I have to say that I have never been a fan of manga and that my attraction to the country has never stemmed from that. I think it's a bit "distorted" to say that most people become interested in Japan through manga and anime. Perhaps people in this forum. . .but obviously we're dealing with a biased sample.
I became interested in Japan for a variety of reasons: religion, art, and nature just to name a few. I've been living in Japan some years now and am currently doing research in a small moutain village in Nagano. Manga nor anime have never been a part of it.
We need to be careful in our characterizations of Japan. . .it's not a homogenous country--not everyone has the same cultural or social traits. That's not to say we can't talk about "Japan", but I think such a complex country (as all countries are) deserves more nuance.
Anyway, that's my $.02. You can read about a different kind of Japan on my
blog, where I write about my life in "inaka".