Japanese web design: weird, but it works. Here's why [video]

A web page full of information is complex? All webpages used to be like that, nobody found it complicated, I wouldn't mind going back to more information dense pages.

I am a young Japanese person. Honestly, I prefer minimal and simple web design, but there is a parameter that cannot be measured by whether something is cool or cute. That parameter is &quot;a sense of security.&quot;<p>Japanese people have a superstition that a slightly shabby ramen shop is tastier than a stylish and clean one. The feeling of being a bit cluttered strangely brings a sense of security. Do you think you can understand this?

Many many Japanese websites do not work. They have idiosyncratic navigation and dense and convoluted signup processes. Japanese user are used to this friction but websits do not succeed because of this complexity, they pass because of tolerant user base.

I am still shocked why I cannot buy a Shinkansen train ticket between midnight and 6am.<p>I think Japanese websites problem is much more complex than just few reasons.

This topic gets rehashed pretty frequently, what other languages have very different designs? I remember someone linking to cool Mongolian sites with vertical script.<p>Also I like &quot;outdated&quot; Japanese designs, I wish websdesign was more cyclical like fashion and we&#x27;d circle back to earlier web. I don&#x27;t care much for LLMs, but I do like getting blocks of text returned, reminds me of simpler times.

This makes me wish I lived in Japan, imagine being part of a culture where clickbait is so shunned that companies avoid it.

It’s odd that a country synonymous to minimalism loves complex websites.

Ah yes, Japanese databases that have maximum length for password and weirdly limits what characters you can enter. Banking systems that still link your information against your name, ending up in hilarious situations. Forms that won&#x27;t fit your name, so you end up doing the snail mail method instead. Not sure about the local laws, but white hat would have a field day with Japanese services and web sites.

Uhh I don’t think it does. Japanese websites have notoriously terrible accessibility and UX.