Redbird, Japan is one of the cleanest, friendliest countries in the world. They hire people to clean the handrails of escalators in their public train stations! I don't think I've ever seen anyone actually take the time to do that before. One the Shinkansen, they actually replace the mats on the headrests with fresh ones so that you're not resting your head against something some one else was just before and they take the time to wash down the arm rests and the tray tables. Keep in mind, they have only five minutes to do this throughout the entire train before it takes off again.

Don't get me wrong, America is great, but I would eat off the floor of the trains in Japan. I won't even dare sitting in the seats on the train in Chicago or New York. Plus, our history only goes back a couple of hundred years. Japan has thousands of years in rich, colorful history to look at.

If you think their people walk around like robots... We once asked a waitress for directions to the nearest bus stop. She asked around the entire diner until she found a local who was willing to WALK us the TWO MILES up to the nearest stop! Those were mighty friendly robots! Next time you want to judge a country, try actually exploring it first. If this is the opinion you left with, you didn't do enough looking around. It's a wonderful country with delicious food (you should try a hotpot or their Oyako) and everyone was tremendously friendly.

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