Hi, Nick,

My husband had tough time like you in Japan, so he joined some igo clubs, gokaisho, as he really liked playing it.

He also went to an English-speaking club, Eigo-cafe, which was a kind of meet-up held at a cafe. Most members were Japanese people who wanted to have conversations in English. Actually, you may sometimes need to speak in Japanese depending on their English skills. I am pretty sure that you can be highly welcomed by them because of your English skills. You can make  new Japanese friends there.

good luck! 

@yukiko

Nick wants to meet people and have an occasion to make friends. You didn’t write your opinion about that. Is it possible for a non Japanese to make friends among natives? I heard that it is almost impossible.