Advice to the Tuscaloosa delegates coming to Narashino in June...
First, shoes. You will need a pair of "indoor" shoes that you will carry with you to school and change into before going inside. There are no janitors in Japanese schools, the kids have to clean the school every day, so, to help keep the floors clean, Japanese school kids have two pairs of shoes for school, one for indoors and one for outdoors. They all have the same kind of sneakers that are a part of their school uniforms, but since you won't have these, you will need to bring some shoes to wear inside. The style doesn't really matter; the teachers wear anything from dress shoes (not the kind that scuff the floors), to sneakers, to Birkenstocks. The main thing is that they are clean. Ideally, they should be new shoes that you haven't worn outside, but, you could also wash a pair of your shoes really well. Just realize that if you don't bring a clean pair of shoes to wear indoors, you'll be given a pair of slippers to wear, and these slippers are possibly the most uncomfortable footwear ever designed by man.

Next, the food.

The main reason I mention the food is that a very nice lady here in Narashino was telling me about how she hosted a student from Tuscaloosa, and the student hated the school food, and asked to be taken to McDonalds everyday. Hearing stories like this make me cringe.

If you are going to be eating school lunch food, all I can say is, I'm sorry. Even if you like Japanese food, you will probably not like the school lunch food. Before I came to Japan, I loved Japanese food, even some Japanese home-cooking that many people in America had never heard of, but I still hated the school lunch food at first. I have gotten used to it now, but it took me a couple of months, and you won't be here that long.

But, let me just say that no one expects you to like all the food you are given. It's likely to be very different from what you're used to, and Japanese people will understand that. And that goes double for the school lunch food. So don't worry if you can't eat it. However, you will earn a lot of respect for yourself if you at least try the food.

Outside of school lunch, I would say that, more than likely, your host will go completely overboard in the food department. Japanese people go to great lengths to please their guests, and, because they usually think of Americans as eating much more than they do, they often prepare endless amounts of food if their guest is an American. I have yet to be invited to a Japanese home where I wasn't given way more food than I could ever eat. The good news is that the food itself is likely to be much, much better than the school lunch food, and since your stomach will probably be growling from not being able to eat much at lunch time, you will probably be more than delighted to stuff yourself.

However, it could be embarrassing for both you and your host if you don't like the food, so my suggestion would be to come armed with a list of Japanese foods that you know you like, and don't be afraid to subtly suggest to your host that you're just DYING to try the...whatever. They will likely be amazed at your knowledge of Japanese cuisine, and probably be more than willing to provide it.

There are a few Japanese restaurants in Tuscaloosa (Bento on The Strip and Tokyo on the way to Shelton, and a Japanese steak house in Northport, though I can't remember its name) where you can get a taste, though they are all a bit expensive. But, realize also that the Japanese food in Japan is infinitely better than Japanese food in Tuscaloosa, so you shouldn't rule something out based on the fact that it was gross in Tuscaloosa. On the other hand, if you like it in T-Town, you'll probably love it here in Japan.

And actually, your host will likely ask you what kinds of food you like. But please, as a personal favor to me, please, please, please don't resort to the "American fast-food comfort diet." If you miss home and need a Big Mac once or twice while you're here, fine (though, I personally recommend Wendy's, Narashino being one of the few towns in Japan that have one), but if you start begging for McDonald's everyday you'll run the risk of reducing yourself to a walking stereotype in the eyes of your host. Besides, food is a huge part of a cultural experience, and you don't need to fly to the other side of the globe to eat McDonalds.

I will add more later. Also, feel free to add questions or comments, and I will reply.