Kumamoto City

Finding your feet when you relocate to a new country or area can take a while. What are the registration procedures, if any? Where can you go to meet new people? This is where expat groups and networks can come in—usually founded and led by people who have been in your shoes as a new resident, now in a position to offer their skills and experience to help others. Kumamoto has over 11,600 foreign residents, just under 1% of its population. There are sizable communities from many nearby Asian and Southeast Asian nationalities (e.g., Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Thai) and some American and British expats. Here are a few of the city’s helpful community resources offering information, advice, and support. Kumamoto Support Center for Foreign Residents Run by the Kumamoto International Association, established in 1988 to improve relations between the prefecture’s international communities, this is a one-stop center providing multilingual support in various areas, including residential procedures, employment, health and welfare, childcare, immigration, and housing. Advice services are free at the point of use. Website: Kumamoto Support Center for Foreign Residents Kumustaka Association With a name taken from Tagalog for “How are you?” (Kumusta ka), the full name of…