Breakfast: a Japanese user experience —perfection 1, innovation 0
The slices of pickled cucumber were stacked perfectly, two small cucumbers resting in a decorated ceramic dish beside a collection of pink ginger strips.
Ten more arrangements occupied the rest of the tray, together forming the traditional Japanese breakfast that awaited us at exactly the time we had agreed to arrive at the restaurant in our traditional ryokan in the heart of the Japanese Alps.
In Japan, you do not want to be late for, overlook, or miss a single user experience or the extraordinary culture of design and aesthetics that approaches perfection. Over breakfast, I began to understand the tension between two worlds: perfection and innovation.
Small displays of perfection from the chef, alongside the common practice of cooking part of the meal yourself
Moving through space in Japan —is there a connection to the brain’s dominant side?
In most places in Japan, you keep to the left. Perhaps that makes a playful metaphor for the side of the brain associated with logic, science, and mathematics.
I only began to experience Japanese culture deeply when my partner and I planned to fulfill her dream of visiting the Land of the Rising Sun. What struck me was its remarkably logical and scientific character.
Alongside the ability to take something good and make its operation and experience nearly perfect, there is also enormous artistry. Perhaps kanji writing offers a metaphor for that combination of logic and art.
Either way, the order of movement in Japan, from roads in remote areas to Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station,the world’s busiest with about 3.5 million daily passengers at the time, taught me how physical movement through space can become an exceptional user experience while preserving each person’s personal space.
The next time you are in Tokyo, or want to understand how to move large numbers of people efficiently, watch how the Japanese do it and learn from them.
Why did the roadworks traffic controller bow to me?
Here is another example of user experience in Japan’s transportation space, from a different angle.
The first traffic controller we encountered after renting a car in Japan made me pause, in more ways than one. Incidentally, our rental car had automatic switching between low and high beams, another detail that caught my attention.
The signs were clear even when they were not in English, and the flashing lights already warned of something ahead. But it was the older traffic controller, raising a red flag with a courteous flourish to signal that I should stop, who taught me something.
After checking with the controller on the other side that it was safe to proceed, he gave me a deep bow, turned the flag to show its white side, and waved me on with courtesy and absolute seriousness.
That was my experience in Japan. Whether directing traffic, selling train tickets, working in a bakery, or running the country, people seemed to wear purpose-specific uniforms and approach their work with a seriousness and respect unlike anything I had seen.
To see people respect their work and feel respected and important regardless of the job they do, observe Japanese workers.
Almost every worker we encountered had a uniform, specialized equipment, and deep respect for the role
A Japanese bow to the user —how designers navigate perfection and innovation
Respect in Japan is not reserved for employees and work. It is deeply embedded in everyday behavior.
Japanese designers also take responsibility for respecting the people using their products. They continually work within the tension between perfection and innovation, although, in my view, the emphasis on innovation had sometimes weakened over the preceding decades.
From the toilets at Tokyo’s airport to the public facilities in Yoyogi Park and the bathroom at our traditional ryokan, designers seemed to think about efficiency, cleanliness, and beauty.
You may already have heard about Japanese toilets, but I still have to mention the experience: seats that open automatically, feel warm and welcoming, and offer washing and massage functions
. Beyond cleanliness, automation, efficiency, and beauty, there are dedicated places to hang shopping bags and even seats where parents can safely place a baby while using the facilities.
Japanese designers show great respect for users, from the most private spaces to the most public ones. I think Israeli design has a great deal to learn from this.
If you would like to see Japanese makers prepare something for you, visit Tokyo’s Tsukiji food market. Someone will make you something special.
Automation as a way to reduce friction and mistakes—where is Japan heading?
Automation is a key word in Japan. The ultimate design process seems to reach its peak when everything works automatically and efficiently, with a courteous customer service employee overseeing it all and smiling while handling any problems.
I think some of that automation also extends into almost automatic consumer behavior, with trends followed very strongly.
Take the Japanese trend for box-shaped cars:
The image on the right or top shows Honda’s models offered in Japan in 2012. The image on the left or bottom shows the same manufacturer in the same year, but in the American market, where only one vehicle, the minivan, resembles a box.
Once box-shaped design became a trend in Japan, every Japanese automaker—Honda, Suzuki, Mazda, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu, and others—seemed to have an arsenal of box-shaped models.
The fact that boxy cars appear larger, and the speed restrictions we encountered in Japan, did not seem sufficient on their own to explain why so many cars looked like moving boxes.
As I saw it, the tendency to follow a queue, whatever people were waiting for, was also visible in consumption habits. When a trend caught on in Japan, it caught on strongly. For another example, try finding a woman there without a long beige trench coat.
Japan versus Israel: perfection versus innovation
Despite, and perhaps because of, the automation, aesthetics, logic, and artistry, I felt Japan faced an innovation challenge in various areas of life. It seemed to have favored perfection in the tension between the two.
Japan appeared to have all the tangible and intangible resources needed to lead global innovation, yet I felt innovation was missing in many areas.
Perhaps the pursuit of perfection sometimes limits experimentation and action. It seemed less about reinventing the wheel and more about making it turn as perfectly as possible.
Japanese consumer culture is oriented toward technology and innovation.
For example, Japan was an early commercial adopter of mobile internet. DoCoMo launched its service in 1999 and reached ten million subscribers about a year and a half later. For comparison, that was the year the Nokia 3210 arrived in Israel, for those who remember it.
Japan clearly embraces technology and knows how to make it. It is home to major companies including Sony, Nintendo, Panasonic, Hitachi, Fuji, Canon, Nikon, Sharp, Toshiba, and others. What was less clear to me was why Israelis were not doing more joint research and development with Japanese partners.
Japan led innovation and progress after World War II, but seemed to have taken fewer risks in the years before my visit while building giant corporations where innovation can be difficult to drive. It was now trying to bridge that gap.
Opportunity and business potential
With the right business policies and some significant deals, the trade imbalance between Israel and Japan could begin to narrow. In 2015, the figures cited here were $1.3 billion in imports and $700 million in exports.
Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry and its Japanese counterparts had already begun strengthening business ties between the countries, . I hope our innovative products can benefit from Japanese precision, while Japanese companies benefit from Israeli technological innovation.
A senior WeWork executive told me at a meeting that he had visited a Japanese makerspace occupying an entire building in Tokyo, filled with advanced tools and technology.
To his surprise, half a floor at WeWork in Tel Aviv contained more startups at one time than the Japanese laboratory hosted over an entire year.
At the time, we hoped Tel Aviv would soon have a state-of-the-art technology laboratory too, where we could welcome Japanese visitors and deepen business collaboration.
Until then, there is a great deal to learn. I learned a lot and wanted to learn more. Although I came away with immense respect for products made in Japan, I still think the Israeli attitude that “done is better than perfect” gives us plenty of reason to value products made at home.