The Five Most Bizzarre Things in Japan

After travelling for the first time in Japan I understood why the Japanese people are so impressed by European culture: because their world is a totally different one, far away from ours, sometimes a bit weird and absurd from a Western point of view.

Here are the five most bizarre things I have seen in Japan.

The toilet remote control

Entering a Japanese water close is just an incredible experience. I found myself in front of a proper multifunctional remote control and the urge to press every button and see what would happen was almost overwhelming. Just a switch and you will end in a parallel universe with warmed borders, anti-embarrassment music, embedded dryers and featured sounds for the flush.

The locked umbrella stand

In Japan the care for guests knows no limit and many restaurants have an umbrella stand where you can leave yours without fearing to confounding it with others or to lose it. Simply genius.

Passport photos from outer universe

According to Japanese fashion to be up-to-date you have to look like a Westerner and therefore to have blond hair and use lenses kit for light blue eyes and small patches to broaden the eye shape. Combined with their passion for passport photos, this mix brought to life whole shops crowded with automatic machines for any possible kind of photo and digital features.

Passport photos from outer universe - Japan

Tridimensional menus

Japanese food is great and eating in a Japanese restaurant is a great experience. So why are the Japanese people trying to waste it those horrible 3D menus at the entrance? Detailed synthetic copies which should encourage the customers but really achieve the opposite effect.

Tridimensional menus - Japan

Sleeping Japeneses

The Japanese people are often tired and they sleep everywhere: tub, bus, bars, shopping malls… The reason? Beside the exhausting shifts, most of times they have long distances to cover every day from home to work. Moreover, their flats are often very small, so they spend most of their free time outside. Add a strong ability to adapt and you will understand why you encounter people sleeping everywhere you go.

Sleeping Japeneses - Japan
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My roots are Emilia Romagna, Italy, but my job led me to Milan. When I'm not travelling I'm busy with marketing, events and social media. Since I started my blog writing has coupled my passion for travelling.

1 thought on “The Five Most Bizzarre Things in Japan”

  1. The toilet buttons ARE bizarre though I think the remote you showed was the simplest I’ve seen! One thing that was very bizarre to me was the hentai and regular pornography available out in the open on magazine racks in convenience stores like 7-11. No censorship what-so-ever. I don’t expect to see breasts when I’m looking for a city map!

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