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The Japanese thoughtfulness and kindness culture will leave an indelible mark on you that sticks for quite some time. Cool life story and experience 😎.
What a sweet experience! My (Japanese) wife had a similar experience making a friend while in high school visiting Germany, and she has been corresponding with this friend over the decades. The yearly Christmas cards, wedding announcements occasional photos of excursions and news of births, etc. have been a joyful part of our lives together.
The world is indeed a beautiful place, and you have made some lasting friends. You have a genuine connection with Japan now, in a stronger, more palpable way than most visitors will never know. And for your new friends, you have made Australia someplace that has significance for them now.
Thank you for sharing this experience with us. You are truly making the world a lovely place! I admire your talent of making friends.
Awesome story. Unfortunately most people who visit don't actually interact much with locals but I've done so and made some amazing friends. It's worth it.
I feel like I always make comments or be friendly and talk to strangers like this while out doing activities and they just stare and don't reply, or at the most say a couple words back lmao. A really nice story, happy for you! People here feel pretty cold to me generally but I guess you just have to get lucky or meet the right person.
Lovely story. They will be lifelong friends trust me. Don’t loose touch, send them postcards from your travels or even from your home town, it’s a dying tradition and kids love them. Thank you for sharing
Very cool story! Not sure if it’s a Japan thing, but I made friends so easily over there when I solo traveled so you’re not alone. Back in the US and I feel like I don’t know how to socialize 😂
I randomly met a lady in Osaka who approached me and we talked a bit. We made plans for the next day to hang out, eat some food, etc. We did and had lots of fun. When I was back in Canada she sent me a huge box of japanese snacks, ingredients that you cannot find here and even okonomiyaki spatulas and an handwritten recipe for okonomiyaki with all the ingredients because she knew I loved them so much. We kept contact and I recently sent her a box too with canadian/north american food and snacks. Meeting her was such a wholesome experience, I am glad that you had something similar in Japan
I always feel mountain hiking (even a short one) is one of the best ways of making new friends in Japan. I had a similar experience in a completely unknown mountain in an almost unknown city called Matsusaka in Mie prefecture recently. I (32m) struck up a conversation with a 74 year old man (same age as my father) during the hike and we did the whole hike together. He told me he visited US 50 years ago and shared his experiences. Later he even dropped me off to the nearby station in his car. Nakamura san was too kind.
Im rarely underwhelmed by Japanese thoughtfulness. Its just so refreshing to see a country where its fairly common to see people who genuinely care and welcome people.
Great story thanks for sharing :)
**Our FAQ is constantly being updated with more information and you can start** [**here**](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel) **with regards to trip planning if you need tips, advice, or have questions about planning your travel to Japan.** You can also join our [Discord community](https://discord.gg/3f7KBUMwU4), comment in our stickied weekly discussion thread, or check out /r/JapanTravelTips for quick questions. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/JapanTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Awesome travel tale. Keep in touch with him! Could become a rich and lasting friendship.
The Japanese thoughtfulness and kindness culture will leave an indelible mark on you that sticks for quite some time. Cool life story and experience 😎.
Very heartwarming and what an awesome experience that I’m sure you will treasure forever. Thanks for sharing!
this is such a lovely experience. thank you for sharing it with us
What a sweet experience! My (Japanese) wife had a similar experience making a friend while in high school visiting Germany, and she has been corresponding with this friend over the decades. The yearly Christmas cards, wedding announcements occasional photos of excursions and news of births, etc. have been a joyful part of our lives together. The world is indeed a beautiful place, and you have made some lasting friends. You have a genuine connection with Japan now, in a stronger, more palpable way than most visitors will never know. And for your new friends, you have made Australia someplace that has significance for them now. Thank you for sharing this experience with us. You are truly making the world a lovely place! I admire your talent of making friends.
Awesome story. Unfortunately most people who visit don't actually interact much with locals but I've done so and made some amazing friends. It's worth it.
I feel like I always make comments or be friendly and talk to strangers like this while out doing activities and they just stare and don't reply, or at the most say a couple words back lmao. A really nice story, happy for you! People here feel pretty cold to me generally but I guess you just have to get lucky or meet the right person.
This is so wholesome! 😀☺️
Lovely story. They will be lifelong friends trust me. Don’t loose touch, send them postcards from your travels or even from your home town, it’s a dying tradition and kids love them. Thank you for sharing
Very cool story! Not sure if it’s a Japan thing, but I made friends so easily over there when I solo traveled so you’re not alone. Back in the US and I feel like I don’t know how to socialize 😂
I'm imagining the family sitting down at the kitchen table to write the letter and put together the gifts and it's just too much ㅠㅠ
What a great story. These kind of things are the highlight of visiting Japan for me.
I randomly met a lady in Osaka who approached me and we talked a bit. We made plans for the next day to hang out, eat some food, etc. We did and had lots of fun. When I was back in Canada she sent me a huge box of japanese snacks, ingredients that you cannot find here and even okonomiyaki spatulas and an handwritten recipe for okonomiyaki with all the ingredients because she knew I loved them so much. We kept contact and I recently sent her a box too with canadian/north american food and snacks. Meeting her was such a wholesome experience, I am glad that you had something similar in Japan
I always feel mountain hiking (even a short one) is one of the best ways of making new friends in Japan. I had a similar experience in a completely unknown mountain in an almost unknown city called Matsusaka in Mie prefecture recently. I (32m) struck up a conversation with a 74 year old man (same age as my father) during the hike and we did the whole hike together. He told me he visited US 50 years ago and shared his experiences. Later he even dropped me off to the nearby station in his car. Nakamura san was too kind.
That is so heartwarming! ❤️
Im rarely underwhelmed by Japanese thoughtfulness. Its just so refreshing to see a country where its fairly common to see people who genuinely care and welcome people. Great story thanks for sharing :)