Ah that's good. What do you do? If your doing business in japan you may want to learn how their business customs work like the Meishi Kokan. Plus other few things so you don't offend anyone. You can find a lot of videos on youtube on how to do business in japan plus guides online as well. You may just want to learn a few words in Japanese as well.
youtu.be/PZ9-P9jvIEA
This was a well inform little segment I believe.

japan is very used to and receptive of american visitors. many signs/packaging/etc. will have an english translation (although not always a great one), and you'll probably be able to find people who speak it here and there. you'd also be surprised at how much you can express in facial and gesticular communication.

anyways, people should be pretty friendly and helpful, japanese think americans are all sorts of cool.

Do you work for PSNS&IMF (or Norfolk/other DoD shipyard etc.?) or in the Navy OP..? (PSNS here..) I ask because of the time frame and being in Yokosuka.. Total military town don't know what else an American working in Japan all of the sudden would be doing there haha.

Yokosuka is very used to Americans due to the Navy base.. you're not going to have any problems at all. After about a week of using the trains I found it better then having a car at times.. easy to navigate and enjoyable getting around.

People are usually pretty nice and helpful but can be a bit standoffish at times because of some bad mannered sailors and drunk and rude shipyard workers giving us bad reputations..

Get out though and don't be one of those guys that just sits on base/in hotel or drinks in the bars right out side the base every night! Meet some people and be open; you're going to one of the most unique cultures/country's in the world.

Be at the airport at least 2 hours early.. I always am 3-4 at least though just because I am to excited to not be.. Read the FAA's regulations online on liquids etc.

Once in Japan getting around will be easy as I said in my previous post.. just be patient. You will make mistakes a few times and may get a bit lost; its not the end of the world never stress out just learn from it and explore. Its easy to find a train station there is one almost always near by if you walk 10-15 minutes while lost.. Makes getting back to where ever you started or trying to go easy.

Find a 'tourist info' or threw your employer ask for a train route map.. Makes getting from place to place SO easy. I've worked in Yokosuka a few times also and found this indispensable..

Just explore everyday around the place your staying; I tried to spend 1-2 hours a day at least doing this going farther and farther (walk, bike, train..) You'll be amazed at all the little things you'll discover so much fun.. Eventually you'll probably make friends with a local and that can make a HUGE difference in really getting out
and enjoying the place.

Also for just some quick travel tips/ideas use Wikitravel; read the articles on Yokosuka, Yokohama and Tokyo since all are near by and easy to get to by train..

Deff. dont miss Akihabara, Akasaka, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ginza in Tokyo. Pretty big 'must see' tourist places but good starts if you don't know anything about Japan or don't have much interest in it yet..

What sorts of things are you interested in? Try to find something within Japanese culture you are interested in and just run with it.. So much more access to some uniquely Japanese things that you'd otherwise not have.. (Anime? Tea? Incense? Cars? Video Games? etc)

Feeling adventurous find an Onsen and/or Sento (public bath house; and please read the rules online first! pretty basic but important stuff) they provide a cheap and unique experience only in Japan..

Visit some local Shrines (Shinto religion) or Temples (Buddhism).. if you happen to meet someone who speaks English at either try to be friendly and learn all that you can.. Sort of hobby of mine to learn everything I can about other religions threw first hand/people that practice them.. Some people will open up once in awhile if you are genuinely interested in learning from them.

Eat everything new; especially things you don't know what they are/haven't tried.. Its easy to just eat the same old stuff from home and be comfortable but you're missing out on so much doing that.. New food is a huge part of traveling!

Finally Japan is a modern and very safe country; learn some more basic stuff about the country online like the previous poster said . Just be polite and humble out and about and you'll do fine.

1) go to an izakaya 2) eat yakiniku, gyudon, curry rice, miso soup, teriyaki beef/chicken, sushi (salmon, maguro (tuna), ebi (shrimp), kani (crab), tai (red snapper) 3) visit a temple/shrine 3) go to an onsen, get appropriately naked 4) try to speak Japanese 5) bow when appropriate 5) take off your shoes when appropriate etc. American living and working in Japan btw. I've lived here before coming to work.

in europe I usually go to the airport 3 hours earlier.
2 hours can be a bit strict if there's a lot of people.
Also it's nice to be able to sit down after you went through everything, and go to the bathroom to piss, eat something etc.

>>532253

PSNS. Guess I shouldn't be surprised, there are a lot of people that work here.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Will probably take pictures while I'm there and post them every once in a while.

1. get some business cards made up. Nothing more embarrasing than not having one to give back. Also when you are handed meeshi (business cards) look at them closley and make a big deal of the like repeat the name printed there.
2. get some well tailored suits. Conservative colors, black suit with a white shirt and tie and black leather shoes. I guess it is okay for younger men to have a ridiculous tie like pink or purple but don't go too crazy.
3. when you drink it is acceptable to get a little wild because it will be understood and forgiven but don't get too carzy. loosten up and be interesting but if you are a mean drunk best to just limit yourself to a few.
4. big arm movements and rapid actions seem to annoy the Japanese. There is a rule there that when in public everyone will respect everyone else's right to a peaceful and calm environment. If an elevator is closing, dont run up, jam your foot through and force your way in, you will scare them. Just wait for the next one. Never rush around in public, walk about calm and cooley even if you are late.

5. If you must pick your teeth it is okay around dudes drinking together but in public cover you mouth. Taditionally it is bad form to eat and walk or smoke and walk. Stop in a place out of foot traffic and do the business there. It is also unsafe to walk and smoke in a crowded place because ashes will fall on people and burn them.
6. grab tissues from people on the street when they are offered. They make good TP and often public restrooms have none.
7. Don't be shocked if there are certain places you are not admitted to because you are a foreigner.
8. make an effort to speak Japanese it will be appreciated. After 1 year you will be expected to have assimilated.
9. Yoshinoya is good for cheapish and fast foot. Try to find one near your office.
10. Japanese ATMs don't take foreign debit cards so bring a credit card. The only bank in Japan I know of that takes foreign debit cards is the Citibank. Whenever I come across one I stock up on cash. The only one I remember is the one in Shibuya. The Japanese National Post office used to also have ATMs that allow foreign cash withdrawls but I think they are all closed now since the post office went public.
11. I dunno where OP is from but if you are used to trains like in Paris or London than np in Japan. If you are from a backward little hick town they can be hard to get used to. Match the densha train color to the line color. The stops in the train are all displayed on a screen that flashes between japanese kanji, hiragana and english. So if you can match the train color to the line number and the stop you want you should be okay. Just make sure of the train color.
12. The shinkansen train is what is used to travel between cities. while the densha is used in the city. The shinkan sen is rapid and expensive you can get Shinkansen tickets at most major train stations like Tokyo Eki. They are comfortable.

13. make sure you don't have any fucking holes in your socks
14. With regard to dating, I found that it was important to plan everything very carefully. Of course every woman is different.
15. If you are invited to meet her parents, that means she wants to get married. It is a big deal unlike these days in north america where the boy friend will plant his ass beside his girlfriend's dad and shoot the shit

16. Don't waste food. Eat every last grain of rice in your bowl. Do not stick your hashi (chopsticks) into the bowl of rice, lay them on top. Do not point with the hashi or play KISS drum solos with them.
17. My wife's sister gave me training hashi like they would give to a child. A little says alot there. I thought I was quite good with hashi but she was telling me something else.
18. When you are eating out of a pot, it is good to take the food out with the reverse end of the hashi rather than dip your eating ends into the communal broth. With family or with your "circle" it is okay to use the pointy ends.
19. I found in Japan that I was always hungry because the food there is just so light and for them a big portion is often small for a north american. So it is okay to eat a bowl of soup and lots of veggies and meat and ask for a second bowl of rice. If you are still hungry don't be a glutton, just eat on your own later.

20. bath houses are a bit strange to a north american. Just pay when you enter the bath house (has a curtain or noren with a sideways number 2 with aline through the center) and grab a stool and sit in fromnt of the mirror and hose yourself down and scrub all over well and shampoo. DO nout go into the boiling hot bath until you are clean. That boiling bath with burn the rest of the germs from your body and you will never have felt cleaner. Then you can brush your teeth and sit in a vibrating chair to relax. Pretty nice actually. Coin laundries are great for bachelors also

>>532640
>Japanese ATMs don't take foreign debit cards so bring a credit card

7-11 takes my Wachovia debit card; however, DO NOT COUNT ON THIS. I have heard of other people having problems, even though it works for me. Just to let you know, though.

in terms of personal stories I stayed at a ryoukan (traditional inn) for the first time in Kyoto. I was overwhelmed with Japaneseness, if that is a word. My girlfrined ta the time was acting more "proper". I got to sleep closest to the heater in the room. The food was to the Japanese a delicacy but to an unrefined savage like me, the shun (seasonal) cooking was like rabbit food. Cold fish, a small bowl of soup, tiny bird eggs etc. I woke up one morning and heard someone fall down the stairs so I stuck my head out the sliding door and saw a girl at the bottom being helped up by her friends. I said "ogenki desu ka". They all laughed and said "daijoubu desu ka".
Another time I got refused entry to a nightclub so I bribed some guy who spoke english to pose as my Japanese friend and get me in. After partying till the bar closed I left and started taunting the doorman saying "gaijin got in, gaijin got in" nya nya. He looked like he wanted to kill me.
Another time it was 300 am and I was looking for a bar. So I found a place that was open and went up the the doorman. He told me 500 yen cover charge. I think now he did not expect me to pay and that was his way of saying beat it. Anyway I paid so I went in and there were all these middle aged couples in really nice cloths. I was thinking maybe I had forced my way into some Japanese only dating or meeting place. I ordered a beer and as I was drinking I literally felt hostile eyes on my back so I finnished quick and decided to leave. On the way out the door man grabbed my wrist and not unkindly pushed me out the door saying "never again". I decided not to resist even a little and he was gentle so probably a good choice. That doorman looked like the korean dude from James bond minus the hat

heres a good one. After my wife and I announced our intent to marry to her father, the guy decided to take me to an onsen to get to know me. Every morning at 5oo am the guy would wake up and start smoking these terrible cigarettes. If anyone smokes export A green deaths, they know the kind of putrid smoke laced with someone's snot smell that exists the smoker's lungs. Anyway, my wife's dad was cool and even though he did not speak english he had a pocket translator (as did i) and we said what we could over those exhausting 2 days. My wife's mom on the other hand speaks englsih very well. She was educated at Waseda and now works as a government offical in Tokyo. She is a cool woman. It was she who supported me and her daughter marrying and convinced Dad to meet me. I think my wife's dad was not so much dismayed that she was marrying a foreigner as he was that he was loosing his daughet. He loves his second daughetr more than anything. Anyway he has been really cool and came to visit us several times. My wife goes to Japan at least twice a year so she can recharge. Our child looks like me and even has blue eyes. That is pretty uncommon.

I was wandering at night like i did when I was young and found a bar at 300 am again. This time I went in and the bartender looked asleep. I said "beru onegai shimasu" he looked at me uncomprehending so I wrote it out and he seemed impressed that I could write basic katakana and hiragana so he gave me a brew. Then all these dudes walked in and they were from a boxing club they told me so they challenged me to arm wrestle (whenever I go to Japan some dude always challenges me to arm wrestle). I went through all of them but then I faced the leader. I decided to loose because I figured they would all beat the shit out of me if I won. Thank you Funakoshi for teaching me to win by loosing. After that the leader seemed to know I had let him win but said "you are an okay guy" and we drank again. Left about 600 am. Some girl showed up and asked me what I was doing the next day but I told her I was going to Akihabara to look at anime (I wanted to discourage her because I already had a fiance). Ah the wild days . If you want to be repellant to most glamour girls, tell them you like animation. They do not want otaku

Jeez when I was younger all I wanted to do was go to bars, buy shit, play games and gamble. Japan is a paradise for all those things. But don't limit yourself to that. If you can go visit the country. Go to a country hot springs, see mount Fuji, go to Kamakura or Izu. I enjoyed Okinawa and Kyoto alot. This Xmas I will go again and I am considering Hiroshima for a trip. I really want to see all the A bomb stuff.