Compared to Westerners, I think the Japanese a pretty quiet wherever they go. I would talk to gaijin friends on the trains and would constantly be shushhhhhing them because it was a little embarrasing how loud they were. And J-people are usually pretty good about keeping the cell phone conversations down (or at least better than a lot of people I see at home).
Re: Men peeing in public. Yeah, what's up with that!? I could never understand why they thought that was OK. I would see old guys peeing in ditches in clear view of old women, children, etc. without making any attempt to conceal themselves. The only time I ever see that in America is late at night on a weekend right after the bars have closed and it's only young people. If I ever do it in public I at least try to find a place where no one is going to see me.
I let the slurping thing slide even though I find it quite annoying because I know that it's OK in Japan.
What about things Japanese find rude that gaijin do?? For example, I couldn't get used to the fact that I wasn't supposed to eat in public, and I broke this rule a lot. I would always grab an onigiri on the way to work and sometimes got dirty looks from people. Here at home, no one thinks twice about eating in public. On a long JR ride, I'd even sometimes break out a bowl of gyudon from Lawson. I know I shouldn't have, but I just didn't see the harm in it. Am I going to gaijin hell???
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