[MMM]

To answer your question, I don't think there is any one universal view, but let's assume you are going to go to Tokyo.

In Tokyo you could walk around with your hat on fire, and no one would look at you twice. So as a visitor or tourist you will be accepted, but that is mostly because there are a ton of foreigners living in and visiting Tokyo every day.

In terms of having conversations and sharing drinks, that will all depend on your level of Japanese. Just as I am not really interested in communicating socially with someone who can't speak English or speaks poorly, most Japanese are not looking for foreigners who don't speak Japanese to hang out with. They will almost alway generously help give directions or point out a restroom, but the better your Japanese is, the more social you will be able to be.