I'd have to agree with
JapJok,
ON, if you hope to achieve some of 1-6, you can forget about sending any money home to dear old Mum on 3
1/2 grand/month.
The usual price for a beer is 500 yen a glass (that's close to $5), so a few hours of drinking with a young
bijin
whilst trying to impress on her how lost and lonely you feel in this foreign country, is going to set you back at least $100.......$300 or $400 is not uncommon for a full night!
The Japanese ladies often undergo strange transformations though, once a male decides to give them some attention.
They suddenly change from being a girl who will sit on ONE glass of orange juice ALL night, to a dehydrated, bottomless well capable of consuming their own body weight in cocktails (at 800-900 yen....$8/9 dollars each) in an hour!!
And guess who's going to get the bill??
On the subject of teeth, it seems to me that although there are still quite a few who have some pretty ugly smiles, there is an awareness of what seems to be a Japan-wide problem, and many have undergone teeth straightening and whitening.
Perhaps, again, it's part of an old Japanese cultural tradition, when women blackened their teeth.
The women that you might find appealing,
ON, may be totally UNattractive to Japanese males, who look for traditional Japanese facial features that Westerners don't.
So there you go - YOU may well find that YOU are a high demand item in Japan!!
Yes smoking is prevalent here - I was reading that 70% of Japanese males, and over 40% of Japanese women smoke. Cigarettes are relatively cheap, compared with other countries, and many restaurants make no provision for a non smoking section, so it's not unusual to be seated next to a table of smokers, who have no consideration for non-smokers....."Do you mind if I eat while you smoke??"
Actually,
JJ, I am quite impressed with some of the building materials used here - it's not
all plastic, much of it is a combination of compositions.
As all building specs are standard sizes here, it's not unusual to see a vacant block of land one day, and a fully completed house on it two weeks later - pretty amazing really!
But of course, NOTHING in Japan is made to last for more than about 5 years - it is obsolete and out of style by then, and houses here depreciate as they get older....like a car. So although a building might be in good repair, and look solid, it's value is far less than a comparatively new one.
As a result, older houses and buildings are regularly demolished and replaced, for no reason other than their age.
I tend to think that is why some of the very old shrines and castles are so revered - they have been LUCKY enough to have escaped this urge to continually rebuild the nest!
Japan is the halitosis capital of the world.
Hmmm, I awarded THAT title to Korea - the combination of kimchi and garlic is almost life threatening!