This is a very interesting thread. There are many observations, opinions, and perspectives expressed here. I would like to comment on a few items mentioned in this thread. Mind you, these are the very generalized opinions and individual mileage may vary.
1. There are always some people in each and every country who have shut off outside world and are happy to live in his/her own conclave.
2. In general, lower working class is not known for higher education and worldly knowledge. (there are always exceptions as there are knowledgeable people in the lower working class). If you evaluate the culture or country based on its lower working class (I am using this term very loosely), the outcome is going to be less than stellar.
3. Like other forum members mentioned, Japanese people tend not to express his/her mind freely so as not to deviate from the social norm/expectations. For example, the Japanese language tends to incorporate some ambiguity as you can change "Do (positive)" or "Do Not (negative)" at the end of the sentence by evaluating how the other party is responding to you.
4. Reading the other party's mind is considered a necessity and virtue to be socially functional in Japan. It's difficult to coax what's in his/her mind as you cannot solely count on what he/she says; facial expressions, tone of voice, and such can convey more meaning and accurate thoughts and can aide you with better understanding of what the other party is really thinking.
5. I also feel some Japanese are not comfortable with people who are from different cultural backgrounds or countries. Shima-guni (island nation) mentality still dies hard.
6. Those so-called compliments (you can speak Japanese, you can use chop sticks, you can sleep on futon, and etc) can be part of the cultural expectation as "Odateru (complimenting or sucking up)" is considered a good thing to some extent. Odateru has a bad connotation; so it is more like "Kuchi-ga-umai (good with words)" in this context.
7. Once we start doing which nationality asks most stupidest and dumbest questions imaginable, the contest will be a draw among all the humanity on earth. There are always some people in each culture and country who has no clue about even asking a question, let along understanding and accepting there are other cultures and other perspectives, because they lack knowledge or education or they are simply intellectually challenged (PC speaking here).
8. Like any other people, Japanese will keep some thoughts/opinions to themselves or their inner circle and some to be broadcasted to the general public. Since many Japanese do not say what they are really thinking (this is good and bad as you don't want to say anything which comes to your mind) so that they don't break the social norms, I feel the appearance of ambiguity can be put in the spot light.
9. In general, the Japanese value consensus building and prefer fitting in the mold the Japanese society shapes. There is a saying "Deru kugi wa utareru (The nail which sticks out will be hammered in)" in Japan. I think this psyche is getting weaker and less prominent as the Japanese have to be more progressive, excel at what they do, compete more with other people in this global economy we are in, and become more individualistic. But, I feel it is still there deep down. I think this national psyche somewhat contributes to the general unease with foreigners (who are of course from other countries which are different from Japan) among Japanese people.
10. I believe the topic of 4 seasons the previous posters mentioned can be misunderstanding and misinterpretation by some Japanese people. When I was a student in Japan (up to high school and one year in college), I was taught and studied the world geography including climate conditions in each geographical regions (and more, of course). I used to memorize all of the names/locations of the major nations/their capitals along with other high lights of each country when I was in junior/high school years. I believe Japanese textbooks may have over-simplified this topic by comparing the Japanese climate with the world at large (which includes the tropical weathers and all). People tend to have selective memory and will always remember the easiest and simplest things even after years of no use (it is quite rare for people to brush up on their geography, math, science, history, and other subjects after they are done with formal education). I think the "four seasons" misconception by Japanese some forum members met can be one of those cases.
11. Some Japanese people still consider their mother tongue (Japanese) as un-crackable code which can be understood only among their follow countrymen/women. I also think the Japanese education system portrays Japanese language as complex compared to other Western languages (it's possible this is to drum up the national pride by looking down on other countries/cultures). Of course, learning Japanese is not harder than any other new languages you may decide to study; any language people speak can be learned. I work at a Japanese subsidiary company in USA and I came across with situations where Japanese transplants (managers transfered from Japan for 2 to 10 year assignments in the foreign countries) do a quick surveillance on the people working in that office to know who speaks/understands Japanese. In general, most of the local hires do not speak nor understand Japanese; so they are able to freely express their thoughts in Japanese, which oftentimes are Japan-centric in nature. But, there are some awkward moments when some local hires understand Japanese and those managers are a little taken aback.
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