“You travel where your values draw you,” I explained my new theory to an old friend in a voice message. I was taking an evening stroll through Kyoto, a place we had first visited 12 years ago together — and been gushing over ever since. “We’re introverted, resourceful, detail-oriented Germans. Of course we love Japan! They do everything we’re supposedly known for, except better and more consistently.”
It was a bittersweet insight. When I talk to international friends here in Munich, they frequently comment on train delays, boundless red tape, and the impossible-to-understand tax system. “What’s that about?” they say. “I thought you Germans are super efficient!”
The truth is Germans can be many things — fast, precise, accommodating — but we often choose not to be, especially if there’s no immediate payoff. On the other hand, we can also be stubborn, pedantic, and impatient — even at the same time. It’s common to deal with a bureaucrat who insists on a rule that doesn’t make sense, have a person cut in line at the bakery, or hear someone argue with their neighbor over a meaningless spat.
German culture is paradoxical in many ways. This is a country where some night clubs are open more than 24 hours, but you can’t mow your lawn on a Sunday. Where sex is a taboo topic, but you can totally tan yourself naked, and in most saunas, clothes are actually forbidden. We also have a strong sense of separation between public and private life. In other words: Our values shift a lot depending on the context.
A German manufacturer, for example, could produce the best door hinges in the world — but what happens if the people making those hinges check their work attitudes at their offices’ smooth-swinging doors when they go home? The same person who calmly assembled complex machinery 15 minutes ago might suddenly yell at their doctor’s receptionist over a silly little consent form. This is why what makes German products beautiful often doesn’t translate to people’s everyday life.
During my recent two-week trip, it struck me that, compared to Germany, experiencing Japan feels more consistent. I believe this, too, goes back to people’s values. Being friendly, patient, and reserved, for example, might be something most Japanese people simply are, be it at work or at home — and that’s why you can see these traits shine through wherever you go.
Of course, humans are humans, exceptions prove the norm, and no country is perfect. Work culture in Japan can be brutal, with long hours and high expectations. Ridiculous bureaucracy can also pop up there in places, for example when doing your written driver’s license exam. Gambling is huge and permeates everything. I walked into one of many multi-story slot machine halls, where hundreds of retirees seemed glued to games with unfavorable odds. Claw machines, lucky draw figurines, Pokémon card mystery packs — it’s everywhere.
Problems aside, however, I still noticed many improvements I would have loved to put in my suitcase and bring right back to Germany. As author Laura Huang writes: “Different isn’t always better, but better is always different.” Here are 28 cases where, in Japan, it’s both.
1. Vending machines are everywhere…
…which also means you can get water anywhere. Seriously. You’ll walk around in the middle of nowhere, and boom, a fully stacked vending machine. In Germany, if you’re out in the country somewhere, you better pray for a gas station. Japan’s excellent drink supply might be due to the hot climate, but in any case, it shows how far behind we can be in the West when it comes to supplying basic necessities evenly across an entire country — and that doing so is probably much harder than it looks!
2. …and so are toilets
Maybe I just got lucky, but it felt like the only thing standing between me and the next pee stop was finding the sign pointing in the right direction. No awkward conversations with restaurant owners about letting you use the loo. Beautiful!
3. Fully automated sushi places
Speaking of awkward: Japan takes the stigma out of eating alone. At Kura Sushi, for example, you check in at a machine, find your seat, sit behind a curtain, and order from a tablet. Salt, pepper, soy sauce, chopsticks, napkins, and everything else you need is stored right inside the table. Your dishes arrive on a conveyor belt, and you can drop empty plates into a slot, whereafter they magically return to the kitchen. Anything else, little robots will collect and chauffeur to where it needs to go. And, best of all, with friends it’s just as much fun!
4. Ingenious paper towel dispensers
When I went to the toilet at Kura, I discovered the most brilliant paper towel dispenser I had ever seen: It was a normal, clear plastic box, but the middle part was designed to squeeze out the top towel. It made it stand up just enough for you to pull out one sheet at a time without accidentally grabbing 17 tissues in one go. Genius!
5. Circular auto-flushing
Okay, last thing about toilets, I swear. Japanese water closets are the Cadillacs of water closets. Most come with heated seats, auto-close, and an array of buttons for various bidet functions. Whether you like these or not is subjective, but I found two features hard to argue with: auto-flush and water running into the bowl in circles, which naturally cleans the toilet. This means even the people who are allergic to toilet brushes or forget to flush altogether don’t stand a chance. In fact, Japan barely has any toilet brushes. I saw exactly one in two weeks of visiting dozens of locations. When your toilets keep themselves clean, they’re just not needed. More of this over here, please.
6. Convenience food is *actually* convenient…
…yet still healthy and fresh for the most part. Besides countless useful everyday items, 7-Eleven, Lawson, and Family Mart sell the usual sandwiches and fried stuff, of course. But you can also find onigiri — rice balls with fillings like tuna and salmon — coconut water, sushi, salads, and so much more! The food is freshly made at dedicated commissaries, and stores stock up multiple times a day, which means you’ll rarely eat anything stale. Plus, everything comes either bite-sized or with wooden cutleries. Sure, there’s lots of plastic wrapping, but that’s recyclable too. All in all, convenience stores in Japan are miles ahead of the West.
7. Power bank rentals
Did I mention you can actually dine in at many convenience stores? Plenty of them have a first floor sitting area where you can hang out, charge your phone, and eat what you’ve bought without rushing. But what if you’re on the go? In the first such rest area I was in, I spotted rentable power banks. Grab a portable charger, juice up your phone, and return it at a different station later on. There’s nothing wrong with a coffee break, of course, but it’s nice to not have to buy an overpriced latte at Starbucks just to plug in your phone. Rentable power banks can save you serious time and money. Often, you’ll even get the first 30 minutes for free.
8. Steel cable luggage locks
When it comes to storing your luggage, two of the most common options are less than ideal. Hotels, for one, usually take it off your hands but keep it out of reach. That means you’ll later have to request it and wait for it to be returned. Coin lockers, meanwhile, might be too tight and damage your various suitcases — if you have the right change to use them to begin with. My first hotel in Osaka had a different idea: A floor-mounted shelf with steel cables and code locks. Just loop a cable through your bag’s handle, then seal the lock with a four-digit code. Done! This way, one small room with a few plain shelves could hold dozens of suitcases in all sizes, and guests could grab them whenever they wanted. Less metal, fewer bellhop hours, and better access, all in one go. Brilliant!
9. Straws that neither clog nor make slurping sounds
At a cozy café in Osaka, I got a drink with a marvelous straw: It had a wide, spoon-shaped opening at the bottom. The result? Whatever small bits might be in your drink won’t clog your straw. You can even use it to eat those bits after you’ve emptied your drink — which you will do silently, without slurping sounds, also thanks to the unique shape. What a trifecta!
10. Dedicated bag holders
In many of Japan’s countless restaurants, you’ll find a dedicated basket for your bags tucked under your table. Alternatively, a waiter might bring one to you as soon as you sit down — all so you can drop your luggage without having to put it on the floor.
11. Magnetic “Do not disturb” signs
The first time I saw the words “Do not disturb” written on the inside of my hotel room door, I was confused. Then, I realized: It’s a sign! Puns aside, these magnetic stickers replace the usual, flimsy paper hangers which let the staff know whether you want your room made up or some peace and quiet. Mine even had a third option: “Only change towels.” The stickers won’t fall off, accidentally turn over to the wrong side, or get stuck in your door every time you close it. Plus, you can place them at eye level to make life easier for everyone. A magnetic idea indeed!
12. No trash cans = no trash
This is a cultural phenomenon more so than a hack, but: Japan has almost no public trash cans — in part due to a 1995 terrorist gas attack on the Tokyo subway — yet the streets are pretty clean wherever you go. The unspoken agreement is that if you create trash, you also take care of it. In Japanese schools, kids internalize this from a young age by cleaning up their classrooms together. And while residents can dispose of trash at home, even as a tourist, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to throw stuff away. In every convenience store, for example. I’m not sure this model is better, but it works. If everyone does a little, everything gets done.
13. Preset timers on kitchen walls
Once I saw it at a cute breakfast place, I couldn’t unsee it: Preset timers on restaurant kitchen walls. They were everywhere. One set to two minutes for an egg over here, another set to five minutes for some noodles over there, and so on. Whenever you order a certain dish, chefs fire up the timers and can thus guarantee quality and consistency on each plate. I’d have expected this in fancier restaurants but not small noodle shops, cafés, and the like. Way to out-German Germany, guys!
14. Mail slots at eye level
While walking down a hilly road in Kyoto, I spotted a mailman getting off his scooter. He walked to a house and — what?! — threw the letter into a slit at the top of the door. I know, right?! In hindsight, it’s obvious. It might have been just that house, but it seems that, instead of having to bend down all the time, mail carriers in Japan can deliver the mail upright. If anything, they’ll have to stretch a little every so often. I’m sure their retired bodies will thank whoever came up with this idea.
15. Decorative screens for harmonious interior design
In my hotel in Kyoto, the lounge area was a beautiful tatami room styled in wood. I noticed a brown panel in one corner. “Emergency,” a tiny label on it read. It turned out to be a decorative screen with a fire extinguisher tucked away behind it. Since the screen matched the color of the wood, the extinguisher seamlessly blended into the beauty of its surroundings. One can argue about this practice for this particular item, but it’s a trend I kept observing: “If something is necessary but sticks out like a sore thumb, let’s go the extra mile to preserve the natural look and feel of the environment.” Consistency strikes again.
16. Welcome signs that double as stretchers
While we’re on the subject of emergencies: At one of the shrines I visited, a big yellow welcome sign notified folks that it could double as a stretcher if needed. Mind. Blown. “Infuse everything, even the smallest detail, with as much purpose and usefulness as possible.” That seems to be one of Japan’s running themes, and it’s wonderful.
17. Jackets with built-in fans
To keep them from fainting and needing stretchers in the first place, many workers in Japan wear jackets and vests with built-in fans. These are proper mini turbines, and you can hear them from several meters away. With the sun out in full force and temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius in August, this seems to be a good tradeoff for police officers, traffic controllers, and construction workers: While toiling in the heat, the long sleeves will protect their skin, and the fans will keep them cool.
18.-21. Japan is umbrella utopia
But what if the weather turns? From early June to mid-July, it’s monsoon season. Rain, rain, rain. And Japan is prepared. First, you can rent umbrellas at various spots. Scan a QR code with the right app, unlock it, and return it at another designated station later. Second, the Uniqlo store in Ginza had a “shake-dry-rack” outside its entrance. It was basically a padded enclosure for you to put your umbrella in, shake it, and then take it into the store without getting everything wet. Third, they, like many other stores, also offered plastic slip-on covers. Close your umbrella, slide it in, and voilà, dry floors in stores! And, for good measure, they’ll give you some for your shopping bags, too. Finally, some stores offer locked umbrella holders. Safely deposit your umbrella on the way in, don’t worry about it being stolen while shopping, then grab it again on your way out. China may have invented the umbrella, but Japan sure knows how to handle them!
22. Traffic lights which always tell you how long you’ll have to wait
In many places, pedestrian lights start a countdown when they turn green. That’s helpful. Some intersections in Kyoto and Tokyo took this even further. They had traffic lights indicating the duration of both red and green phases with dots. I’m not sure if they were set to fixed time intervals or adjusting dynamically based on the traffic, but it was refreshing to not fidget at red lights. I always knew how long the wait would be and, somehow, that made the waiting more comfortable.
23. Trains are on time — like, always
Another note on waiting comfortably, which, as a German, hit me particularly hard: Trains. In Japan. Work. Everything about them just works. You may have heard his before, but it’s true. The train stops at exactly the right spot at exactly the right time. Of course, delays happen in Japan, too, but they’re far and few between. Thanks to a combination of automation, precision, fast cleaning and turnaround times, high-frequency scheduling, and well-trained staff, delays average less than one minute, even on long-distance journeys. Add the fact that Japan is a long, narrow, extremely mountainous country with over 124 million inhabitants, and I’m sure you’ll agree: The consistency in their train system is nothing short of a miracle.
24. Efficient navigation for large groups of humans
Speaking of narrow and well-populated, so are many locations in the country. Public transport, offices, stores, museums, temples — they’re all crowded yet hardly feel crushing. That’s because Japan transparently communicates to you where you are, where you need to go, and how to get there safe and sound. On train platforms, floor markings show people how to queue in an orderly fashion — and they do! I also spotted a seating chart taped to the barrier. By the time I got on the train, I already knew where to walk and sit. This efficient flow of humans is part architecture, part design, and part culture, of course. But the end result is that navigating even the busiest of areas rarely feels frustrating.
PS: I didn’t see this comfort bonus this time around, but 12 years ago, I witnessed a train’s chairs rotating while it was being serviced for its next run. If you suddenly realize you’re always facing the right way way when riding trains in Japan, now you’ll know why.
25. Overhead luggage racks for everyday commuters
While riding the Tokyo subway to the airport, I noticed a useful feature from trains had made it to public transport: Overhead luggage racks for commuters, not just long-distance travelers. I saw workers store their laptop bags up there, and it was a welcome way to handle my luggage as well, especially considering the limited space in subway cars.
26. Roll-on scales at airports
Continuing with the luggage theme, during check-in at the Haneda airport, I saw roll-on scales for the first time. How great is that? Instead of heaving your suitcase up, you casually push it forward. The scale beeps, the sticker goes on, and ta-da, your hands are free!
27. Free hot and cold water at restaurants
Tsukemen restaurants are ramen shops where you dip the noodles into the broth before eating them. At Fūunji Shinjuku, those noodles not only taste heavenly, the staff also puts both hot and iced water on the counter in front of you. This way, you can choose which one you want to drink depending on the weather. More so, however, you can turn the leftover dipping sauce for your noodles into a delicious soup to complement the main course. Soup upgrade or not, free hot and cold water should be standard at all restaurants, don’t you think?
28. Empathetic signs
This last thing might be the most benign, but, to me, it was also the most beautiful: the signs.
After exiting the park that holds Meiji Jingu, Tokyo’s most famous shrine, I found myself in front of a closed parking lot. There was a big blue sign on the gate. It read: “Please do not park in front of the gate so that buses and emergency vehicles can enter smoothly.”
I remember standing there, awestruck, marveling at that sign for a whole minute. Why? Because a comparable German sign would have read, “DON’T BLOCK THE GATE. YOUR CAR WILL BE TOWED AT YOUR EXPENSE.” We love telling the public what to do and especially what not to do. And we try to compel people with loud commands and threats of punishment. Japanese signs, meanwhile, ask nicely and provide their reasoning.
“So that” is the key phrase. It’s an invitation, not an order, and there’s a clear why attached to each ask. After my initial discovery, I kept seeing the same theme. “Please sit on this bench if you need some rest.” “Please vacate this seat so that an elderly person can sit down.” “Please make room so others can exit the area.”
Did you notice? I tried applying the same through-line in this article. I didn’t just say what’s cool about Japan. I explained why each idea has the potential to improve our lives.
That’s the thing about purpose: Even if it’s obvious, it’s nice to be reminded it’s there — especially when you’re being asked to do something uncomfortable.
“Ugh, again, no parking.” We roll our eyes and sigh. But a good reason makes it easier to do what’s right and even do it willingly — because it connects you to other people rather than isolating you from them. You’re not the lone culprit who must be kept in check. You’re one of many people sharing a public space, and we’re all part of a greater whole.
If making someone realize such a big, universal truth with something as simple as a “don’t park here” sign isn’t pure genius, I don’t know what is.
There is a word for this realization, by the way. It’s called ‘sonder:’
“The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one’s own, which they are constantly living despite one’s personal lack of awareness of it.”
During my two weeks in Japan, I had many sonder moments — and not only due to the signs. It feels like the entire country is constantly reminding you: We all belong to the same species, and the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts. That’s just about the greatest public service I can think of.
Perhaps it’s this service that, more than anything else, drew nearly 43 million international visitors to Japan in 2025. It was the highest number on record and a near-tenfold increase since 2000.
Thoughtfulness. Empathy. Innovation. We travel where our values draw us. That makes Japan a great destination not just for introverted, resourceful, detail-oriented Germans, but for anyone who cherishes harmony, community, and the relentlessly creative human spirit.
It’s true that different may not always lead to better, but it sure is where every better begins — and what more reliable way to experience different than to travel to new places?
