2 years in Shizuoka — how do other foreigners here build a social life outside the izakaya scene?
I know I'm an introvert by nature, but living here has taken it to next level. Sometimes I go without talking to anyone for Days & I'm not talking about (work, office meetings and the occasional call home to family don't count) I mean actual, casual, human conversation. Some weeks it just doesn't happen.
I always spend time outside coz Japan its my first time living abroad, walk literally everywhere and see lotta new stuff try/buy foods which i want. still besides irashaimase and arigato gozaimasu I seriously can't go past it, sometimes maybe just the nod.
It's a strange kind of alien feeling. You're surrounded by people, but there's this invisible wall — language, culture, the fact that most social life here seems to run through japanese izagayas and I don't drink, so that whole channel is basically No No for me.
I'm not depressed about it, just genuinely curious — for the foreigners who've made this work, especially outside the big cities like Tokyo/Osaka, how did you actually build a social circle? Hobby groups, sports, language exchanges, anything? Non-drinking-friendly suggestions would be appreciated.