Wani, I asked about your facility with Japanese - if any - because there are few colleges which offer majors specifically in Japanese studies and fewer still which offer literature classes in Japanese rather than in English translation. When you look at various programs at the schools you are considering, you might want to check this as you delve into the details.
There are also very few colleges which sponsor their own study abroad programs in Japan. Most use programs run by CIEE. When colleges run their own study abroad programs, they typically closely coordinate with their academic program on the American home campus. Not so much if it’s someone else’s program. So, I suggest that you contact the Dept. of Japanese Studies at any college you are considering to see what coordination they do with any study abroad programs in Japan.
When I looked at colleges to suggest, I looked at cities which have substantial Japanese-American populations in the same city. I was surprised to find that Japanese are such a small percent of the population of any city anywhere in the US. But to the extent that such communities exist, you might want to take that into consideration. Study of a culture can be enhanced by leaving campus to connect with local communities. Here’s the Wikipedia page that I looked at: