The Toyota Prius Has How Many Mascots?!
Rather than having just one mascot to promote its new Prius, Toyota went with an astronomically large number of mascots, with each one representing a part of the car.
The Real Wall-E of Snow Clearing
Thanks to this snow-eating robot, your days of shoveling snow may be over!
Seal Up Your Phone & Achieve Your Goals
Need help holding yourself back from your phone? Japanese high school entrepreneurs have come up with a simple way to free up your time with the Smart Phone Sealing Taro.
Wonders of Japan: Industrial Heritage
Historical Site World Heritage
Get to know modern community development while viewing heritage sites from Japan's industrial revolution.
Read 141 GB of Ancient Japanese Texts Online
Access ancient Japanese texts at a click of a button with a new database courtesy of The National Institute of Japanese Literature.
What is The Wonder 500™?
The Wonder 500 Undiscovered Japan
The Wonder 500™ aims to discover unique Japanese local products that are unfamiliar outside of Japan, and introduce them—and the values they represent—to the rest of the world.
Astro Boy Meets the Rinpa School of Painting
The classic anime characters by Osamu Tezuka that gave birth to modern anime come to life in this exhibit thanks to breathtaking backgrounds provided by the traditional Japanese painting school, Rinpa.
Smile, You're on Hanshin Camera!
In an effort to curb the use of people looking at their cellphones while walking, Hanshin Railway Company decided to build a rather ingenious device that singles people out.
Monopoly Celebrates Japanese Arts & Crafts
Monopoly has been released in over 200 countries, and is so popular that it has an almost infinite number of variations. Now we can add one more variation to the pack with traditional Japanese craftwork.
Finally, a Vending Machine You Can Talk To
Trying to figure out what a drink is on a Japanese vending machine is kind of like a guessing game if you don't read kanji. Luckily, there's one vending machine that's looking out for consumers.
Step into the Future of Holograms
Want your very own hologram to turn on the TV or set the temperature in your bath water?
Hand Cream with a Mission
The Kesen Tsubaki Dream Project uses camellia oil to make hand cream that's not only popular, but helped revitalize a region once devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
All Aboard the Fireworks Train!
Dubbed "Genbi," this unique bullet train will be going into service on the Joetsu Shinkansen Line in Spring 2016.
Finding Remedies in the Soil
Professor Satoshi Omura, joint recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has discovered organic compounds produced by microorganisms in the soil that are being used to free hundreds of millions of people from infectious diseases.
No Trees, No Kiyomizu-dera
What are the three most notable woody materials used in the construction of Kiyomizu-dera?
Levitating Plants Are a Reality
The magnetic Air Bonsai creates surreal levitating plants. And you can buy one.
Japan's Wackiest Health Magazine
Information Healthy Japanese Food
Japanese pharmacy company Aisei publishes a health magazine that does everything in its power to grab your attention.
We Have the Technology to Read... Minds?!
While he's nowhere near the level of some telepaths like Professor X, Professor Toshimasa Yamazaki has found a way to read people's minds by utilizing the Japanese language.
Share a Gorgeous Passion for Otsu
Osamu Hasegwa is one of our favourite filmmakers, and in his latest film, “Passion for Otsu—Youngest Mayor in Japan: Naomi Koshi,” he combines his stylistic technique with a vivid storyline.
The Top 8 Stationery from The Wonder 500™
These designs can make working at the office—or on your own pursuits at home—that much more enjoyable!
