DANGERS AND ANNOYANCES
- Personal safety
Japan can lull you into a feeling of security - Some Japanese people even leave their mobile phones unattended to indicate that a table is taken. Japan's generally good level of safety does not mean that you can forget about danger. Some visitors develop a false sense of security and get into trouble. Drunken brawls can happen, molestations (and worse) can happen, and bicycles do get stolen.
Exercise the same level of caution as you would if you were "downtown" in a major city in Western Europe or America. If you do that, then you won't go far wrong - and along the way you may be pleasantly surprised by the helpful courtesy and friendliness of the Japanese people.
- Culture Shock (Lost In Translation - with the blues)
Your visit to Japan may not turn out to be everything you expected.... You may feel strangely alone in the middle of the millions of strangers... You might chance upon some rude people who seek to disabuse you of the illusion that this is a polite and cultured country... You might find that the strangeness and ugliness of everything just gets you down.
The following is perhaps the classic story of "culture shock" and disillusion:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=341899
The following thread offers some tips from folks who've been through it too:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344755