In summer, do wrap bottles of cold drink, such as those from vending machines, in a small towel or thick handkerchief. This soaks up the ‘sweat’ (the condensation on the outside of the bottle) and avoids everything else in your bag getting wet.

When travelling towards Tokyo from the west, do sit on the left-hand side of the train for a view of Mount Fuji. If travelling from Tokyo towards Osaka, then, of course, the right-hand side of the train is the beat place to sit. Of course, this all assumes that Mount Fuji will decide to be cooperative and show its face from behind the clouds…

Test

Don’t forget to take off the toilet slippers (they’ll be the ones with a toilet-related design) when you leave the toilet.

Do use the ‘umbrella bags’ provided at the entrances to supermarkets and department stores on rainy days. Quite apart from being a useful way to stop dripping umbrellas from turning the floor of the store into something approaching skating-rink slipperiness, easing a large umbrella into one of the bags (something akin to a camel through the eye of a needle) is a great way to practice your hand-eye coordination.

Do eat unagi (eel) towards the end of July. As the summer heat heads towards its peak, eel is said to be effective in staving off summer tiredness.

If you’re having trouble finding one, do always try looking for a bus-stop on the narrowest road, the sharpest corner you can see.

Don’t forget that when Japanese people tell you your Japanese is wonderful, they may just be being polite.

Don’t be surprised if you come across a milk carton proudly proclaiming that the milk inside it is, in fact, 100% milk. For some strange reason, this doesn’t seem to be a given fact.