My daughter went to Japan to teach English for a year and stayed for 10. She had a wonderful job in a private English school after a year with Nova, she rode her bike to work and never had to use a lock on it, and she lived in a lovely 3B double storey share house with a Canadian guy and a Japanese girl. They had a communal garden area out the back which they shared with surrounding houses. In winter, she went snowboarding at Hakuba every weekend. She made many friends from all over the world. I think you're right about those three things!