[olingern]

As a person who has spent a couple of years in college with Japanese, leisure time, and time in Japan -- I can tell you that it's one of the richest cultures I've come into contact with to date. Mind you, that's completely subjective.

One of the things that exists in their culture that doesn't exist in the US is the notion of "oneness." If you get on the train in the morning and observe people going to their jobs, you'll notice that there's almost a "uniform" - very similar suit, haircut, and overall style. In America, individuality has become a disease that has lead to everyone feeling the need to be special and different. I'd argue that this 'disease' is the plague of our politics and economy, as companies nor politicians typically think about society's greater good ( save a handful who are now trying to align business with humanitarian efforts ).

Also, embedded in the language is respect. You use different words and sentence structures to address your friends vs. your boss.

So, what is the value? Probably experiencing life in a different way, and gaining more perspective.