I’ve moved around a couple of times in my life and one thing that’s universal is foreigners getting in trouble due to unfamiliar scams and quirks of the laws. Since I’m moving to Japan, I’d like to be prepared for these as much as I can ahead of time.
One law I know of is that if you have a bicycle, having it insured is mandatory and that you can only park it at specific locations. I also recall something about how if you buy a kitchen knife, it needs to be in a container while bringing it home or else it’s counted as a weapon and therefore illegal.
As for scams, I don’t know how accurate this is, but I was told that one way certain Buddhist sects would try to recruit people was by having a cute girl lure get men to join them and get them to drink a lot, after which the other sect members would join and offer to pay the bill if he listened to their sales pitch. That could be nonsense though.
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The Nigerian dudes who try to get you to visit their titty bar are actually pretty cool. Obviously never go with them to their titty bar…. But they’re great for asking directions or recommendations for places to go to before the titty bar (which you are absolutely not going to). Not sure if I’m being clear here, but regardless how friendly they are or how horny you get, do not go to their titty bar.
* Trust no one.
* Don’t insult anyone where witnesses are present.
* Don’t punch anyone upside the head, even if they insult you when witnesses are present.
* Do not attempt to join the Fire Brigade.
similar to the buddhist sect thing, people will try to get you drunk/drugged and lure you into scam bars where they massively overcharge you and won’t let you leave (like big strong men block the door) until you pay. They will follow you to an ATM if they have to, you are paying.
That part about only parking your bicycle in certain places is legit. I lived in Kyoto, the cops will not hesitate to impound entire blocks of illegally parked bicycles.