Whether you haven\u2019t mastered the Japanese language (yet) or you just want to connect with people who are living similar experiences to you, joining community groups that are open to expats is a great idea. If you\u2019re in Kansai, there\u2019s good news: you have several to choose from. This means you should be able to find groups with people who share your interests and start making new friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the oldest communities is the Kansai chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan<\/a> (ACCJ). It\u2019s also the only foreign chamber of commerce in the Kansai region. You may like to join if you\u2019re interested in business leadership (there are also special events for women in business), diversity and inclusion, or tech in healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An online community, Hacker News Kansai<\/a> (HN Kansai) has a Slack group you can join to connect with tech enthusiasts around the world. Those lucky enough to be in Kansai can also join the in-person events, which take place every month in Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe. They\u2019re a great way to learn about new tech, present your work to gain feedback from others, and gain contacts in areas like design, gaming, and startups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re from the UK, you should definitely consider joining the Japan British Society of the Kansai<\/a>. It holds events throughout the year, including an annual general meeting with buffet dinner, a birthday party for His Majesty King Charles, lectures, sports events, and outings. The society is also involved in various charitable causes, which involves raising funds as well as hands-on activities like planting trees and volunteering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The largest expat community in the world is InterNations<\/a>. It has branches across Japan, including in Kobe and Osaka. In addition to joining events, the platform allows you to reach out to members individually to meet people from your home country. The community is also a great place to gain tips about living in Japan, such as through the expat guides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Meetup group Kansai Newcomers & Explorers<\/a> organizes language exchanges, events to explore spots around Kansai, and other opportunities to connect with both expats and Japanese nationals who want to improve their English. It\u2019s ideal whether you\u2019ll be in Kansai for just a few weeks or for the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea behind the Osaka International House Foundation<\/a> is to give members the chance to meet people from all over the world and learn about different cultures. There are various ways to get involved, including by participating in exchange events and registering as a tatsujin<\/em> (or expert) to share your skills or knowledge through lectures, workshops, or other activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With meetings held entirely in English, OKTech<\/a> is specifically focused on web-based tech. Events often have a specific theme, which gives members the chance to learn more about a certain topic. There are also events without a theme where members present their own projects to practice their presentation skills.<\/p>\n\nU.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Juan Maldonado<\/a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whether you haven\u2019t mastered the Japanese language (yet) or you just want to connect with people who are living similar experiences to you, joining community groups that are open to expats is a great idea. If you\u2019re in Kansai, there\u2019s good news: you have several to choose from. This means you should be able to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":51474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,165,118,59,86],"tags":[223,788,477,363,396,789],"class_list":["post-51473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kansai-2","category-kobe","category-kyoto","category-life-in-japan","category-osaka","tag-kansai","tag-kansai-expats","tag-kobe","tag-kobe-expats","tag-osaka","tag-osaka-expats"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51476,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51473\/revisions\/51476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Hacker News Kansai<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Japan British Society of the Kansai<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
InterNations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Kansai Newcomers & Explorers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Osaka International House Foundation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
OKTech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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