Thank you Crea - that is pretty much exactly what I meant. Not that Tokyo itself is a bad place to live (It`s not to my taste, but that`s beside the point), not that it`s an awful city, etc... But rather that it`s not a place I could comfortably advise a Japanese learner live. Not because the *city* is a problem, but rather the foreign community there. It`s big, everywhere, unbelievably negative, racist, and more than happy to try to recruit you into it`s ranks. If you`re in Tokyo for more than a few months, you will inevitably encounter it regularly.
Obviously, that`s not really the best environment for learning a language or culture. If you want to live in Tokyo, live in Tokyo. But if you want to live in a big city in Japan, there are other options which everyone seems to forget about.
As for the actual livability of Tokyo - it`s more expensive and more crowded than anywhere else in the country. You can live an absolutely wonderful life there, I`m sure, but expect to pay out the nose for it. You can also expect to have more competition for any jobs you can get, as there is a high foreigner saturation and countless others outside Japan who want to live in Tokyo
no matter what (often because that is the only Japanese city they know about).
Which brings me back to my original point - if you want to live in Tokyo then that may be perfectly acceptable... But if your desire is to simply live in a big Japanese city there are others to consider that are cheaper, somewhat less crowded, and with far more employment openings because non-Japanese just aren`t familiar with the city name.
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I feel like you might have a higher standard of living in Germany, like bigger housing, more laidback, fresher air? Well depending on where in Germany I suppose? Again, I don't know much about European schooling, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but that's somehow the image I have compared to Japan.
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Although I am not all that familiar with Germany and can`t comment as I have never been there - I have to say your image of Japan is probably that way because you spent your time in Tokyo. Leave the city (Tokyo in particular) and it`s quite a different world, with expanses of countryside, huge sprawling country houses, beautiful forests and mountains, etc.