psiclone: Well... let me put it this way: There's aren't any, that I know of, in Kyoto. Maybe in Tokyo - but the thing of it is, in 1993 a law was actually passed that made it illegal to have the machines. So...take that as you will.
On a related but slightly more interesting note, it *is* true that you can find almost anything in vending machines here. Except snacks. O_o (I'm sure they exist *somewhere.* I just haven't found one yet.) In my immediate vicinity, you'll find alcohol vending machines, smokes, and (of course!) soft drinks. The cool thing about the drink machines is that you can get cold drinks, of course, but you can also get HOT drinks. In the school cafeteria there's also a cup noodle machine, and an ice cream machine. Supposedly there's even ones with live lobsters!
Vennie: Ahahaha. But of course! The Japanese these days though seem to be evenly split: They'll either ignore you (and assume that you can't speak Japanese), or they'll try out the latest English phrase they learned. I was walking through a shopping district one day and a four-foot granny strode up to me and said, "How are you enjoying Japan? Good? Have a nice day!" I was a bit surprised, to say the least. Japanese kids though are split in completely different ways. Sure, they might try out their English - they ARE learning it in school, after all - but more often then not they'll either talk about you with their friends in Japanese, or (in the smaller cities) they might even just stare at you with HUGE, saucer-eyes. I actually met a little girl on Saturday who was actually shaking behind her mom at my presence (she later got over it.)
I was very pleasantly surprised, though, by a fellow college student I met at a bus stop. I commented on how the bus was always late and we struck up conversation. The fact that I was foreign didn't come up at all - and on the bus, she asked if my house was nearby! (The way that she asked it suggested to me that she thought I quite possibly could have been a Japanese citizen of mixed/foreign heritage. Quite pleased. :D)
Sojournen: Well, there are differences, and then there are similarities. The biggest difference I've noticed is what people seem to think regarding transportation. In America, we think it's so horrible if you have to walk or bike anywhere. And what a pain it is to go to the grocery store more than once a week! But here, there's literally no space for everyone to drive everywhere. There just isn't - it's not even a matter of better putting space to use or anything. Biking and walking is normal, and that's it. So while there are school busses available for elementary schoolers, most will walk to school. Middle schoolers and upwards will bike. College students and workers alike will also bike to school. If they really live too far to bike or walk, most will ride a scooter (like a Vespa). And everything done is done with that in mind - you go shopping a few times a week, you're forced to consider what times trains and busses stop running, etc etc. I have a feeling that most Americans would revolt at the thought of having to actually keep track of bus schedules.
A similarity that most people don't notice is the behavior of schoolchildren. The Western world seems to think of Japanese students as some sort of miracle, studious pupils who study their hardest and take the grind of competition in stride. And the truth is.... well, they certainly have more to live up to than their Western counterparts (I'll explain in a moment), but that doesn't mean that they like it. And that doesn't mean that they don't goof off! I don't think I'd ever seen so much goofing off as when I went to high school for a few weeks a couple years ago. One girl actually yelled right in the middle of class! But it's the same as any other class - there are hard workers, and there are class clowns.
College students are worse - they spend all of their academic life working to get into the best high school so that they can then get into the best college, and then.... they're basically automatically pushed towards graduation. As long as they come to class more or less on time, and take the tests, they'll pass. There are so many stories of our (the foreign students') Japanese classmates just...not working. Not doing their share of a project until the very last minute. But again - there are hard workers, and there are class clowns.
As for having more to live up to: this part is true. A schoolchild's schedule might be as follows: Wake at 7. Eat breakfast. Go to school for 8:30. School ends at 3:30 or 4. Go to club. Come home at....anywhere between 5 and 7. (At this point you might have eaten dinner at school. A lot of schools accommodate after-school students like this.) Go to tutoring. Come home at 9 or 10. Go to bed. The reason for the clubs and tutoring is this: clubs are deemed a necessary function. This is how you'll introduce yourself - "Hi, I'm Matsumoto, from the baseball team." And if you don't do a club from elementary school, you have no chance of getting into an official Club in college. And to get to the best college, you have to go to tutoring to pass the entrance exams. But again - not every kid does this, and certainly not every kid likes it.
