Well, icons showing the locations of characters is an ability you unlock throughout the story, and the color of the icon changes from yellow to pink when there's an event available.
I think one of the major issues of this game is the fact it is empty of repeatable events, just everyday interactions with characters that should logically be there and pass time in an organic manner. The only thing to do in game is wait for story events to happen, and work if you don't have to be somewhere in the first half of the day.