I've always found this dichotomy interesting. Japan is revered for spawning a deep, simple and beautiful aesthetic sense.<p>Yet, Japanese streets are a virtual assault on your senses. Like malevolent beings trying to overload your optical pathways.<p><a href="http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?f=q&#38;source=s_q&#38;hl=ja&#38;q=%E7%A7%8B%E8%91%89%E5%8E%9F%E9%A7%85%EF%BC%88%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%EF%BC%89&#38;sll=35.66017,139.778877&#38;sspn=0.007418,0.013915&#38;brcurrent=3,0x60188c0c0b13f54d:0xb630953beee48188,0&#38;ie=UTF8&#38;cd=1&#38;geocode=Ffu3IAIdC8lUCA&#38;split=0&#38;hq=&#38;hnear=%E7%A7%8B%E8%91%89%E5%8E%9F%E9%A7%85%EF%BC%88%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%EF%BC%89&#38;ll=35.698645,139.773989&#38;spn=0.00369,0.006958&#38;t=k&#38;z=18&#38;layer=c&#38;cbll=35.698227,139.775448&#38;panoid=jsbiYV6WJ3g-E7Mt-Gx10g&#38;cbp=12,312.08,,0,-12.28" rel="nofollow">http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?f=q&#38;source=s_q&#38;hl=ja&#...</a><p>(maybe not the best example, but I picked someplace pretty random that looked like a commercial district).<p>And I've noticed this same visual clutter in Japanese website design.<p><a href="http://car.nifty.com/" rel="nofollow">http://car.nifty.com/</a><p><a href="http://www.guesthouse-apartment.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.guesthouse-apartment.com/</a><p>etc.