subtle way, and we understand that each other. But this may not be understood by Western people easily.
When I was in the U.S, I was surprised how people expressed their feelings by apparent ways. They say "I love you." or "I miss you." very frequently but it doesn't always mean they really meant as much as the word sounded. So many people never wrote to me even though they said "I'll write to you, I love you!" And I thought they should not say that if they didn't mean that seriously. But I still enjoy communication with any nationalities. :p
August 11th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Hi PenCapChew, thank you for your comment here!
Ah, you learn Japanese! You may see how different Japanese and other European languages. I think that's the reason we have hard time learning other languages. I don't think we are just lazy and never try to learn other languages.
On the contrary, we are working very hard to be able to speak and understand English, but there should be something, some obstacle there. Otherwise, it's just a mystery to me, too why even now most of Japanese people suffer from English after 10 or 20 years study from grade school…:( (Of course I was one of them until I went to the U.S college. :p)
August 12th, 2009 at 12:06 am
Hi kirin, I think your english is good…And Im actually living in Malaysia. People here who went to school from primary 1-6 years, at least speak 2 languages (Malay/English) and one mother tongue. We're not encourage to speak mother tongue in school. How long have you stay in US?
My longest period staying outside from my country is 4 months when I was taking my Degree in Liverpool. Visited Wales, Stonehenge, London and Amsterdam. Amsterdam is also a very nice and liberal place, it was like "World Inside Europe", you can almost find every single race there. Miss it so much but now, no $$ im broke.
August 12th, 2009 at 2:00 am
I've stayed in the U.S 1 year but I worked very hard during that period. (I went to a college in California and I was studying a lot.) I think I should have learned Chinese or Spanish or French more, besides English.
I learned Spanish in the U.S, too but I forgot most of it because I don't use it at all in Japan.
I'm going to Amsterdam for the first time in my life in this September!
I'm so excited to read your comment. What is your recommend?
August 12th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Thank you riotnikki. It's my hope and my pleasure if I can make friends from blogging.
Don't worry, not every Japanese is that shy. But as you point out there seems to be a big cultural difference between Western culture and Asian's.
As you are Buddhism, I agree that you fit in our culture. Many of us do not have specific religion, but I think Buddhism is behind our culture and we think of it even if we do not recognize or claim ourselves as Buddhism.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Hi kirin, I only spend 2 days over there, sightseeing most of the time and taking pictures of buildings. I stay in a budget hostel and can’t remember the name, something to do with “sport youth” im not sure. Actually, I rent a bicycle and it’s very convenient. I only visited Anne Frank House. If you need more information about attractions over there, I advise you to take a free pamphlet from the “Tour Bus” service (Im not using the service because I rent a bike
)…Sort of like a free map. 
Anyhow, seeing the people is enough to amaze you. I saw alot japanese tourists too….
PS: Please bring extra map just in case.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Sorry, the “Tour Bus” service was happen in London
…For Amsterdam, I got those infos from the hostel Im staying.
August 14th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Thank you for your advice.
It's going to be a fun trip over there… I've already bought a guidebook, booked a hotel (budget one, of course!) and I have to prepare for things to do there. Unlike most of other tourists, I am not very much interested in famous places, church, or buildings. I am a lot more iterested in LIFE that local people are leading. What they are eating? How are local super markets? What do they have? What kind of kawaii things they have? (important! XD) I also like to find some good local music in local language at a small local CD store. I like to spend days there as if I were living there. I would not go to a Japanese restaurant even if I miss it. :p
August 15th, 2009 at 1:09 am
i only have 1 japanese friend who regularly keep in touch w/ me via text message and instant messenger since around 2005. but he’s IN LOVE w/ indonesia and can speak the language fluently so we always communicate in indonesian, mostly discussing things about indonesian food, culture etc
haha so my japanese language and cultural knowledge is stuck to zero level *joking
whatever language they prefer (english/japanese/even indonesia) yet i enjoy making friends w/ japanese. they’re so excited about new things!
August 15th, 2009 at 3:14 am
They possibly eating alot pancakes because there are many cafe serving pancakes. They can put "weed" inside the pancakes too. Marijuana is illegal in malaysia. I only come across a street market selling colorful tulips, cactus carnivorous plants, flowers etc very nice…I didn't notice any super markets, mostly are retail shops. Check out the Hare Krishna hippies going around the street chanting their sutras too. For music store, I also didn't go…but I saw many Bob Marley and Van Gogh pictures. Kawaii thing should be the Dutch wooden shoes they called it clog. ã„ã£ã¦ã€€ã„らã£ã—ゃã„。
^_^
August 15th, 2009 at 4:41 am
Oh that sounds cool.
I am interested in making international friends, too.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:06 am
ã‚ã‚ŠãŒã¨ã†ãƒ¼ã€‚It's a little bit later from now. I'll be there around end of September. I'm scared about the drug thing, because it's illegal in Japan, too. I read that I should not go to "coffee shop" if I mean "cafe" because coffee shop is the place for drug users. (@_@) My biggest question is how I should do about blogging during my trip. I feel like reporing "kawaii from the world" but it maybe ã‚‚ã£ãŸã„ãªã„(wasting opportunity or time) if I spend a good time blogging even when I travel…:(
August 16th, 2009 at 3:19 am
Haha…yea, the "itte irasshai" should be use when someone is about to go out. Not so soon. And about blogging, I noticed most of the area is under WIFI coverage. So, even if your hostel doesn't provide any (which is very rare), maybe you can use the neighbour ones. And yes, you should spend some quality time over there instead of bloggin.
August 16th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Thank you so much for the info. about the WIFI. I will not spend as long hours as usually for blogging when I travel, but I want to update it sometimes, as well as check emails.
To be correct, "itte irasshai" (ã„ã£ã¦ã€€ã„らã£ã—ゃã„) is pronounced or written as "itte rasshai"(ã„ã£ã¦ã‚‰ã£ã—ゃã„).
It means go (è¡Œã£ã¦) and come back (ã„らã£ã—ゃã„) and this is used as you say to me, or every morning I say that to my hubby when he leaves home.
There is a thought called "Kotodama" in Japan, which means every word has a life in it.
Addressing to my hubby by "itterasshai" means that Kotodama start to act on him. It will protect him. ("Come back safe and sound")
In that way, it's not considered good to speak bad words or negative words.
November 11th, 2009 at 5:00 am
hi Kirin, just wondering if you have any Japanese friend looking for job in Malaysia?
November 12th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
No, not at a moment… sorry.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
i like japanes sooo much .and i need 2 learn their langouge. i know few sentences.
November 14th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Oh you like Japanese people? I'd like to hear more from you. If you don't mind, please feel free to write your comment to this post:
http://tokyokawaiietc.com/archives/2995
June 19th, 2010 at 4:59 am
Hi. I am a Japanese man. I'm living in Singapore now. But here is Singapore, so I have only a few friends. Where do you guys live in now? To be honest I don't know about this Web site very much. Is this forum Singaporean?
June 19th, 2010 at 5:03 am
I'm Japanese and I'm living in Singapore now. I think most Japanese people can't speak English. So getting Japanese friends will be very difficult for you guys. I've never seen Japanese people who can speak English or Mandarin very well. They are monolingual. By the way, I came here to make Singaporean friends, is this site Singaporean?
June 19th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Well…first of all this is a blog written by a Japanese woman from Tokyo. It's nothing like a forum or Singaporean community. Indeed, there are many readers from Singapore, but basically readers of this blog are from around the globe.
As you point out, not many Japanese people are good at English, but it's also true that many of them are striving to improve it. I was also one of them. Many Japanese people are interested in improving English, who always try to find language exchange partners, penpals, and etc. Thus I wouldn't say it's difficult.
I made some nice Singaporean friends through this blog. Blogging could be a good way to you too, I guess…
July 1st, 2010 at 10:21 am
July 1st, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Thank you so much for my English. Not many Japanese people are good at speaking or listening in English, but we are better at writing and reading it. So, if you make Japanese friends, we may tend to prefer email communication than speaking on the phones or over skype etc. Good luck!
July 13th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
I’ve visited blogmura.. some of them is written in kanji or kana.., I can read kana alright but the only problem is I don’t know what it means haha..
looks like the easiest way to make Japanese friends right now is doing the number 8 from the 2nd list
cheers.. keep on posting, I’d love to read more about the culture in your country, Kirin san
July 14th, 2010 at 12:09 am
Haha! Thank you for your comment. It looks a bit hard to make friends with Japanese people because we are basically very shy and alert, besides not many of us speak English well. But you know what? Once you make friends with Japanese people, we are very sincere, considerate, and nice. It sounds creepy I praise our people like this, but that's why I like Japanese people.
I'm happy you find my blog interesting. Take Tokyo Kawaii TV for example, it looks like speaking about fashion and kawaii when you see it on the surface. But it actually shows our culture as well. For example, this episode (http://tokyokawaiietc.com/archives/4104) illustrates how our shop assistants value customer service.
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:19 am
wow ,it really buzz, Kirin
actually i am learnning japanese ,and i really in it ,although it’s hard to make me sounds like saying japanese sometimes ,but it doesn’t matter ,i will put myself on it .cuz i like it .
great to see yours insights .
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Thank you so much for your comment and all the best for your Japanese learning.
July 31st, 2010 at 12:00 am
seria muy cool sociavilizar con gente que vive en una cutura muy distinta a la de nosotros en lo
personal soy sociable . =) *w*
July 31st, 2010 at 1:41 am
Muchas gracias. Yo no puedo comprender espanol (es espanol?) muy bien, pero…se que nuestro cultura es muy diferente de vuestro… ^ ^; Espero que esto tiene sentido para tu. Estoy pensando estudiar espanol otra vez. ^ ^
July 31st, 2010 at 4:37 am
hey kirin, you see im an "otaku" from Philippines and i do spend my time watching anime or reading manga and i noticed that most character are so shy and i think its very "kawaii" xD so its true….in real life then in Japan. oh yeah im currently learning how to speak in Japanese..xD
August 1st, 2010 at 3:04 am
Haha^ ^ Otaku people are usually very shy. They tend to get into the manga/anime world because they are too shy to spend social life in the real world. But they are very pure and nice. They are just shy and so sometimes they are misunderstood by most of the people.
August 7th, 2010 at 8:01 am
Hello Kirin want to suggest you JuJu Penpals its at JuJu.cc and available many Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino friends and penpals there for language practice and friendship…
September 15th, 2010 at 11:01 am
hajimemashite. Watashi wa betomamujin kara, 19 sai desu. Watashino namae wa Ly to yomimasu. Ima nihongo wo benkyoshite imasu. Nice to meet you! Let’s be friends!
September 15th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Konnichiwa linh.
Thank you for your comment.
Nihongo no benkyo ganbatte kudasai. ^ ^
Arigatou
September 16th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Hi Tomo,
You are in Singapore? I am in JB. Yes, you are right, it is not easy to get Japanese friends. Do you have any Japanese friends in JB that you can introduce to me?
Regards,
Mike
miketeng@hotmail.com
September 20th, 2010 at 5:26 am
Interesting… shy, huh? I've been to Japan, and it doesn't seem as bad as you say… but I did see what you meant about the awkwardness with English!
Everyone seems so flustered and nervous about it! It reminds me of how Americans are awkward with Spanish – it's the same sort of thing, really. We've all learned Spanish in school (or French), but we're pretty awkward about using it… and we'd sound about the same as Japanese people sound when speaking English!
My wife and I are planning another trip for November!!! I'm gonna try and make a couple of Japanese friends before we get there!
September 20th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Good, I sort of explained things effusively to let people understand us better. It's better than the other way round, huh?
And of course not all Japanese people are like this.
I didn't know you learn Spanish in school. I took Spanish at a college in the US and was shocked how people speak it proactively. They were not beginner then?
Good luck for your trip and new Japanese friends!
September 24th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Hi Everyone,I have a question please. What does it mean when a japanese collegue gives you a cactus plant??? I work with her and we live in the usa. Is it bad luck? She's not very fond of me.
September 25th, 2010 at 2:40 am
I don't think it means anything bad or negative, because cactus plant doesn't have a meaning of malice. I think it's just a present to you, honestly. BTW, I'm Japanese.
October 29th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
where pretty much the same who like anime/manga Elie but i got disgusted when i learn the dark life of the Japanese. it tears up my heart although knowing they are good people and they do best at their work. you can only see the beautiful and good front image of the japanese but if you look deeper you will be shock on the things whats really going on in their way of living.
I apologize from the bottom of my heart if this reply may cause to hurt the feeling especially kirin.
I really like japanese culture, gadgets, and especially japanese girls and i do hope there are still a lot of them just like kirin mentioned earlier shy, very pure and nice. YAMATO NADESHIKO ROCKS!!!
October 29th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
i apologize for this bad comment especially to kirin-sama, about japanese being shy, very pure and nice is not all entirely true.
i like japan, i like japanese culture, i like their manga and anime, movies, gadgets and stuff, and i wish i could get married to a japanese girl.
but all of that crumble when the very essence of the japanese culture "self decency " have lost its importance.
what happen to those very pure shrine maidens?
where have all the true yamayo nadeshiko have gone?
WHERE ARE THE VERY PURE AND NICE VIRGINS?
oops!!! i think i over did it. but this was really been bothering me for a while so again my apologies to kirin-sama ^_^
October 30th, 2010 at 2:30 am
It's OK sampee.
Thank you for sharing your comments over here. I understand what you mean. Good old Japanese ways are missing from today. I am also disgusted to see the dark side of this society. Only good side can be seen from foreigners but the truth is there are so much of dark side that is not realized by them. Many foreigners think Japan is a dream country but the truth is not that good. I understand you like Japanese culture so much and that's why you are so much shocked to see the negative aspscts of our society. That's all from your love.
October 30th, 2010 at 10:31 am
hai this is Virender Nirankari from india.iam very interesting to make friends who want to also to make friends.and i have average fluency in english.i want to achieve good fluency in english.
please help me in this regard.
October 31st, 2010 at 12:35 am
If you want to improve your English, what about creating your account at twitter and facebook (in English) and interact with English speaking people? As you may have noticed, I'm Japanese but I try to improve my English by updating this blog and communicating with international people in English. As I do this almost everyday, I now feel much easier to use English compared with the time before I started this blog.
Hope this helps.
November 4th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
eheh… but there's always a dark side in every country right?
but what keeps everyone going is when they enjoy the good side ^^
i've know alot about the dark side, but i don't worry about it too much. because i will enjoy japan more if i focus on the good stuff ^^ (ofcourse i will still be careful ). by the way, i'm a foreigner and i love japan for it's traditional and modern culture! =) im planning to live there for maybe a year after i graduate high school.
November 4th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Yes, that's right. Every country should have dark side. But if we see negative parts only, we have to feel so pessimistic.
November 9th, 2010 at 10:45 am
yeah maybe I'm becoming pessimistic but i really wish that japan will focus more in self decency. just think where else in the world can you find a middle grade school girls dating middle age and old age men? japanese call this as enjo kosai
if i'm not mistaken. if your in the same shoes as your decent mother or father what would you feel if you found out your 12 year old daughter is dating a 35 year old man? It really gets in my nerve knowing something like this would happen if ever i live in japan and have a family there.
I really like japan but i always tend to criticize them for these thought. i'm really sorry about this repply but knowing a little bit of the japanese culture it really goes against it.
November 9th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
It's OK, you state your opinion and thoughts and that is a true story. The shops in Akihabara for example sell child porn DVD from under 10-year-old girls and boys too! I felt so sick when I knew this reality. Our porn industry is so open and our government is very generous compared with the US or European one.
November 9th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
uhm. hello again!~
I love your blog!!
… But I think I said that already… ^^;
Today, I have a question about penpals…
My Japanese penpal said they wanted to meet in person during our summer break (since we have summer break at the same time)… As in, my penpal will be leaving Japan to meet me.
Is it normal in Japan to meet your foreign penpals in real life?
November 10th, 2010 at 12:12 am
Haha, don't you think it's natural we want to see in person when we have become friends thru penpal or blog? I am not penpal myself but I would feel the same way as that penpal of yours if I were the one. I am blogging and I exchange comments or emails with people who frequently visit here and gradually I feel I like them, they feel they like me, and we meet up in person off-line.
I will announce when I will visit which country. Last time I went to Singapore, I met about 5 people in 2 days. They are the readers of this blog, and I totally loved all of them.
November 20th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
i see… good advice… currently im trying to find japanese social networks where most japanese people are… and make friends with them..because i want to adapt in the culture,tradition etc. ^.^ can you help me introduce some of your friends?
November 21st, 2010 at 7:18 am
wow! u went singapore?!?! aww.. too bad im not there to meet you TT.TT i live in singapore though
November 21st, 2010 at 7:32 am
Have you tried out mixi?
I think it's better you make your friends by yourself. I'll tell you. I have a friend who I like so much, but then how about a friend of that friend? Not always. Also, most of my friends in Japan do not speak English so much, unfortunately.
November 25th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Hey,,
Does any of the link to make a japanese friend not linking to a site where you have to pay??
December 11th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
I don't think so. This is a site made by a japanese person if im not wrong! =D
December 11th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Yes, you're right.
January 15th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
I had been to Japan twice. All what I remember about it was only during the second time in 1997 (because I was too young in the first time, and I hardly remember anything at that time in 1989). I simply liked there, everything there….Unfortunately, I didn't join any Japanese schools because I didn't stay for so long (three months), and then I went back homeland.
I am greatly attracted to Japanese culture, anime, and I wish I could learn Japanese because I knew only a few phrases and words at that time (pronunciation only, and I don't know how to write in Kanji, unfortunately!)
Shyness is everywhere, in any country, by the way
January 16th, 2011 at 8:33 am
Thanks Salma for your comment.
It's nice to know foreign people like our country.
January 26th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
hi all people,i am living in china and wanna ask if there is any way for making japanese friends no matter in china or in japan.
February 21st, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Shitsuree-shimasu…
Hi there, Kirin. I’ve been following your page since months ago. Hope you could keep up the good work
Actually, I have something in mind to discuss. Apparently I made a pen-pal with a Japanese. At first, it went quite well.
But as time passes, it seemed to me that my penpal was feeling uninterested and lacking off(by the way of replying). I tried to follow her mood, “which” accidentally turned out to be the breakdown of our communication. I tried to re communicate at her birthday a few days ago, but til then no reply.
What I really want to ask is : what should I do to solve the problem? And what are the “yes/no” culture in speaking properly with a Japanese? ( she is a female student living somewhere in Iwate, about 4-5 years younger than me.)
Hope you could share some of your valuable lessons for further understanding in the future.
Shitsuree-shimashita.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:38 am
Hello!
How are you,kirin?
I hope that my comment finds you well.
Actually, I would like to tell you, How I m very happy to find a nice blog like yours.
Really, Really your blog is very nice one, I really love it a lot.I love its content and form at the same time.
I m a girl likes to Know about the other cultures and countries of the whole world, because I do beleive that before I m moroccan and you are from japan and the others are americans or korean or whatever. We are human being, and we have to communicate with eachothers, and to ensure a very good communication, we have to know about the culture of eachothers.
In fact , Morocco is a arabic country near from Eroupe , For that we studied about the culture and history of eroupe. But,we didnt study lot of things assia cultures, like in japan and korea or china and so on….
For that, I m interested to know more and more about the culture in japan and history too.
I search about a sort of ebooks talk about japan culture, and history too. But here in Morocco is very hard to find these kind of books in our libraries about Japan or Korea and other countries there in Assia.
I tried to find them in internet , but I couldnt find a usefl one,,,,,But I m glad because your blog will be helpful for me to know about japan more and more.
Again,Kirin I would love to thank you from my deep heart about your nice blog. and for your efforts to give us a informations about a nice country like japan.
Have a lovely day!
al the best luck for you!
best regards^_^
Sanaa.
March 20th, 2011 at 1:43 am
Thank you Sanaa!
I'm happy you liked this blog. I think there are still many people like you who have been searching information about Japan but have not encountered this blog.
Also I hardly know anything about Morocco. It's a mysterious country I wish to visit some day. Same as you, I like to communicate with people from other countries and make friends with them. Hope we can see each other when you have a chance to visit Tokyo or I have a chance to visit Morocco.
Thank you for your messages from everywhere. ^ ^
Take care and please come back to this blog.
I'll update normal posts (not the Japan earthquake one) soon.
June 7th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Hello Kirin,
Im new here. I just stumble on your blog when i was reading about the interview of the band called CNBLUE, im a big fan of them. But as i read it its nice and very informative about the new trend now in japan and its changing point of views of the generation now. I'm a Filipino who is working in Saudi, and i would say that i'm interested and love and respect your culture and would like to learn more. In one way or the other since we are neighbors, our culture are the same. Like the rest of the world i love anime, and jdrama. By myself im learning japanese, unfortunately since i have no one to converse with i tend to forget the words. Hahahaha… its my dream to visit japan and see the sakura. One day soon. But first if you would allow, i want to be your friend. If it is ok?
June 8th, 2011 at 9:34 am
Hi miraluna,
Thank you for your comment.
Please contact me from the contact form. http://tokyokawaiietc.com/contact
You can write to me in Japanese (with English mixed, no problem) if you want.
July 6th, 2011 at 4:35 am
I haven't tried any of those websites, but I thought I would state my opinion. My Japanese friends are very open, not shy at all !! In fact, they're the most outgoing of the group~
I'm not sure if this is just who I'm friends with, but they include japanese raised in australia, international students and foreign exchange students.
They are not what you would describe as "otaku" but, does it really play that much of a difference whether they are or not?
July 7th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
I think the Japanese who have foreign friends are not shy. I'm talking about majority of Japanese who usually don't have foreign friends. Let alone, those Japanese who were raised in a foreign country are quite different from the ones who were raised in Japan.
September 29th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Hello, thank you for your site, very helpful and interestingl,I am a 64 year old Englishman who enjoys trying to understand the japanianse culture in all its many lotus-leaves forms
September 30th, 2011 at 11:43 am
Welcome to TKE blog. ^__^
I think you will find Japanese culture so interesting. Have you visited Japan before? If not, I do recommend that you come in Spring, when Sakura (cherry blossoms) are in full bloom. Eat our food, explore Onsen (hot spring) and Hanami (viewing Sakura) as well as visit many wonderful places throughout the country. Just avoid summer, which is not just hot but humid. But if you are used to such weather, summer is also good in terms of Hanabi (fire works), Matsuri and many local festivals.
October 13th, 2011 at 8:51 am
I think facebook is catching on in Japan.
October 13th, 2011 at 11:21 am
Yes, you're right. I could add facebook here. When I wrote this post, facebook was not popular yet. ^ ^;;
October 25th, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Hajimemashite. Nice article by the way. I saw your website with this post. I just wanted to say hi. Hope to see more post about learning japanese.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Welcome to TKE blog. Hajimemashite, Youkoso!
OK, I'll try. Thanks! ^ ^
November 29th, 2011 at 4:56 am
Hi everyone, wanna be my friends, I really love to making new friends. I'm waiting.
February 17th, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Ow,this is actually good news for me…I´m very shy myself so I think finding japanese friends might be the best thing for me:))) Thanks for all the useful links,I´m goning to try meet new people this way and hope to improve my japanese on the way.Arigatou gozaimasu!
February 18th, 2012 at 5:02 am
Hope any one of these methods is helpful to you. ^ ^ Many Japanese people are interested in learning English, so if you speak some Japanese and teach them English, that would be much appreciated. Wish you a good luck!
April 24th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Hello!
My name is Susanne, I'm a girl of 24 years (almost 25). I love everything related to Asia, fashion, technology, nature, etc. I run a blog http://wronginalltherightways.blogg.se (it has google translate) where I write about my life and my love of Asia and all that is kawaii. Now I wonder if you might not want to be my pen pal? We can talk about everything, share experiences and even exchange gifts.
If you think this seems interesting contact me
xoxo// Susanne a girl from sweden
April 24th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
Hi Susanne,
Thank you for your message. Unfortunately I'm not looking for a pen pal myself, but my Japanese friend might be interested in English/Japanese language and culture exchange. You can email me from contact form (at the top of this blog) so I can pass your message to my Japanese friend and see if she is interested too.
Kirin
June 17th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
its very difficult to make friends to japanese people .some of them are cold but not all i love japan and i love japanese so much i love and enjoy leaving here in japan
July 27th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
Hi:) i’m Yvette. hi Kirrin-san. i’ve always been a big fan of Japan. The culture, language,the food(sashimi,sushi…yumm:}), anime and dorama.. i’m filipino but i want to meet japanese friends because i think it would be easier to learn the language when you have a friend to teach you,right?:) so, hi! hajimemashite:)
August 2nd, 2012 at 6:12 am
Hi Yvette,
There are many Japanese people who want to learn English, so you may be able to find a Japanese friend who you can exchange languages. ^ ^ Many people have asked me if I could be a language exchange partner, but unfortunately I'm too busy to do that. I hope you can find a good Japanese friend who you can learn the language with fun. ^ ^
September 17th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
I'd like to suggest another site, Oh My Japan. https://ohmyjapan.com
I created this site to help Japanese people who want to learn English connect with English speakers who want to learn Japanese. Registration is free, and members can look for people in their neighborhood or people who want to make friends online (via Skype, MSN, etc.)
Members can search for friendship, language exchange, teachers, and/or romance. The feature I am proudest of is that each of these interests can be toggled on or off. For example, if someone wants to concentrate on foreign language study, they can turn off the friendship and romance options so that they don't get bothered by people looking just for friends or romance. In the same way, if someone is just looking for friends, they can turn off the language exchange and romance options.
I hope some of you find the site useful!
October 8th, 2012 at 4:36 am
Hi.
I actually have 13 years old, I love japanesse culture since I have memory, even though Im not american neither I have japanesse familiy, I just love it. I would absolutly love to have japanesse or generaly asian friends, so i tried to convince my parents to have a trip to asia or to start taking japanesse or other asian lenguages, but its useless, I know tha maybe this comment wont be read by anyone but I can express myself, and its really dangerous for a little child like me talking with strangers online, so Im hopeless. My main language is spanish. I really respect and love japanesse culture, I have read that asian people dont like foreingers so i was a little bit dissapointed. So, my cuestion is somebody knows how could i start talking with other countrys people and exchange country and cultures information, i would be really happy if i could learn more about asian and have more friends?.
Thank very much for reading this coment, sorry if my english is bad or if I have mistakes.
Have a good day ^^
October 8th, 2012 at 4:41 am
VERDAAAD? seria buenissisisismo pero bueno que se puede hacer!
October 11th, 2012 at 11:08 am
Hi Amelia,
Thank you for your comment. ¿Hablas español? ¿No hay nadie cerca de ti que es de japón? Porque estoy aprendiendo español, me encantaría intercambiar idiomas (español y japonés) contigo, pero creo que quieres amiga de japón o asia a tu edad, verdad? Tengo 38 años, como tu mama, tal vez. lol
Anyway, there's not much that I can express myself in Spanish. ^ ^;
So let me continue in English. As you say, travelling in Asia or meeting someone online may not be a good idea while you are still so young. Don't you have Japanese or Asian kids at similar age to yours near you or in your school? Maybe you could check out international school. I'm not sure which country you are from but usually Japanese families living abroad should have their children entered an international school there.
Yet, if it's still hopeless and useless, escríbeme.
http://tokyokawaiietc.com/contact
November 28th, 2012 at 8:52 am
Hi
I think you'r great
December 30th, 2012 at 2:56 am
HELLO ..I LOVE MEET JAPANESE PEOPLE BUT I HOPE LIVE IN JAPAN ONEDAY
February 16th, 2013 at 8:07 am
We're looking for a japanese friend to be with someday
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