There are lots of nice Japanese stainless steels...
Akifusa's heat treatment of SRS-15 is pretty amazing... Holds a hair-shaving edge for an outstanding period of time, but is amazingly easy to sharpen and de-burr for such a wear resistant powdered-metal steel, and actually doesn't feel as bad as some stainless's on the stones. First knife I've ever owned that actually holds an edge for a month of daily home use, but you would never know it when sharpening; the edge comes back to life with a few strops on a finishing stone almost like carbon.
Hitachi Ginsan/Ginsanko steel can be quite special depending upon the heat-treat... Some say that it's the Shirogami of stainless steel's, and whilst the iteration I have tried doesn't quite match that description, I have found it an enjoyable steel to work with. Nice to sharpen when paired with the right stones; it's pretty fine-grained, and doesn't feel 'rubbery', or 'crunchy' like some SS can. It takes a good edge, although not exactly like carbon. Edge retention is 'good'; I can get about a week out of it in a home kitchen between sharpening without a touch-up. It does sharpen nicely on J-Nats, though, which is nice; not all SS's do due to their carbide structure.
VG-10 is a love it or hate it kind of steel, and it all depends upon the heat treat... Sadly, the company who's heat treat of this steel I like the best of the makers I have tried just makes pocket knives out of it (Spyderco), but when it's done right it's a nicely balanced steel. Not a super steel, nor a flavor of the month, or a carbon wannabe, but just a nice reliable stainless. I've also tried versions that are just kind of mediocre, and some versions sold at popular kitchen stores are supposed to be downright nasty, so it really depends upon who's working with it.
ZDP-189 is another love it or hate it steel... I prefer SRS-15 slightly, but ZDP-189's still a great PM steel by most standards. Its corrosion resistance is more 'semi stainless' than 'stainless', and it's a little harder to sharpen than SRS-15, but the version I have tried @ 64-65hrc is not a pig on the stones by any stretch of the imagination. Compared to most western SS, it's actually pretty joyous to work with, and takes/holds a superb edge.
If you're interested in also playing with some semi-stainless steels, SLD (Hitachi's refined version of D2) is almost stainless, and the iteration I own (Hiromoto) is surprisingly nice. Durable, has great edge retention, doesn't feel bad on the stones... It doesn't get quite as sharp as carbon, or even some of the SS's listed above, though. You can still get it to shave hair (Which according to most D2 users, is a miracle.), but you'd never want to use a razor made of the stuff. It's a tool steel, and feels like it.
Hopefully this helps...
- Steampunk