another fool wrote:

> Speaking as someone who moved here a week ago:
>
> 1. Haven't had culture shock yet - but sticker shock has definitly set
> in.  I forgot how much little stuff you need to set up life - and
> we've yet to spend less then 100 bucks on food and our fridge is 3/4
> empty.

The opposite is true for me when I go grocery shopping at home in Hawaii.

> 2. If you want a bed larger then a twin/full bring sheets (we've been
> all over town and haven't found anyone who sells queen sized sheets).

Try asking a local western style hotel where they get theirs. Or the
place you got your queen size bed. Or are you looking for something
special? We just use a blanket to cover our large size futon pads.

> I'm going to see if I can find some in Tokyo next week - any advice
> would be appreciated - otherwise it's going to be continuing to use 2
> twin top sheets for our bed until I can wrangle a trip back to the US.

How about online shopping or your family back home?

> 3. Bring a good number of travelors checks since banks here won't take
> US personal checks even with a long wait for them to clear (CitiBank
> wouldn't accept 'em anyway).  Not a huge problem since everywhere
> takes Visa and most ATM's are on PLUS so your ATM card should work.
> Try to set up a bank account that will let you do internet transfers
> before you leave and maybe set up a CitiBank multi-money account while
> your there.
>
> 4. The hardest part of driving (for me) wasn't remembering which side
> of the road to drive on, it was the fact that my spacing is WAY off.

When I travel back and forth I always turn on the wipers reaching for the
turn signal.

> Getting used to having no space on your right side and needing space
> for the car on the left is rough for me.  So far I haven't hit
> anything other then bushes but I'm waiting for me to scrape someone.

Get one of those stick on plastic indicators and apply it to your
headlight or bumper to show you where the corners of your car are.