I lived in Japan for 6 years and found that it's quite an easy place to live in (and I lived in both a rural/industrial backwater as well as the Tokyo megapolis

I lived in Japan for 6 years and found that it's quite an easy place to live in (and I lived in both a rural/industrial backwater as well as the Tokyo megapolis - Tokyo was much more fun). Yes, you do always feel like a foreigner but you also do not feel the pressure to conform to every norm like a typical Japanese person would. There are some signs that Japan is opening up more. For example, when I started working there you had to have your visa renewed every year, by the time I left it was possible to renew for 3 years.