The Japanese repair broken pottery with gold lacquer to highlight imperfections. The process is called Kintsugi. The art of Kintsugi teaches that broken objects are not something to hide but to display with pride.
Japan
Japan’s rail workers use…
Japan’s rail workers use pointing-and-calling, a system of associating one’s tasks with physical movements and vocalizations to prevent errors. It is known to reduce workplace errors by up to 85 percent, according to one 1996 study.
People in Japan are renting cars…
People in Japan are renting cars, but not to drive them anywhere. Car rental companies looked into it and discovered that people were using them to take naps, eat lunch, do work, change clothes, recharge cell phones, and store things (when storage lockers at train stations weren’t available).
Okinawa has some of the longest…
Okinawa has some of the longest living people on earth, and it has the highest rate of people over a hundred in the world. Two thirds of them are still living independently at the age of 97. Okinawans have also been found to have low rates of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. According to the article, it’s because of their diet.
Japan is giving its elderly…
Japan is giving its elderly population discounts on ramen if they give up their drivers licenses.
Japanese vending machines are…
Japanese vending machines are operated to dispense drinking water free of charge when the water supply gets cut off during a disaster.
Japan is making all of its….
Japan is making all of its medals for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics out of discarded electronics.
Telephone of the Wind
There is a phone booth known as the “Telephone of the Wind” on a hill overlooking the ocean in Otsuchi Town in northeastern Japan. It is connected to nowhere, but people come to “call” family members lost during the tsunami of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
In Japan, you can hire a handsome…
In Japan, you can hire a handsome man to show up at your place, watch a sad video with you until you cry, then wipe your tears for you.
Fumi-e
In Japan, back when Christianity was illegal, people were told to step on this plaque with a picture of Mary or Jesus on it to prove that they weren’t Christians.