Tokyo has fourteen million people in it and it can still feel like none of them are free on Saturday. Here's where people actually meet, and how to turn one good conversation into an actual friend. If you'd rather start with an app: Buy Me a Matcha is the only app built specifically for English speakers to make real friends in Japan: friends-only, English-only, one-on-one over a matcha.
Almost everyone who moves here goes through it. The first few weeks are busy: residence card, phone, bank, an apartment with a washing machine that sings. Then it calms down, and you notice your evenings are very quiet.
It isn't you, and it isn't Tokyo being cold. Locals already have their friend groups from school and work. Other foreigners are scattered across a huge city and many of them are only here for a year or two. Nobody is going to knock on your door. In Tokyo, friends happen to people who go first.
The good news is that a lot of people here are in the same position at the same time, and most of them would be quietly delighted if someone else suggested a plan.
None of these need Japanese. Pick one or two that you'd enjoy anyway, so it doesn't feel like homework.
Tokyo has a lot of them, and many run in English or are happy to. The classic route is the loop around the Imperial Palace, about 5 km, flat, with lockers and showers at the "running stations" nearby. You turn up, you run next to someone, and it's normal to get a coffee afterwards. Search Instagram for "run club Tokyo" and pick one near you.
Climbing without ropes is huge in Tokyo, and there are gyms near most big stations. You spend half the time sitting on a mat watching other people try the same wall, which is the perfect excuse to talk. Go at the same times each week and you start recognising people.
Events where half the room wants to practise English and half wants to practise Japanese. You'll meet locals, not just other foreigners, and nobody expects you to be good. Look on Meetup and on Instagram. Some are small and friendly, some are basically a bar night, so try a couple.
A Japanese class is the obvious one, and the people in it are as new as you are. But cooking, pottery, dance, photography and yoga studios with English sessions all work the same way: same people, same time, every week. That repetition is what turns "hi" into "want to grab dinner after?".
Buy Me a Matcha is built for exactly this: you match with English speakers near your station who also want new friends, and meet one-on-one over a matcha. The others are built for something else: Bumble For Friends is a swipe app for friends, HelloTalk and Tandem pair you with language partners (more on that here), and Meetup lists groups for almost everything (we compared them all here). Plenty of people also find their crowd through Instagram, by following local clubs and events. Apps are great at the first hello. The hard part is still the next step, which brings us to the next section.
If you're at an international school, a university or an English-speaking office, the friends might already be in the room. Lunch is the low-pressure invite. If you work remotely, a coworking space with community events beats a café table.
Meeting people is the easy part. Most "we should hang out sometime" conversations die right there. Here's what keeps them alive.
You can make friends in English. But a few words go a long way with the Japanese people you meet along the way, and with the person behind the café counter.
| Hajimemashite | Nice to meet you (when you first meet someone) |
| Yoroshiku onegaishimasu | Said right after. Roughly "I look forward to knowing you" |
| Eigo daijōbu desu ka? | Is English OK? |
| Mata ne! | See you! (casual) |
| Kore o kudasai | This one, please (point at the menu) |
It can feel hard at first, mostly because Tokyo is easy to live in alone and people rarely approach strangers. It gets much easier once you have one weekly activity where you see the same people, and you start suggesting specific plans.
Yes. Tokyo has a large English-speaking community: run clubs, climbing gyms, language exchanges, Meetup groups and apps like Buy Me a Matcha all work in English. Learning a little Japanese still helps with everyday life.
Common places are hobby groups (running, bouldering, board games), language exchange events, classes, coworking spaces, share houses and friend apps. Repeated, small-group settings work best.
Buy Me a Matcha, if you speak English and want real friends: it's friends-only and English-only, and you meet one person at a time over a matcha or coffee near your station. Other apps are built for something else: Meetup for group events, HelloTalk or Tandem for language exchange.
Buy Me a Matcha shows you people in Tokyo who speak English and also want a new friend. You match, you pick a café, you go. One-on-one, no group chat, no pressure.
Get it on the App Store