Hi,

I am a Canadian moving to the Kansai area in May of 2008. Now, I am hoping to find someone that might be interested in sharing a place together around that time. Also, any people from that area that might be interested in making a Canadian friend. I don’t have many friends from that area so it would be good to meet some Kansai people. Especially, Kobe or Osaka people because that is where I am probably going to live.

if u wanna have a frined, better to tell your name first. 　

Hey,

Don’t worry about giving out your name. That could be potential trouble. There’s a lot of freaking weirdos on these sorts of boards.

Anyways, if you are looking for roomates and such, here are some basic resources:

Kansai Flea Market is a free information magazine with lots of information, job ads, accommodation ads, etc.

www.kfm.to

Kansai Time Out is another free weekly magazine. Try a Google for an online version.

Also, Osaka and Kobe should have similar organisations, but here is the address for the Kyoto International Community House. http://www.kcif.or.jp/ Maybe Google for the Osaka and Kobe ones?

Also, shared accommodation is not nearly as common in Japan as it is here. Most people either live at home, or in single apartments.

The houses aren’t built that way, and the whole country is so damn crowded it’s sort of nice to have your own space to go home to.

A guest house (gaijin house) can be a good way to get in and get your feet wet, but the quarters are cramped, noisy, and, to Canadian sensibilities, pretty filthy (Japanese aren’t really all that clean, they just claim to be). On the other hand, you’ll make some friends, and it can be a good way to find your bearings.

Also, as a warning, a lot of the Japanese that run or stay in those sorts of guest houses or are looking to share with foreigners can be pretty weird. Usually just neurotic, and not dangerous, but it can make for bad feeringu.

Obviously, not all of them are Bad Weird, but you need to ask the question: why is a local/native living in a situation like that? Some do it for language study, some are just naturally adventurous and freaky funky weird (in a good way), but many are also Bad Weird (neurotic pedants looking to lord it over someone, and lots of sponges, too), so do be careful when looking for roommates, etc.

Anyways, hope that helps.