Internet Kraken said:
You know what bothers me about Japan?
I never hear anything good about it. So how am I supposed to have an opinion of it that isn't negative?
This is the internet. The only things one hears about Japan are the aspects where they differ from one's parent culture.
I could mention, for example, the fact that salespeople are, pretty much as a rule, polite. Japanese taxi drivers (at least the ten or so I've met) are among the nicest and most helpful people you could ever meet. They have an arcade culture that is still going strong, with more varieties of games, and UFO Catchers that hold things besides stuffed animals. Having at least one drink vending machine every half-mile or so within city limits is
extremely convenient. Their public transportation is to die for, especially if you come from the U.S. Most people you could meet will be, at minimum, polite to you. The countryside is absolutely beautiful, especially in spring and early summer, and a few weeks every year, the entire country is covered with cherry blossoms.
I could go on, but I'm starting to sound like a tourist brochure.