[kashira kureijii]

Make very sure that your credit card will work, and or get a shit ton of spare yen in cash. Like more than you could ever possibly need, id say like $2000 dollars worth( 200000¥)
Also get something to keep coins in, as they are obsessed with coins, as they really dont have small paper currency.
They dont really use credit cards over there to the degree we do
I supposedly got my credit card cleared to work, and only brought 500$ worth of yen, then when i got to my hotel my card didnt work. It was a weeklong trip, and i ended up not eating for like, the last 3 days......it kinda......sucked.
Also bring a friend so you have someone non-reserved/awkward to talk to and hang out with. You cant really just start up conversations with random japanese people.

I dont have friends, so i was alone, hungry, and had no money for like pretty much the entire trip. I had my JR pass though, so i still got to go wherever i wanted.

Also, at train stations, you will show your pass to the attendant to the side of where people put there tickets. If he doesnt understand how your pass works, go to these little kiosk things, and whoevers there will make you your ticket. I got into an argument with this passive aggressive old man, when he didnt know what to do with my pass (sounds like me being a dick, but bear in mind it made me spend my last 10000¥ to get back to tokyo) .I didnt know they had kiosk chicks who know all about it.

You dont really need that much japanese, as most people will immediately address you in broken english. I learned a bunch of japanese, but didnt really use it as everyone just kept using english.

I wouldn't be to concerned about social whatever stuff, as a lot of them don't follow it to the letter, and they understand that as a foreigner that you don't really have knowledge of all the trivial stuff they do. Just be polite. For instance, I didn't really take any pictures, because the travel book told me it was kinda rude if you got people in your picture. However, several times while I was there, schoolgirls and some other folks kept taking pictures of me directly, while I had my back turned. I don't really give a fuck, but by travel book standards that would be rude or some shit. You will kinda see a flash and then hear giggling, especially if you look a lot different than japanese peeps (like me, a tall blonde). If you are tall you can navigate crowds easy, as you can see over everyone's heads
If you're with other people, rent phones, as your phone will not work the entirety off the trip, no matter where you are.

It'll be fun man, you can eat corn flavored ice cream, drink pocari sweat, be an awkward foreigner, and have middle aged japanese women make the conscious effort to sit next to you while on trains