I’ve been to Misawa, Tokyo, Hachinohe, Lake Towada, Iwakuni, Yokosuka, Sasebo, Atsugi and Okinawa (personal favorite).
At times it did seem a bit bleak, but it’s possible I just felt that because I was an outsider. Americans are definitely not treated the same as locals there, but I suppose that’s no different than any other culture.

Overall, I absolutely loved Japan; quite an amazing culture. I’ll never forget my experiences there.