LostinTokyo
Sep 11, 2008, 13:16
Hello folks, first post here. I was late in discovering this very information-laden forum since I'm actually already in Japan but I've still got over two weeks so I can still put the info to good use.
Anyway, the point of this post is to ask what would be the best means to meet the locals, young people preferably, since we're 24 and 26 years old ourselves. Male or female doesn't matter.
I've read scattered recommendations for the following and we've sampled them a bit.
Nightclubs: We've visited a couple, one in Nagoya, one here in Tokyo. In Nagoya, being a gaijin probably helped and a couple of university girls came to our table to brush up their English. A fun night, I got to practise my Japanese and they got to practise their English, but does this happen a lot? A couple nights ago in a nightclub in Tokyo nobody came to talk to us of their own initiative.
Western style bars: We tried several in Nagoya and they all failed in regards to what we want. All were filled with westeners only, hardly a single japanese in sight. Everybody seemed to know eachother and for that we felt a bit like outsiders too. Also, seemed to be mostly older folk.
Izakayas: I've read that students frequent these as well but usually they've either been empty or just have a handful of middle-aged salarymen.
Drinking/hanging around in the street/parks: Some young person recommended this in his blog. He says it's the number one way to meet people in Tokyo. We've yet to try this.
Do the above experiences tend to hold true or have we just been unlucky or chosen our spots badly? Where do the japanese students and other young folks go to have fun? How do the Japanese tend to react to a couple of gaijins storming their table in a nightclub or a bar? How about just walking up to them on the street? A gaming arcade? A cafe? Would it be best to find some friends-adds on the internet and go from there?
Also, are the nightclubs dead during the week or is there enough people to go around every night? I don't want to go all the way to Shibuya and pay the entrance fee to stare at walls in an empty club.
Thanks in advance for your replies.
Anyway, the point of this post is to ask what would be the best means to meet the locals, young people preferably, since we're 24 and 26 years old ourselves. Male or female doesn't matter.
I've read scattered recommendations for the following and we've sampled them a bit.
Nightclubs: We've visited a couple, one in Nagoya, one here in Tokyo. In Nagoya, being a gaijin probably helped and a couple of university girls came to our table to brush up their English. A fun night, I got to practise my Japanese and they got to practise their English, but does this happen a lot? A couple nights ago in a nightclub in Tokyo nobody came to talk to us of their own initiative.
Western style bars: We tried several in Nagoya and they all failed in regards to what we want. All were filled with westeners only, hardly a single japanese in sight. Everybody seemed to know eachother and for that we felt a bit like outsiders too. Also, seemed to be mostly older folk.
Izakayas: I've read that students frequent these as well but usually they've either been empty or just have a handful of middle-aged salarymen.
Drinking/hanging around in the street/parks: Some young person recommended this in his blog. He says it's the number one way to meet people in Tokyo. We've yet to try this.
Do the above experiences tend to hold true or have we just been unlucky or chosen our spots badly? Where do the japanese students and other young folks go to have fun? How do the Japanese tend to react to a couple of gaijins storming their table in a nightclub or a bar? How about just walking up to them on the street? A gaming arcade? A cafe? Would it be best to find some friends-adds on the internet and go from there?
Also, are the nightclubs dead during the week or is there enough people to go around every night? I don't want to go all the way to Shibuya and pay the entrance fee to stare at walls in an empty club.
Thanks in advance for your replies.