[samurai007]

I can certainly see your point. I had an extremely tiny, old, drafty apartment that shook every time the train to Osaka rumbled by from 5 AM until midnight. It was blazing hot and humid in summer and bone-chillingly cold in winter thanks to no insulation or central air or heat. I had no car, but used a bike and train to get around, including in rain, heat, or snow. Carrying groceries or my new stereo home was a pain. I had no internet connection and no computer, and only 1-2 shows a night were broadcast with English on the 2nd audio channel (and 1 of those was the NHK news, the other maybe a rerun of X-Files or some old show). I lived far more simply than I do now, and I can't imagine going back to that. If I ever did live there again, it would be very different than I was willing to live 10+ years ago, but then, both I and Japan have changed a lot in that time.