In my previous post, my friend Bob described the conversation café scene in Tokyo. The conversation continues.
Do guests always just sit down at the conversation cafes and chat?
No, the cafes also hold “international parties” on the weekend once or twice a month. At a Norton Place party, a pianist provided a mini-concert at the cozy café that looks like someone’s family room.
(Except that family rooms don’t tend to host belly dance parties. But this cafe did. And it displays the photos to prove it, Bob says.)
Leaf Cup’s international party was a standing happy hour type event. Because people are eager to practice English, finding someone to talk to at the parties is easy. They want to hear about where you're from and what your experiences have been in Japan.
Foreigners pay about 1,000 yen, about $13, to join the conversations at the cafes. That fee may include a drink. Party admissions are more like 3,000 yen and usually include food and drinks.
Where else in Japan can solo travelers lend their English skills?
A volunteer organization called Hands on Tokyo gave me the chance to practice English with visually impaired high school students at a Tokyo school. The group provides other volunteer opportunities as well, such as earthquake relief.
The experience was especially rewarding because I got to interact with the students. They told us how they had come from various places around Japan to attend this school. They reside in dormitories and learn to cook and clean and live independently.
We talked about what they had done during the summer, their hobbies and other interests. Some of them spoke English quite well. They gave presentations on their hometowns, sometimes referring to notes written in Braille. Volunteers there were from countries from around the world.
What if you know some Japanese and want to practice your language skills?
Tokyo offers opportunities for foreigners to practice conversation.
You can go to the Iidabashi Language School, which has a conversation café led by native Japanese teachers. Foreigners engage in Japanese conversation for 90 minutes for 1,000 yen.
Sessions in Japanese are held three times a week at the upper-beginner and intermediate levels. Email them beforehand to confirm your attendance.
For me, the Japanese conversation cafe was the perfect way to practice my Japanese without taking traditional classes and doing a lot of homework. After all, I was on vacation.
It also was interesting to meet ex-pats from other countries and find out about their lives in Japan.
Other organizations in Tokyo, such as the Minato International Association, also hold Japanese conversational events for foreigners.
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