10 Bizarre Things That Only Exist In Japan
#1 The Balloon Game
For this unique game, two contestants are chosen to compete by sitting on a bicycle
tire pump.
They use their butts to pump and fill a balloon of air.
When the time is up both contestants have to stop and tie the balloon.
Then they both have to use their butts to burst that balloon.
Naturally, the balloon with the most air would be easier to burst making them the winner.
#1 Double tooth fashion trend
The Japanese trend for crooked, "snaggle" teeth is quite an on going trend right now.
Yaeba - which translates literally as "double tooth" is a dental procedure which changes
the upper canines capped either permanently or temporarily, costing between £130 - £340
or ($150 - $400 ) for each tooth.
There are numerous blogs and galleries dedicated to showing off yaeba.
#2 Eat Naked in The Restaurant
The restaurant, The Amrita, takes its name from the Sanskrit word for immortality.
It offers its patrons a chance to enjoy an organic menu in the nude using hygienic "paper
underwear."
The restaurant's opening party features an "Adam and Eve" style banquet starring "men
with the world's most beautiful bodies" as waiters.
However to enjoy the restaurant and all its worldly delights, patrons must meet certain
standards.
Not only do diners have to be able to prove they are within the 18-to-60-year-old age
bracket, but they must have no tattoos, must lock their cameras and mobile phones in a
box on their table.
#3 Super umbrella
The 360 degree full body umbrella is made for winds thrashing from all sides.
When rain is coupled with strong winds, regular umbrellas are basically useless.
The Japanese handled this uncomfortable situation with their typical grace.
Getting on public transportation has to be challenge.
#4 Elevator Girls
Japan still keeps its traditional elevator attendants on staff to run two rare-model
manually operated lifts.
The companies carefully maintains these old-fashioned elevators because some Japanese believes that
it is responsible to preserve Japanese cultural history and pass on this legacy to future
generations.
Both manual elevators and elevator attendants are part of the time-honored Japanese tradition
of hospitality.
#5 Toilet slippers
Japanese are famous for their strict hygiene habits and sanitary precautions so it should
come as no surprise they have something like toilet slippers which are used to minimize
contact between the unclean toilet floor and the clean floor of rest of the house.
When you use the restroom in someone's home you may need to put on designated bathroom
slippers.
Many Japanese bathrooms don't have a separate area for the shower, meaning the floor is
often wet.
#6 Woman's Legs Pillows
After experiencing a surge of popularity several years ago, it appears that interest in the
cushioned, mini-skirted human substitute, which is shaped like a pair of kneeling woman's
legs, is gaining steam yet again.
The Daily Mail reported this week that the cushion, said to be the brainchild of Japanese
company Trane Corporation, is a popular purchase for customers traveling in and out of Japan's
Narita International Airport.
The leggy pillow is reportedly on sale at the airport's duty free shops and is particularly
favored by tourists looking for novelty gifts.
The "Hizamakura Lap Pillow" first made headlines in the mid-2000s when Trane Corporation first
launched the product.
It has been touted as a "healing" home accessory that serves to assuage one's loneliness.
#7 Capsule hotels
A Capsule hotel is probably the craziest Japanese invention ever.
Introduced in 1979, these "hotels" have accommodation for a variety of customers ranging from traveling
businessmen to drunken people who wouldn't make it home safely.
#8 Cuddle cafes
Japan's first 'cuddle cafe' lets you sleep with a stranger for an hour for a fee.
Customers can pay to sleep in the arms of a beautiful girl-with no strings attached.
Soineya (literally, "sleep together shop") opened its doors on September 25.
Soineya defines itself as a "co-sleeping specialty shop.
#9 Japan has a big naked festival
Hadaka Matsuri is a festival involving thousands of Japanese men removing their clothes in
public due to the ancient belief that a nearly-naked man has a greater ability to absorb evil spirits.
Participants wear a minimum amount of clothing; usually just a Japanese loincloth (called
fundoshi), sometimes with a short coat.
#10 Japan has an island full of rabbits.
Okunoshima, an island located in Japan's Inland Sea, is the home of thousands of free-roaming
rabbits.
Situated in the East Sea/Inland Sea of Japan, the small island is occupied by hundreds of
wild rabbits that roam the forests and paths, chase tourists, appear in viral videos and
just generally lounge around.
They also provide a much needed counterbalance to the island's otherwise dark history - as
the production site for Japan's chemical weapons during the second world war.
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