I think I have around a hundred of them, with around 20 friends who are very close.

I made the first set of my Japanese friends at my first job here. They worked at the same place as I did and helped me to survive the first couple of months (I did not learn Japanese before coming). After that, we became close friends.

I met the second lot when I started volunteering. I was in a group that promoted international exchange and also support for older people in rural Japan. We used to shovel snow or help farming in rural Niigata. I made lots of friends doing these. My baby was born there, and a family took care of the baby and the mother for a month while I was busy in Tokyo.

Oh Yubi, I thought you are Japanese... wow you have a lot of Japanese friends.