At Henry's insistence, I finally made a return trip to Mickey House, the gaijin bar/conversation lounge in nearby Takadanobaba. (Now that I live in Ikebukuro, I'm perpetually amazed at the teleporter-like speed of the Tokyo train system—travelling the two stops to 'Baba takes, at best, five minutes.)
Last time, I wrote about being creeped out by the frat-boy backpackers hitting on college girls. This time was far, far worse. The entire population of the bar seemed to consist of paunchy, 40-something English guys smoking unfiltered cigarettes and trading their latest indignities about life in Japan. As a matter of fact, and I swear this is true, about an hour after I arrived, a trio of backpackers walked in, glanced around, and walked out. It was that lame.
As for myself, I already spend 35 hours a week making awkward small-talk, so I mainly just listened and nodded. Speaking would have been painful anyway; I didn't have much of a voice left after all that secondhand smoke.
So, ordinarily, the thing to do would be to find a better conversation lounge, but alas, Mickey House is the only one of its kind. I don't know what the young people here do to mingle with gaijin, but unless they enjoy listening to what an ordeal it is to find a decent plate of fish & chips, it ain't the same thing as what I did last night.
Any other suggestions? Henry? Anyone?
I'll probably get desperate enough to head to Roppongi sooner or later, but let's be honest--it's a gaijin ghetto built around heavy drinking and one-night stands.
The class/seminar idea's the best one, and there are even a few filmmaking clubs in Tokyo. Alas, like almost all Nova teachers, I work weekends, which is when the clubs have their meetings. I'm still trying to figure out a solution to this.
I'll let you know if I meet any monks...
Could you hire someone to teach you japanese and maybe get them to take you to places where japanese people mingle and socialize? Or better yet, offer someone free and personal english lessons in a public place, in exchange for japanese lessons. Is there a Craig's List Tokyo? And lastly, try getting a different job where you will be forced to learn some japanese and interact with people who are not your students. I like the job suggestion the best, cause it sounds like you could use a little more money, and I think its more likely to introduce you to people who will want to get to know you.
H'
Have you got a guide book? There are definitely heaps of gaijin bars all over Tokyo, especially Roppongi, so you could explore other options.
Or maybe there are classes/seminars in caligraphy or some other Japanese artform that might offer an opportunity to meet some folks?
I started meditating at a temple regularly, and quickly became friends with one of the monks when I was there...