Japan Tips?

Went to Singapore and Tokyo last summer. Didn’t go anywhere else in Japan other than Tokyo. We were in Tokyo for about five days. I did a lot of research before hand and that really paid off. Getting between the different neighborhoods In Tokyo wasn’t that hard. The trains were very complicated, but cabs were easier and not that bad traffic wise. Write down where you want to go and have the hotel concierge translate where you want to go for the taxi driver. Even the people who speak a lot of English there struggle to understand our accents.
Overall I found it difficult at times to know what you are eating. You can ask if it is chicken or fish and the answer is usually yes. The food can be amazing at times, but weird as hell sometimes as well. On the plane they served me chocolate ice cream with cooked red beans mixed into the scoop of ice cream and matcha sauce on top.
Also a lot more smoking than I expected. Lots of the more casual restaurants allow indoor smoking.
Overall very cheap because of their debt issues. Tokyo prices were much lower than places in the US like NYC, Miami, or San Francisco.

I went to dinner one night in Tokyo with a couple of locals to a hole in the wall hibachi grill type place. I highly recommend finding one of those for dinner one night. It was incredibly good.

Tokyo is great.

Definitely see if you can take the Shinkansen train down to the Osaka and Kyoto area.

Nobody has addressed the biggest issue. In Japan, courtesy is the rule. If there is a sign in the bus that says no talking on the phone, obey. Are you eating or drinking while walking, people hate you. There is almost nowhere to put your garbage unless you're at a hotel or a vending machine corner (you won't understand what I mean until you're there and see it.)

Move fast, and with a purpose. Concierges in Japan will write addresses for taxi drivers on cards for you. I suggest figuring out the subway, it's not hard. It sucks during the summer if you're going to work.

Get a Suica card when you get there. You can pay for anything with it that isn't a restaurant. If you're not sure how to ask for one from a Lawson or 7-11 (where I ate 80% of my meals,) ask the hotel to write a scribble with what you need, bring it to the local convenience store. If you try to tip, you may get stabbed by them trying to return it to you.

Always take anything handed to you with both hands. This includes bills for beer at a bar. Business cards are extra special, but you're probably not going to deal with the extra issues.

"Sumimasen" is basically how you ask for more beer. If they say the work Gaijin (guyjeen) they're talking about you.

Some of the best shite (I lived there as a kid, so I don't count as much) is from asking a concierge something like, "I have a 12 year old girl, where should I shop for a gift?" A sort of open question like that is going to tickle their creativity. I got sent to a *seven story* toy store in Tokyo doing that. Ask the concierge for what you think you want.

There has been a flood of English signage, at least in Tokyo in the last 5-10 years. Easy on the train for you to get around. Cab drivers have no idea.

Tokyo subway riders stand on escalators on the right. But that's not the same in every city. Pay heavy, heavy, attention to what people around you are doing, and model it.

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visit Japan + 1-2 other countries

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Can't go wrong with Saigon, Vietnam. Stay at the Sheraton in District 1. That place would be a $700 per night stay in the states, but it's only about $200. Tons & tons of shopping, restaurants and historical places within short walking distance. Everything is dirt cheap, and the people are awesome.

Nobody knows the answer to this riddle.. in terms of business class: if you fly to Tokyo, then Vietnam, then back to Tokyo on the way back home, the airfare is literally half the cost vs. flying direct to & from Tokyo. Why is that??