The Japanese treat most foreigners with incredible, even embarrassing, kindness. There are endless stories of people going out of their way to help, or paying for drinks or even meals after the briefest of encounters. That said, foreigners will always remain "outsiders" ( gaijin ), no matter how long they've lived in Japan or how proficient they are in the language and social niceties. On the positive side this can be wonderfully liberating; you're expected to make mistakes, so don't get too hung up about it. The important thing is to be seen to be trying. As a general rule, when in doubt simply follow what everyone else is doing.