First Days in Japan & More! (Laundry Vid/Answering Your Stupid Questions)

Here are the questions:
Do you think it would it be better to do a study abroad program or come on my own for my first visit to Japan? I'm considering either a program that would involve Japanese language instruction and living with a host family for a few weeks or coming to Japan for a week or two on my own to scope things out. Which would you recommend? Since the latter option would be less expensive (and therefore preferable in that regard), do you think I can get a feel for Japan by visiting on my own, or do you think the structure of a study abroad program would give me a clearer picture/better experience of what it's like to live in Japan?

Gift-giving. I've heard it's customary to give small, thoughtful gifts to your host family and/or boss, so I had a few questions about that:
Should I bring a small gift for each person in my host family's household, or just one gift for the whole crew? Should I get a gift for my new boss, and if so, when is a good time to give it to him/her?
Being from Kentucky, bourbon is the first thing that comes to my mind as a gift that would be unique to my home (one of the small-batch brands, only available in Kentucky, of course--seeing as Suntory just bought Beam, and based on the spirits selection shown in your videos, it's obvious that bourbon and whiskey are well-known and well-loved in Japan!). Would bourbon be an appropriate gift to my host family or boss?
When is a good time to give gifts? Is this timing of gift-giving as riddled with unspoken rules at the internet would have me believe?

General stuff. (or, the random things I worry about and probably shouldn't...)
Baths! If I do end up with a host family, I've heard that everyone takes a bath almost every night, one after the other. I'm totally cool with this (sounds pretty nice, actually), but I wonder how long should you take in the bath? Is there a kind of general time range? I feel this is a weird question, but I don't want to accidentally be rude and take too long or something and inconvenience the family...
Roads/signage. I've heard that lots of the streets aren't marked well. Since I have a comically bad sense of direction, any advice on not getting lost on my way home? (On a slightly tangential note, how did delivery people get to the right address before GPS if the roads aren't well marked?)

What's the general entrepreneurial climate in Japan, especially for gaijin? As a business owner yourself, what are some of the pitfalls or challenges you've faced? Are there any that you believe are unique to running a company in Japan? If I end up settling down in Japan, I would like to fulfill my goal of starting a cultural consulting firm, so I would be really interested to hear any advice you might have!
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