61. Hand Chopper

What it is: Cutting board with a fake hand attached
Invented: mid-2000s
Average Price: $75*
According to Porch, over 322,000 emergency room visits per year happen because of a kitchen accident. The Japanese Chopper Hand would be a good invention for brands like Iconix to pick up to lower that number, as it helps you slice and dice without risking your hand.

Hand Chopper @Madelief Alserda / Twitter.com
The cutting board has a hand attached in the same spot where a chef would normally put his or her hand. You can chop away, never cutting a finger. The knife is sold separately to this cutting board. You can even paint the hand’s nails to make it more realistic.

62. Onion Protection Glasses

What it is: Glasses with fans attached to blow away onion fumes
Invented: 2016
Average Price: Unlisted
Invented by Chindogu master Kenji Kawakami, the Onion Protection Glasses are, as Kawakami describes them, “un-useless.” These glasses have fans attached to them to blow away the onion fumes. Whether companies like Sharper Image in the States will have a counter-invention remains unknown.

Onion Protection Glasses @Cats R Cool / Youtube.com
Though these glasses may seem silly, they do, technically, work. Onions make your eyes water because they produce syn-propanethial-S-oxide, which is a chemical irritant. This irritate stimulates your tear glands, making chopping onions quite unpleasant. The fans on the Onion Protection Glasses prevent the S-oxide from ever reaching your eyes in the first place.

63. Blink Reminder Glasses

What it is: Glasses that tell you to blink when you’re staring at the screen too long
Invented: 2009
Average Price: $422*
Wink Glasses are made by Masunaga Optical Manufacturing, which is a Japanese optical company. The Wink Glasses have sensors that detect how long it has been since you’ve gone without blinking while staring at your device, whether it is your PC, your Apple iPhone, an Android or any screen.

Blink Reminder Glasses @Warish Ali Shaikh / Facebook.com
The Wink Glasses, once the sensor is triggered and knows you have to blink, fogs up the right lenses. Your vision is obscured until you blink again. This happens every five seconds, preventing eye strain. Eye strain is a common health problem in America, and 59% of Americans have reported eye strain symptoms.

64. Cooling Sprays and Lotions

What it is: Cold air in a can to help cool off from hot weather
Invented: 2017
Average Price: $0.94*
This is pretty much an air conditioner in a bottle. In Japan, some cities and towns experience temperatures in the upper nineties during July and August. Two years ago, Japan had its highest temperature day ever, soaring to 106 degrees. These cooling sprays and lotions mist you with icy air, cooling down your temperature.

Cooling Spray @matcha-jp / Pinterest
While the spray is easy to use throughout the day, reviewers also commented that the cooling lotion is especially nice after being out in the sun all day. Colgate, so far, doesn’t have any products that rival this kind of cheap ingeniousness of this type of cooling spray.

65. Hot Food Vending Machines

What it is: Vending machine that gives you hot meals
Invented: 2017
Average Price: $9,774.07*
Vending machines are more popular in Japan than pretty much any other country in the world. The Japanese National Tourism Organization credits that to the country’s low crime rates, as vending machines are rarely vandalized in Japan and can be left outside with no problem. Hot food vending machines are a newer invention for the on-the-go country.

Hot Food Vending Machines @agkdesign / Twitter.com
Though you won’t see these in the aisles of Best Buy or Target, hot food vending machines in Japan serve hot meals 24/7. You just pick the hot meal that you want, the same way you’d use any vending machine, and you’ll get your food ASAP.

66. Robot Food Servers

What it is: Restaurant with waiters that are remote-controlled robots
Invented: 2018
Average Price: N/A
The restaurant that pioneered this awesome invention opened in Tokyo, Japan in December of 2018. This pop-up café uses robotic waiters. The waiters are controlled by paraplegic and quadriplegic restaurant staff. The café, called Dawn Ver, is staffed by ten humans and their accompanying robots.

Robot Food Servers @trycakenow / Twitter.com
Though this might seem like the cutting-edge work of iRobot, this concept has actually been around for years. In Nepal, restaurant waiters are used in the Naulo Café. Japan also is no stranger to having robotic waitstaff, using robots to work at hotels and theme parks. It’ll be interesting to see where they take this technology next.

67. Plus Minus Zero Reflect Heater

What it is: High-tech home heater
Invented: 2010s
Average Price: $261*
This intriguing device is an innovative way to control your home’s temperature. The Heater swivels left to right, and it lets you adjust your heating by twenty-six degrees up or down. The heater comes in gray, pink/beige, and brown.

Plus Minus Zero Reflect Heater @cicokorea / Facebook.com
It is made of ABS and polypropylene, similar to heaters you might see from US companies like AAON. The heater weighs about 5.1 pounds and can run without being charged for 1-4 hours (depending on the type you get). All in all, it is a convenient and stylish way to keep warm in the winter.

68. Bio-Carbon Batteries

What it is: Battery that charges 14 times faster than a normal battery
Invented: 2014
Average Price: Unlisted
Power Japan Plus is a start-up that has pioneered the dual carbon battery, despite not having the same financial backing and funding as companies like Energizer. Power Japan Plus has named its dual carbon (bio-carbon) battery the Ryden, and it is innovative because it charges twenty times faster than regular lithium-ion batteries.

Batteries ©Nor Gal / Shutterstock
The battery not only charges quicker, it is rated for over three thousand cycles. These batteries are also able to slot into manufacturing processes without requiring changes to existing manufacturing lines. The PJP battery has been seen in vehicles such as the Tesla Model S and the Prius.

69. Sweat Absorbing Accessories

What it is: Absorbs sweat on your underarms
Invented: 2015
Average Price: $5.95*
This is another invention that is geared towards office-workers. The Kobayashi Japan Riff Sweat Absorbing Pads go onto your armpits in order to avoid sweat-stains. They are, reportedly, more absorbent than deodorant. Though we might not see Nike produce them for heavy-duty athletes, they are wearable for day-to-day work.

Sweat Absorbing Accessories @Big Shop / Pinterest
The Riff Sweat Pads are also inexpensive, costing just $5.95 for a pack of ten pairs (twenty pads in total). “RIFF” stands for “Refine, Ideal, Fine, and Fresh.” These underarm pads are, according to Kobayashi, “famous” and “nearly exclusive.” The pads are just a millimeter thick, but they have strong deodorizing powers.

70. Sunglasses For Dogs

What it is: Dog goggles to protect dogs’ eyes from sunlight
Invented: 2013
Average Price: $204*
The Doggles founders developed their product after noticing that their pet was having trouble playing fetch in the sunlight, often squinting and missing the ball. This idea would develop into a $3 million company (and still growing).

Sunglasses For Dogs / ::: Dog Funny ::: / Pinterest
Doggles are canine sunglasses. According to Outside Online, older dogs who have cataracts from age-related disabilities will have “slightly better” eyesight on a “sunny day” if they wear Doggles. Doggles has also expanded from eyewear into pet products like carriers, bowls, boots, beds, and more.

71. Waterproof Book Cover

What it is: Allows you to read in the bath
Invented: 2014
Average Price: $12.28*
The You-Bumi Waterproof Book Cover is advertised as being useful for the bath, pool or Jacuzzi. It covers your book with a waterproof plastic cover that has air inside. The cover is able to float in the pool/bath with you. The Cover also has slots for your fingers so you can turn the pages.

Waterproof Book Cover @BuzzFeedDIY / Twitter.com
Available on Amazon (unless sold out), Japan Trend Shop, and similar retailers, this book cover can hold a wide range of book sizes, with the maximum being 7.7 inches by 5.5 inches. The cover comes in one color: blue with white polka dots.

72. Easy-Access Moving Truck

What it is: Moving truck that opens from the side
Invented: 2018
Average Price: $85-$200*
When you think of moving trucks, you probably picture slogging all of the boxes and furniture onto a ramp through the back of the truck. However, Japan does things a little differently than American truck companies like Ford or Chevy. Moving trucks in Japan open from the side and from the back, allowing for maximum convenience.

Japanese Moving Truck @TinyDancer1221 / Pinterest
The price of the truck depends on whether you’re renting it or buying it. You might see truck rentals in Japan start as low as $35, while other rental agencies are a little steeper depending on the vehicle, ranging from $85 to $200.

73. Turning Train Seats

What it is: Train seats that rotate
Invented: 2008
Average Price: N/A (Usually not for sale)
In Japan, rotating technology is very popular. Train seats are no exception, and train lines such as Shinkansen, a bullet train, allow you to rotate your seat around to face the window or other passengers, if you’re traveling in a group (probably not a good idea to randomly face strangers).

Turning Train Seats @JPindustryandculture / Twitter.com
Rotating train seats are operated, at least on the Shinkansen (similar to CSX in America), using a lever under the seat that rotates up to 180 degrees. This isn’t the only place you can find such innovative seating. At the Sapphoro Dome stadium, located on Hokkaido Island, stadium bleachers rotate too.

74. Doshisha Neck Heater

What it is: Scarf with a heater built into it
Invented: 2019
Average Price: $147*
Just like there are items dedicated to personal cooling on this list, we also have heating. Certain areas in Japan (the ones that extend as far north as Vladivostok, Russia) can be nearly intolerably cold in the winter. Luckily, the Japanese have invented things such as the Doshisha Neck Heater to help.

Doshisha Neck Heater @Unisex Clothing, Accessories / Pinterest
Usually sold on Amazon or Japan Trend Shop, this electric heated neck scarf has three settings: low, medium, and high. It comes in blue, gray, beige, or pink, and it is chargeable by USB. The charging time for this heated neck scarf is usually around four hours.

75. White Goat Paper Recycler

What it is: A machine to turn office paper into toilet paper
Invented: 2010
Average Price: $100,000*
The White Goat Paper Recycler is at the forefront of green energy, like many other inventions from Japan. This Recycler turns discarded office paper into toilet paper. The machine is not cheap, costing about $100,000 (around the same price as a Tesla Model S in 2016).

White Goat Paper Recycler @feroxspeedruns / Twitter.com
The Recycler saves as many as sixty cedar trees per year, turning used sheets of cellulose into usable toilet paper. You just put in the office paper on one side and wait for the finished product to emerge from the other side. It takes a little time, but the eco-friendly benefits are worth it.