Japanese people,
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While especially the cities may look very modern and Western, the Japanese make the country definitely different from any other. The first and most obvious stumbling block is the language, which oftentimes poses an insurmountable barrier to verbal communication. Japanese is not a very easy language to learn, either in writing or in speaking. And while especially the younger generation has studied English at school, a fluent conversation with a Japanese person is not common.
The gaijin as a foreigner is called here, is an obvious target of awe, of attention, of interest and scare. As a friend of mine who lived in the country for two years once told me: as soon as you are outside, it is like being on stage - everyone watches you! This can result in people preferring to stand in an almost full train rather than sitting next to you, or in taking pictures with the foreigner as the central star. 
The conduct of Japanese people is often prescribed by strict rules and laws. The fact that a foreigner is in principle not aware of those rules, quite often makes for unexpected and sometimes hilarious situations. One of the most common troublecausers is a question to which the Japanese does not know the answer. Saying no is unpolite, so the poor person starts to sweat, move his face away, sometimes even tremble, and then stuttering out an unintelligible response.
