After going there several times, here's my opinion: I completely understand why so many people never come back, why the café owner has such a bad reputation, and why the place has so many negative reviews. My recommendation is simple: don't go. Tokyo is huge. There are thousands of similar language exchange events where you'll meet more Japanese people and have a much better time. For anyone who's interested, here's my story: When I first discovered the place, I actually thought it was pretty good. The entrance fee was reasonable: you just had to buy one drink from the bar. That seemed fair, so I decided to keep going. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before I started having bad experiences. 1) My first bad experience After one of the events, I'd been going there almost every day for about a week. It was convenient because I live nearby. On the day of the event, I forgot to bring the "passport" they give you to collect participation stamps. The next day I went back with my passport and asked the staff member if she could add the stamp from the previous day since I'd forgotten it. She already knew me and knew I'd attended because she'd seen me at the event. She refused, saying, "We don't do that here," even though she knew perfectly well that I had participated. I decided to let it go because I still thought the place wasn't that bad and assumed it was just an isolated incident. Unfortunatelly, I was very wrong. 2) Being forced to buy another drink Until then, I used to show up whenever I wanted without checking the event schedule. All the events are basically identical anyway. The different schedules just seem like an excuse for the owner to make people buy another drink. One day I arrived about ten minutes before one event ended, and the manager (yes, the same old guy everyone complains about) told me, "You'll have to buy another drink if you want to join the next event." I hadn't even finished the first drink I'd just bought, and this had never happened to me before. I explained that I'd only just purchased it, but he still wouldn't let me stay. So I left. 3) Being told not to speak Japanese After going there several times, I noticed that the few Japanese people who attended usually sat at the English practice tables. Since I'm learning Japanese while living in Japan, my main goal was to practice Japanese, even though I also enjoy meeting new people. The Japanese tables were usually filled almost entirely with foreigners, and sometimes their Japanese wasn't good enough, so everyone ended up speaking English anyway. Whenever I sat at the English table, I would suggest that we use both languages so everyone could practice. Since most people aren't unreasonable, nobody had any problem with that. Then one day, one of the event organizers heard me speaking Japanese at the English table and told me I was only allowed to speak English there. I explained that there weren't any Japanese people at the Japanese table and that everyone at our table had already agreed to use both languages. The Japanese people sitting with me told her exactly the same thing. She kept insisting that it was the English table and made me move to another table. At that point, I decided to leave, and in the process I accidentally left my passport behind. 4) My final visit Today, after not going for quite a long time, I decided to give the place another chance. Big mistake. When I arrived, I told the staff member that I'd lost my event passport. It was almost full, and she already knew who I was. The old manager was there. He made me read his little rule book all over again as if I were a first-time customer. And of course, because apparently the owner couldn't afford to lose 100 yen, I had to pay for a new passport, buy another drink, and also pay the extra 300-yen Sunday event fee... Honestly, I would have happily paid the total of 1,200 yen. The money was never the issue. The real problem is the attitude of the manager and his staff, and the way they treat people, even regular customers. This was my last visit.

I have never felt so humiliated and unwelcome at a language exchange event. This event is advertised as a place for making friends and enjoying free conversation, yet nowhere on the event page was it clearly stated that participants must already be fluent in English or meet a specific language requirement. After I arrived, I was judged within minutes and told that I could not participate simply because my English was not good enough. I explained that I had attended this event before, that I could understand English, and that I was able to communicate at a basic level. None of that mattered. I was never given a fair chance. What hurt even more was the staff’s attitude. Instead of treating me with patience or respect, they were dismissive, condescending, and unwilling to listen. When I pointed out that this requirement was not written on the event page, I was ignored. I was even told that they did not care if I left a negative review and had no intention of changing anything. That level of arrogance and lack of professionalism was shocking. A place that calls itself an “International Community” should encourage people who are trying to improve their English, not embarrass them or turn them away without clear rules. Language ability should never be an excuse to treat someone without basic respect. I left feeling deeply hurt and extremely disappointed. I sincerely hope no one else has to go through the same experience.

I will never come back to this store. The language group members are good, but the old owner guy can be very rude, thus the staff also comes off as rude. Please note I've lived in Japan for years, and have never experienced this rudeness ever from a Japanese business. When I came the second time, which I carried my membership card I got the first time, they wouldn't let me in because I didn't have my American phone with me that had the meetup app on it. After I commuted half an hour. Instead of trying to accommodate me, they told me I needed to make a new account and hit attend in the app and show them. I tried to explain that I did not want to spend half an hour setting up a new account on my phone, as well as having all my normal emails etc on the phone I didn't bring. I offered that I could bring it next time, and that I did read and sign all the rules anyway, because I had a membership card. Especially because I did not have that much time and would have to probably leave by the time I finished. The old owner and staff treated me rudely, like I was stupid because I didn't want to spend a long time fiddling on my phone. I have never had this kind of requirement from a meetup group ever, and I have been to a lot. Nor have I been treated like this at a normal business ever. I recommend going to 1 of the hundred of other language exchange meetups, where they treat you like a human being and the staff treat you with respect. PS: Also it feels invasive how they make you show your phone, like they are my parents and I am a bad kid.

Like many people I've booked a spot via meetup and only later read the reviews here on google. I was a bit shocked by so many 1 star reviews but I decided to go anyway and I honestly do not understand the reason for the reviews. From what I've read, most people have a problem with having to read to rules (again) in person, but they wrote that at the top of the rulebook online so it shouldn't come as a surprise. Going there myself I can say I had a lot of fun and was able to practice speaking some Japanese even though I'm still a beginner. The staff also replied in Japanese and spoke extra slow which I appreciated. The only "downside" was that it was rather loud at times but the people playing boardgames had fun so that's fine :) I'll come back when I visit Tokyo again!

I went to the language exchange on Sunday at 12:10, and the place was closed. Apparently, opening on time is optional. We waited around 40 minutes before the owner finally decided to open. As soon as we got in, we were treated to a lecture about a long list of "important" rules that everyone was expected to follow. Then came the best part. I politely ordered the omurice that was clearly listed on the menu—twice. Once at 1:00 p.m. and again at 2:45 p.m. Both times I was told to "wait." So why have it on the menu in the first place? 😂 It's funny how the owner expects customers to respect every single one of his rules, yet he can't even respect his own menu or opening hours 🤭 Pathetic