> While the nation is known abroad for minimalist lifestyles, their websites are oddly maximalist.

I’m not aware of this stereotype of Japanese minimalism. I guess there’s Marie Kondo, and some Japanese high-end dining tends towards minimalism. But then there’s manga, anime, kawaii, Nintendo, Sega, Miyazaki, etc., a lot of which is closer to maximalism than minimalism.

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ghaff 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Having attended a lot of conferences in Japan, I would have said signage and the like tends towards the amateur and garish. Which isn't inconsistent with what you wrote. I've always found Japan a weird mix of refined/minimalist and kitsch.

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flakiness 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

A subset of Japanese people use minimalism as a justification as lesser purchase power these days.

That said, I think the Japanese commercial ecosystem is still less wasteful than the one in the US except the excessive plastic wrapping. I hope one day they realize that won't count as "Omotenashi".

	▲	numpad0 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Wet Japanese climate necessitate sterile packaging. It's not as extreme as the Southeast Asia, but things do get soggy in matters of hours. So "excessive" aluminized plastic wrapping is just a necessity.
	▲	m4rtink 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		I think a lot of what looks like to much wrapping can be explained by high humidity year round. The wrapping protects products from spoiling or being damaged in such an environment.
	▲	CuriouslyC 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Fruit would like a word

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Cpoll 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You also have wabi-sabi and all the other bits of Zen Buddhism we've imported.

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m4rtink 9 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Do not forget the Tokugawa tomb in Nikko. ;-)