Japan is known as the Land of the Rising Sun,
but it could also be called the Land of singing toilets, or the country of the blue traffic
light. There are so many things that make it a whole
other world. Get ready to explore! 1. Square watermelons. They were invented back in the '70s by a graphic
designer to fit compactly in the fridge and be cut more easily. Japanese farmers grow them in special containers
to get the shape. Since theyâre pretty expensive, people donât
buy them as food, but rather as a decorative item. 2. Ramen noodles bath. The Yunessun Spa Resort in Hakone offers its
guests the pretty unique experience of splashing around in a vat of pork soup and ramen noodles. While this may sound crazy to many people,
the Japanese believe that soaking in such a bath is good for the skin because a broth
made of pork is rich in collagen. 3. Bizzare flavors of Kit-kat. Chili pepper, wasabi, sweet potato, grilled
corn, soybean, salt watermelon, mango, green tea â that's only a short list of the Kit-Kat
flavors you can try in Japan. Which one would you try? Let me know in the comments! 4. Fake food. Specialists make this kind of food from plastic
or wax, and it looks just as delicious as the real one. Many restaurants use fake food to display
their popular dishes in the windows and attract hungry clients. Usually, these replicas cost much more than
the dishes they imitate. 5. Rabbit island. Back in the '40s, scientists brought a number
of rabbits to Okunoshima Island to do some tests. However, later on, the animals were freed
and started to multiply. Now the island is full of them and attracts
a lot of tourists. 6. Purikura machines. Taking photos in a booth is nothing new, but
Japan added its own exciting twist to this experience. Their photo booths, called purikura, allow
you to edit photos right on the spot, adding different backgrounds, funny stickers, or
writings. Also, you can send the pictures to your cell
phone. 7. People pushers. Subways and train stations get really overcrowded
during rush hour. That's why the station staff and part-time
workers have to perform the routine procedure of pushing people inside trains to fit in
as many passengers as possible before the doors close. 8. Umbrella parking lot. Before going inside a building, you can âpark
and lockâ your umbrella just like you do with your bike. Now you can be sure no one will take it, and
you wonât make a puddle on the floor if your umbrella is wet. Many government buildings, offices, and hotels
have this sort of umbrella rack. 9. Millions of vending machines. Japan has more than 5 million of them! Mostly because they save time for people who
work late hours, which is a pretty common thing there. Besides, Japanese vending machines arenât
just for snacks and soda. You can buy basically anything â from live
lobsters to underwear - in these machines. 10. Tokyo's biggest resident. In 2015, Godzilla was granted citizenship
in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward. The authorities presented a special certificate
stating his new residency, and also made him a job offer â Godzilla became the tourism
ambassador. Later, they even installed a Godzilla head
171-feet above ground at Toho, the movie studio that made the original movie back in 1954. 11. Train delays make headlines. Punctuality is a really big thing there, and
train stations do everything possible to avoid a delay. If a train is 5 minutes late, the railway
company might have to issue a delay certificate for railway workers and passengers who missed
an important appointment. And if the delay is longer than an hour, then
the railway company might give an official apology in newspapers. 12. âSilentâ Karaoke. This is a special microphone with a cone that
you place over your mouth. It muffles most of the sounds when you sing. It was designed for people who donât want
to wake up their neighbors, and those who feel shy about belting their favorite tunes
in public. 13. Polite slurping. While in many other countries slurping is
considered rude, in Japan itâs a way to show your appreciation of the dish. If you donât slurp when you eat noodles,
then the chef will think that you donât enjoy the food, or that itâs cold. 14. Face napkins. When you eat a burger, itâs never pretty
because your mouth gets covered in ketchup or mustard. Owners of one fast-food restaurant found a
solution to this by serving burgers together with special napkins. They cover the faces of guests who feel a
bit embarrassed about looking messy while eating. 15. Water-saving sinks. Theyâre located right over the toilet tanks. The idea is simple: first you wash your hands
over the sink, then it goes straight to the tank, and finally, you flush the toilet when
youâve done your business. So, you save water by using it twice. 16. Strange mayo
No, Japanese mayo doesnât have any special recipe or ingredient. But they donât eat it with salads, meat,
and sandwiches; in Japan, people usually use it as a topping for ice-cream or on pancakes. 17. Naps at work. In Japanese culture, dozing off at the workplace
â or inemuri â is considered a sign of being a hard-working person whoâs very committed
to their job. Thatâs why inemuri is so common, and no
one thinks itâs a bad thing. Some people even fake it! 18. Worldâs shortest escalator. You can find it in the basement of Moreâs
Department Store, which is located in the city of Kawasaki. The escalator has only 5 steps and is only
33 inches tall. 19. Canned food restaurant. Eating canned food may not sound like a delicious
treat for you. But thereâs a whole chain of restaurants
all over the country where they serve only canned food. Theyâre pretty popular, since clients can
choose from 300 varieties of food from all across the world. 20. Doll village. The village of Nagoro used to have a population
of 300 people, but less than 40 residents live there now. A local artist, Tsukimi Ayano, made over 300
life-size dolls, most of which look like former residents; and theyâre located in various
states of action. For example, thereâs a whole classroom of
them in the village school that was closed a while ago. 21. No 4âs. Itâs common for Japanese culture to avoid
the number 4 because itâs considered to be very unlucky. Thatâs why some buildings donât have a
4th floor, stores donât sell a set of cutlery for 4, and the number of guests to some event
canât be 4. 22. Blue traffic light. They use a blue color instead of green for
traffic lights. The reason for that hides in their language:
historically, there was only one word for both colors. When traffic lights first appeared in the
country, they were as green as anywhere else. But that green color was still called blue. To make things right, the government decided
to use the bluest shade of green possible. 23. Cleaning classes. Japanese kids learn how to clean in many schools
because itâs a part of their education. They mop their classrooms and hallways, do
dusting, and even clean the bathrooms. Teachers believe itâs a great way to raise
responsible citizens. 24. Footbath train. Take the Tsudoi tourist train to get the most
comfortable sightseeing experience. This train has footbaths built of aromatic
cypress wood and filled with warm spring water that can soothe the pain in your joints. So you can soak your feet and enjoy beautiful
views at the same time while traveling from Nagoya to Yunoyama Onsen. 25. Futuristic toilets. Toilets in Japan are very high-tech. To use one, a person should know what all
those buttons are for. Thereâs a variety of functions, including
heating the seat, spraying warm water to clean the user up, and even playing music. 26. Crazy ice-cream flavors. The Japanese love weird food combos. That's why finding an ice-cream flavored with
horse meat, cactus, charcoal, squid ink, garlic, or chicken wings won't be a problem here. 27. Space-saving parking lots. Since Japan is a densely-populated country,
they donât like to waste space. Thatâs why their parking lots have a smart
system. Theyâre designed like multi-level garages. 28. Robot-run hotel. In a hotel in Nagasaki, robots are a big part
of its staff. Itâs called the Henn-na which translates
as âstrangeâ. The human-like androids meet the guests, clean
the rooms, carry luggage, make coffee, and even smile. However, real people work there too to recharge
the robots and supervise how they perform their duties. 29. CafĂŠ companion. Sitting alone in a cafĂŠ and enjoying your
coffee and food is common for most people around the world. But in the Land of the rising sun, youâll
get a huge plush Moomin to sit next to you in one of the cafes, so you donât have to
eat alone. Hey, if you learned something new today, then
give the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other videos I think you'll
enjoy. Just click to the left or right, and stay
on the Bright Side of life!
The green tea Kit-Kats are great if you like those two things separately.
The slurping and napkin contrast is kind of amusing. Slurping is widely seen as shameful behavior in the US, but getting your face a bit messy while eating a sloppy sandwich is more a sign of just enjoying the meal.
The motorized stacking car garages exist in the US. I've seen them in several places in NYC.