[steven]

I think you put it quite clearly there-- that's a good way of looking at it and something I overlooked from your earlier posts.

"Per capita alcohol consumption in Japan is quite a bit lower than that in the US, UK, and AUS. However, there are different social and cultural norms in those places, so you may not see it in public."

Is this really true? It may tie into the fact that more people like to drink at home in the US... where more people in Japan are accustomed to drinking when they go out (which makes sense to what you said about there being less of a stiigma there).

I think I was taking a lot of my american perspective into this argument-- being drunk in public is not a bad thing until something bad happens (like drunk driving/accidents or some kinds of lewd activity). I haven't heard of any deaths by drunk driving here in my 2 years of living here-- where I came from there would be about 4 HS kids a year dying from drunk driving related accidents. Like I said, I've seen minor lewd stuff here like boob grabbage, but that was in the context of a snack bar, and I can only imagine what goes on in high school/college parties these days in the US.

But what Nyororin said is an important thing-- there are benefits to looking at a new culture, like the Japanese one you plan on entering, with a very open perspective and not placing too much of your American (?) ideals of what etiquette is on the situations you will encounter. I think that is key to enjoying your time better while you're here. You will definately gain a new perspective and might come to see certain parts of your own culture as strange if you gain the ability to look at them from a Japanese-ish perspective.

This is kind of a weird example, but you can pee in public in Japan (not that people make of peeing in the main streets or anything like that)... but there is comfort in knowing that if you are in a long drive somewhere you don't run the risk of being called a pervert if you decide to take a leak on the side of the road somewhere.

I'd think it a good idea to learn as much about these things before you get to Japan so you can let the shock come and go before you're around the world from your home.

By the way, Misericordias, you have inspired me. I am planning to go out and get a rod sometime around the end of this month so I can go fishing at the crack of dawn before I head into work this summer. My girlfriend and I can make bentos the night before and bring them with us for breakfast and then eat the fish that we catch for dinner. I've been dreaming about doing that since the dead of winter this year.