Eastern Asia
Video Chat with People from Japan
When it's 9 PM in Tokyo or Osaka, it's around midday in London and breakfast time in New York, because Japan sits at UTC+9 and doesn't use daylight saving. That makes Japan an easy match if you're chatting during Europe's daytime or the Americas' early morning.
Japanese is the language of daily life, with regional flavor like the Kansai dialect of Osaka and Kyoto. If English is slow going for either of you, typing key words in the text chat bridges the gap. You might meet someone from Sapporo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Hiroshima or Okinawa, each with its own food pride: Sapporo miso ramen, Osaka takoyaki, Fukuoka's tonkotsu ramen, Okinawa soba. Anime, manga, J-pop, baseball, weekend onsen trips and rides on the shinkansen all make easy topics, and so does whatever seasonal snack just hit the convenience stores. Our Japanese phrase guide covers polite basics.
Japan at a glance
| Flag | 🇯🇵 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Japan |
| Capital | Tokyo |
| Region | Asia · Eastern Asia |
| Official language | Japanese |
| Currency | Japanese yen (¥, JPY) |
| Calling code | +81 |
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (Asia/Tokyo) |
How to say hello
A few words of Japanese make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | こんにちは | konnichiwa (kon-nee-chee-wah) | Hello (daytime) |
| Japanese | こんばんは | konbanwa (kom-bahn-wah) | Good evening |
| Japanese | はじめまして | hajimemashite (hah-jee-meh-mahsh-teh) | Nice to meet you (on first meeting) |
| Japanese | よろしくお願いします | yoroshiku onegaishimasu (yoh-roh-shee-koo oh-neh-gai-shee-mahs) | Glad to meet you / I look forward to talking |
Tips for chatting with people from Japan
- Japanese names put the family name first, and adding '-san' after a name is a polite, safe default.
- A trailing 'chotto...' (a little...) often politely means 'not really'. If you hear it, change the subject rather than pushing.
- Seasons are classic small talk: cherry blossoms, summer festivals, autumn leaves and limited-edition seasonal food.
- A small nod with your 'konbanwa' is a nice touch on camera; a full bow isn't expected.
- Ask which region they're from. Osaka's Kansai dialect and Tokyo speech sound quite different, and asking for an example is fun.
Only meet people from Japan
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Japan, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Japan and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Japan, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Japan are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Nearby countries
Other countries in Eastern Asia: