>>908773
Yeah the line hopping was a little bad in some places. My friend speaks the language and knew the lines from a previous trip, would have been lost without him.
I would say they seem way more structured towards general pedestrian use. The US is very much vehicle first. You CANNOT live here without a car. I think it would help the weight issue a lot if we developed differently. I have to drive 30mins to get to a grocery store where I live. It's the only option. I actually really enjoyed standing and walking around rather than sitting in a car to get around. My energy was way up after a few days of the constant exercise.
Agree on the alcohol too. Not sure about where you are, but 'open container' in public is not legal here, so it was pretty novel to see people casually drinking in public. One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting a little drunk in Osaka at this bar that was just kind of in the street and had a cool bartender. The guy had a jar of this stuff his wife makes at home, it was really good. I went to the nearby Round1 afterwards and embarrassed myself at rhythm games.
>>908805
The only alternative trip we've seriously considered is probably Anime Expo or Comic-con, which is domestic. I keep trying to think of alternatives and it just does not work. I've lived in rural Florida most of my life and now I live in a rural mountain area a little farther north. No other country can give me something that I can't get in another state or an equal experience to Japan's cities. Even the areas that aren't as high tech like Yamanashi felt like a good use of my time.
I missed out on an event while I was there because I went to Akihabara one day early. At least from what I've noticed, they seem to be getting them more frequently. I'd like to get to see one too.
>>908833
Even if you stick to Jap only food, I think you have enough variety. They have plenty of places that imitate western dishes as well. Some of them are good, others are uh.... I'll attach an image for you to see. The main concern is what
>>908844 said. We started measuring our distance after a day or two and we were constantly hitting 9-11 miles of walking per day the entire 16 days. It can be extreme if you aren't ready for it.