While the boys were in high school, we hosted several (15) students in the back two bedrooms. Many of them stayed with us for extended periods - two months to a year - and we promised that someday, we would come to Japan to visit them. In late October 2009 we finally made good on our promise, and visited several cities and students.
There are some tips and tricks we learned:
- Bring a handkerchief to wipe your hands on. Many of the bathrooms don't have paper towels. If you don't plan ahead, you'll be shaking your hands dry.
- Wireless is not as pervasive as you might think. Check out freespot for locations of public wifi
- If you are visiting several cities, get a JR Rail Pass. It seems expensive, but check how much you'll spend anyways. Plus- this is like a VIP pass in the terminals, you just go to the ticket window, and they wave you through. You'll also find yourself more likely to travel to places you might not have, since it's to your advantage to use it as much as possible.