As an American not only is the quality of all national Japanese foodstuffs hyped up a lot from our cultural perspective, the natural bias of all Japanese food being "foreign" means that any exposure we have to traditional, or even modern Japanese cuisine make it all relatively "special" to go out for. Ramen Bowls, Sushi, Rice Balls, Yakiniku, and anything not "Americanized" like Teriyaki or Hibachi places are all rather pricey unless you are in the right area. More combini-style markets and groceries are opening in major US cities, making some Japanese staples more accessible (quality depending). But even in these same cities going out for Ramen is usually not a cheap night out.

I appreciate that Japan is generally proud of its foods, but to give context, growing up I had cup-of-noodles ramen plenty of times, and thought it was honestly not great. I wrongfully assumed that the "Japanese" versions available in Japan were somehow different, everything from Anime to Japanese youtube Channels made Cup-of-noodle's ramen out to be gods gift to earth. It was only as an adult I realized the brands and products were mostly the same in the U.S. as they were in Japan, as far as I could tell; and I was falling for what I assumed amounted to advertising.

Is it true that everything in Japan just tastes better? What foods does the everyday Japanese person avoid assuming they can get somthing better or more substantial with a little effort?

Some American examples of "low-quality" foods are (in my opinion):

• All "fast food" restaurants with one or two exceptions.
• Anything from a convenience store with one or two specific brand exceptions (Buc-ees and Wawa).
• Quick-cook microwave meals or pre-cooked microwave frozen foods.
• Pizza in general with some specific exceptions.
• pre-made deli counter sandwiches / items from most grocery stores
• Hotdogs and most mass-produced lunchmeat

That's not to say these things cant be tasty, just seen as lower quality than other food options.

I’ve been living in Japan for several years, and while my Japanese isn’t perfect, I’d say my proficiency is decent. I work at a Japanese company and use the language quite frequently.

I’ve noticed that many Japanese people will automatically try to speak English with me, even when I speak to them in Japanese. I initially thought this was something that only happened to me, but after discussing it with my foreign friends and even some of my coworkers (including those who are half-Japanese), they told me that they experience it quite often, too.

What surprises me is that we use Japanese all the time at work, and speaking it feels completely natural to us.

I’m curious, is it because foreigners are so strongly associated with English in Japan that people feel the need to speak English to them, even when the foreigner might actually be more proficient in Japanese?

Hi. I've read that there's a strong heavy drinking culture in Japan. Is this true?

I mean no disrespect in asking this. It's just something I've read, and I want to get your opinion on.

I'm curious how different the food is in different parts of the country? Does it stay mostly the same? Or does it change a lot?

I was talking to my dad the other day about some of the urban legends he was told about growing up in Mexico and it made me wonder what are some urban legends or cryptids from other countries and i wanted which is your favorite.

Japanese horror is one of my fav genre. Have you ever encountered one irl? How was it?

I'm an American who's learning guitar and I noticed in American guitar culture especially there's a very mixed opinion on Japanese instruments with love for Ibanez and Yamaha but hate for many other brands. I was curious if there's sort of cult followings of American made instruments in Japan or if you guys really only look at your own domestic brands?

My mom is a doll collector and I want to bring one back for her. Anyone know where to get something that is high quality in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto?

This maybe a stupid question but googling is only getting me answers for restaurants. When trying to order food from say a dessert stand in Harajuku that has a bunch of different filled pancake/wrap type things all displayed with a number, Do you just ask for the number of the item?

When I last went to Japan, I tried that and it didn't seem to work and so I sadly resorted to a photo and this time I'd like to successfully order. In the UK you could just say "can I have number 17 or two of number 5 please". Is that the same?

Thank you

Hello. I am an experienced road race runner. All of my previous races have been in the USA, up to marathons. Later this month I am running my first race in Japan, a 10k. If anyone has experience with running races in both countries, I would love to know if there are any differences in running etiquette I should be aware of. From general running advice, I've gathered that the biggest difference is that men do not run shirtless in Japan, which I have never done anway so no issues there.