Partly a problem of even the westerners living in expat bubbles and not really adapting.

Not unique to Japan, either. A significant percentage of the western population in Korea lives in Seoul and frequents these same kind of bubbles. I knew Westerners who lived in Korea for years who couldn't read basic Korean, which is sad because it takes about 15 minutes to learn.

But I do think Japan is easy to navigate as a tourist if you pack your humility. I've fucked up numerous times myself, including walking into a hotel lobby with my shoes on. The reaction to that transgression was severe - imagine one of those record-scratch moments in a movie - but was quickly moved past by listening.

This also helped me out quite a bit when my wife's lab brought in a Japanese postdoc. We helped his family navigate US society a bit and we made some lifelong friends out of the deal.

Of all my international friendships, my Japanese friends are the most rock-solid.