Just as I was afraid they would, Japanese and American students in Akita completely segregated themselves and do not talk at all, with one notable excetion of American boys who chase Japanese girls. Those are persistent enough to knock down the cultural barriers and get some language practice. Administration tries their best to help, by mixing up Japanese and Americans in dorm rooms for example, but with mixed results. There's also a program underway where students are matched with "conversational partners", which may be more useful.

UPDATE: In case anyone thinks I omitted something, the disparity is noticeable, but I have no data. And it's not the point anyway.