Until I became a mother, I had never heard of a playgroup. Three babies later, I can say that establishing a thriving playgroup has been one of my greatest achievements in recent years.
It is not hard to find a playgroup here in Japan. Most of the neighborhood jidokan (children's halls), for example, offer gatherings for mothers and preschoolers. However, when my family relocated to Japan after a stint in the United States, I was looking for something a little different -- a playgroup that would support my toddler's developing English.
Perhaps if we had been living in downtown Tokyo, in the heart of the expat community, I would have found such a group already in existence. However, there was nothing in Chofu, where I live, so I decided to start my own English playgroup. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.