How Do Foreigners Make Friends in Japan? [Ft. jakenbakeLIVE]

hey guys welcome to TCT time today we're back in the studio with our two new members it took a creative we have Judy hello she's new she works it took your creative now and hopefully she'll be more videos in future yay and we have Jake I'm noting you guy that I'm dating Jake yeah as usual say with usual anyway um I'm Shizuka as usual as well and we have Kelvin who is back from the last episode and if you have a modular last episode he is a voice actor in Tokyo and the three of us are going to be also making videos on a new platform called Tokyo creative learn which is gonna be really interesting it's for people who want to learn specifically about what we do and how we do it so you're gonna make some videos about streaming and how to get started which is great and hopefully you'll be having some videos that soon about being a voice actor yes yes so all things voiceover just here in Tokyo how to make it the voice-over industry here and some hints and tips that they would probably want to snot youtuber started YouTube just exercising things they can do and help them with their voiceovers that they may use YouTube videos right that's awesome I think that could be very useful for like people like us small people who make videos but also people who want to get into the industry as a narrator voice actor and I'll be doing something similar as well related to the talent industry and various parts of the entertainment industry not a [Laughter] mystery that's huge yeah sorry I just wanted to make sure that we're all on the same page here I'll teach you how to get into JV keep not the TV the PC version I'll be in this training the PC part of the entertainment industry and like how I got started and stuff like that so yeah lots to learn and anyway I'm something that we saw a lot on the TC learn site was a lot of questions about how to make friends in Tokyo surprisingly because we also talked about topics about getting started in Japan and linked down and people were wondering like how do you meet people when you get to Tokyo for the first time and that's a really great question I also had the same question when I first got here I started University here so I came here when I was 18 mm-hmm and I had never lived in Japan of course I didn't have any friends and that was a really tough awakening when I first got here I came here like six months before my university started so I had a lot of time and I didn't have anyone to hang out with and I just hung out with my grandparents for like the first several months bonding yes fun to a point yeah and then you feel like you may need to make some friends outside of the grandparents school yes even though they are usually extremely friendly yes friends your own age or we can go on Fridays I don't think it is actually a decision code like a little dude right number 62 yeah [Laughter] yeah I didn't do that but I didn't hang out with my grandparents I did a lot of like cycling around my residence yeah like it just is very alone so it's very easy to exercise bike in the basement a real bike yeah still sightseeing but just super lonely if you don't know people it really is hard to meet people sometimes yeah and for me the the main way that I met people was just by starting University that's where I met everyone it took I could I didn't know where to go until then but for you guys I wanted to know what was your experience when you first got here did you have another way to meet people yeah I think that you said the right way they were just just starting you think um like how I did mine and it and something a little bit different but actually came out to Japan before I decided to move here so I actually spent a little bit of time here it's been a few weeks given that I had a career in Australia I wanted to make sure that first of all that there would be something here for me to do and that there'd be the opposite opportunities but then I was also able to meet some people so when I came back actually knew a few people straightaway and I knew that there were some groups that you could get involved in straightaway because we need to first move to Tokyo you kind of in this small apartment and you can kind of get that cabin fever very very quickly and I think that's the scariest part for foreigners that have moved here is this that feeling of I'm in another country and I'm in another city but I'm just in a small space and I don't know how to make friends so the first thing was familiar just to get out there and I looked at all of the events that were going on events in my the things that I was passionate about so I kind of met like-minded people straight away and that helped a lot so I'm just trying to make random friends I was like okay this should be tailored towards people that I know that I can hanging out with as well as trying to do work here and that just helped me straight away to be like if I I know that one person oh just sort of gives that sense of relief that you got someone to text someone to talk to someone to meet up with and have coffee with them once a week I'd say don't be afraid to tell them that I think a lot of people have kind of afraid that if I ask them to have coffee with me once a week um invading their space but if you say hey look I don't know anyone yet mm-hmm that's it'd be really great if I could just have a coffee with you just so I've got someone to talk to once a week because you can do the FaceTime all you want with friends and family but until you have that one person that really gets what you're going through - especially if they live here they know what you're going through so I would say just start by going out and trying to find that one person may be in your own industry or someone that you just meet that is willing to give you that time that understands right there's most of us do and I certainly taste alone I think as well with in the community as well we're kind of quite friendly in terms of understanding where you're at and what you're trying to achieve in that we get it so don't be afraid that you're the only one feeling it we've all been there and done it definitely yeah I think moving to a new country like any country right you kind of forget how you make friends oh because you haven't done it in so long yeah so they have they don't chase me yeah exactly like we have to relearn I guess skills that you didn't have to use for a very long time so I think part of it is that you have to be okay with knowing that it's gonna be awkward you know yeah and yeah people like you said people are understanding of that you're you being a new country you have to get used to the culture everything is so new so like yeah people are definitely willing to help you here just not be afraid of asking yeah yeah definitely I think people in Tokyo in general are very friendly they do come off at first is like being quiet and reserved and they don't they're not very talkative but if you've reached out to people they're very willing to help you yeah even willing to become friends if you're in the right area if you're in an izakaya or like a bar they're very talkative and yeah yeah drink novel blossom yeah right that's very true and of course there are there are tons of events in in the city like Tokyo just events everywhere yeah um one thing that I saw on online quite a bit here and there are nowadays there's um like international language exchange international parties international parties and those of you to search on google international parties in Tokyo there's a whole bunch of them yeah packing two nations yes one as well yeah one I saw my on some websites like Tokyo but they're like yeah different like different bars like either sponsor them in different like a little like restaurants will sponsor them like every week or every month yeah they will meet ups like that I think I haven't been to one yet but yeah I know the existence to be able to make friends I think you're imagine that's another really great one I have people that you know they don't do lots of events where they'll go skiing but you know that's funny that's actually a really great one yeah this one that's that's a great one just to do activities just to go and meet people they do that right but finally enough help I kind of met it was through creative because they had the offline and it was like well I met you at one of those parties but yeah you know they get involved just going to an event yeah you know I was sort of apprehensive about going to a YouTube space but I came to one of the offline events yeah and it was great you met people you know in that one space so they're just so many out there but that came through a Facebook someone whom I knew was interested in the event and I saw the event and I went oh cool mm-hmm sometimes you know that's how you can sort of do it just make sort of find those groups and then someone you can then become Facebook friends with will be going to events being sort of spring yourself up they don't have to be with that one person the entire time you're just using that as your launchpad to find new people and that type of stuff very true yeah yeah it's it's good that you brought up the like trick you creative event cuz it Tokyo creatives doing events now too so if you're interested in meeting people that could be a way to meet you it's also a good way to meet your favorite influencers and like hear what they have to say in person but of course a lot of people come to those and like-minded individuals I believe they all watch the same the same channels and you probably have that in common living in Tokyo so that's it will be doing another event like that very soon as well so if you're interested you can find that and in addition to that like there's just all kinds of events like like you said it at bars or various networking events like those also are very popular in Japan you can usually just search them up on online and they all know pop-up and Facebook is a good base with a great way to find them too and you always get free food and drinks which is nice for these events drinks it's not or maybe I'm just purposely looking for that's a good way to start like start out by like food events I feel really good but I mean professional networking events are like you said amazing not only you meet people who you might know that's a good I will just give me I'm gonna give the other side of life okay I just meet the homeys in the street you know it's not bad thing I was just giving the other side of life Jake is such a jerk dunk on my ass you play basketball today I know it's it's a good point though like there's those kind of business networking event yeah have you been to something I happen um they are I mean you have to wear nice clothes I guess that's the only thing but other than that like this like yeah like that yes you wear ha ha don't get you in and obviously you look professional but I mean once you get to that barrier of oh my name is shir watanabe i don't talk like that i guess what oh I just spoke in a very deep voice for some reason anyways do you suppose dudes I should do that people Elizabeth but yeah like once you get past talking to like Oh going over the awkward oh I'm doing this blah blah blah like you actually become friends with them and they have a huge connection already so they start inviting you to these events or like inviting you to meet some of the like-minded professionals or yeah people who you might want to meet so yeah meetings like you said earlier meeting that one person can lead to so many great things and growing your network yeah so true so nervous it's just it's just the one person that you meet and they can introduce you to all kinds of other people yeah maybe other people you can be friends with sometimes it's it's it's work connections and yeah I just brought it as your whole world in Tokyo oh yeah yeah I think sometimes many people move here initially they're kind of like I don't want to hang out with feel from my own country I'm here in Japan and well my Japanese friends but I would say one thing is to meet people of that really understand you from a cultural perspective even from a language perspective and just sort of reminded me that actually I'm I actually joined the Chamber of Commerce for Australia news but they have joint chambers so there's a Canadian one actually hosted the born nk4 with all of the Chamber's across the whole world so you've got US UK Canada Australia New Zealand Italy a whole bunch actually the Italian ones amazing because the wine and the food there is pretty a Ferrari in the background is cool you go there and he can make you meet people in having your the connections of most of the Tokyo yeah international population just through those events so I'd say don't be afraid to go to those events and just pop yourself out there just so you can make some he has initially and then you know if you really do want to go out there and know you want to be speaking Japanese as often as you can which I can understand that people have that sort of thing about wanting to come to Japan and oh this big Japanese and do that but just initially just to get you yeah feet on the ground type of thing that's really another way to do it yeah that's a really good point like it is great to meet a lot of you know local Japanese people and make Japanese friends but it is really nice to have that solid home base almost yeah where you feel like you have someone who you can really talk to you in your own native language maybe because sometimes you need that support like you just have trouble getting used to the culture like things you don't know you face a lot of struggles it's nice to have someone who has the same struggles as you but I think you're also very good at meeting people because you're always contrast because I'm outside like eight hours a day walking around and like a lot of my stream is like based on interactable especially in the beginning is a lot is based off interactions people love to see like me this dude like interactive locals cuz I barely spoke Japanese it was kind of awkward but kind of cool to see LP a lot of people directly well and when I first moved to Japan even half ago I came here I had a few friends when I lived in China but they weren't like they weren't like hang out everyday or talk or they were just maybe three people that I knew you can I came here but it just was me making friends on the street and when I first started probably than the first four months I probably made like a dozens of Japanese friends on the street and a lot of xcode's you know I can't like a lot of it's definitely a huge like anomaly when it comes to either how to make friends or whatever because most people don't go on the streets I'm gonna go on the street today and say hi to 50 japanese people and hope i get to make one friend like but i was kind of my thing like i wanted to make new friends and those were interesting for what i was doing for the stream in the beginning but yeah i'll just go say hi to people or like a belgian line just like a stupid comment when I scream people ask me the same question like how do I make friends this is like just like why we're doing this video now yeah and I I saw you joke around just say just say hi it's kind of stupid but like just say hi like like I don't know I I feel like I've gotten a lot of social interactions like on streets more than most people and that way where I can maybe kind of someone walks towards me I can tell just by the facial expression if I should say it kind of like the smiling or like hey look at her happy like to say hi and I don't know I've somehow turned Street interactions and friendships because now now a year and a half later you know I've have dozens of people I've met acquaintances but friend wise I'd probably say maybe like ten friends and I would say maybe I have like ten frames and then five people that I could actually call like really pretty close like if I needed to call someone for help like they're always there if I need to actually talk to a friend or something or I wanted to hang out and do something like they're really there for me and I think in a foreign country is not the easiest thing that rights for local friends but yeah just for me I guess it's a little bit different because I'm just kind of on this tree I'm not searching like for professional networks and stuff but you know honestly but depend on the load you are what you're doing I mean if you're just gonna be university it could be different than if you like already graduated like where is that approach that a different approach would work really well for people that are in universities because that's what you do you don't your class where you go out in that going okay where's the connection there yeah it's great because that's not something I would be comfortable you know I'm sure there'd be lots of people that would love that approach will take to that approach much more very much I'm gonna want to get this in like a psychology on like it's not pick up because would be like just friends that are you making but just like the psychology meeting people like mmm how to like find that common ground but I always say like if you open up a conversation find a common ground right away like I kind of have like steps maybe I don't think about a lunch of sleep like I just gave you through practice it's kind of like gotten to swing it might be because I usually live in China and I went there alone like really alone and had no friends didn't speak Chinese and I at that time I was making Chinese screens and then it kind of just grew and so maybe I had some practice mm-hmm but uh yeah finding common ground going going places that you like and then people that go there probably they like going there whatever maybe if it's a izakaya or if it's a cafe even like you know it could be having a library like I depends what you're into it yeah manga cafe you know mm-hmm but uh yeah just saying hi I sounds kind of stupid no it's it's like sure it's so I don't know it's simple it's simple but effective like that's the the foundation of basically making a friend you just need to approach them and say hi I'm so-and-so and then I want to say that like a big struggle as a foreigner if you do come to another country maybe because you're in the US per ten years I don't know you experienced in the back of the locals mind like give me other international people it's usually easier because you guys get along quicker or messer and they probably don't think about this but some locals again know my Chinese friends actually said tell me this when I lived in China years ago like it's harder for them to really attach themselves to a foreign friend because in the back of their mind they think the foreign friend is gonna eventually mean so they're not gonna fully attach themselves as like a really true best friend interesting because there's it's like they're scared long distance spring design yeah you know like they'll maybe think you'd be more of a surface friends so kind of make that barrier of being like yeah we're gonna be friends like if you're looking for real friends like we're gonna be Princeton you know it's so cold out a friend across the world I can't wait yeah yeah do that and I've heard some people are kind of like even you can honey I can kind of feel as I meet somebody and start hang out with them you feel like they put a little less effort making about love it's because you're foreign and they think oh you're leaving in years so like you're gonna be a fun person like be friends with them I don't know for like a short time yeah that's a it's definitely difficulty and Olivia knows that her experience that yeah that's a good point like oh just a little bit related to that but also alternately I had a similar experience when I first started going to university in Japan I went to a university that has an international faculties all the classes were in English which was very helpful because I could speak Japanese but it wasn't like to that extent where it was really confident so I made a lot of friends with the foreign exchange students who were there because we weren't we just had a lot in common it was very easy to talk and like to become friends but then the same thing happened like they were there for like a semester and we'd become such good friends newly leave or they'd be here for a year in the middle leave and I I mean I don't want to say don't make friends with that exchanged like if you have you come here like that in that risk where like people do leave a lot if you have friends from foreign countries so even if you've made like a really close friend who has been supportive that's awesome but you might need people who are actually based here or else that support system can leave make goals to see them again in the future like over there from and like crossing guys to show why that wall it's it shows now just how many different options you have now to meet people certainly like you know joining teasing lines gonna be great because it's an actual community of people that are living and working here mm-hmm in Japan doing what we love and we are actually here to stay yeah right yeah this is a great way for people to sort of get involved and feel like they are involved and that that we aren't transient yeah as much so as you would we thought that you know but you know even with chambers of commerce and things like that what I'm out posted here for quite some time so you do get the chance because starting all over again when he meets made of good friends is really difficult but yeah I was connected to that person that person here all my stuff it's just harder to do that bit with this type of community stuff which is why I'm excited to be a part of it is that I'm making people that aren't gonna leave ya or aren't thinking about you know I will leave at this point in time all other than I tend to do that so this is a great wave many people that just love Japan and right it's a great community yeah and that of yeah kind of committed to they committed to your friendship and they committed to stay here in Japan she makes a really big difference for your state of mind very true like it's very true it could become a community like I mean not only for us bowling for people who are taking part in NTC learn um you guys are all watching the same videos and then you know doing that like it comes with assignments as well like if you want to challenge yourself you can apply what you've learned and you can compare your what you've done with other people who want to do the same thing which i think is really nice yeah yeah so there's just so many different methods in Japan in Tokyo especially to meet different people and if you want to meet local people actually do you have any advice for meeting local friends to meet local friends like I don't know do you have a lot of Japanese friends in Tokyo too or well for me I think it's a little different because I grew I was born and raised here for babe hmm and then I had my childhood friends who also happened to come from all you know went abroad I mean we all came back together yeah we just left up from when we were 10 years old so we still act like 10 years old but yeah I mean I think mainly to meet local people obviously sometimes like ease up guys like the Mamas or like yeah mom was like the owner of like those trucks yeah there's a thing called sneku which is like a very old-school tiny bar yeah and it's usually run by like a female owner yeah the tiny bar and she'll like serve you drinks and and make some like home-cooked meals for the people and usually there are regulars who come there and those are called Snooki and I heard about this oh yes you Baba you Baba is she is she a mama son no I don't know I forget she runs a sento the bathhouse yeah so be awesome there might be just different interpretations of that word I mean I'm sure you could be people at a snack food or like diamo yeah you know boners and you start talking to them and I become really good friends with some people and like have lunch outside of you know me going to their restaurant and stuff like that so that's cool yeah so I mean just strike up a conversation like you said you find a common ground and also don't be afraid to use your Japanese I think that's a bigger thing no matter how bad it is like they all really appreciate you using Japanese and it kind of opens up a lot of doors yeah in terms of friendship so and they've gotten a big thing that's a really good point those are all really good tips like you can go to local izakayas which are the traditional Japanese dining bars or even like a regular bar and you can meet local Japanese people also foreign people and you can just open up conversation by saying hi we can use tinder my friend actually just I read I love that I've just heard about it no man gendered bubble they're all buzzwords yeah but I don't know if you want us to talk about it yeah like I won't be here cuz I have no experience yeah he will be my friends are visiting for week and he got using this week Annette raizy story became a shared on camera so we'll see okay well clearly there's leftover tuna in Japan let us know if you want to hear about that um but yeah I hopefully you guys learned a little bit about how you can meet people in Tokyo it's it sounds a little daunting but really if you just come here with an open mind and you're ready to say hi to people on the street and a bar you can make friends pretty easily and also if you're a little worried you can also search for events on the Internet yeah and there are a lot of fun so yeah let us know what else do you guys want to hear we'll hear us talk about in the comments below don't forget to Like comment and subscribe my channel know at Jakes channel it's all about Tokyo creative talk yeah [Music]

Channel: Tokyo Creative Talk

Views: 32,837

Keywords: tokyo creative, tokyo creative talk, tc tea time, tc talk, how to make friends in japan, how to make connections in japan, tokyo creative learn, friends in japan, making friends in japan, tokyo, japan, japanese, travel in japan, live in japan, japan vlog, vlog in japan, tokyo vlog, vlog in tokyo

Id: MC75HynzMFA

Length: 27min 2sec (1622 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 04 2019