General hints about Japan

Hello there,

some general hints for your next time in Japan:

• ATM: if you plan on using a Maestro card to withdraw money, good luck :-P your best bet is to find a 7-Eleven and use its ATM (they all have one inside) or a Citibank. Not common. If you don't see a Maestro logo on, it won't give you money. Really nice how many unwanted receipts i got printed from ATMs telling me that my card is not valid with that particular machine. In short, have a back-up plan.
• public garbage bins: they (almost) don't exist. Get used to it. Your best chance might be looking for a kombini=convenience store, they're everywhere and most of them have garbage bins in front - for their customers, assuming they buy stuff and eat it in front of the store hence the bins.
• take your shoes off when you enter someone's home. Most likely there will be a place to put them, and a little step after entering marking the 'starting line' of the no-shoe area. Oh, and home can also mean someone's car, or the plastic blanket they bring for sitting upon while picnicking :)
  
• if it looks like cheese in its package, it most likely isn't. Experiences so far:

1. looks like Feta: Tofu (that was easy to guess, even without anything in English on it)
2. looks like processed cheese packed in little sausage-form-thingies and right next to the little snack-sausages in the supermarket: some kind of fish-paste. Bäh.

• public toilets: when in need, and somewhere inside the metro, use the toilets down there. I wouldn't do or recommend that back home in Europe, but here in Tokyo public metro toilets are clean, safe and available (once you're in the metro system, mostly not accessible outside of the ticket-area). In case you need to take a dump, you might have to squat, though.
  
• if you simply want to go for a beer with the lads, find an izakaya. They even like tapas with their drinks. Well, not the same kind as the Spanish have. But good as well. Don't forget to try Edamame.
• if you want to know what it's like to live in Tokyo and wander through the city, and you understand French: i highly recommend you the book Tokyo sanpo by French graphic artist Florent Chavouet.
• go left. I mean, they drive on the left side, but you should also tend to go on the left side while walking. Like, when someone comes straight at you while walking in the street, go a bit to the left. And on stairs, stay on the left to let people pass on the other side. That's generally also true when you're inside the metro system, but there are exceptions. When down there, simply keep your eyes open for arrows on the ground or signs on the wall and you'll know on which side you should walk.
  
• be sorry all the time. Really. It's ok to say "sorry", if you want to do it more Japanese say "sumimasen". No matter what happens, be sorry before, after, and during it. Or at least say so. No matter if it's your fault, someone else's fault, or there is no fault at all (out of your view of the world).
  
• don't worry too much - Japan is a safe and clean place. And people are generally friendly towards foreigners, even trying to help you if you look lost and they don't speak anything but Japanese. Respect them.
  

So, be humble and thankful. And come prepared. And don't forget to smile and nod a lot :)

Note: so far i haven't seen much more than Tokyo and its surroundings.

Cheers.