ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Is Japan in Asia? Don't laugh. I thought this was a forgone conclusion, but I'm not so sure anymore. I remember when I first came to work in Japan, I had been here several times previously but only on vacation. Someone asked me if I felt any "culture shock". I said of course not particularly, no more than I would in Europe or some western countries, mainly because the standard of living is so high. I could imagine having a harder time elsewhere in the East, the first time I mean, but coming from Japan, not even there did I feel too much of a problem, except for the extremes of wealth and poverty in places like India or Cambodia. Anyway, the reason I ask is that, asking my students where they've been abroad, I noticed most of them preferred traveling to Europe, North America, Australia, and many positively disliked the idea doing so in "Asia", as if Japan wasn't also there. Surely confusing considering that the written language is essentially Chinese, Buddhism comes from India, via China, and Korea I guess. Even now some of my students are still active in Chinese poetry chanting. These are things of the past in some ways but still part of the culture, I should think. So, is Japan in Asia? I hope so. I don't want to lose my bearings.