Lots of people have misconceptions about various destinations. Personally, I've been guilty of:
- Thinking Tokyo would have been badly affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
- Thinking Tokyo would be a difficult destination for solo English-speakers.
not to mention non-travel related misconceptions about Japanese culture, such as thinking that Japanese people wore chopsticks in their hair.
If someone has a misconception about a country, such as thinking Japanese people don't eat meat or that it's unsafe to stay in a prefecture next to Fukushima prefecture for eight hours, by all means correct them of their misconception, but don't ridicule them.