FIRST IMPRESSION

Language

• The Japanese all study English in school for several years through high school.
• Even Japanese in busy tourist areas often will not speak English, not even a word. I'm not sure if this is because they cannot or just do not want to try, perhaps due to shyness (I get the impression that public failure, even when trying to communicate, is much worse in Japan than in the U.S.).
• All the signs are in Japanese.

Transportation

• Vehicles in Japan are fun. Cars are cute, small and boxy. Trucks are usually tiny.
• Bycicles are mostly a basic tooling around, getting you from point A to point B with one gear. And no one locks them up. 

Environment

• Japan is clean. Extraordinarily clean given the number of people in such a tight space (Japan has about 1/2 the population of the U.S. in a space about the size of California, but with about 70% mountains). 
• There is almost no trash or graffiti anywhere. And this despite the lack of trash cans in many areas. In fact, the Japanese are very particular about trash, sorting their refuse into complicated piles: burnable, non-burnable, paper, various plastic types, cans and large stuff.