Back in Japan! Fell asleep early, so woke up around 3:00 AM. This suuuuucks!
Actually my question was pretty dumb, because I've had Asahi and Sapporo on a number of occasions. They're definitely better than the Korean macro-brews (I'd rate Asahi at about a 6/10, while Hite is like a 3.5/10), but the lack of variety is something I'd miss, particularly since I'm an IPA/Stout kind of guy.
There is an extremely high tax on the amount of malted grain used in beer over in Japan, which is why craft is crazy expensive and adjunct lagers brewed by the big guys are dominant.
Sitting in my office and out my window I see a guy wearing a "Jesus is Truth" hoodie holding a sign that says "TIME IS RUNNING OUT. Repent or Parish." He's yelling at the kids going home and waiting for the school bus. Everyone just walks right by him...
Jesus-dude was feeling my impending departure from The Land of Good Beer; I repented on my final evening, enjoying Lagunitas' Hairy Eyeball, Sierra Nevada's DevESTATEstion, and finally some Firestone Double Jack. Then, on the plane home, I felt like having one last beer: mistake. I had a Kirin Lager, and it just emphasized what crap I'm going to endure for the foreseeable future.
Actually, AWESOM-O, Stouts have become popular in Japan, and are readily available in many places. Each macrobrewery has a couple stout versions up, and Guinness is available on tap in many bars. But if you meant interesting craft stouts, you'll be as out of luck as with IPAs.