Quietly nestled in the ‘Street of Drinkers’, Shibuya, is the tiny Piano Bar. Upon entering through the windowless door, you are transported to a bizzare world of red velvet, crazy chandeliers and bizarre portraits. There is a maximum capacity of just eight people, so make sure you get there first.

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From the WTF files, some dental students in Japan are practicising their oral techniques, as well as their people skills, on hapless Sex Dolls created by Yoshida Dental Manufacturing. The Hanako Showa 2 comes complete with tongue and cheeks (tongue in cheek?) and punctuates its time in the dental chair with an array of human emotions and expressios, such as ‘blink, cough, sneeze, choke and move its eyes’. Surreal!. Perhaps one can take my place for my next check-up.

La Mano Fria is a graphic artist who uses sampled imagery and re-configures them and in a way mirrors what hip-hop producers do with vinyl records. From these appropriated images, he reconfigures text and shapes to form something that’s in-between hand=printed posters and early digital artifact heavy graphics. These shirts are produced through Beams T in Japan.

Sato Tokihiro is a Japanese photographer who creates light paintings to allude to a poetic vision of a chaotic world. He will open the shutter sometimes for more than two hours, using his large format camera to take us to another dimension.

Cosplay never ceases to fascinate me, so I find this video by cosplay enthusiast and cinematographer Angel James de Ocampo (filmed at Japan Expo 2011 in Paris) to be pretty entertaining.

Admittedly, I can’t recognize half the characters, and the Simple Plan song is pretty lame, but I’m glad it celebrates rather than mocks the subculture.

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A three hour long subtitled Japanese film involving just two characters for all but, say, ten minutes of its running time may not be everyone’s idea of a good time.

However, if stunning performances and sublime photography are enough to keep you glued to the screen for the length of a football game, your patience will most certainly be rewarded here.

Known for his black and white close-ups of the human body, Japanese photographer Eikoh Hosoe is one of the pioneers who breathed life into the art of photography. He helped turned photography into an art form full of symbolism and depth as he produced dark yet beautiful avante-garde images, focusing on war, sex and death.

Japanese photographer Mitsuko Nagone has an eerie fetish for inserting random items into her distinctively constructed photos. And it works. She regularly contributes to Getty Images.

Japanese scientists have just synthesized meat from sewage. I wonder who will actually eat this, um, crap? I’ll put my money in finding ways to develop more sustainable agriculture, thank you very much. Raising my own veggies, chickens, and rabbits seems like a much simpler and less disgusting way of addressing the impending global food crisis.

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Only in Japan? Well, maybe. Though Oklahoma may be a close second on the radar. Apparently, in this time of recession, Japanese men have taken rather fondly to inanimate objects rather than the real thing as a less expensive way to, err, fulfill their needs. Well, ok, each to their own, so long as their own is made from rubber and latex.

Eyeglasses, keys, feathers, a camera. Sounds more like items you’d find in your junk drawer, than delightfulcookies; that is, until Cookieboy. Based in Japan, this baker and artist extraordinaire churns out tasty works of art, applying his background in textile design to ice up sugary masterpieces.

In addition to sheep wearing necklaces, tents, and other random objects, Cookieboy also dreams up individual packages for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and more. With cookies as his canvas and icing as his inspiration, he creates heaps of jaw-dropping pieces that almost look too good to eat. But, happily, they’re not.

Breeder, a motion graphics and animation studio in Brisbane, have created a short animation called Rising, which they hope will act as a powerful reminder for people to donate to the Red Cross Japan disaster appeal.

Japanese artist Tomoko Sioyasu’s work is based on nature and echoes organic shapes and rhythms, mimicking water, wind and cells. Using the traditional art of paper-cutting, the sculptures are transformed using utility knives and soldering irons, forming delicate tapestries that defy imagination.

His latest installation, Vortex, is on display at Japan Society in New York, until June 12. 50 per cent of all proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to relief efforts in Japan.

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Japanese math rock rippers Lite is from Tokyo. My friend just saw them open for Mike Watt and said they stole the show.

I have no idea what is going on here, and even less of an idea about what Nyoki! Nyoki! means. But somehow, you know, it doesn’t even matter.

Japan suffered immense heartache and loss after the devastating earthquake and tsunamis that occurred on March 11. Many people have been finding ways to fundraise for the 500,000 plus people now displaced through these events. As a graphic designer, you’re probably not the most useful person around. However, Tokyo-based designer Eloise Rapp has turned a project she was halfway through into a means by which to raise money for the Earthquake Appeal.

This collection of designs reflects her strong connection to Japan, and she is now selling them as a set of six postcards with 100 percent of the proceeds going towards the efforts of the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Our friends at Newsweek recently revealed (excuse the pun) the latest work of Japanese professor Susumu Tachi at the Kelo University who has spent the past few years developing ‘invisibility goggles and invisibility cloaks’. According to the article, the goggles ‘merge images from two separate cameras trained on a single scene, similar to the way a “green screen” works in film’. Fun! Indeed.

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Cakes for Japan is a pop-up sushi inspired cake shop raising funds for the Red Cross following the devastating events in Japan.

Professional and amateur cake makers from all over London are donating edible goodies which will be sold at Maiden, on 188 Shoreditch High Street. 100 percent of all money taken is being donated to charity. I am also trying to encourage as many people as possible to host their own Cakes for Japan events around the world.

Love Land Invaders was shot by Ralph Lagoi and Kate Lace in Japan’s stunningly decorated love hotel rooms. This fashion-art photo series includes masks, jewelry, clothing and ribbons, which were designed especially for the shoot. Everything came together to become ‘luxurious pop’: vibrant colors, iconic characters, and visual lust.

Eika is a freelance illustrator currently living in Japan. Her distinctive use of colors, fluid line works, and organic atmosphere reflects her multi-influence from various cultures.