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Hi!
My boyfriend was just stationed in Japan, and since I plan on going to see him sometime soon and I know very little about it, I'd like to ask for the Do's and Don'ts for when I make the trip.
What are common mistakes that travelers make when visiting this country?
What's the climate like, and are there any areas/situations to avoid or be wary of?
they are used to tourists so there is nothing drastic you need to be reminded of. of course, if you go into a japanese house and some sit-down restaurants, you must take off your shoes but you'll be reminded if you forget anyways. no big deal. simple etiquette stuff, if you want to bow you can if they bow etc. you might get stared at by some but then you might also get the occasional person wanting to speak english with you etc.
climate is mild as it's a subtropical island. winters are not that cold. everything is a lot more expensive compared to south carolina but you can find things at decent prices if you know what shops to go to and sales etc. also, they have all the western amenities and fast-food joints like kfc, subway and mcdonalds etc.
subways are very affordable and efficient and all the signs are in english too so it's easy to get around, if you have a problem, the attendants on duty usually speak english too. also, if you are planning on doing a lot of sight-seeing, an english-japanese dictionary could help you out.
also, i never needed to exchange the currency. i just used my debit or credit card at the atm in the subways (which are everywhere-also in corner stores to sidewalks) and it automatically converted the money into yen.
if you are just going for a visit, it's very easy except for the language barrier of course.
I think I offended the cashier at a restaurant at Tokyo airport by indicating she should keep the change.
Not sure if that's customary with you or not but I was exhausted and just flying back from American where I'd struggled for weeks to remember to tip because it's not customary here in Australia and yeah, when I gave her the money for the bill and said keep the change she seemed very upset. So it might be worth finding out what the custom is regarding tipping in Japan in case it's different to what you're familiar with.
the three things i liked about japan were the internet cafes which are amazing. they have some with showers and private booths to sleep in and they are luxurious with all you can drink machines from coffee, tea, soda, juices and sometimes even broth. there is media galore to check out if you want too. a lot of people after a night of partying just end up sleeping at the internet cafe before the trains run again in the morning.
also, in tokyo it is safe to walk at night even as a female and i absolutely loved, loved, loved the drinking machines they had everywhere with such nice selections. i really like asians drinks as they are more refreshing and better for your health, no high fructose corn syrup and wider selections. it's nice to be walking down the street and have vending machines the whole way to refresh you. i like the convenience.
You pretty much have to almost force them to accept a tip. Its just not part of there culture to tip.
Yeah, I figured as much when she handed me the change, shaking her head when I said to keep it, and then when I smiled and went to give it back to her, no go.
I just thanked her for the meal and wished her a good day then. Figured it would be rude to insist she take it.
Oh good! It doesnt sound as if it will be as difficult as I thought. Im going to try to learn a little bit of Japanese before I go...but Id be afraid to try and speak it for fear of mis-pronouncing something and offending someone.
I hope some of the signs in the airports are in English. I saw that on alot of flights to Japan, there is a stopover in Seoul, South Korea.
Well I'm no expert on the airport. I've only been to Tokyo once but it wasn't difficult to get around. So I suspect that there must have been a fair bit of information in English. I say suspect because I was so tired I really can't remember that well. But I was there for about 5 hours I think and I managed to eat, do some shopping, transfer from one terminal to another in the "bus" (this is really more of a train like at Seattle airport, if you know it?), find the toilets and the smoking room, log in at an internet cafe and get on my connecting flight all without feeling too much like I had to think. Reckon you'll be ok.
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