All of the surface things that draw a lot of attention–the way people dress, their public behaviors, some of the products in the stores–fades away eventually.  Even temples become about as interesting as churches and kanji just look like any other letters. 

But the wonder of those things is replaced by something more fundamentally weird, which is the interpersonal interactions between people.  Japanese people as a whole are socialized quite differently from people in the West, and they behave quite strangely from a Western perspective.  Of course, you can turn that around and say that Westerners also behave strangely.  It just depends on who’s holding the microscope. 

So while I agree that it’s a mistake to focus on wacky stuff, I think the wackiness of the people will ensure Japan remains plenty weird for years to come.