Cool Japan

When foreigners visit Japan they are surprised by Japanese people living surrounded by high tech machines as if it is a matter of course. Fully automatic toilets whose covers open when you go near them, electronic money cards that can be used for trains, convenience stores, and vending machines with just one card, and high tech electric appliances that talk at home. Even if these are a matter of course for Japanese people, foreigners say that such high tech living is quite surprising. What is Japan’s forefront aiming for actual use of self-driving cars, which the world is competitively researching, for the Tokyo Olympics? We close in on the lives of Japanese people and investigate high tech living from the perspective of foreigners.

Brand new uniforms are familiar in March, right before newly starting school and job hunting. Foreigners often think that uniforms lack individuality. Recently there are people who have favorable impressions of uniforms of high school girls, which are the starting point of kawaii and possess the world of manga. We investigate the particularity of Japanese people toward uniforms in Kojima, Okayama, a uniform-manufacturing town. The “Scruffy Cheerleading Squad” of a traditional school in Iwate wears worn out school uniforms all year round, and works hard in their studies and cheerleading. What feelings are in the uniforms that have been passed down from seniors for generations? Is Japan, uniform heaven, cool? We investigate from the perspective of foreigners.

The “Best of Cools” are chosen during each broadcast of Cool Japan as one of the coolest aspects of Japan. We will introduce all the best of cools broadcasted in 2015 by genre. We will then choose the coolest among them as the “Coolest of the Cool 2015.” In addition, we will quiz you on unexpected answers given by foreigners in town to whom we asked what in Japan surprised them. This is a special project in which we review the previous year and discover new Japanese cools.

The Japanese word “bukatsu” has been spreading around the world in recent years. This is due to the influence of the worldwide popularity of manga and anime that are set in school clubs, but one of the reasons for their popularity is because many overseas countries do not have school clubs. How do foreigners view Japanese school clubs, which are so abundant that students undergo inter-district enrollment?

Foreigners' big questions for the Japanese series. This time, we thoroughly discuss differences in the way foreigners and Japanese people think about actions in public places. We look at differences between Japanese people and foreigners, such as “Why are Japanese people hammered drunk on the streets?” and “Aren't Japanese people embarrassed to read erotic books on trains?” Japanese people can’t tell the difference between sexy and erotic!? Why have differences in actions in public places emerged? We close in on cultural gaps regarding “actions in public” while mixing in opinions of the Japanese in response to foreigners' questions.

It is said that Japanese bento are very popular all around the world. Bento, which have a full course meal in a small box, accurately symbolize Japan. Bento such as convenience store bento, train station bento, airport bento, and high-quality department store bento are Japanese culture itself. Japanese bento boxes that are sold online are very popular in the West. We investigate various cools surrounding Japanese bento, such as homemade bento nowadays, a bento catering store with an astonishing disposal rate of less than 0.1% while selling 60,000 meals in a day, and a French person who was fascinated by the appeals of bento boxes

Cats have currently reached an unprecedented level of popularity in Japan. However, the Japanese phenomenon of the popularity of products in which cats are personified and commercials and photograph collections of star cats seems strange in the eyes of foreigners. On the other hand, cat related products from Japan such as cat robots and characters resembling cats have gained popularity worldwide with their unique atmosphere. It is said that cat islands, where there are more cats than people, are now bustling with foreign tourists. We visit the backstage of a cat magazine that creates star cats and a cat island and investigate the relationship between Japanese people and cats from the perspective of foreigners

Japanese cosmetics, beauty goods, and makeup techniques are very popular overseas. Half face makeup is livening up the world on video websites. Half of the face is natural while the other half has full makeup, showing a completely different person. What’s this shocking makeup technique!? In addition, Japanese women’s wigs are a world-class technology. What’s the latest technology of partial wigs, which are rare overseas? We investigate from the perspective of foreigners, why Japanese cosmetology is gathering attention around the world.

Cool Japan has searched for cool Japanese culture from the perspective of foreigners for ten years since it began broadcasting. We will broadcast the 300th anniversary special. More than 300 foreigners have appeared on the program and more than 1,000 Japanese cools have been taken up. We took a survey of foreigners who have appeared on the show before, asking what they think is currently cool. We announce the top 20 cools of Japan. With Maasa Takahashi as our guest, we thoroughly discuss Japanese cools with ten foreigners.

The senior citizens of Japan, which has the highest average life expectancy in the world, are full of energy. There are many secrets to their longevity. There is an idol group with an average age of 84 who found something worth living for themselves as well as comprehensive health screening, which foreigners come touring for and supports Japan’s longevity. Furthermore, a prefecture successfully undertook a sodium reduction initiative and became the prefecture with the highest average life expectancy in Japan. We investigate the secrets of Japan’s senior power that surprised foreigners.

Japan has changed and uniquely evolved dishes from around the world. Tempura, which originated in Portugal, India’s curry rice, China’s ramen, etc. Such Japanized foreign dishes that have originated in Japan are becoming popular overseas as well. What’s cool about Japanized foreign dishes that are unique to Japan and continue to evolve? Naporitan, cod roe pasta, and dressed bread that sandwiches anything from yakisoba to croquette. We investigate Japanized foreign dishes, which surprise foreigners, where they are made.

Kisoji of Nakasendo has been introduced in overseas tour guides and is very popular among foreign tourists. Every year 20,000 foreigners walk the 8km mountain path from Tsumagojuku to Magomejuku. This time, all of the cast will visit Tsumagojuku with its beautiful fresh verdure, actually walk Kisoji, and, together with the residents of Tsumagojuku, who have left the appearance of Edo as it is, thoroughly talk about the appeals and themes of touring spots that Japanese people are likely to miss. A 49 minute extended regional special.

The Tsukiji Market will be relocating in November. It is introduced even in international travel guidebooks as a place where fresh seafood is gathered from around the world. With Tsukiji facing its end, we thoroughly investigate what about Tsukiji is loved by foreigners through a survey of foreign tourists! We created a ranking of cools found by foreigners. We investigate what’s appealing about Tsukiji and differences between Japanese and overseas markets.

With the age for voting rights being lowered this summer, 18-year-olds are gathering attention. In most countries, 18 is the age of adulthood. Are Japanese 18-year-olds adultlike or childish compared to foreign 18-year-olds? We survey foreign and Japanese high schoolers living in Japan about topics such as money, family, and romance and compare. We discuss with foreigners with the unique answer as the doorway. Are Japanese 18-year-olds cools? We investigate from the perspective of foreigners.

Foreigners are surprised by the wide variety of leisurely day trips that effectively use short holidays at nearby locations in Japan. Japan is full of leisurely day trips that can be enjoyed by both children and adults, such as day trip bus tours, fishing ponds, theme parks, and factory tours. Are leisurely day trips that are unique to Japan cool? We rediscover the goodness of familiar leisurely activities that Japanese people don’t realize from the perspective of foreigners.

Japanese patterns are gathering attention for a checkered pattern being used for the Tokyo Olympics emblem. There is a wide variety of Japanese patterns, such as chidori, karakusa, and mameshibori, and they are unique. Patterns have evolved in ancient Japan as something to feel and enjoy the four seasons. It’s the same in the present age, and patterns are depicted on various items such as cellphone covers, stationery, and umbrellas. Foreigners are surprised that Japanese people pursue patterns even for manhole covers and brocade carp. We investigate such appeals of Japanese patterns from the perspective of foreigners.

Until now we have broadcasted Japanese people’s customs and ways of thinking that foreigners think are strange as the “Big Questions for the Japanese” series. However, foreigners also have many actions and customs that are hard for Japanese people to understand. So we are beginning a new series, “Big Questions for Foreigners!” Why do people say “I love you” every day? Why don’t people use umbrellas when it’s raining? We thoroughly pursue a variety of questions. We also discuss customs and ways of thinking that are unique to Japanese people, who think the actions of foreigners are strange.

Recently, Japanese soba is popular among foreign tourists. At one standing soba restaurant, nearly half of the customers on days off are foreigners. Japanese people have pursued soba from long ago. What’s the style of soba that we see in rakugo? Why do middle aged people become absorbed with the depth of soba making? Does Japanese soba have the potential to spread around the world? We investigate from the perspective of foreigners

Apparently, Japanese wives are amazing from the perspective of foreigners. They are perfectionists in both parenting and housework. They are highly praised with compliments such as “they are beautiful even though they are tired” and “they even manage the family budget.” In one survey, more than 50% of housewives said they have no days off. But what they desire is a day off each week and a monthly salary of 150,000 yen. It appears that they aren’t perfect because they like to be. We thoroughly discuss whether Japanese wives are cool with foreigners.

Autumn is the season for reading. Foreigners are surprised that Japanese books are so cheap that they can be bought for the price of a cup of coffee. Book covers hide what you’re reading and are a part of a culture of taking good care of books. High-quality paper and having many pictures in guidebooks is unique to Japan. We rediscover the world of books that Japanese people think is a matter of course from the perspective of foreigners.

Games are a popular culture that is representative of Japan. What draws foreigners to Japanese games? What’s the secret behind arcades still being popular? What’s the world of “Let’s Play” that is popular online? Japanese RPGs are representative of good storylines and worldviews full of fantasy, which are highly rated by foreigners. We investigate why Japanese games are taking the world by storm.

Mushrooms are a representative food of autumn. Japan is a major mushroom country, so much so that it is said to eat the most mushrooms in the world. Japanese people have enjoyed a diversity of mushrooms through a variety of dishes from long ago. Mushroom hunting has become a leisurely activity for autumn that even children can enjoy. A mushroom that tastes and smells just like matsutake, which has been said to be impossible to artificially cultivate, has appeared. We investigate the cools of Japan’s mushroom culture.

Alongside the popularity of Japanese cuisine, Japanese tableware is drawing attention from around the world. Japanese tableware, for which usage is separated according to ingredients, cuisine, and season, is considered to be rare from the world’s perspective. Since people hold tableware and bring it to their mouths, making it easy to hold and the feel of it on your lips are considered to be important. Having your own bowls and chopsticks is also unique to Japanese tableware. We investigate the appeals of Japanese tableware from the perspective of foreigners.

Japan is top-class when it comes to the number of times laundry is done and cleaning expenditures. Multifunctional washing machines and detergents appear one after another, and new types of machines that can wash futon have appeared at laundromats. Foreigners are surprised by same day service at dry cleaning shops. Japan’s laundry culture supports the Japanese people, who like cleanliness. Is it cool from the perspective of foreigners?

When disasters occur, volunteers gather immediately. Universities are full of volunteer groups. Foreigners are surprised by Japanese volunteer activities such as senior citizens teaching skills they have learned for free and people striving to pick up trash in the streets. Japan, which helps others for free in secret, and the West, which raises funds with extravagant parties. Why are they so different? We hotly debate the differences between Japan and the world in volunteering!

Returning home, Christmas, preparing for New Year’s, and New Year’s money gifts – for one thing or another, expenses pile up over the New Year’s holidays. So we will thoroughly compare things relating to money with overseas countries. While foreigners praised how bills and coins are clean and easy to use. Also payment methods are convenient, and they never got the wrong change when we asked them. The way Japanese people use money, such as not investing, doesn’t make any sense to them. Is Japan’s money culture, which everyone is curious about, cool from the world’s perspective?