While many studies indicate that "virtual exchanges" also known as telecollaboration are useful for developing intercultural communicative competence, there is a paucity of research on how learners acquire new knowledge related to their own culture and society before interacting with online foreign exchange partners. This study explores the potential of applying an inquiry-based strategy in developing students' intra-cultural awareness to enhance the quality of their intercultural communication. A quasi-experimental design involving undergraduate students in Japan (n = 112) was developed to assess the effectiveness of an inquiry-based telecollaboration using explicit instruction in experimental group compared with unassisted intra-cultural telecollaboration in control group. Quantitative results indicated that while several outcomes on telecollaborative tasks and intra-cultural learning were not significantly different across conditions, students learning in an inquiry-based environment reported higher levels of engagement as well as confidence toward potential intercultural communication. Qualitative results also showed deeper intra-cultural learning in the experimental group. The findings suggest that while allowing students to engage in an online exploration of their culture could improve the quality of future intercultural exchanges by expanding students' intra-cultural knowledge, the integration of an inquiry-based framework could have additional positive effects on learner engagement, deeper learning, and confidence toward intercultural communication.