Their aboriginal music sounds hauntingly similar to what our Plains Indians produce. It is also relatively under-populated with huge tracts of mountains, lakes and forests. Good for skiing in winter and hiking in the summer and fall. The Japanese frontier. Japan is a fascinating country.
Traffic is heavy, often on three leveled freeways in downtown Tokyo, but order is maintained.
Hard to define, because it is a world unto itself. It maintains its old culture, its sense of aesthetic and harmony, its nature and courtesy. Yet its cities and towns can be horrible and impersonal, the consumer society driven by tastes even more outrageous than the USA, with the combination of kitch, waste of paper, and drunken businessmen simply revolting. Yet it is safe, the people honest and courteous, their patience with each other in overcrowded streets and subways unimaginable in our western egotistical societies. The language, its island mentality make it too homogeneous for my taste, but its energy and search for perfection are highly admirable.