Comment by araes
1 day ago
Weird, interacting with Japan mostly only through video games (and only a limited amount with food) I actually find them almost the opposite most of the time.
Import games arrive in tiny boxes with almost no packaging and manuals that have been design like origami inserts to take up only the tiny remaining space available.
Games are not a daily driver compared to a Bento box or most things you buy in Japan. It's actually a tad shocking to see the amount of waste you get from every day life in Japan.
When you do your garbage there's a box called "moeru" (burnable) and there is a crapload of plastic in there.
That said, Japanese packaging is also an art. Both can be true at the same time.
I wouldn’t consider eating Japanese food or playing Japanese video games to constitute “interacting with Japan” at all. At best, you are interacting with its cultural exports.