Matchmaker Shares How Japanese Women Can Find Love in Australia

The Short Version: Finding a partner can feel like a time crunch, but new available resources are proving that dating is timeless. Matchmaker Misao McBride created OzMatch –– an international matchmaking agency – to connect singles of all ages. OzMatch focuses on matching single men in Australia with Japanese women. With the help of online events and a personalized matchmaking process, OzMatch has helped hundreds of couples say “I do” to their match.

Whether it’s from your family or society, singles can be bombarded by a lot of outside noise about how there is a time limit on finding love. This can make singles feel like they should settle or give up on the dating scene altogether if they happen to be older and considered “past their prime.”

Matchmaker and CEO Misao McBride is a testament to the idea that time is just another stepping stone singles must overcome. 

For Misao, finding true love didn’t seem like a possibility. She was in her mid-40s and experiencing a lot of social pressure to marry, so she did what she thought was best and married for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t until she realized she didn’t want to meet Japanese society’s expectations that Misao quit her job, divorced, and moved away to Australia—which ultimately led to her falling in love and marrying the man she now calls her husband.

“I really wanted to find a good relationship, so I dated over 100 men, learning from each encounter. Then I met my husband, but only after I had grown,” said Misao. 

Misao is on a mission to help other singles like her. She created an international matchmaking agency called OzMatch that is dedicated to helping single men meet Japanese women near and far with a primary target group in Australia.

I think it’s safe to say that anyone can jump into a relationship but finding one that genuinely fulfills you and makes you happy is the ultimate goal. It helps when you have support. OzMatch aims to provide singles with the proper support they need to find a partner and maintain a healthy relationship. 

“Our main service is to introduce singles to future partners but our services go beyond that. We provide support and advice for couples even after they match because the early stages of a relationship are really fragile. If there’s no mediator the relationship may crumble,” Misao told us.

OzMatch offers personalized matchmaking services and honest feedback so members avoid repeating poor dating mistakes. OzMatch is able to help people find high-quality partners because the team focuses on what members want. Misao said that many

Japanese women crave affection, for example, so they aim to match these women with men who embrace and give affection. 

More fulfilled relationships have been produced as a result. To this date, Misao has consulted with more than 1,200 singles, some of which have resulted in long-lasting relationships.

“I could not have hoped to find a better match for me than Ayaka and I find myself both fortunate and thankful to OzMatch for bringing her into my life,” said Thomas, an OzMatch member in a testimonial. 

Finding your perfect partner may not be a linear process, but OzMatch definitely simplifies it in just six steps. OzMatch’s six-step matchmaking process consists of refining your profile, searching and requesting a first date (referred to as an OMIAI), dating, making things exclusive, and sealing the deal with hopefully a proposal. 

The process varies in length for every member and Misao encourages members to use the dating process as an opportunity to get to know themselves better. She claims that by doing so they will be more aware of the kind of partner they want as well.

“Even if someone isn’t your type physically, go on a date with them. There’s always something wonderful that can happen on a date,” said Misao. “At least you’re able to go out and enjoy yourself. Everyone has a different story and background so learning and understanding their perspectives can help you find yourself along the way.”

OzMatch offers two different memberships for people to choose from: basic and executive. The basic membership is easy to join and doesn’t require any upfront fees. Basic memberships are limited in features but male members can view female member bios, request a free initial consultation, and be contacted for a first date if a female member makes a request. 

With an executive membership, members get access to an unlimited number of Zoom consultations, and online support, male members can access female members’ photos and bios, and more. An executive membership costs $190 in Australian currency per month (almost $123 U.S. dollars) and can be canceled at any time with no charge. 

OzMatch does offer a one-day pass for $33 in Australian currency (less than $22 in U.S. dollars) for basic members to access more features for the day. 

OzMatch offers its services to singles from all over the world, but Australia is very much central to the business. Typically most of OzMatch’s male single clients are Aussies. Whereas 40% of its women clients live in Australia, and 60% live in Japan. 

As you can imagine, the distance can be a challenge for new relationships, but OzMatch works with clients to ensure they are successful. OzMatch offers online events for a small fee for members to initiate meetings and conversations with Japanese women. The team shared that half of OzMatch’s couples met at an online event. 

“I joined OzMatch’s online speed dating event. Soon after Misao contacted me to say that someone wanted to meet me,” said Garry, an OzMatch member in a testimonial. “Since then we have grown to understand each other. We will begin our life together, perhaps forever.”  

Misao told us that while language barriers can be tricky, they’re not hard to overcome. Even if OzMatch members aren’t fluent in English, Misao encourages them to try to communicate and practice speaking with their dates. She discovered that this is the best way to improve. 

“When male members start dating Japanese ladies, they start to go to Japanese language schools to learn Japanese. So both sides should put effort into communicating with each other,” said Misao.