12 Reasons Japanese Culture Is Deeply Disturbing, But Still Wonderfully Fascinating

Far be it for us to act all xenophobic, especially when there’s more than enough of that going around, but anyone who’s glanced even casually at modern, urban Japanese culture has inevitably run across one or two bits that are simply strange. That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot to admire about Japanese culture, both modern and historical. It’s simply that when it’s time for Japanese people to unwind, their tastes skew so exotic as to be disturbing to Western eyes. You don’t even really need to dig too deep (or talk about porn) to find some aspects of popular Japanese culture that is straight-up weird.

1. They Have an Entire Museum Devoted to Parasites

Yup. The museum is the only one of its kind in the world (shock) and it’s filled with glass cases in which organs and tissue have been allowed to play host to some of the world’s most interesting (and revolting) parasites. They’re upsetting. So, rather that provide a picture of that, here’s a shot of Japan’s native Ussuri Brown Bear.