Best places to make friends?

[ryan9720]

I plan to land in Narita and will probably be able to find a cheap hotel in Shinjuku near the station, but may stay elsewhere.

Where are some of the best places to spend time where you might be able to pick up more Japanese language, while still being okay with really limited knowledge... places where you'll make friends with local Japanese people more easily?
* Any good bars for this?
* Any good noodle shops for this?
* Other places during the daytime AND nighttime?

I plan to stay for about 4 days downtown, before I explore other cities, so I'd like to try to pick up as much of the culture and language as I can by then... I'm looking for places that are:
* Near a JR station (I'll have a pass)
* Cheap, if possible
* Have a lot of people who would want to speak English, or not be annoyed by American foreigners XD

私の日本語はちょっと。

I'll be learning as much Kanji and vocabulary as I can before I go.

Anyone want to meet anywhere in Tokyo and go for drinks sometime in early March 2013?

[xaerodarkness9846]

Ha, totally would join you, but...　しゅっぱつ　わ　ろくがつ　です。。。ごめん！

Best of luck though and you better come back here and tell me how it went!

[community.japanese]

> ryan9720-san,
I think you can get some good information on internet
There're a lot of foreign-taste pubs/bars, where many people enjoy talking in English too.
Shinjuku is quite a busy place, so you wouldn't have problem of languages.
One side of Shinjuku JR station has many small bars and restaurants, and the other side might be more "business"
district where you might not enjoy a lot.

I don't know too well about cheap hotels in that area. You might want to check on website like "rakuten travel"
and so on. Hope you can find a good place to stay!

> xaerodarkness9846
So, 6月に日本に来ますか?
A lot of plannings to do now?

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com