I am actually sitting in my house at Kurohime near Lake Nojiri in Nagano to pen this. It is certainly a pleasant place to spend time in the summer whilst Tokyo and Osaka swelter. There has been a 'gaijin mura' on the shores of Lake Nojiri since the 1930's when it was established by missionaries (mainly Scandinavian) as a gathering place for summer retreats.
There are indeed a lot of grasshoppers around but I am yet, after quite a number of years in Japan, to put any in my mouth. The food here is more than adequate without laying waste to the insect population. Grilled sparrow is as far down the foodchain as I have so far ventured.
My 10 yens worth is not related to Nagano or grasshoppers but the comments on the respect thing.
For Japanese, dealing with people from outside their immediate comfort zone is as tiring as it is for us...what the Japanese refer to as 'soto' (outside) and 'uchi' (inside). Thus the relationship one develops within the organisation can at best be superficial and is complicated by peculiar Japanese corporate cultures. The cultures between organisations can vary significantly but most people in major companies are brainwashed with the company's culture at time of entry. They are then given freedoms to be individualistic within the framework of that company's culture.
Someone parachuted in either as a direct employee or as a contractor for an agency, either foreign or Japanese, will always be regarded as an outsider. The harder you try to get people to like you the worse it gets. My view is that you simply get on with your job, stand your ground on issues of principle, never put someone down in a condescending way. If you lose your block, do it in a cool and measured way. People will respect your stoicism and professional manner. Friendships will develop with individuals in the organisation who respect your manner and realise that you have something to offer other than just turning up for work and staying on the right side of the JCAB.
Most Japanese who are parachuted into an organisation mid career or on a contract will have exactly the same issues.
The Japanese can be very insular but that doesn't make them all that different from the rest of us.
If you have a go at the language, it will go a long way to breaking through. As the old FEN radio program used to sprout ' A rittle ranguage goes a wrong way'.