Looking for a way to make Japanese language partners in Ohio!

September 20, 2013 1:14 PM

I am visiting home in a suburb close to Cleveland, Ohio and am looking for a way to practice my Japanese with native Japanese speakers - I was living in Japan for a number of years and would like to get back, so I don't want to get rusty.

I am looking in particular to make Japanese friends so I can practice 1-on-1 and possibly even hang out. I have not, however, had much luck with googling. My Irish friend who I was good friends with in Japan recently went home and has found a language partner, but it seems the site he used to find the partner is only available in Europe. I wouldn't like to use a pay or dating site: I am just looking to meet up with someone and speak Japanese!

I've checked Meetup and am considering Craigslist, but am not having much luck so far - particularly with finding language partners. Anyone have any ideas?

posted by Kamelot123 to Education (11 answers total)

Maybe contact exchange student programs, to see if any students from Japan have been placed in your area?
posted by XMLicious at 1:26 PM on September 20, 2013

Go to a Japanese restaurant and ask around. That's how I met Japanese speakers in small-town Florida. Be prepared for slim pickings.

Also keep in mind that a language partner needs to be someone you would enjoy spending time with even if you both had the same native language.

You also might want to try online options such as italki.
posted by Tanizaki at 1:44 PM on September 20, 2013

Google Plus is actually an interesting forum for meeting Japanese folks. I participate in a photo-sharing forum where people are very friendly (and, most importantly, don't mind using Japanese rather than preferring English). If you can figure out how to coordinate it, G+ also has Hangouts.

While there are a lot of Japanese folks in the Left Coast city where I live, I also have had a lot of luck on Instagram and YouTube meeting fellow Japanese rail enthusiasts (there are not many if any here). So you could try to find a common subject on Instagram or YouTube as well.
posted by KokuRyu at 1:59 PM on September 20, 2013

Asia Plaza might be a place to consider.
posted by box at 2:00 PM on September 20, 2013

Contact the local colleges/universities that offer Japanese as a foreign language - those professors are the most motivated language-partner-finders in town. For instance, Cleveland State has some classes (but no major,) as does John Carroll.
posted by SMPA at 2:16 PM on September 20, 2013

Depending on which side of Cleveland you live, the Shansi Institute at Oberlin College may be a good resource.
posted by JackBurden at 3:03 PM on September 20, 2013

If you're close to Oberlin, I bet you could find native speakers.
posted by plinth at 3:47 PM on September 20, 2013

The Japanese Language School of Cleveland might be a place to check (Google Translate link).
posted by 1367 at 7:44 PM on September 20, 2013

Have you tried conversationexchange.com and mylanguageexchange.com? You can select US for the location in both of them.
posted by snufkin5 at 3:04 AM on September 21, 2013

Seconding snufkin5's suggestion of mylanguageexhange.com. Despite the... lacklustre site design, it's actually a pretty active and useful site, and I made a few native speaker friends using it. Also comes recommended by Khatzumoto of AJATT fame.

Edit: on second thought... maybe not. I just did a search with Cleveland and only found two inactive users. You might find pen pals though!
posted by Senza Volto at 7:42 AM on September 21, 2013

okcupid lets you search by language and there seem to be several people that claim to speak japanese on there in the cleveland metro area. maybe some of them are looking for new friends?

Also depending on where you are located... CWRU and Kent also have Japanese language programs and international students. Maybe the Japanese-American citizens league would be a place to meet people? that might also seem a little opportunistic, though.
posted by anthropophagous at 5:38 AM on September 23, 2013