I guess there are some benefits to being a 5'3" guy.

I'm 6'1", and didn't have too much trouble... yeah, you have to sleep diagonally sometimes, but for the most part, it's not much of an issue. Newer hotels will have nicer and bigger beds/bedding.

You do tend to loom over people a bit more than usual, but not by too much. I felt slightly taller than I do in the US, but not appreciably so. (It does make it easier to read the signs on the commuter train cars if you're standing. )

The only place being tall can hurt is in those tiny as hell bath/shower units in the business hotels. The shower nozzles will never come higher than your neck, and maneuvering in the little shower room itself is... interesting. The other problem place might be public toilets... every now and then, you run into one where the stalls are made for people who are much more compact than you are.

The vacuum bags are great. They save a lot of space.

Make sure your carry-on has *really good* wheels.

LOL! Aww too bad for my friend; he's 5'2" and he was so looking forward to being around men his own size, instead of always being the smallest person. XD

Thanks for the information, though! I'm glad the beds fit somewhat.

Sleeping diagonally is a good option too.

I'll just have to wait and see what hotels have in store for me.

Thanks everyone, for your information! It's been really helpful.

Hehe I'm still looking forward to being considered tall there. tongue For a Dutch woman I'm only average, most of my female family members are taller than me as well. Not to mention the male ones. XD

But I'm not really sure what to expect... So we'll have to wait and see!

Food is never an issue in Japan if you can find a department store (usually near train stations). Just find the basement, and raid it. If you can't find something you like there, you have problems. Also, hit it right before it closes for big markdowns. It's like going to a bunch of different restaurants all at once without the hassle.

Or just hit a conbini. Conbini food is actually pretty good in a pinch. The other good thing about conbini food is that it has nutrition info on it, so if you're on a special diet (sodium restricted, or something like that), you can scope out foods that are in the safe zone.

But you should be eating at real restaurants, yatais, izakayas, etc. to get the really good food.

Koos83 wrote:

Hmm looking forward to being a giant...

Ah the food. Yeah. I'm allergic to fish, so hopefully that won't create any problems.

About the department stores and the conbini: the food you get there you eat as is, or do you need to find a place to cook it? I don't know how much it costs to eat at proper restaurants but I don't think we can afford to eat out every night.

What about Western style meals? Are they easy to get?

There is lots of eat as is food in the department stores.  Also, many of the large department stores have food courts.  They are either going to be in the basement or near the top floors.  From experience it usually seemed to be the latter.

Also you can look for grocery stores and find ready to eat foods in their deli-like sections.  If you are staying close to a train station then you might not be able to find a traditional grocery store.  20 minutes on a train to a more rural station and then five minutes of walking and you should be set.

Western styles meals are easy to find but the actual flavor may not be as you would expect.  For example, if you go to a McDonalds make sure you get standard beef and not peppered beef.  They are not the same at all taste-wise, but look similar on the menu. 

Western breakfast staples are out there, but we had a hard time finding them.  Denny's has french toast for 300 yen or so and orange juice for half a days wage - but it's fresh squeezed. 

Also, if you are used to using sugar in things you may be stuck substituting it with "gum syrup" or flavored nectar instead. 

As for the food fish allergies you will want to check the labels on many things and remember to not assume.  Bonito flakes are prevalent in many of the bases and sauces of traditional Japanese foods.  Some foods may also come with "spice" packets to add in.  I would avoid them unless you can be sure.  Oh, and a special side note, "vegetarian" does NOT mean the same thing in Japan as it does in Western culture.  Something that is "vegetarian" can contain fish because fish isn't "meat." 

My wife was a very picky eater - no fish, nothing that smells like fish and no foods that still look similar to the way they were when alive.  We managed just fine, but it took us a few days to find a groove.  - Just make sure to not let the crepes take over your life.  They are soooooooooo good.

Koos83 wrote:

Would you say the stuff you buy at department stores, delis and stuff has a list of ingredients in romaji? Or even English? *hopes*

Only some items have an English list.. it's Japanese only for most stuff iirc. But maybe it depends on the area and the shop itself.

Koos83 wrote:

Thanks so much Wonderflex! Especially that McDonald's tip sounds very useful, as that was going to be my 'fall back on' option in case we really can't find anything I'd like to eat. Crepes sound good too...

Would you say the stuff you buy at department stores, delis and stuff has a list of ingredients in romaji? Or even English? *hopes*

If you need a safe fall back go to Jr. Tomato (pasta and such).  It's better than McDonalds IMHO and costs about the same.

Ingredient lists for the most part aren't listed in English, but I will check it out for you.  I saved every receipt and food wrapper from the three weeks I was there so I could make a collage or could decoupage my guitar case.  Romaji on the other hand is very prevalent in the titles of items so that can be helpful.

I would suggest asking people at the counter if it contains fish but that is a wild question if you don't know a lot of Japanese (I don't know your skill level).  Your response may be, "It has a blend of red snapper and abalone" and you may not know those words. 

That was my problem with using Pimsleur prior to our trip.  I could say, "Where is train station X," but the answers I would get would range from "up the street" to the more common, "large stream of Japanese with lots of hand gestures and words too large and fast for me to understand."

Push come to shove, just look for a grocery store and eat some standards for snacks.  The produce we had was far larger, and better tasting, then their American counterparts, so it was great to just eat produce.  Something are crazy expensive - like green grapes and cantaloupe - but you can get huge, fresh, tomatoes and carrots on the cheap.

食物アレルギー (しょくもつアレルギー) or shokumotsu arerugii is one way of saying "Food allergy."

Actually, this book might be really good for you, in case you want to get an idea of what's inside some Japanese food... or just learn all the various words for Japanese foods. The neat part is that it comes with pictures. The not-so-neat part is that it doesn't have a list of all the fish kanji. But it does have extensive lists and descriptions of regional foods... many of which do *not* contain fish.

It's called "The original Point and Speak Phrasebook: Japanese Food," but it's easier to just search by its ISBN number: 978-4-7958-3873-4

I got it from BK1 for about 1500 yen.