Are you living in Japan but don’t know where to meet Japanese people? Or maybe you want to make some Japanese friends while traveling in Tokyo? This post is for you! We’ll introduce some places where you can meet Japanese people. This is for foreign travelers and residents who want to find opportunities to become friends with Japanese people. Read this post and meet as many people as you can while in Japan!
Japanese people aren’t friendly is just an excuse
Yuki used to work as an international student advisor and he often heard people complain that the reason why they can’t make new friends or meet Japanese people while in Japan is that Japanese people are shy. That’s simply not true. It may be true that Japanese people tend to be shy compared to other people from different countries, however, not every Japanese person is shy. If you truly enjoy Japan and want to know Japanese people, complaining is not the place to start. If making friends has been difficult, rather than blame it on something outside of your control like Japanese culture, perhaps instead look at yourself and determine what changes you could make to interact with more people or become more approachable.
Places where you can meet Japanese people in Tokyo
So where can you meet Japanese people in Tokyo? We’ll introduce 8 places where you can definitely meet Japanese people and easily start talking to them. Even If you’re having trouble speaking Japanese, you should go to these places anyway to meet people because you can meet other foreigners who can speak English and Japanese fluently and they probably know Japanese people who are also fluent in English. So just go there and try to have a conversation with someone!
1) CE LA VI TOKYO
- Location on Google map: 1 minute from Shibuya station by walking
CE LA VI TOKYO is a restaurant, bar, and club located in Shibuya. The best thing about this place is you can see a stunning view of Shibuya from its rooftop bar located right next to Shibuya station. You can enjoy having dinner and drinks and then go to the rooftop bar to dance the night away. It is one of the most popular places for foreign residents of Tokyo to go out to and you can meet a lot of Japanese people on the rooftop bar if you go there after 10pm.
2) In front of FamilyMart in the Shibuya center street
- Location on Google map: 1 minute from Shibuya station by walking
We don’t know why this specific FamilyMart is known as the place where you can meet Japanese and foreign residents. There are a lot of people drinking alcohol bought at the FamilyMart and chatting with people out front. Some people stop by there and drink some beers and Japanese cocktails as a pregame before going to clubs. This is a good place to visit if you’re traveling in Tokyo and want to meet new people to spend the night partying with.
3) Shinjuku Golden Gai
- Location on Google map: 7 minutes from Shinjuku station by walking
After World War II, this area was a black market and an illegal red light district, but it has gradually developed into a pub street. In the 1970s, Shinjuku Golden Gai became known as a cultural district where writers and actors gathered. The alleyways are lined with wooden row houses and packed with over 250 small bars and pubs, making it a popular spot for a variety of generations from college students to elderly. Each bar has limited space, so once you sit down at the counter, you can easily talk to the bartender or other customers. If you walk down the street after 7pm, you’ll hear people in the bar having fun doing karaoke. If you want to sing songs with them, you can just go inside the bar and enjoy!
4) HUB
HUB is a British sports pub chain located in the greater Tokyo area and other big cities in Japan! Japanese college students love this place for two reasons. First, the price is very affordable compared to other bars in Tokyo. From 5-7 pm is Happy Hour, and almost all the drinks are half price (depending on the place, the price and hours are slightly different), so you can have a big cocktail for less than ¥300 ($2.8 ish). You can put an extra shot in the cocktail if you pay double price as well. Second, the atmosphere is pretty good! The bar is decorated with a lot of stuff from England and you can watch sports or listen to music if there’s no sports game at that time. It’s fun to go there to watch a match when the Olympics or World Cup is going on!
5) Izakaya
One of things you definitely have to do when you’re traveling in Japan is go to a Japanese style bar Izakaya (居酒屋), it’s a place where Japanese people hang out with friends or coworkers after work at night. When people are drinking and having tasty food, they tend to be more talkative and openmind. So even if you don’t know anyone, you could end up talking to someone and drinking together at the same table. You can go to an Izakaya with friends and start talking to other groups of people there.
6) English and Japanese language exchange cafe
There are a bunch of cafes where you can experience language exchange with Japanese people. If you’re not comfortable speaking Japanese, you should go there because many Japanese people who go to these cafes are passionate about learning English or other languages. You could be a language exchange partner with them and teach English in order to learn Japanese. It is a great way to start studying Japanese if you have no idea where to start.
7) NightClubs
You can meet a lot of people at clubs in Tokyo. Most likely, Japanese people who are at nightclubs like dancing and drinking and want to meet new people. It’s a great opportunity for foreigners to meet Japanese. Depending on the club the atmosphere and prices vary, so you should definitely check this article about the 7 best night clubs in Tokyo before hitting a club.
8) University clubs
If you’re studying at a Japanese university as an exchange student, you should definitely join one of the clubs at your university. Generally, many clubs are active at a minimum once a week, so you can meet a lot of people. Japanese students like going to izakaya with their friends from clubs, so if you want to have fun going to izakaya with someone, you should consider joining one of the clubs you like. Be careful with drinking too much though.
Thank you so much for reading this post. Please let us know if you know of any other places where foreigners can meet Japanese people. We can add your list and share it with people who are curious about this topic. Getting new friends is difficult but please keep trying! You will meet a lot of nice people in Japan and become friends if you keep trying.