Awesome Japan

The manhole covers here in the U.S. are pretty utilitarian. But in Japan, manhole covers can be works of urban art. This video from Process X takes us inside a high-tech factory that turns raw steel into embossed discs, then has artists embellish them with colorful enamels applied with squeeze bottles.

We love watching videos of factories making things we take for granted. Process X takes us inside the Nitinen factory in Japan that makes 17 million cans of butane fuel each year. The assembly line ballet starts with printed metal blanks which they bend and assemble into cans, then attach lids, valves, and eventually fill with gas.

Process X takes us inside Japan’s Kita-Boshi Pencil Co., a factory that cranks out pencils by the thousands each day, shaving shapes out of cedar and cypress wood and filling them with leads before gluing them together, shaping, and sharpening them. Oh, and if you need an eraser, they’ve got you covered.

Japanese gadget retailer Thanko is crowdfunding this machine that not only produces nature sounds, but simulates a crackling fire using LED lights and aromatic mist. In addition to fire, its soothing sounds include wind, rain, thunder, waves, birds, and insects, which you can mix in any combination using its volume sliders.

This high-intensity reality competition show from Japan pits celebrity contestants against an army of hunters attempting to catch them on foot. The longer they evade their captors, the bigger the cash prize, but get caught and lose it all. Coming to Netflix 11.15.2022.

Vapor95 sells these colorful tapestries featuring artwork that combines classic Japanese style with neon cyberpunk color schemes. Each 60″ x 50″ tapestry is handmade and dye sublimated so they never fade. Designs include Ramen Village, Crystal Shower, and Together at Twilight. More cool Vapor95 tapestries here.

These precision-machined stainless steel puzzles from Japan have pieces that connect so tightly that their connections are nearly imperceptible. Despite having just 16 pieces each, they’re quite challenging since you can’t tell their fronts from their backs.

Artist Yuuki Nishihara creates beautifully handcrafted metalwork from his shop in Itoshima, Japan. In this video, you’ll see how he works strips of tin into the shape of a cup, then hammers it to produce a faceted texture. You can find his work for sale at Itoshima Gokoro. We enjoyed listening to each tap of the hammer.

Aki from Japan did a brilliant job capturing and editing this footage of Nagano while showing off a few of the capabilities of the Insta360 ONE RS action camera. The sequence includes a mix of time-lapse and hyperlapse shots, and also demonstrates the camera’s ability to automatically remove its selfie stick from shots.

While modern toolboxes are often made from plastics, Japan’s Toyo Steel has made theirs out of metal since 1969. They offer several varieties, including a trunk-shaped model, a curved, camber-top box, and a cantilever design that splits open in the middle. Plus, they come in unexpected colors like gold, coral, blue, and pink.

Andymation shows off a series of awesome pop-up books from Japanese artist Yusuke Oono. The books feature intricate papercut art that offers a 360º scene fully opened, with dozens of vistas when flipping through its pages. Designs include Mount Fuji, Earth and Moon, Hokusai Sparrow Dance, Snow White, and Snowy World.

What you’re looking at here might look like some delicious sushi, but you definitely don’t want to bite down on it unless you’re ready to chip a tooth. Japanese artist ha_ma_73 makes incredibly accurate sushi replicas by carving and polishing stones. What’s even more amazing is that those are natural stone colors, not paint.

For two decades, a statue of Buddha sat alone at the Makomanai Takino Cemetery in Sapporo, Japan. More recently, architect Tadao Ando built a man-made covering all but the top of the statue’s head, hiding the rest of the religious icon inside an observation gallery beneath a lavender-covered hill.

Artist and animator Daihei Shibata has a little fun in this series of playful vignettes for Japan’s NHK broadcast network. Each of the 30-second spots fools around with NHK’s typographic logo and incorporates an adorable anthropomorphic television.

We’ve heard Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up at least 1000 times. But this version posted by Christya mixes things up by transforming Rick’s sound into something straight out of a Japanese anime, minus the actual animation. Vocals by MOM0KI, annapantsu, LilyPichu, and LizzRobinett

The Japanese sport of Bo-Taoshi is one of the craziest games we’ve ever seen. The chaotic war game pits teams against each other as they attempt to knock a player off the top of a pole, guarded by dozens of defenders at its base. It’s kind of like Capture the Flag, but the flag is a man.

Motocross Saito created this captivating pixel art short that showcases how work culture has evolved since the 1920s in Japan. From the days when workers crowded into cramped offices, to 1980s workaholism, to the modern work-from-home era, the Japanese work ethic has remained one of the strongest on Earth.

Fountain pen nibs have a specific shape for a reason. But the Drillog takes a unique approach, capturing ink in a series of spiraling channels which lead to to a precision straight tip which produces incredibly sharp lines. Price shown is for a set with the barrel and either a 0.5mm or 0.8mm nib. Pen rest sold separately.

The Star Wars franchise has paid homage to Japanese cinema and folklore throughout the years. Now Disney+ repays the debt by inviting seven of Japan’s top animation studios to create unique anime stories that take place in the Star Wars universe. The series premieres 9.22.2021.

Yonex is one of the most respected brands in tennis, and their rackets are the choice of many pro players. Tennis Warehouse takes us inside the Japanese company’s warehouse for a look at their production process, which seamlessly blends a human and robotic workforce.

This unique wristwatch from TokyoFlash Japan features a display inspired by an graphic equalizer. But instead of displaying audio frequencies and volume levels, its green dots light up to indicate the current time and date. The oversized watch uses an LED-backlit LCD panel to create the effect. Available with a black or silver case.

Made in Japan, the Goshi is a scrubby shower towel woven from a combination of lathering and exfoliating threads. It helps to wash away dirt, oil, and dead skin, keeping you cleaner than you’ve ever felt. It’s made from a long-lasting 100% recyclable nylon. Discounted multi-packs available direct from Goshi.

Nexus Studios and director Hideyuki Tanaka created this wild and wonderful promo spot for a Japanese tourism campaign back in 2004. The clip features a flock of ostriches as they take to the ski slopes, fully embracing their gangly and awkward bodies as they head down the snowy mountainside, and into the city.