Visiting US for the first time?

Question

i m visiting US from Tokyo next week for the first time.please give me some good tips, since its a big country.airport is big.immigration rules are tough.

Answer 1

Wow, this is a change. Usually the question is, "I'm planning to move to Japan because I love the culture (read: anime) - what should I expect?!"

Nice to see the question go the other way for once. Compared to Japanese, Americans tend to be a little less fake, therefore, don't expect the fake politeness that Japanese give to Americans on vacation there. If you are visiting in a large city, people will likely be too busy with their own life to care about you. If you are in a small town, quite the opposite. I don't think there is a large Japanese population where you are headed, so you will stick-out amongst the crowd, like a foreigner sticks out in Japan.

If you are cute, guys will likely try to talk to you. But if you're not, you have nothing to worry about. LOL...Some Americans like Japanese, some don't, so expect both reactions. Oh, and many people will probably think you are Chinese anyway.

Answer 2

Nobody speaks Japanese there.

Nobody believes you can't understand English there.

Answer 3

Ummm. Just have fun =]  Don't upset police as there are some crooked cops in the US.  Theres not many tips to give, though. I suppose it's just like Japan, just some different laws and freedoms.

Answer 4

US is noway like Japan . People are rude , have no manners and are absolute idiots.

Don't expect the Japanese politeness in the US ..

Answer 5

Most everyone will assume you're an American until you show them otherwise. By this I mean it's not like in Japan where people automatically assume you're a foreigner if you have a "foreigner face." Just looking the way you are, people have no idea if you've lived in America your whole life or not.

Some people are rude and some are impossibly kind. It really depends on where you go and what kind of moods people are in. To be honest, people in airports tend to be rather stressed so I would try to be open-minded.

In the South, they're kind of like Osakans I guess... you'll know what's on their minds no problem. People in the East tend to be a bit more to themselves. These are all generalizations though.

The best advice I can give you is to be kind to others. People will feel uncomfortable around you if you always seem nervous or scared of them so just try to be friendly.

Immigration isn't tough at all. No drugs, no alcohol if you're underage, no smart-talking the people that are there to protect the country you're entering (and this applies to any country you enter!) so just treat people the same like you would in Japan. You'll feel nervous but they're not out to **** around with the innocent people. They're just tough and stern because they want to discourage bad behavior from other people.

If you edit where exactly in the US you plan on going that would be easier for us to answer your question =D

EDIT: Here's a map of the terminal just in case: http://www.metwashairports.com/dulles/fl...

One thing I thought of--try to minimize Katakana English. You might be already aware of this so I apologize if you are! Words like アルバイト and　コンビニ may <sound> like English but I can bet you only a small percentage of the population will understand what you're saying (the first is from German and the second is a shortening of convenience store).

Again, just keep an open mind and try your best to communicate. Shyness will do you no good at all except to make you lose out on the possibility of good experiences! If you feel uncomfortable, pay attention to your surroundings. Don't wander around alone at night (common sense in any country with which you are unfamiliar!) and if possible ask a station attendant or someone in the area if there are places you should avoid for any reason. Be friendly and you should have few or no problems at all!

Everyone I've asked about their experiences with Maryland have given mixed responses depending on whether they lived there or not! Apparently it's nicer to visit then to live in so you should have a good visit.