How to Associate with the Japanese

There must be many foreigners who would like to associate with Japanese people. The secret of getting familiar with the locals is to get to know their character. Although many Japanese are interested in becoming friends with foreigners, they are basically shy and will be very unlikely to spontaneously start a conversation with a foreigner. However, it is very often the case that they will be willing to talk with you if you start to speak to them in either English or Japanese.

Once Japanese people become close to foreigners, they will start to ask you various questions. These will likely continue and may make you feel as if you are being examined. Questions may include "Where are you from?", "When did you come to Japan?", "Where do you live?", "How long are you going to stay in Japan?", "Are you married?", "How old are you?", and so on.

Furthermore, rather childish questions may also be asked. These may include "Do you like Japan?", "What kind of food do you like?" and "Who is your favorite movie star?" This style of questioning comes partly from the fact that Japanese often do not know what kind of questions they should ask, as most are not used to associating with foreigners, and also because they cannot express complicated questions in English. Therefore, their questions do not necessarily mean that they have other, perhaps dubious, intentions.

The Japanese Dislike Filthy People
After you get acquainted with a Japanese, you will likely find you have opportunities to have tea or dine with them. On such occasions Japanese may treat foreigners as their guests and pay for you, since it is one of their traditional customs to treat guests well. If you become more intimate with them, they may invite you to their house.

In this case, they may prepare alcoholic drinks and delicious food for you to try. It is usually a custom for a guest to bring something as a present. If you are a foreigner, they will be pleased to receive alcoholic drinks or food from your country. You must pay special attention to "cleanliness" when associating with the Japanese, and it is common sense to wash your hands before leaving the wash-room and before meals.

Your Japanese friend may say to you, "Well, come to my house one day." However, in many cases, they may not have intended to actually invite you to their house ? it may just be one way that Japanese express greetings. The best way to answer this is to just say "Thank you." If they actually do intend to invite you, they will mention actual dates.

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