1,000 Reasons Japan is Awesome

#7 Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland (東京ディズニーランド Tōkyō Dizunīrando) is a 115 acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside of the United States and opened on April 15, 1983. The park was constructed by Walt Disney Imagineering in the same style as Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida. 

Tokyo Disneyland and its companion park, Tokyo DisneySea, are the only Disney parks not owned by The Walt Disney Company.There are seven themed areas in the park: the World Bazaar; the four classic Disney lands: Adventureland, Westernland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland; and two mini-lands: Critter Country and Mickey’s Toontown. The park is noted for its extensive open spaces, to accommodate the large crowds that visit the park. In 2010, the park hosted 14.4 million visitors, ranking it as the world’s third most visited theme park, behind its American sister parks, Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.

Pro-tip: Do not visit on a public holiday!

#6 Baseball

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan. It was introduced to Japan in 1872 by Horace Wilson, who taught at the Kaisei School in Tokyo. The first baseball team was called the Shimbashi Athletic Club and was established in 1878. Baseball has been a popular sport ever since. It is called 野球 (やきゅう; yakyū) in Japanese, combining the characters for fielding and ball.

If you ever get the chance, I wholeheartedly recommend attending a baseball game in Japan. The noise, music and chants from the fans rival the enthusiasm of even Europeans football fans! 

#5 Vending Machines

Japan has the highest number of vending machines (自動販売機 jidō-hanbaiki) per capita, with about one machine for every twenty-three people. Japan’s high population density, relatively high cost of labor, limited space, preference for shopping on foot or by bicycle, and low rates of vandalism and petty crime, provide an accommodating environment for vending machines. While the majority of machines in Japan are stocked with drinks, snacks, and cigarettes, one occasionally finds vending machines selling items such as bottles of liquor, cans of beer, fried food, underwear, iPods, porn magazines, sexual lubricants, live lobsters, fresh meat, eggs and potted plants. In 1999, the estimated 5.6 million coin- and card-operated Japanese vending machines generated $53.28 billion in sales.

#4 Maid Cafes

Maid cafés (メイドカフェ Meido kafe) are a subcategory of cosplay restaurants found predominantly in Japan. In these cafés, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants, and treat customers as masters (and mistresses) in a private home, rather than as café patrons. The first permanent maid café, Cure Maid Café, was established in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan in March 2001, but maid cafés are becoming increasingly popular. As they have done so, the increased competition has made them become crazier in order to attract customers.

#3 Pachinko

Pachinko (パチンコ) is a Japanese gaming device. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but has no flippers and uses a large number of small balls. The player fires balls into the machine, which then cascade down through a dense forest of pins. If the balls go into certain locations, sequences of events are triggered that result in more balls being released; these balls can then be exchanged for prizes. Pachinko machines were originally strictly mechanical, but modern ones have incorporated extensive electronics, becoming similar to video slot machines.

#2 Sumo

Sumo (相撲 sumō) is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler (rikishi) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyō) or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from the days when sumo was used in the Shinto religion. Life as a rikishi is highly regimented, with rules laid down by the Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal “sumo training stables” known in Japanese as heya where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.

#1 Cosplay

Cosplay (コスプレ kosupure), short for “costume play”, is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction sources including manga, anime, tokusatsu, comic books, graphic novels, video games, hentai and fantasy movies.