Making friends in Tokyo

Tokyo is made of vast amounts of people, technology, temples...and more people. With so many people it's a wonder why, or how, one could feel lonely in such a crowded city!

It's true though. Japan, more specifically Tokyo, is known for being a lonely city especially if you are not Japanese or Asian. I find that the movie, Lost in Translation, did a pretty accurate job of how being in Tokyo can feel when you don't know anyone and no one is open to meeting you.

The Japanese people, in general, are pretty shy, (ladies, if you fancy a Japanese guy, you'll more than likely have to make the first move) and for the most part will not interact with a foreigner unless: a) the foreigner makes the first move (which could be interpreted as rude and a disruption of the recipients "peace"); or b) you're in a class or situation with the Japanese person.

Please do not misunderstand. I do not think this is necessarily a bad thing!

This is just another cultural difference that one from the western world may have to encounter and learn to either deal with or work around.

I decided to work around it, and have added a few resources you could use (in the Resources for Travelers page) so that you could work around it too! :D

The other day, I joined a meet-up group where I helped make pizza, a traditional Japanese soup, and ate some amazing cheesecake. We first met at the subway station in Shinjuku and then took the Seibu train waaayyyyy out to nowhereland (I can't remember the name of the station) where there was a children's amusement park, and then we walked for about 30 minutes.

It was great!

I got to get outside of downtown Tokyo, meet a lot of people, experience a traditional Japanese house, and eat some delicious food!

We broke up into groups. One team made pizza using a traditional Japanese oven. My team made a traditional Japanese soup. And another team made mochi*. The organizer of the meet-up event used his chef skills to make delicious cheesecakes using the brick oven.

After 1-2 hours of making the different foods, we all came together and had a feast (with many drinks).

Later that day, I went to another meet-up event at Bar Speakeasy in Ōtsuka where I met many MANY more people.

I hope that if you come to Japan you will have a wonderful time experiencing the culture and meeting new people too!

Follow your dreams!

*A gelatinous Japanese rice cake that can be molded to incase various ingredients

Kotatsu: traditional Japanese table that has a heater underneath where people can warm their legs.

Traditional Japanese style bath.

Japanese Brick oven.

The soup is almost ready.

Mochi

THE SOUP WAS AWESOME!!