This comparison will be snappy quick and simple.  Japan just doesn't stand a chance against the USA in the beer arena.

Japanese Beer is Too Expensive
Japan does make some great-tasting beer, but unfortunately tobacco-loving Japanese politicians decided to tax the crap out of it, building a massive barrier to my regular beer enjoyment (unless you're paying).  Beer isn't good for you, but cigarettes make a much more appropriate taxation target.  Cigarettes are both bad for you and annoy others around you.  Beer at least doesn't give off carcinogenic fumes.  I digress.

To skirt the beer tax and improve sales, Japanese brewers release cheap

During my recent trip back to the States, I engaged in an engaging conversation with a learned compatriot, the staunchly patriotic father of one of my best friends.  I bragged about my enjoyment of the current strong yen / weak dollar situation.  I am a rich man in my home country--almost as rich as Scrooge McDuck from "Duck Tales."  As such, I spoiled myself with flower pedal walkways, palm leaf fan-downs, direct-to-mouth grape feedings, and many a decadent shopping spree during my visit.  I even bought a pony!

My learned compatriot asserted that the dollar is not weak.  How can it be when a single dollar purchases 78 yen?  Meeting the first person not to be

I admit that I'm an anal person.  I'm never late, obsessively tidy, impeccably organized, and borderline OCD.  I'm not without vices, however.  I drink rum like a pirate and am sadly addicted to nori potato chips.  Getting back to the point--maybe the reason Japan and I click so well is because it's just as anal as I am.  Take their airports, for example...

NRT to LAX
Departing Narita airport I embarked for my hometown of Los Angeles.  ANA's internet check-in was a godsend, and Narita's attached shopping paradise made short work of killing the mounds of spare time I inevitably allow myself.  The most pertinent perk for me, though, was the immigration line.  As you'd expect, it was long; but it moved faster than a Shinkansen high on the finest Colombian coffee.  Every single

They're 2 things that I honestly don't think about much and things that Japan isn't really known for, but for that very reason they deserve befitting acknowledgement.  Before moving to Japan I never realized that Japan is really really good at building stuff and really really good at making mouth-watering sauce.

Construction
Ask any 9.0 earthquake and he'll tell you that Japan knows what they're doing when it comes to constructing durable buildings.  I used to wonder why their 50-story apartment buildings all look like drab concrete boxes in want of stylish European flair.  Now I know.  Stylish flair comes at a very expensive price that Japan is not willing to pay--and rightly so.  Japan shakes more than a hyper-powered vibrator high on Jolt cola, so it makes perfect sense to