Best way to find a real-estate agency

My wife and I were planning on moving to Japan to open a small bar with the Startup Visa/Business Manager Visa and already had bought tickets to look at neighborhoods in October when the new Visa changes were announced.

Figured we might as well still go and look as we're at least a year out anyway and hopefully when we're ready a clear path will prevent itself.

So the question, I've been sending inquiry emails to various agencies and have been getting the cold shoulder for the most part. Has anybody had success talking to realtors while still in America?

by EightRavens