What is dating in Japan like?

I'm an American girl who loves reading manga of all sorts and i was wondering what dating in Japan was like. Are shoujo manga basically gross exaggerations of what dating is like in Japan? :) I know that obviously its just manga, and not reality, but sometimes this stuff is based off stereotypes or exaggerated facts. Kind of like movies about American teenagers dating and partying; in my experience, most of the time the parties I go to are never that wild and crazy...most of the time. What do Japanese teens do for dates? Are there any dating taboo's that aren't cool, like PDA's?