For work I went to Osaka, Japan. I had one had day of sightseeing in Kyoto, the ex-capital of Japan. It is one thing going to a country where they don't speak your language, but quite different if you can't even read the letters. My hotel room was small and the bathroom tiny. The toilet filled with water when you sat on it and also had a bidet. I thought, "a bidet - I would never use one in a public place, but...I could just see how it worked." Well you need pressure on the seat, so I put my foot on the seat and hit the button. Talk about water pressure. Water shot out and all over my shirt! Nasty toilet water! 
The first night after work, I was taken out for authentic Japanese food. First I stopped to play Pachinko. I Japanese style slot machine of sorts. This took 2 restaurants, all very local, and all dives. No tourists would step foot in these places. First we had food on a stick - chicken, pork, veggies. It was all very good except for the chicken skin and fat. I tried it, but it was nasty, chewy; I had to swallow it whole. The second place was for the best sushi I have ever had. I tried eel, but had a tough time eating the bones. And we had some Saki. The last place was for Japanese dumplings. Yummm... The second night after work, I had the best meal of my life. We went to eat shabu shabu. This is a boiling pot of water that you cook your food in. The best of this food is Kobe beef, aka pampered cow. I was told that this cow was fed beer and massaged every day. After doing some research, I find this in not true. This is still, however, the best beef I have ever eaten. 
Thursday, I went sightseeing with a tour group. I met up with 2 ladies, one from Portugal and one from Italy. We hung out for the day while we were sightseeing. We visited several temples. The best of which house 1001 Buddha statues! It was a grand trip. Interesting culture, but not a place I would live or want to vacation.
Top 10 Interesting Things:
10. Japanese meat loaf is nasty, don't eat it.
9. Everyplace I went to sight see was very crowded. I wonder if all of these people work. And you thought there were a lot of Japanese tourist in America....
8. The Japanese are very superstitious. Bow, clap, hope on one foot while putting on your shoe...
7. Japan is expensive, more so than Europe and it is quite clean.
6. Little kids ride the train by themselves. Little as in 5 years old!
5. Starbucks doesn't open until 7AM! Although I was very glad that I found a *$
4. Everywhere is decorated for Christmas with lights and trees even though only about 1% of Japan is Christian.
3. Everyone wears a suit to work.
2. Vending machines are everywhere and they sell everything from cold drinks to hot drinks to beer and wine, food, cigarettes, you name it. And where there is one machine there are 3 or 4.
And the number one most interesting thing about Japan.....
1. The toilets play music. This is because research found that on average the women flush the toilet 3 times while using it to cover up any sound they may make. In an effort to save water, they added music to the toilets. The alternative to the western musical toilet is pictured below: The hole in the floor toilet with not toilet paper dispenser. I avoided these at all costs. I would rather use a tree.
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