I love going to Japan, but I also know its flaws, perhaps better than someone who has been there only as a tourist.

For example, the storied politeness flies out the window when you're on a commuter train at rush hour or when a bureaucrat is trying to throw his weight around. Although things have improved vastly since I first went to Japan in the 1970s, one often sees scenes of environmental degradation that are at odds with the country's supposed love of nature. It builds world-class public transit systems but also spends enormous amounts of money on super highways to nowhere. Its educational system gives it perhaps the highest average level of functional literacy anywhere, but the pressures of this system create social misfits. It is a peaceful society with some of the grossest horror fiction and movies ever. Private spaces tend to be antiseptically clean, while public spaces, especially toilets, can be downright squalid. They treat visitors as honored guests, but except in certain provincial areas, they're not really friendly, as in "open to casual conversations with strangers."

I could go on, but on the whole, I enjoy being in Japan, perhaps because this homogenous society is so full of contradictions and odd little aspects that somehow thrive. The first time I went (for a year's stay), I was afraid that I

In my experience, most tourists who are not interested in going to Japan (other than those who simply aren't interested in Asia, period) believe that it is impossibly expensive. In fact, one can travel in comfort and safety, although not luxuriously, for less than one can travel in comfort and safety in northern Europe.

I think it's a great first Asian country to visit. It's different from Western countries, and yet the visitor is unlikely to encounter any street crime or scams or contract any unpleasant diseases. But other countries have their attractions, too.