Ah, I went there this January. It was really cool! You can see a special video and look around at a lot of interesting exhibits. No pictures are allowed inside though.

Ha ha, yeah. I'm working on improving my cooking. My boyfriend's mom is teaching me how to cook real Japanese food. I'm not a great cook in general so I'm glad I'm finally learning the basics.

Well, one thing to be aware of is that you won't be a "real" elementary teacher unless you have excellent credentials and get employed at a private school to work full-time. Foreign English teachers aren't generally held to the same standards as regular Japanese teachers and are usually just assistants in the classroom part-time, they don't usually teach alone.

Honestly, I don't really want to be a real teacher since that means you also have to "volunteer" your free time in the evenings and weekends to teach sports or after school clubs. My boyfriend is a full-time teacher. His workday technically ends just a few hours after mind does, but he's required to coach a sports club which means he's at school until around 7pm everyday and he's also at school from the early morning until the afternoon every weekend.

If you're employed as an ALT, then most likely you won't be teaching at an elementary school full-time. Full-time elementary school positions are relatively rare (at least in my prefecture) although most ALTs visit a few elementary schools on a weekly or monthly basis. If you do teach at elementary, then most of your classes will probably be with 5th and 6th grade students. That's the age that students across Japan are officially required to begin English lessons.

Sorry if this is too much information. I just don't want you to get the wrong impression since a lot of the people who come here and end up miserable are the ones who had super high expectations.

Good news is that there are tons and tons of shrines and temples everywhere you go! The most famous place for them is Kyoto, but there are a lot of other famous spots around Japan. And even regular little towns general have a few.

Traditional restaurants are also really easy to find. They're most commonly found near places known for shrines and temples or other places with historical importance. You can also stay the night at a ryokan (traditional hotel) if you want to experience "old Japan". Hot springs are nice too!

Not really sure what you're asking. The visa I have allows me to stay and work in Japan for 5 years. If you visit as a tourist, you'll get a stamp in your passport that says you can stay for a few months, but must leave after that. You usually need to find a job before you can get a visa though, since your employer will be the one who sponsors your visa. Some people come as tourists and then find a job, but I found employment through JET which gave me a visa before I arrived in Japan.

I pay taxes and stuff out of my salary, but I don't have to do anything special. It's automatically taken out before it's deposited in my account.