With over 38 million people in the Greater Tokyo Area, you might find it a little hard to get around during morning rush hour. I’m sure you have seen pictures floating around the internet of a Japanese train conductor cramming in as many people as possible into a tiny train. It’s no joke! However, don’t let the population density of 6,000 people per square kilometer deter your visit here. Tokyo is so big, you’ll never run out of places to visit and things to do. If you can think of it, you can find it here somewhere.

As a software developer in Tokyo, I’m always on the lookout for new tech meetups and events. I’ve found the tech community to be growing at a very rapid pace. Looking for a meetup about a specific tech? You’ll find it. Want to meet software developers from around the world in a relaxed, coffee shop like setting? Easy. Excited about Bitcoin? Don’t even get me started.

If you are looking to find a job, enhance your developer skills, or just meet like-minded people in the industry, I suggest that you go out to as many meetups as possible! “Where can I find these meetups?”, you may ask. Unfortunately, not all of them are advertised and easy to pin down as you would think. So, I’ve gathered a list of my top 5 favorite meetups so that you can check them out. I hope it helps!

1. Tokyo Tech Startups

Next Event: Startup Arena, Thursday, February 7th, 7:00 P.M.

Where: TBA

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you’ll love what this group has in store. They host a very exciting monthly event called, “Tokyo Startup Pitch Night.” At this event, early-stage startups present their “product, service, or business ideas to get an opportunity for feedback, raise awareness, or seek talent and ask for help to grow their product.” You’ll also find that this meetup will give you a great chance for networking and potentially finding a new career opportunity. They have a very exciting upcoming yearly event called “Startup Arena” which will give startups a chance on a big stage in front of a panel of judges.

2. Tokyo Rubyist Meetup

Next Event: TBD

Where: Pixta Office, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, International Building 5th floor

Even if you are not interested in programming in Ruby, this monthly meetup has a wide variety of interesting events. You’ll find them with titles such as “How an engineer learns kanji”, “Do not panic!”, and “The Abstraction Contraption Distraction Attraction”. At one event, I watched a presenter demo how to control a drone by combining machine learning with a kids’ programming language called “Scratch”. It’s also a great opportunity for Japanese developers to interact with international developers and vice versa. Japanese developers often give talks to the international community which allows them to practice their English.

3. Le Wagon Coding Bootcamp

Next Event: TBD

Where: 2-11-3 Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo

Le Wagon is an intensive 9 week coding bootcamp that is located in Meguro, Tokyo. They have played a big role in helping the tech/entrepreneur/startup community in Tokyo grow. Once or twice a month, they host talks with guest speakers for anyone who would like to join. They also have interesting workshops for people who would rather get their hands dirty. Several times a year, they host a demo day event for their current batch of students at the end to present their work. These demo day events draw huge crowds that include employers, recruiters, entrepreneurs, startups and more. It’s a great opportunity for networking.

4. Dev Japan

Next Event: WELL-BEING HACKATHON, Sunday, January 13th, 9:00 A.M.

Where: 3-5-6 Minato-ku, Kita-Aoyama, Tokyo, G's ACADEMY TOKYO 青朋 Building 2F

Want to relax, have a cup of coffee, code and talk with Tokyo developers? In that case, Dev Japan will be perfect for you. Dev Japan is a meetup that is inviting to all kinds of developers from beginner to advanced. Everyone is welcome! Work on a project, tackle some self study, or just chat with others about a programming roadblock that you might be facing. The focus of the meetup is to help you improve whatever it may be that you are working on. Previous meetups have been sponsored by Japan’s largest recipe sharing service called “CookPad”, giving them the best free food of any coding meetup in Japan.

5. React Hack Tokyo

Next Event: TBD

Where: 2-2-16 Shibuya, Tokyo

This is a small and lesser known gem of a meetup that is held at Tacchi Studios in Shibuya. They hold a monthly React round table style meetup welcome to developers of all levels but aimed at intermediate to advanced. The group focuses on sharing React experiences, giving advice, and discussing best practices for working with this popular JavaScript library. As you may know, React has seen a tremendous boost in popularity and is one of the most popular technologies being used right now according to GitHub! If you are using React to build a project or are interested in learning about it, I recommend checking out this meetup.

Getting your foot into the tech scene in Tokyo is a very exciting journey. You’ll meet a lot of interesting people, develop meaningful connections, and contribute to a rapidly growing community. Everyone is encouraged to get out there and get involved! Hopefully, this list of meetups will give you some good options to start. Happy coding!