GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT JAPAN
Japan lies in north-east Asia in the Japan Sea, and is a country with four major islands; Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu with the majority of the 120+ million inhabitants living on Honshu (12m + in Tokyo itself.)
Japan is a country of diversity with bustling cities, beautiful landscapes, brash new bold buildings, old temples, shrines and castles.
The Japanese people are friendly, polite, proud, passionate about their country and their way of life, and have some wonderful stories to tell if you are willing to listen.
People often overlook Japan because as Asian countries go it is EXPENSIVE-but it isn't as expensive as you may think. If you go one train stop up from the main tourist spots you can get great hotels for a fraction of the price (ie our hotel in Tokyo) there are many good hostels and pod hotels too if you want to find even cheaper places to stay.
Food can be as cheap or as expensive as you wish it to be- there are many cheap options (we only paid over $15 Australian for a meal once and that was at a hotel near Mt. Fuji) Be prepared to take risks because an English menu is rare-but it's fun and you may be surprised with the best meal ever.
The official language is Japanese and although English is quite widely spoken (and thankfully on signs in a lot of the train stations) don't expect to hear it much outside of the major cities and tourism sites, so try and learn a few basics even if just please, thank you, hello and good-bye.
The currency is the yen (currently exchanging at around 90 yen to $1 Australian) and has coins of 500, 100, 50, 10, 5 and 1 (50 (silver) and 5(bronze) both have holes in them) with notes of 1000, 2000 (which are rare as most come through overseas banks so be aware that some Japanese businesses may not accept the 2000 yen note as they think it is a counterfeit ) 5000 and 10000.
Credit cards are widely accepted in most major cities, but like most places in the world may not be accepted in smaller places so make sure you have enough cash on you.
ATM machines can be found in most places-the best is probably the 7-11s so if you can't find a bank check out the convenience stores (great food to pick up there too)
BEFORE YOU GO
1/TRAIN TRAVEL IN JAPAN
If you are planning on travelling beyond Tokyo(which is easy enough to do as the trains are simply put FAST and FANTASTIC) make sure you pick up your Japan Rail Pass ahead of time. This will save you a LOT of money as train travel is expensive. You need to order this prior to travelling and will receive a voucher which you change over on arrival in Japan. Make sure you know when you want to start using your JR Pass as the exchange date is not necessarily the same as the activation date (while travelling in Tokyo you can use a SUICA or PASMO card on the trains so if you don't plan on travelling outside of Tokyo in your first few days make sure the activation date is when you are ready to venture further afield.
2/ MEDICATION
If you require certain medications please check ahead of time what you can and can't take into the country as they have very strict anti-stimulant laws and you are NOT allowed to take in medication that has pseudoephedrine in (eg sudafed). You need to have a permission to carry narcotics and need an import form with doctor's certificate so make sure you do it ahead of time.
3/ELECTRICITY
Make sure you have a US plug convertor so you can recharge all your batteries/chargers.
WHILE IN JAPAN
1/BE POLITE AND RESPECTFUL OF CUSTOMS
Japan is a country of manners, etiquette and customs, you don't want to offend so be polite. It is a country where bowing shows respect and maybe you are uncomfortable with it but even a slight bow will become second nature to you.
DON'T point, if you need to use an open hand to gesture. DON'T count change in front of people as the Japanese would be offended that you do not think that they are honest in their dealings-if you really need to check do it out of eyeshot!!!
Shoes are not worn in temples, private homes, ryokans some restaurants,(if you are not sure just follow the people around you-Japan is not a country to be wearing nasty socks so if you need to pick up a couple of new pairs.)
DON'T talk on your mobile phone while you are on public transport and keep it on silent-you will not hear conversations or ringtones and it is great!!! It's unusual to see people walking and talking on phones as well.
If you are a smoker-be aware of smoking and non-smoking zones (usually you will find an area specifically marked out for smokers) and NEVER walk down the street smoking (I loved this about Japan it is so good not coming out of a hotel and store and walking through a bank of smoke!!!)
2/TOILETS
There are Western toilets and Japanese ones in most public toilets within cities (outside of them Western toilets are not as common so use the opportunity to improve your core and thigh muscles because when nature calls there's not much you can do about it.) Make sure you carry tissues and wipes because toilet paper may not always be available. On the other side of things though the Japanese version of Western toilets are pretty awesome-there is nothing like a warm toilet seat in the middle of winter. :)
MOST IMPORTANTLY HAVE FUN!!!!!!!
Check out the My 7 Wonders Lists from different parts of Japan for more detailed information.