I would visit Japan for vacation and to see the sites and see what it has to offer but not live their. Japan does has it's own fair share of problems. So just visit or go on vacation that's all.
I've been there as a tourist and although it certainly has its appeal, I also heard not-so-good stories particularly from women who are pursuing graduate studies there. :)
One of my adviser's batch mates was a dissertation-short of completing her PhD when she got pregnant. When she told her adviser, he promptly asked her to just return to the Philippines because she would have no use for the PhD anymore. That's not verbatim, I'm sure, but the thought is there. She wanted to transfer advisers, but the culture of professional respect is so strong in their university that no other professors would take her out of respect for her original adviser.
Oh... um... looks like your comments about mine vanished...
No worries.
I'm not gonna down play it; I'm pretty excited about going this summer.
I'll see how I feel about it while I'm there.
One of my adviser's batch mates was a dissertation-short of completing her PhD when she got pregnant. When she told her adviser, he promptly asked her to just return to the Philippines because she would have no use for the PhD anymore. That's not verbatim, I'm sure, but the thought is there. She wanted to transfer advisers, but the culture of professional respect is so strong in their university that no other professors would take her out of respect for her original adviser.