Originally Posted by
Loren Pechtel
Speaking of ways of communicating--something we saw in Japan in the 70s (whether it's still in use I don't know) that helped a lot: Restaurants with model food on display.
Yes, you still see this (and not just in Japan). I did not find it useful for ordering but I did find it useful for deciding whether to visit the restaurant. For example, if the display was yakitori and we wanted sushi ...
Originally Posted by
Loren Pechtel
It's been several years since I've been in Japan but in my three trips there over the years I've never had the slightest trouble with their officials. The lack of language is normally not an issue at border controls--I've been in a lot of places where I don't speak the language, that's never proved problematic.
+1 The officials were all polite and spoke sufficient english to complete the transaction. In general we had little trouble anywhere in Japan, and most restaurants had menus in English or with photos.