Rule #1 Feign Ignorance.
Pretending you are dumb as a foreigner is not only expected from the Japanese but it is also beneficial. You can listen in on conversations pretending you don't understand them. When you want to be left a lone in the station to avoid the soliciters passing out junk to people, just walk with a glazed over expression, tilt your head to the side, have a creepy smile on your face, stare straight ahead and keep walking. (Think of the scene in Disney's Aladdin where Jasmine and Aladdin first meet in the market place. Jasmine 'steals' an apple and Aladdin makes her pretend she dumb so she can get away. The look on her face is the look you should have.) This rule of thumb also lets gaijin get away with breaking social rules that they are not aware of. It is not however, an excuse to break those rules on purpose. Just know that in Japan, they expect gaijin not to know anything, and it is often very weird for them to hear or meet a gaijin that knows the rules. (And weird is not bad, but it often puts you into the 'other' category which is bad. If you are outside of the norm then it is bad)
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