Share your city. Meet travellers from all over the world.
Japan receives record numbers of visitors who want more than a guidebook — they want someone who lives there. Create your free Roavi profile and let travellers heading to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto or Fukuoka find you.
Your city, the way you know it
A Local Friend isn't a tour guide or an agency — you're a person showing the Japan you actually live in. The standing bar under the tracks, the shop with no English menu, the walk along the river you take anyway. Visitors ask for that precisely because they cannot find it themselves.
How it works
Create your free profile
Your city, the languages you speak, and what you like showing people. A few minutes.
Get discovered
Your profile appears where travellers researching Japan are already looking — nothing to advertise, nothing to manage.
Reply to whoever you want
Interested travellers message you directly. Who you meet, when, and on what terms is up to you.
A trust badge, not a requirement
You can publish your free profile straight away — verification is optional. It adds a badge so travellers feel comfortable messaging a stranger in a country they don't know. It builds trust faster; it isn't a condition of joining.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a guide licence in Japan?
No. The revision to the Interpreter Guide Act that took effect in January 2018 removed the business-monopoly rule, so paid guiding no longer requires the national qualification. You can't call yourself a Nationally Licensed Guide Interpreter without it, but the work itself needs no licence.
Is this a job with Roavi?
No. Roavi doesn't employ Local Friends or assign work — it's a platform that connects you with travellers. What you arrange with them, and on what terms, is between you and them.
How good does my English need to be?
Enough to arrange a meeting time and answer simple questions. Most travellers coming to Japan aren't native English speakers either, so slow, simple English usually works better than fluent English. Plenty of people use a translation app alongside.
Is it free to create a profile?
Yes. Creating and publishing a profile is free, and there's no cost to be discovered by travellers.
How do travellers in Japan find me?
Your profile appears on Roavi's Japan and Tokyo pages, where travellers already come to research their trip — so you're visible where they're already looking.
What about tax on side income?
For a company employee in Japan, income beyond salary above 200,000 yen a year generally requires a tax return, and residence tax must be declared even below that. The threshold is income after expenses, not revenue. Check with your local tax office for your own situation.
Ready to share Japan?
Create your free profileRoavi is a platform that connects locals and travellers — it isn't an employer, and it doesn't guarantee income or messages.