About 7 years ago while I was in university I went to Japan as part of an exchange group. The trip was funded mainly through scholarships that we won and we had to be selected based on grades, interview, etc.
The trip was a blast. Started in rural northern Japan, then to Sapporo, then all the way down to the Hiroshima area. We were there for about 6 weeks.
I learnt a ton while there. The Japanese are generally very friendly and willing to help out with directions etc whenever they can. We stayed with host families so we got the true Japanese experience which was way better than a tour group.
A couple of things I remember about Japan:
- in their culture it's very rude to say 'no' to a guest. A simple question such as whether we would make it to our dinner reservations on time would produce an awkward, run-around response rather than just a simple 'no'
- they take their shoes off in a ton of places as a show of respect
- they also bow quite often as a show of respect
- people don't usually tip in restaurants and it may actually be disrespectful in some places if you try to tip
- kampai means cheers. They do it often and they love to drink
- if you don't know how to use chopsticks, try to learn prior to leaving. They use them for almost every meal
- earthquakes happen often there and they are usually so minor they go almost unnoticed. While I was there I experienced a tiny one and it felt weird, walking on the street and it seemed like the ground had moved slightly. So minor and lasted a couple seconds, and I was told it happens frequently
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