Just in case that wasn't clear: there is already a japanese version of Facebook, and many (probably most) people have heard of it at some points, but in my expe

Just in case that wasn't clear: there is already a japanese version of Facebook, and many (probably most) people have heard of it at some points, but in my experience the only people who actually register are people learning foreign languages or living outside Japan. Mixi can be used to meet new people, but most of the people I know only use it to communicate with their real-life friends, and using nicknames isn't a showstopper. Friend on mixi is usually closer than friend on Facebook. Photo sharing isn't very popular (they usually post food...) but the 'diary' (a blog with comments essentially) is. It's possible to look for someone by name and/or location on mixi, not all people write their full name but they'll tell you what to look for otherwise.