If you head to the basement of More's Department store in Kawaski, you'll find an escalator that has only five steps.
Aokigahara is a forest at the base of Mount Fuji and is the second most popular place in the world for suicides. The most popular place in the world is the Golden Gate Bridge
Kongō Gumi Co., Ltd. is a construction company that was founded in 578 A.D.
16. Japan drinks A LOT of coffee
About 85% of Jamaica's coffee production each year is sent to Japan.
An amendemnt was added that renounces all war and aggression.
18. Many companies have fairly passive agressive ways of firing you
Because they'd have to pay you a severence if they fire you, many companies have created "banishment rooms." An employee is sent to one of these rooms and given tasks that amount to basically busy work, hoping you'll eventually quit.
They're hotels that can be rented by the hour. The hotels are often pretty cheap and include different themed rooms.
20. A lot of Japanese men refuse to leave their rooms
"Hikikomori" is a condition where men lock themselves in their room and refuse any contact with anyone. Many psychologists agree the condition is related to depression as well as the anxiety surrounding Japan's social pressures.
This was an ancient Japanese tradition. White teeth were considered ugly, so women used to dye them.
In fact, 98% of all adoptions are men between 20 and 30. This has a lot to do with owning a family business. If a family has no son to keep the name alive, they'll adopt an heir into the family.
23. Melons can get outrageously expensive
A nearly perfect musk melon (which is similar to a cantaloupe) can sell for up to $300.
People in Japan don't really celebrate the holiday, but KFC was popular with foreigners in the country around the holiday since they had trouble finding a whole chicken elsewhere. Eventually, the people of Japan started following the trend, and now you have to make your KFC reservation months in advance.
Japanese citizens are VERY devoted to education.
Mr. Kanso Canned Food Restaurant doesn't have a traditional menu, you just pick out the can.
Fugu is a poisonous blowfish that if prepared wrong will kill whoever eats it. It takes 11 years of training to become a Fugu chef, and you have to taste your own food before you can pass the test.
That includes two volcanoes.
Okunoshima is an island located in the Inland Sea. It's home to thousands of rabbits that roam free.
The Tsukiji market auctioned the big fish off for $735,000.