- The people are incredibly polite and gracious and welcoming.
- In order for me to dress like Japanese women, I would have needed to raid my mother’s closet in the late 50’s and early 60’s. I have never been that fashionable in all of my life. The tailored dresses and heels and sweaters are beautiful, and expected on all.
- Open toed shoes and bare legs are not the norm.
- The weight loss industry that is so large in the US would fail in Japan.
- If you ask someone for something, they will go out of their way to make it happen. Please be careful what you ask for.
- There is not a single word of Japanese you need to know in order to travel in Japan. A smile and open attitude will take you everywhere you need to go.
- Travel is the most expensive part of being there; hotels and highways cost the most.
- You MUST have cash to travel easily in Japan, credit/debit cards are not often used outside of the cities.
- Use your resources, if you know someone who lives there, they have access to far more than you ever will as a tourist.
- Visiting temples in Japan is a lot like visiting castles in Europe, once you have seen a couple, they all start to look alike.
- Appreciate the ancientness of the country, in the US if something is 100 years old we start looking to replace it, recognize that some buildings are 700 to 1000 years old
- Respect the roads, they are narrow and twisty outside of the cities and filled with people.
- The food is odd, there will be flavors that your palate may never have tasted before, that’s ok, appreciate it in the spirit that it is offered, and eat ALL of it.
- Personal space is mandatory in Japan, give it room.
- Rock, paper, scissors is a national pastime and resolves all conflicts.
- Anything can be purchased in a vending machine.
- Above all, show respect. Loud and obnoxious behavior is not ok, arguing is not ok, being right all the time is not necessary, most Americans need to check that attitude at the door.
- I want to go back!
A Life Unscripted 
>If you ask someone for something, they will go out of their way to make it happen. Please be careful what you ask for.
That’s right. People here do just say such things as small talk. If you say that you’d like or want something…it’s seen as a kind of appeal for it.
I wrote about some differences in U.S. and Japanese culture:
http://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/culture-differences/
I mistyped.
In the comment above, I meant to write:
“… People here don’t just say such things as small talk….”