| I agree, in spirit, but there are many bad coffee shops and restaurants through out Japan too. They are, obviously, not depicted in the media. The things that I can praise are mostly things that don’t usually exist outside of Japan, either because foreigners don’t like them or because it’s difficult to make them, some examples include: - “smart” toilets -- https://jp.toto.com/products/toilet/ - (fresh) もち -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochi - 卵かけご飯 -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamago_kake_gohan - あんこ -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_bean_paste - variety of 漬物 -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukemono - (cheap! fresh and delicious) sushi (the one we find in American restaurants is… well, Americanized, e.g. cucumber, avocado, bunch of sauce, etc.; you may as well buy californian rolls and call it a day). Good sushi in American restaurants is expensive, that’s why I put emphasis in the word “cheap”. - 神戸ビーフ -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_beef which you can easily buy in America too, but somehow the quality is not the same, I am not sure why, maybe the pastures or the way they treat the cows. I have no idea. - kitchen knives -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_kitchen_knife , for example, e.g. Santoku (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santoku), Yanagi-ba (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanagi_ba), Nakiri (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakiri_bōchō), Deba (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deba_bōchō), among others. That said, Japan also produces a lot of silly stuff: - U$200 (square-shaped) watermelons -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_watermelon - U$50 (Egg of the Sun) mangos -- https://www.m-tokusan.or.jp/en/main-products/mango/ - U$200 (Yubari King) melons -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yubari_King - 95 ft² apartments -- https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2022/10/09/general/japan-m... —and— https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/business/tiny-apartments-... |