Only In Japan ↓

Japanese High-Rise Graveyard

“More practical storage solutions from Japan.”

The Land Glider

“Introducing Nissan’s new concept car that will never see the light of day… in the U.S.”

Japanese Air Force Bike Pilots

“When the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) decided to entertain the locals at their Shimane prefecture radar base, they called upon the elite Red Club to display their finely honed formation flying skills! At some point, however, it was noted that the radar base doesn’t actually have an airfield. The solution the pilots came up with was innovative, fun, cool and entertaining: they adapted to meet the local conditions.” w/ photos + video

Snowboard Watermelon

“Tony Hawk eat your watermelon ou… I mean, eat your heart out Tony Hawk!”

International Robot Exhibition

“Hundreds of robots have gathered at the International Robot Exhibition (IREX) now underway at Tokyo Big Sight. Here are a few photos from the event.” w/ photos

Giant Japanese Salamanders

“Giant salamanders, some growing up to 5-feet in length, face a barrier of dams in Japan, built to control flooding. Now it’s hoped a new system will help these giant amphibians get upstream past the dams to lay their eggs.”

Japanese Jet Pack Costume

“Japanese people find this funny because they can’t imagine anyone that doesn’t own a functioning jet pack.” — CH

Monkey Flosses Teeth

“A monkey in Japan flosses its teeth with its hair, demonstrating that humans aren’t the only animals that clean their teeth and invent tools to help with the task. The flosser, a free-ranging, middle-aged, female Japanese macaque named Chonpe, may have come up with the tool and the idea, according to a new study that will appear in the January issue of Primates. Lead author Jean-Baptiste Leca told Discovery News that dental flossing could have been a fortuitous yet accidental byproduct of grooming… The hair might have become stuck in Chonpe’s teeth, and as she drew the hairs out, “she may have noticed the presence of food remains attached to them.” “The immediate reward of licking the food remains off the hair may have encouraged her to repeat the behavior for the same effect in the future.” w/ photo

See-Through Goldfish

“First came see-through frogs. Now Japanese researchers have succeeded in producing goldfish whose beating hearts can be seen through translucent scales and skin. The transparent creatures are part of efforts to reduce the need for dissections, which have become increasingly controversial, particularly in schools. ‘You can see a live heart and other organs because the scales and skin have no pigments,’ said Yutaka Tamaru, an associate professor in the department of life science at Mie University. ‘You don’t have to cut it open. You can see a tiny brain above the goldfish’s black eyes. The joint team of researchers at Mie University and Nagoya University in central Japan produced the ‘ryukin’ goldfish by picking mutant hatchery goldfish with pale skin and breeding them together.” w/ photos

Bird Vs. Soda Can

“A little Japanese bird bangs the sh*t out of a soda can with his beak.”