IT'S 10.45am and Tokyo Central Station is, as always, abuzz.

Green and gold clad fans are beginning to arrive in their dribs and drabs and the platform where the 11am south-bound train to Yokohama is due to depart is starting to swell.

In that uniquely Australian way, people effortlessly begin to converse, making new friends for the day, week and perhaps a lifetime.

As chance would have it, I begin talking to a Japanese Socceroos fan who lives in Chiba, Daisuke.

Sporting a rather old "Soccer Australia" jersey which is described by one observer as "a beauty" (it is), "Dais" quickly finds himself with a new Socceroos scarf hanging from his neck as one of my touring party gleefully gives him his.

"Oh, thanks," Dais says. "I don't have one to swap, but I'll send you one of my Nagoya Grampus scarves."

Lights go on and questions are asked.

I inform Dais we are Newcastle Jets fans and he's immediately more than aware we're grouped together in the Asian Champions League.

As we talk further it quickly becomes apparent this young man knows both his Newcastle Jets and his A-League. He tells me he's been following the Jets' progress since the draw in early January via a number of Australian websites. He's kept an eye on the fortunes of our other group opponents too.

He can tell you about Joel Griffiths and his recent loan move to our shared ACL group opponents Beijing Guoan, as well as Jade North's recent exit to Korea's Incheon United. He says these are "big losses". He'd be right.

He's aware we're not in our best form at the moment, and that we came last in this seasons A-League which is "not great preparation for Asia". Two from two.

And he knows "Jason Culina's Dad" (one of his favourite Socceroos), Branko, is our new technical director. Spot on, Dais.

Whilst he's never watched even the highlights of a game from the A-League, Dais could tell you more about Newcastle Jets than I bet almost any Jets fan living in Australia could tell you about Nagoya Grampus.

Having a quiet moment to myself later, I find solace in the fact we're respected abroad, yet feel slightly red-cheeked that Australian fans, including myself, aren't nearly as meticulous in their study of their foreign opponents. I feel bashful we could barely talk about Nagoya.

It's not to say Australian fans in general know nothing about their Asian counterparts, I just feel we don't know enough. Not enough to be able to converse and hence respect a fan from another Asian club, anyway. I found this out the hard way.

To appease my own insecurities, over the next few weeks I'll be putting on my best Daisuke impression and studying the fortunes of Beijing Guoan, Nagoya Grampus and Ulsan Hyundai. I'll create dossiers on each club so when their fans arrive at EAS, I can perhaps return the remarkable respect Dais showed me and our club.

As they say: keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer.