100 ways Japan will blow your mind

Making good on its ‘country of the future’ reputation, Japan has been stealthily repopulating its service industry with automatons. At the newly opened Henn-na Hotel in Nagasaki’s Huis Ten Bosch theme park, the receptionists and porters are all robots. The venerable Mitsukoshi department store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo made headlines earlier this year when it put a kimono-clad humanoid on the front desk for a couple of days. Things are going cybernetic on the home front, too. In June, SoftBank started selling the world’s first personal robot, Pepper, a cutesy droid that can read people’s emotions. Despite costing ¥198,000, the first batch of 1,000 sold out in a minute. And there’s more to come: Suzumo Machinery has even developed a line of sushi-making robots.

From ceramics to prosthetics, Japanese businesses are making inventive uses of 3D printing technology. One of the most impressive developments comes from scientists at the University of Tokyo Hospital, who are working on a bio-printer that uses stem cells and a collagen-like substance to make artificial implants. Need a new ear? Meanwhile, imaging experts are muddying the divide between the physical and virtual realms: Japanese researchers recently unveiled a 3D hologram that you can actually touch.

The world’s first high-speed rail service, the Shinkansen (aka ‘bullet train’) is still one of its best, with a network extending from Kagoshima in southern Kyushu to Aomori in the north. The only thing more impressive than its operating speed (up to 320km/h) is the time it takes station staff to clean an entire train: just seven minutes. Expect things to get considerably faster when a new maglev line linking Tokyo and Nagoya opens in 2027. In test runs in April 2015, the train set a world speed record of 603km/h.

There’s been a lot of buzz recently about the Internet of Things – where everyday objects embedded with electronic devices can communicate with each other – but few countries have done as much legwork as Japan. Aided by some of the fastest Internet speeds in the world, the country has spent the past decade networking everything from infrastructure to vending machines, household appliances and umbrella stands (no, really). The market was valued at ¥11 trillion in 2013 – and that’s predicted to double by 2018. Buckle up.

Why mess with a classic? 35 years ago, Tamco released the Sound Wagon, a toy VW camper van that plays records by driving over the grooves. DJ gear specialists Stokyo just unveiled an updated version, the Record Runner, which offers better sound quality than the original, without sacrificing an iota of cuteness.

You need a microscope to see it, but a microalgae being commercially cultivated in Japan may be the answer to two of the world’s most pressing problems. Hotly fancied start-up Euglena is pitching the eponymous single-celled organism as a nutrition-rich dietary supplement that could solve world food shortages – and as a viable biofuel, too.

Long before selfie sticks became the accessory of choice for teen narcissists, Japanese youngsters had purikura: photo booths where you can pose with friends, then decorate the pictures and print them as stickers. Oh, and spare a thought for Hiroshi Ueda, a Minolta engineer who patented a commercially unsuccessful selfie stick way back in 1983.

Overseas fashion magazines are just waking up to the wonderful world of Japanese cosmetics, turning beauty products such as Cure Natural Aqua Gel and DHC Deep Cleansing Oil into must-have items. It’s hard not to love the novel treatments and preference for natural ingredients here. And with so many pharmacies around, prices stay competitive, too.

Japan’s automakers have been a driving force (sorry) in developing fuel-efficient hybrid cars and electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf. But you’ll find all kinds of eco-friendly products here, from Panasonic’s energy-saving intelligent air conditioners to PET bottles that are made from other recycled PET bottles.

Diners who like to take a more active role in the preparation of their meals are glutted for choice here. Okonomiyaki (above), shabu-shabu, yakiniku: there’s a plethora of restaurants that let you cook your own food. At the Zauo chain of fish restaurants, you can even catch your dinner before eating it.

‘I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit,’ says octogenarian sushi master Jiro Ono in 2011 documentary ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’. ‘There is always a yearning to achieve more.’ Perfectionism is hardwired into Japanese cuisine (washoku), and you don’t have to go to Sukiyabashi Jiro, Ono’s Michelin three-star restaurant, to appreciate it. In fact, you don’t even need to eat washoku: from haute cuisine to burger bars and pizzerias, Japanese chefs show an attention to technical mastery and carefully sourced ingredients that leaves many of their Western contemporaries in the dust. There’s a reason why Tokyo has more three-star Michelin restaurants than Paris.

If you want a pocket-sized snack that will keep you going for a few hours, there’s nothing quite like an onigiri (rice ball). Every convenience store offers a wide variety of these nourishing treats, with typical fillings including umeboshi (pickled plums), salmon and mentaiko (sea- soned cod roe), wrapped in a layer of nori seaweed. Ever wondered why onigiri are triangular?

Japanese whisky has been in such demand recently that producers can barely keep up. That’s hardly surprising, when Suntory and Nikka are scooping up international awards, and esteemed critic Jim Murray picked a single malt from Suntory’s Yamazaki distillery as his whisky of the year for 2015. Closer to home, the success of NHK’s TV series ‘Massan’ – based on the life of early whisky pioneer Masataka Taketsuru and his Scottish wife, Rita Cowan – has encouraged a new generation of drinkers to kick out the drams. Want to try it out? Check out our feature on 'Where to drink whisky in Tokyo'.

Real estate doesn’t come cheap in major Japanese cities, and bar and restaurant owners have adapted by squeezing into every available space. Many of the best spots to eat and drink in cities like Tokyo and Osaka are crammed into locations barely any larger than a student bedsit, resulting in a gloriously intimate experience. For more information check out our 'Tokyo alleway guide'.

Perhaps the best advice you can give to someone on a culinary tour of Japan is: eat out at lunchtime. Discount lunch sets are the norm here, especially on weekdays – and that’s as true at high-end hotel restaurants and sushi shops as at the cheaper eateries frequented by office workers. Even the odd Michelin three-star restaurant is getting in on the act: Aoyama Esaki in Tokyo offers a Saturday-only lunch course for a surprisingly reasonable ¥5,500.

Like an izakaya and amusement park ride rolled into one, Japan’s theme restaurants offer some of the most bizarre dining experiences imaginable. Whether you want to eat in a zombie-infested prison hospital (that’d be Alcatraz E.R. in Shibuya), have your food served by ninjas (Ninja Akasaka), or spend an evening inside the pages of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ (Alice’s Fantasy Restaurant, which has seven branches nationwide), there’s something to suit most proclivities. The newest – and cutest – addition to the ranks is the just-opened Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku (above), a lysergic, dayglo fantasia created by artist and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu collaborator Sebastian Masuda.

As your parents might have warned you, drinking on an empty stomach is the fastest ticket to a stinking hangover the morning after. That’s less of a problem in Japan, where drinking sessions tend to take place in izakaya – meaning there’s always plenty of food to help soak up the booze.

Sophisticated, seasonal, unlikely to make your teeth rot: there’s a lot to like about wagashi, Japan’s traditional sweets. These elegant morsels evolved as a complement to the tea ceremony, and were crafted in such a way that their shape, colour and flavour would subtly evoke the time of year. Today’s wagashi are just as classy, and forward-thinking sweet shops such as Tokyo’s Higashiya and Yokohama’s Kouro-an are putting a fresh spin on traditional techniques. To try wagashi, visit one of these 'Top teahouses in Tokyo'.

The days where visitors struggled to find a good cup of Joe in Japan are long gone. Specialty coffee is booming at the moment, thanks in no small part to the likes of Karuizawa’s Maruyama Coffee and Tokyo’s Nozy Coffee. And the ¥100 coffee on sale at 7-Eleven and other convenience stores? It’s actually pretty drinkable, too.

Twenty years after Japan deregulated its beer industry – and after a 'lost decade’ of fairly awful microbrews – the craft beer scene is in rude health. It’s not all hopped-up IPAs, either: the likes of Baird Brewing, Coedo and Y Market Brewing are using local, seasonal ingredients to make some only-in-Japan beers too. Visit one of the 'Top 10 Tokyo brewpubs' to see for yourself.

As the US and UK grow ever thirstier for sake, young Japanese drinkers are also rediscovering the pleasures of premium nihonshu. Following years of slumping sales, sake producers are innovating like wild: adopting eye-catching packaging, embracing new styles like sparkling sake, and reviving old-school techniques such as the kimoto brewing method.

You’ll never look at sushi the same way again after encountering the work of Tama-chan. Known to her friends as Takayo Kiyota, the illustrator and sushi artist sculpts multicoloured makizushi rolls to resemble everything from Buddha statues to ukiyo-e prints and Vermeer paintings. Good, wholesome fun, in other words.

Washoku isn’t all fancy, you know. Over the past decade there’s been a resurgence of interest in heartier, homier fare such as ramen, Japanese-style curry rice, okonomiyaki and donburi rice bowls. Dubbed B-kyu gurume (B-class cuisine) by the locals, it’s the kind of fast food that you won’t feel guilty about eating.

Why settle for a sandwich and a packet of crisps when you can have a well-balanced meal? The bento lunchbox puts most other takeaway options to shame, and there’s a dizzying variety on offer in Japan. Bento artists such as Mari Miyazawa transform their ingredients into cartoon characters, giving new meaning to the phrase ‘playing with your food’.

Used in traditional tea ceremonies, the antioxidant-rich, powdered green tea is also a popular flavouring in ice creams and desserts.

The long, slender root vegetable, also known as burdock, contains ample antioxidants and is believed to be effective against high blood pressure.

A staple of Okinawan cuisine, the appropriately named bitter melon is a good source of Vitamin C, and said to lower blood sugar levels.

They may not look appetising, but these pungent, fermented soybeans are rich in vitamin K2 and probiotics that keep your gut healthy.

Japan helped kickstart the trend for ingesting this skin-rejuvenating protein. You can get collagen-infused hotpots, health drinks – even beer.

There aren’t many countries in the world that can claim to have birthed an entire taste category, are there?

The pungent plant is an essential – and frequently eye-watering – condiment for sushi and other washoku.

Frequently confused with Sichuan pepper, this spice brings a tongue-tingling citrus kick to any dish.

A meal just wouldn’t feel complete without a bowl of soup made from this fermented soybean paste.

Tsukemono: Japanese pickles encompass a rich array of tastes, from refreshing cabbage shiozuke to mouth-puckering umeboshi.

When you’re in need of an umami kick, reach for this natural seasoning – like MSG without the drawbacks.