What are some things that my family can do to make our Japanese exchange student feel welcome?

Question:

Im excited that my family and I get to host a girl from Japan this year. She is my age and will be in my grade. It is said she can speak fluent english and I can carry on a simple conversation in Japanese at this moment in time. We have a separate bedroom set aside for her with a desk tv dresser closet bed etc etc and A fish tank if she wants it in there lol. She will be sharing a bathroom and I am in the process of clean out some drawers and shelves for her. I haven't had a chance to speak to her quite yet. I know japanese don't eat alot of red meat and such. We don't eat that much in the house seeing as my Mother is a vegetarian, but we can still pick some up because my dad and I eat meat. My brother is in college over in seattle and my family and I take frequent visits over there so she will come with us often. We have lots of things to do around here. We have access to a ski/snow bard Mouton, couple of zoo, an aquarium, an amusement park, we can go see the mariners in a game,and a couple of water parks. We have alot of woods and wildlife and a river we can swim in. So what are some customs Ishould be aware of? I know about taking of the shoes when they enter the house and I am prepared to do some explaining about the differences in school in america and japan.

Answer:

You can start by giving her a tour of your area - what is worth seeing. What you take for granted may be very new to her - even shopping in a supermarket, with its huge selection and different products will be very different for her, since space is limited and the number of products relatively small in Japan.
Show her some parks and amusement places, spend some time going on walks or hiking.
She may be very quiet and shy at first, but she will open up more as time goes by. Get to know her better, and give her something to do with you, such as gardening or some cleaning. Make her a member of your family as much as you can.
Later one thing you might want to do, perhaps before she goes back to Japan, is rent or buy a beautiful dress and heels and have her picture taken at a professional studio. It's something they don't do in Japan at her age, in fact there is nothing like a prom in Japan at all. She and her family would love it, and it will one day be a precious heirloom she and one day her future children will cherish.
She may feel a bit homesick at first, but these days with the net she can easily stay in touch with family and friends. If she is really attached to back home though, you can always buy some things at Uwajimaya in Washington, or order some Japanese food items out of California, such as at
http://www.marukaiestore.com
http://shop.mitsuwa.com/eng/eindex.php