land of the future, stuck in the past

[pjxb]

Calling all ex-JETs and others who lived in Japan -

What are some of the best/worst technologies in Japan? What technologies/conveniences do you miss?

So far, for best I have:
on-demand gas water heaters
automated food service (kaiten sushi, food vending tickets, etc.)
cell phone bar-code readers
washlettes
bank books

For the worst:
plastic disposable bathroom furnishings
talking streets, buildings, cars, sidewalks, trivial inanimate objects
movie theatres!
tetrapods
hollowed-out mountains

Yeah, send me some inspiration!