Cafés and kissaten
Tokyo might be the best café city in the world. A long coffee or matcha is the easiest first meetup.
A lot of social life in Tokyo seems to happen over drinks: nomikai with colleagues, izakaya nights, all-you-can-drink parties. If you don't drink, or just don't want every plan to involve a bar, it can feel like you're missing out. You aren't. Here's how to build a social life on your own terms.
Plenty of people in Japan don't drink, or drink very little, and non-alcoholic options are everywhere: oolong tea, soft drinks and alcohol-free beer are on almost every izakaya menu. Saying "I don't drink" (お酒は飲みません) is rarely a big deal. Most people care much more that you came than what's in your glass.
Tokyo might be the best café city in the world. A long coffee or matcha is the easiest first meetup.
Set lunches, ramen, depachika food halls, a bakery crawl. Food is a better social glue than drinks anyway.
Yanaka, Kichijoji, Shimokitazawa, Nakameguro. Walking side by side makes talking easy.
Bouldering, karaoke (with soft drinks), board game cafés, museums, a pottery class. Something to do takes the pressure off.
A weekend breakfast or a morning run group. Mornings are naturally alcohol-free and less crowded.
Public baths and saunas are a classic way to relax with friends of the same gender, and very Tokyo.
Buy Me a Matcha shows you people in Tokyo who speak English and also want new friends. The plan is simple: match, pick a café, and meet one-on-one over a matcha or coffee. Free, and not a dating app.
Yes. Many people in Japan don't drink, and non-alcoholic drinks are on almost every menu. Cafés, food, activities and daytime plans are just as good for making friends.
"Osake wa nomimasen" (お酒は飲みません) means "I don't drink alcohol." You can add "oolong-cha onegaishimasu" to order oolong tea.
It depends on the workplace, but you can usually join and drink something non-alcoholic, or come for the first part only. Showing up for a while matters more than drinking.
Cafés, set lunches and food halls, neighbourhood walks, museums, bouldering, karaoke, board game cafés, public baths and morning run groups.
Buy Me a Matcha is built around meeting one-on-one over a matcha or coffee, so the default plan is a café, not a bar.