Well, there are the traditional board games such as go and shougi (also known as Japanese chess). Othello
(sometimes called Reversi) is also popular, perhaps due to its similarity to go.

Japanese like puzzle games found in books such as Sudoku.

Card games for young people include the still popular Pokemon, Yuugi, and whatever other trading card game that is currently hot. I see Uno around, too.

Japan has several unique and important national cultural festivals, but there are also thousands of local ones, each with its own unique characteristics and traditions.

The Ukai (cormorant bird) Festival in my area is rather well-known for its interesting use of the bird for fishing. A team of birds tethered to a boat. The birds plunge under the surface of the water and come up with a small Japanese trout. The tether prevents them from swallowing the fish, however, and the fisherman retrieves the fish from the bird’s mouth. Once a sufficient number of fish have been collected this way, a chef prepares a meal and serves the guests on the boat.

The whole affair is conducted at night with the only illumination coming from pine torches lit on the boats for a visually spectacular and delightful culinary experience.

Cross-dressing, men dressing as women, is surprisingly popular and common in Japan. Just as men played the female parts back in Shakespeare’s day, so too did Japanese men perform the female roles in the traditional Kabuki plays, a custom which persists even to this day.

In performances such as TV shows, cross-dressing is still a very acceptable form of mostly humorous entertainment. Usually, the entertainer is fairly obviously a man. Others may be more professional in their transformation. Some men have a talent for appearing as truly beautiful women. For others it is a hobby – a hobby with its own magazines and clubs.

And it’s not limited to the funkier areas of Tokyo. Such men can even be seen in that kind of urban /rural area I live in. Odds are, though, you won’t know one when you’ve seen one.

Today, May 5th, was Kids’ Day in Japan (really, more Boys Day since there is a Girls Day on March 3rd) in the middle of Golden Week vacation, and I went to a castle about an hour from my home.

The castle itself is quite small, but it’s surrounding gardens are very lovely.

Sushi is raw fish, mostly. Sometimes the fish is lightly seared, and in some modern places it’s not even fish at all. It could be eggs, duck, raw horse meat, or even bacon.

There are four main ways you can buy sushi: a prepared lunch at a supermarket, a restaurant that serves sushi, a traditional sushi bar that serves only sushi, or my favorite way – $1/plate conveyor belt sushi restaurants.

The $1/plate conveyor belt sushi restaurants (kaiten sushi) have a lot of things that kids love too, like juice, cake, fruit, and French fries. You can snag something off the conveyor belt or order from the screen at your table and wait until it gets sent to you. I’m somewhat of a light eater, so I generally have 6-7 plates. It’s not a place you’d go on a date, but it’s a fast, fun, and inexpensive place to go with friends or family.

Japanese has three forms of writing.

First, there are kanji characters which are adaptations of Chinese characters.

Second, there is katakana, which is mainly used to write out foreign words.

Third, there is hiragana, which is used in sentences.

Here’s what katakana looks like in the katakana alphabet (カタカナ), and here’s what it looks like in hiragana (かたかな).

Karaoke (pronounce it like it’s Spanish, and not the incredibly warped “carrie-okie” word most English speakers use) is usually written with the katana alphabet as カラオケ taken from the Japanese word kara 空 which means "empty" and ōkesutora (orchestra) オーケストラ . It’s one of those things that started in Japan and became popular around the world.

A small group of people, usually college age or close to it (although people of any age can and do enjoy it), rent a room. They choose songs from a song menu, then the lyrics appear on a screen and the music plays. Then someone (or someones) sings the song to the rest of the group.

Rooms are rented by the hour for reasonable rates. You can order food and drinks (which is where the establishments make their money), and generally have a great time – perfect for the group dates that Japanese prefer!

There are 2 Golden Rules in Japan: Safety and Harmony.

There are laws, of course, but the only ones I ever see getting enforced are speeding tickets. When you get caught for speeding, usually as the result of a coordinated radar check and pull over set up, the police sit you in the back seat of their squad car and ask you a bunch of personal questions and basically intimidate you and make you feel bad. And then top it off by making you write and sign a confession acknowledging you were being naughty. (No, I've never gotten a ticket in Japan, but I hear stories from acquaintances.)

Why do they act like butt-holes when they catch you speeding? Because you violated one of the Golden Rules - Safety!

There are laws against gambling and prostitution and burning your trash and peeing alongside the road and such, but they openly do not enforce such laws as long as you aren't damaging the public's Safety and Harmony.

Japan is a ridiculously safe country. I don't think the police even carry guns because no one has a gun. And no one has drugs, either. Public drunkeness is a natural result of social interaction and not at all frowned upon. Women feel perfectly safe walking or more likely riding their bicycle home alone from a train station at 10 o'clock at night.

The judicial system is rather pathetic. If you get arrested you get convicted, basically, because they wouldn't have arrested you if you hadn't been doing something wrong, right? (Or so the thinking goes). But arrest and imprisonment are rare, so, No, law enforcement is not harsh.

Why do people respect the police? Because people value their Safety and Harmony and the police do a good job of ensuring it. As for warrants, I have no idea. Gas and electrical inspectors and school teachers come into our homes, so I suppose it wouldn't be strange for police officers to enter if they wished (after politely knocking and excusing the interruption and their rudeness and removing their shoes at the entrance, of course).

Soon after their loss in World War II, a Constitution was established n Japan in 1947.

To quote Wiki, “The constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights. Under its terms the Emperor of Japan is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" and exercises a purely ceremonial role without the possession of sovereignty."

The Constitution also allowed them to establish a Self-Defense Forces which is their military and is limited to domestic actions only.

All professional sports teams in the USA and Japan have a mascot. Likewise, every town in Japan has created their own mascot, but the country itself has none. This is where the emperor comes in. He is the living mascot of Japan. (No disrespect intended.)

The Royal family pretty much stays out of the news and act as diplomats or ambassadors for the country, especially for other countries’ royalty.

@ Pandafishie - Your link is broken.

@ Tdog-Turbo-Dog

How do you people in japan feel about technology, robotics, Artificial Intelligence(AI), etc?

I think it's safe to say that Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. And although I've never seen a robot being used in any stores or businesses, it's a constant topic on interest in Japan. But Japanese focus more on quality than innovation.

Could you describe the gender/sex differences in more detail?

The gender differences are definitely larger than in Western cultures, but not as great as those in Arabic Muslim countries. For the most part, Japanese women emphasize their feminine traits and beauty typically wearing skirts or tight slacks and heels and nail art on finger and toenails. There are jobs that women do not do and likewise for men.

It would be very awkward for a woman to be a manager or executive in a typical company. More likely they are office works / clerks who end up marrying on of the men in their company and then becoming a housewife who may have a part time job.

Dating occurs less frequently and more often in groups. People tend to socialize with their own gender only.

What is your lifestyle like in japan?(It would be nice if you could go into explicit detail about the less "western" things)

People eat a lot of rice and miso (soy bean) soup, even for breakfast.

Men in suits and women in dresses or skirts ride thier bicycles to the train station for work each morning.

It's not uncommon for people to walk several miles a day as part of thier commute.

Strangers do not talk to one another on trains, although simple question about a destination or something is alright.

Husbands typically leave the house at 7 or 8 and get home at 9 or 10, leaving the wife to manage the household and raise the kids.

People drink a lot of alcohol, with co-workers or friends after work, or at home with and / or after a meal.

There are still a lot of "squat over a 2' x 1/2' hole in the floor" style toilets.

There is a much closer realtionship between parents and school teachers.

Single adults live alone or with their serious girlfriend or boyfriend. People don't have roommates in Japan.

We buy a lot of our food and drinks and snacks at convenience stores, which are everywhere.

All junior high and high schools have uniforms, as do many companies.

Japanese computer keyboards have the letters and numbers in the same place, but other things are different.

What sex are you? By the way you talk it seems like your female.(I'm just looking for a reference point)

I'm female, still youngish, and ethnically and culturally 50/50.

Really old Japanese homes were built with a wooden shelf with an oval hole in it where you sat and did your business into a deep tank. Trucks, jokingly referred to as "Honey Wagons" which you can still see today, come around and suck out the sewage.

Later when homes began to get running water, the toilets were plumbing version of a hole in the ground. About half of all toilets in trains stations and public facilities still look like this.

As for the complicated electric toilet seats. You have to understand that in the winter, Japanese homes and many offices do not have central heating. They use portable kerosene or electric heaters to heat individual rooms closed off from one another. Consequently, bathrooms are not heated and if you've ever sat on a really cold toilet seat you know how shockingly, "clenchingly" uncomfortable it is. Thus, the toilet seats need to be heated. The warm water spray and dryer are additional pleasant options. The buttons have pictures, but yeah, if you have never used one and can't read Japanese, they can be a little complicated.

@ Ironic-Biscuit
Japan watches the big American movies and some people enjoy USATV shows, but they also have and prefer Japanese movies and TV shows, and some Korean dramas.

@ Pandafishie

Learn hiragana as quickly as possible (2 weeks max) and don't rely on romaji. Vowels are basically the same as Spanish, so no worries there. Lose your intonation and syllable stress - it really doesn't exist in Japanese.

A big part of recreational activities mainly for men is pachinko . It’s kind of like a vertical pinball machine. You shoot a ball up into the top and rebounds off of little pins as it fall. If it falls into special traps, other traps open or animation appears and you win more balls to play with. These balls can then be exchanged for prizes.

You use a nob to control the strength of the shot, so there is a bit of skill involved. But mainly it’s mindless gambling akin to casino slots machines. However, since gambling for cash is illegal in Japan, the balls must be akin off the premises to a nearby booth that will buy the balls from you, or they can be redeemed for coupons or snacks or things.

Players can easily go through $100 in an evening, so you have to be careful not to get so into it that you lose track of your money. Smoking is allowed, and the buildings are lit up inside and out like a hyperactive casino, so you enter into a cacophony of sound and lights that can be overwhelming.

You couldn’t drag me into one, but other people become so addicted to it all that they can’t be dragged out.

You may have seen the Love Hotel scene in the most recent Wolverine movie set in Japan. What is a love hotel?.

A love hotel specializes in hourly rates. Generally people do not stay there overnight. Rather they go there for a few hours to share some physical intimacy.

Why not do this in the privacy of their homes? Well, many singles in their 20s live with their parents (and grandparents). Also, people don’t like having other people in their small, private apartment. They would rather share those special moments in a more proper setting.

The hotels have discreet entrances and covered parking spaces. You usually choose the room from a picture menu, pay for the key, and off you go without ever interacting with any hotel staff.

These hotels are usually found near train stations or highway exit ramps. They have rather garish, almost comic architecture, with lots of colorful lighting.

The cost is cheaper than a real hotel, especially if you make use of a room in the afternoon hours. It’s a weird bit of Japanese culture, but judging by how many of these hotels there are, they are meeting a legitimate societal need.

Are festivals really common in japan? I know watching fireworks with your friends is really common. Is this true?

Yes, festivals happen several times a year in honor of a special season or event or even a fruit like strawberries. In the summer it’s fun to dress up in our summer kimonos, call yukata , or the happi jackets , and eat some festival food like konomiyaki, yakisoba, and takoyaki , and enjoy some shows or fireworks.

From watching anime I have seen a weird yet interested event happen. This event is the one where japanese go outside with models of the male's private part, I think they make it themselves? I've also seen them in food forms which eventually people eat it.

Yes, there are fertility festivals in Japan, although people don’t take them too seriously. And, yes, you can buy phallus-shaped food to eat as well. Lick those lollipops, girls! (lol)

Are crimes like theft common? From my perspective I will guess it is common because since things are so expensive in japan I believe not everyone can afford them, resulting in some people committing robbery to obtain these things.

The only common theft is bicycles from train stations. Aside from that, stores often leave out things like lumber or plants overnight without ever getting things stolen. And people leave things in their yards (no garages here) without fear of theft as well.

I've read somewhere that japan is one of the lowest countries in which people reproduce due to there being a vast amount of' adult only films',is this true? Is it available publicly? like can you be in tokio and come accros an ero manga store?

The population is shrinking since couple have only about 1.5 children. This is due mainly to the expense of raising children.
There are adult video stores all over Japan with comics as well, I suppose.

Do a lot of people in japan watch anime and read manga?

Yes, adults, even young adult women read comics and watch cartoons to a lesser extent. One Piece is probably the most popular. Dragon Ball may be #2.

I've also seen that in anime parents are really strict about their kids grades. Is this true? do japanese value intelligence and information a lot?

Grades and test scores are a huge determining factor in your college and thus your career, so parents push their children to study hard and spend thousands of dollars on cram schools.

Is this food called a crepe taste good? if you could describe the taste what would you say?

Crepes are a very popular fast food snack. They are thin sweet pancakes with ice cream, whipped cream, and other toppings. They are sometimes flat like a slice of pizza and sometimes like an ice cream cone.

And most important of all!! (It has to do with school girls,I bet you already know what im gonna mention haha :3) Do girls that take a P:E(physical education we call it here in USA) class wear short shorts or so called booty shorts? I think they are also red ;)

I don’t know what “booty shorts” are. If you mean like those tight volleyball shorts, No, only volleyball players wear those during matches.
But, yes, all kids take P.E. classes and wear matching shirts and loose mid-thigh shorts and white athletic shoes.

Some things in the game have a direct connection to a country in the real world. For example, the Lionheart Honor Blade is connected to Great Britains’ King Richard. Gunslinger gear references the USA’s cowboy culture of the 19th century, as does the Argent Peacemaker gun owned by Wild Bill Hickok.

There are also two items (well, more really since one of them has different versions) that have a direct connection to Japan.

The first is the maedate accessory .

The various maedate became a standard feature on the samurai kabuto war helmets.

It was the samurai who created the guiding principles of honor, duty to one's master, and loyalty unto death that came to be known as bushidō. The samurai were the ruling class and, therefore, were less than 10% of Japan's population.

However, bushido continues to be part of modern Japanese life. in both the corporate world and martial arts such as judo, kendo, and karate. The samurai were also well-educated, so after the samurai period ended in the mid 1800’s, some became the literary force in Japan and naturals for government office.

The militarized era of the samurai is full of heroism and tragedy and a favorite movie genre, but I personally view it as rather a dark time in the history of these islands.

The second connection is, of course, the Costume shogun helmets found in the original heavy reddish, as well as the new bright red raging version and shiny golden storm versions.

All three are equipped with the requisite maedate.

A shogun was like a local king. They were really generals who had to answer to the Imperial court, but the court’s power was mainly symbolic rather than military. Therefore, the shogun were the de facto rulers in Japan.