"Japan is a dark place. It is a dying civilisation; a vice-infested, overpopulated society of drinkers, gamblers and smokers; an aging demographic where change is frowned upon and facades are the norm; where people will do most anything to make a name for themselves; where insecurities and identity crises are misconstrued as politeness and honour; a country that stifles creativity and burns out innovation, seeking to subdue efficiency and stamp its product with a culture that hides behind festivity and self-effacement, and pumps out clone after clone of lifeless, aspiration-quenched servants.
But it is also a place of great history and myriad marvels, where you can travel but a small distance and experience a different part of the overarching culture. There are so many subcultures existent within these shores that it is like a hotpot of various dishes, all blended together but each with its own unique, separate flavour.
Sure, anime has gone to the dogs, most people refuse to change or to step outside the box, and the country is in dire financial straits. But living here -- even out in the middle of nowhere where there isn't even a convenience store and the local grocery store shuts at 7pm -- is a unique experience and one that the adventurous traveller dare not pass up."
I am not really endorsing this, but there is a depressing truth to what is said.
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