Low-cut tops

I have noticed, during my visit to Japan, that not many women wear low-cut or revealing tops, dresses, etc. which I thought was refreshing and classy.

Is this a personal choice or does the culture or society frown on revealing too much flesh?

Are you kidding? Low cut tops are "in" at the moment. It's just that it's trendy to wear a thin blouse over it, and since Japanese women usually don't have such big breasts, there will be no cleavage showing, therefore making it look less "low".

Of course, since it's freezing winter now, there are definitely less low tops.

Yeah, I've seen many women with low-cut tops. But, as Uco said I think it's the cleavage thing (I haven't seen many women with a cleavage here even in the summer) and the fact that most Japanese women are so thin that even the tightest clothes look loose on them, so their figure is not that enhanced.

did you not notice their skirts??

In the west, most women have nice cleavage but are self-concious about their legs, so you're likely to see jeans and a low cut top. In Japan, most women have no chest but great legs, so they cover up on top and wear miniskirts.

It's just dressing to flaunt your best features, nothing classy about it. ;)

J-women are very sensitive to showing cleavage. Low cut shirts that may be appropriate for work in America are not ok here for work. Basically, if you can see cleavage when you bow, it's too low. I find many J-women wear lace-topped camis under anything they are unsure about.

Western women who are here and are busty will have an even harder time, cause short of a crew-neck or turtleneck just about anything shows that 'crack' when you bend over! Which means your shirts must be even higher than a flat-chested Asian woman.

I would strongly advise against it... I'm in Tokyo at the moment (and yeah, it is kinda cold, I admit, being only the start of spring) but Japanese women (even younger ones) are a LOT more self concious about what they wear. Which is why if you buy, say, a summer T-shirt here the majority have long sleeves. I can honestly say I've never seen a short-sleeved t-shirt while I've been here!
Japanese people defiently like quality over quantity, so they won't wear heaps of jewellery either.

Of course, you might see a bit more flesh in the trendier areas, but not the same amount as in the west. I did bring some tank tops for summer, but it's best if you wear them under something (if you wear them at all.)
Mini-skirts are more acceptable in warm weather, but don't go crazy. Basically if you can see your underwear when you bend over it's too short!

But I can honestly say that (to me, of course!) if theres one thing low-cut tops aren't- it's classy. But, hey, you might think differently!

In mid-summer T-shirts and tanktops are worn by many people, but women over 40 tend to cover up their arms. The chances of being frozen by air-conditioning somewhere are also quite high so a lot of people wear something over their tanktop on the train for example.

It's perfectly acceptable to wear a tanktop almost anywhere, but it's better to wear a bra under it if it doesn't have something built in.

As for miniskirts, I see Japanese girls all the time in dangerously high miniskirts, including high school girls in uniforms- not sure how you missed them, Emily!

As for lowcut tops- whether they are classy or not is definitely a matter of opinion, but one reason you may not see many Japanese girls wearing them much is the same reason I don't- not much in the way of cleavage to speak of. Actually on me, a low cut top ends up not looking low cut at all!

Another reason why women wear long sleaves and high collars even in summer is simply to avoid UV from the sun.

In Japan, there has traditionally been no clothing culture enhancing women's cleavage as has been in the west. Kimono is designed to cover almost all over the body with flat and loose cloth. So we Japanese are still not used to showing or being shown cleavage except on the beach.
Most of those with bigger breasts (including me) have to be sensitive about showing their cleavage when knowing they can be at least given much curious stare in the chest by men.

That's the major reason that most Japanese girls who wear low-cut tops you can see on the streets are flat-chested though certainly the average Japanese woman has the flatter chest comparing to the western counterpart.

Also, just in case you plan on shopping here, the Japanese sizes (for women) is different. For example. you can only get a S M or L in clothes, and an L is about a size 14!
Bras are measured in centermeters, and if you have big feet (say, over a size 8?) good luck!! :)
So you might have to look fairly hard for clothes in your size.
Most japanese women are very slim and small, so even though they could fit into an S, they will wear a M or L, because they don't like wearing really tight clothes (like the west).
I guess just wait until you get to wherever your going, then check out what people are wearing around you so you know whats acceptable.

Oh, and although a lot of Japanese women have fairly average busts, I have seen plently with very large breasts and they still don't wear low cut tops. I guess it must be a matter of likes rather than how big the bust is.

P.S I did note the skirts, but the majority I saw on the train were girls going to stricter schools, so they had to have skirts around knee length (like my school skirt). I did pity some of the shorter skirted ones- they must have been freezing!!

So many of my Japanese friends wear low cut tops!! The girls I knew who had B cups or bigger showed their breasts off in ways that would have been embarassing to me if I were to wear similar shirts. Also, the breasts are not sexual organs, they are for feeding our young and marking females as females. Many cultures do not even view the breasts as sexy in the way we do. So your statement that its more classy to cover the breasts is really a subjective matter of personal opinion. Also, people who are saying that Japanese girls cover up more compared to western girls, please don't make judgements because there are so many exceptions on either side. I dress modestly as do the women in my family and I've got lots of Japanese friends (who I love dearly and have every right to dress however they please) who flaunt what they got.