solo travel?
 

Hi guys,

I'm looking for any advice on travelling alone in Japan. Im thinking of visiting in April 2010 for 2 weeks, probably 1 week in Tokyo & another week in one of the other big cities. I've done some solo travelling in Thailand and found it easy to meet people, mainly due to the large number of ex-pat & western bars there.

I suppose my main question is, how easy is it to meet other travellers or people in a similar situation in Japan?

Im not too concerned about travelling alone but it would be great to make some new friends to have a couple of beers with along the way.

If it helps im 29, guy from England & will be probably be staying in hostels rather than hotels.

Any tips or info is much appreciated.

Cheers

It depends upon where and when you go, and a fair bit of luck sometimes. You'll probably see some other foreigners in Tokyo, depending upon where you go and where you stay the night. But in other cities, and especially if you are traveling in the countryside, it's entirely possible to not see another obvious gaijin for days (or at least it was back in my day). Still, you can run into people anywhere... I remember running into a guy named Mark who taught English in Korea, while we were both visiting Nagasaki. We got to talking about the similarities and differences between teaching in Korea and Japan, and decided to explore the city of Nagasaki together.

Good luck!

You might end up making friends with some Nihonjin over the beer and Nishonshu (sake). Many do speak some English. Make an attempt to learn some basic Japanese before you go and that will go FAR in building relationships with the locals. If you try... they will try too.

Then you don't have to rely on seeing other gaijin.

best,

................john

Hi john,

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to try to learn a little japanese before I go & sure i'll make an effort to make some Japanese friends too.

I think the main reason i'm choosing to go down the hostel route, other than budget, is that I think i'm more likely to meet people that way.
It would be great to hear from anyone with experience of japanese hostels and how it worked out, aswell as others who have travelled alone.

Cheers

I am also thinking on going solo to Japan (mainly because organized trips are quite expensive). I don't have any problems socializing or getting to know new people, but I am also curious if it's easy to mingle/socialize with the locals. If someone has experience or advice, this would be welcome.

I found it quite easy, and in fact they might often approach you to find out who you are, what you think of their town, to practice English with you, etc.

One "problem" that sometimes happens is, if you are trying to practice your Japanese... THEY want to practice their English.

Sometimes I speak Japanese to a Nihonjin and they then speak English back to me. That way we both get some practice and feedback :) .

best,

..............john

Japan isn't really a backpacking country unlike say Australia and Thailand, which is why you'd have to look very hard finding youth hostels. When this is said though, it's just as easy (if not even more so) than Thailand getting around. What ever you do get a JR Railpass before you go, it lets you pretty much travel unlimited by train. If not, you'll ruin your buget trying to get around. If you hang around the cities you'll probably meet other foreigners, especially places like Tokyo's Ropongi night life district, to get close to natives I'd say is a bit harder. Your best option might be at Izukaya's (traditional and not that expensive) bars. If you go into the countryside it's a different story and many natives might be too intimidated to even make conversation, learn a few Japanese phrases and be polite is the only way foreward. Hope you'll have a nice time

I guess it really depends.

Almost everyone in my hotel took the time to shake hands or say good morning/afternoon etc...

It would take a second for the english to register.

I didn't really meet anyone there in my two weeks but then I wasn't hanging out at clubs or bars.

Lots of smiles though lots of smiles. My limited Japanese was fine and really I could have gotten away with less.

I did hook up with a friend's best friend growing up and we spent a few days together which was nice to speak english with someone again.

In spite of all that though I can't think of a time when I was any happier.

I did find myself a little lonely at the end of my trek but I suppose if my Japanese was better I wouldn't have or if I had gone to Roppongi a few nights I would have met some people but honestly I wanted to savor everything and be selfish to myself ;)

If you're in Tokyo, you'll see a lot of foreigners depending on where you go. Some foreigners there want to be kind of left alone while others are very social. The easiest place to meet other foreigners there is in roppongi.