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There's no tipping in Japan, for anything. No tip jars in the coffee shops, nothing. In some of the tourist areas service people like bellmen, taxi drivers, room service, etc., might be used to getting tips from people who don't know the culture and might stick their hand out, but ignore it. Even Western hotels like Marriott don't have tipping. If someone hassles you for a tip, tell the management. They will probably apologize profusely, and the offender will likely lose his job. Because the rules are very strict about behavior to guests, you really don't have to worry about it. I did have one cab driver here in Fukuoka try to "negotiate" a tip- after I paid him with a 10,000 yen note (that's the standard from ATMs BTW) he gave me 5000 and made to keep the rest. I told him to give it over, and he did, but he kept looking at me like I was the one cheating him. Don't fall for it.
Speaking of the ATMs and cash, this is a very cash-oriented culture. Many of the ATMs won't work with non-Japan issued credit cards. Every post office has an int'l ATM, and around the larger hotels you can find them. Some of the convenience stores have them, too, but you can't just assume that every ATM will take your card. If you're shopping in the city core, you can use the card almost anywhere, but smaller shops and restaurants/bars might not accept cards, so you should always have some cash on hand. If you get out of the core of Tokyo, fewer and fewer small places take them. You don't really have to worry about carrying cash here, because it is very safe. Crime against tourists like pickpocketing is almost unheard of.
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