THE ULTIMATE JAPAN GUIDE

Be polite & respectful. 

Take care after yourselves. It is not the janitor's job to "pick up your garbage".  

No talking on the phone on the trains. Avoid eating too, if possible. 

Take off your shoes indoors. Arrange & align your shoes neatly in a way that the tip of your shoes would face the door. 

In Tokyo, you line up on the left side of the escalator. (surprised?) In Osaka, you line up on the right. 

Cutting in line is an absolute no-no, especially at train stations. Japanese people are very particular about how they line up at train stations. Observe & go with the flow.  

No walking and smoking, anywhere. There will always be designated areas where you can smoke. 

Learn basic greetings, like thank you ("arigato") and excuse me/I am sorry ("sumimasen"). You can also bow, if you really want to do it the "Japanese" way.