I couldn’t have prepared for culture shock in Japan if I had eaten at Asian restaurants and had a private Japanese tutor everyday for months before arriving. Its impossible to prepare with any amount of language learned or sushi ingested. Getting used to life here asks for more than just knowing the language or eating the food. With every new Japanese phrase I pick up, from “Delicious!” to “Does this train go to Kakamigahara?” life becomes easier. But I’ve found that to function in a foreign country is much different from fitting into it.
