GaijinPot

Finding a soul mate

Finding a soul mate is hard no matter where you live but living in a foreign country can make it even harder to find that special someone. One of the more convenient and perhaps also easiest ways of making contacts is through networks on the internet such as GaijinPot Personals.

In Japan, with its history of arranged marriages, there are also a number of sites that focus on marriage matchmaking.

Making friends

If you are new to Japan making friends is probably one of your top priorities. If you are looking to make international friends there are a number of forums that target the foreign community. If you want make friends with people from your home country who also live abroad there are many associations and groups where you can meet new friends. Japanese tie of friendship is usually established when going to school/university together. New friends are often made by involvement in groups such as colleges of the same company, hobby activities or residential groups. If you are interested in making Japanese friends probably one of the most easiest and convenient ways is to become a member of one of the friends network sites such as the GaijinPot Personals.

Dating in Japan

Dating in Japan can for people from other countries be somewhat different especially when it comes to communication and the expression of feelings. In Western countries clear and direct communication is normally encouraged and seen as positive (although sometimes difficult). The Japanese culture and language is implicit and in-direct which means that people will seldom be clear about their intentions or wishes and feelings. In this indirect approach sensitivity to other peoples needs and wishes is highly valued and encouraged. Explicitly expressing your needs or wishes can therefore be seen as selfish. The indirect approach can be very challenging for those not accustomed to it as well as being a source to misunderstandings.

What to do on special days

There are a number of special days to remember when it comes to relationships, birthdays and anniversaries being the more obvious ones. But then there’s also the more general celebrated days such as Valentine’s day. Many countries celebrate Valentine’s day February 14th and Japan is no exception. Valentine’s day in Japan however is a day where women are suppose to give small gifts, normally chocolate, to men. Men normally do not give any gifts on Valentine’s day but will instead give women presents (normally chocolate or cakes) on White day, March 14.

Couple counseling

All relationships can suffer periods where things are tougher. Life events, both personal and professional, can strain any relationship. To add on to the common ups and downs in life moving to a new country or having a cross-culture relationship can put extra stress on a relationship. Even if many things can be sort out together with your partner alone there can come times when you might feel the need to seek help outside the two of you. Turning to a professional counselor could then be a a good alternative. MHPJ, International Mental Health Professional Japan, has a very thorough member lists of professionals living in Japan that offer couple counseling, as well individual counseling. Many languages are represented among the members.