Japanese is often considered an indirect and ambiguous language, and that's because it is. The national character, too, often appears passive and indirect to non-Japanese. As a result, it can be tempting for newcomers to take a lead from Frank Sinatra and do things "My Way," and generally this works just fine. It can even be seemingly consequence-free for the worst (linguistic and nonlinguistic) behavior.
But there are actually many indirect, not-so-easy-to-detect judgments of your behavior happening around you. The more you appreciate this, the more difficult it becomes when you find it necessary to be extremely frank and direct — for example, when asking a question or making a request.
Luckily, the language contains several specific ways to make a line of questioning more indirect. These may at first seem unnecessary to students of Japanese, but learning some of the smaller, "ornamental" aspects of the language can make your command of the language more precise and help you win friends and influence the locals.