From an earlier post of mine about the martial arts. This is the introduction I got to Japan:
"Ed, visiting Japan is the closest you will ever come to staying on an alien planet. They look different, act different, speak different, write different, eat different, sh*t different and even die different. They have a code of honor which goes back centuries yet they are some of the finest businessmen of the Twentieth Century. Try to think like a Japanese, try to act like a Japanese and MAYBE after ten years they will start to accept you. You will however have the time of your life".
Yes, they are weird, but they are also fascinating.
Ed Almos