Okay, perhaps this is true, but I got the impression that Japan was a little too worried about efficiency when I was recently there. I understand this is an important part of their culture, but resting and enjoying life is a very important part of France's culture just the same.

I thought the trains were so much better in Japan, but then I got to thinking about the scope of the Japanese high-speed rail system, and I don't think there's much of a comparison. France is like Texas with cities everywhere and Paris about where Dallas is; connecting all those cities is a pain, but it's done quite well in France. Japan on the contrary has a bunch of cities along a single line, much like the coast of California - not too difficult to build one right-of-way and have a bunch of monotonous routes along it.

As for stimuli, anyone who has gone to Japan has likely been changed because of the noise pollution everywhere - thankfully you don't find that here.