Afraid to make some bad decisions in life? So are we. That’s why we are here to recommend Japanese reality shows on Netflix so you can experience the same heady thrill when making rash decisions – only this time, someone else takes the fall.
Image credit: Netflix
Cast:
24 Japanese singles – 12 male and 12 female – go on dates where they interact with prospective romantic partners through isolated “pods” without ever seeing each other’s faces.
Image adapted from: @netflixjp
Only after they have decided on their partner and proposed marriage, will they then see each other’s face and spend two weeks together, before meeting each other’s friends and family.
Image adapted from: Netflix
This all culminates in the couple determining at the altar whether they will really spend the rest of their lives together.
Image credit: @doridori_midori
The Japanese edition of the popular dating show Love Is Blind is worlds apart from any other you’ve seen – it reveals the truly vulnerable side that everyone has when falling in love.
No. of episodes: 11
Cast:
Renowned tidying expert Marie Kondo helps people with cluttered lives – both metaphorically and physically – tidy up.
She teaches all sorts of people the art of decluttering and keeping one’s life and home free of things that don’t add value. With her signature question of “Does this spark joy?”, Marie Kondo helps facilitate exciting home makeovers.
Image credit: @mariekondo
If you need some healing from all the clutter in your life, this show is therapeutic enough to cleanse your mind of anything taking up more than its warranted space.
No. of episodes: 8
Image credit: Netflix
Cast:
In this popular Japanese reality TV show, 6 strangers come together to live in a beautiful terrace house.
Image credit: @terracehouse08
As this is an unscripted series, the 6 people go about their daily lives as they normally would, and learn what it’s like to meet people they would typically wouldn’t encounter, let alone live with.
Image credit: Netflix
Drama ensues as the cast deal with the differences in their personalities, living habits, hopes, and dreams.
Image credit: @terracehouse08
The fourth installment in the Terrace House series, Terrace House: Opening New Doors is situated in the quaint resort town of Karuizawa, where the producers hope the tranquil atmosphere will help the cast find some peace in their lives.
No. of episodes: 49 (3 seasons; 6 parts)
Image credit: @newshow.whothis
Initially a short segment of the Japanese TV programme Tsuiseki, Old Enough! is a Netflix Japanese reality series that features children typically between the ages of 3-6, who run errands on their own.
Image adapted from: Netflix
In Japan, it is common to see elementary school kids making their way home or running simple errands on their own, but children who have yet to attend elementary school? That’s a whole different story.
Image adapted from: Netflix
Some of the episodes even feature children as young as 1 or 2. Not to worry though, the children’s errand routes are vetted by the production crew, and are themselves followed by the video crew and a safety team.
No. of episodes: 20
Image credit: Netflix
Cast:
This dating reality show is unlike any other; gone are the gilded staircases and impeccable decor typical of series such as The Bachelor. In its place is the naked reality of the most low-budget dating show you will ever see.
Image adapted from: Netflix
On REA(L)OVE, 18 participants – each with a singular dark secret that has inhibited their quest for love – are put together for 3 days in Okinawa.
Image adapted from: Netflix
Over the course of the 3 days, participants get to know each other and go on dates – it’s business as usual so far.
Image adapted from: Netflix
But the catch is that at the most inopportune of moments, any one of the participants could be made to expose their dark secret – this intentional sabotage of their search for love is the show’s main selling point.
Image adapted from: Netflix
The participants aren’t the only ones with raunchy pasts – the hosts, Atsushi Tamura and Mari Yaguchi, have dirty laundry of their own.
Image credit: @atsushilib
Tamura is a former playboy who now works as a comedian, whereas Yaguchi is a former Japanese idol who fell from grace after being caught having an illicit affair by her husband.
Image credit: norio nakayama
The secrets run the gamut from easily dismissable transgressions to those that are met with outright disgust and horror.
Image adapted from: Netflix
In the last episode, participants participate in a final confession ceremony where they make their romantic declaration to their chosen partner.
No. of episodes: 9
Image credit: Netflix
Cast:
In the Japanese edition of the internationally renowned reality show, Queer Eye: We’re In Japan features the original hosts of the series, the Queer Eye Fab Five – Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk, and Jonathan Van Ness.
Image adapted from: Netflix
They are joined by local stars such as model-actress Kiko Mizuhara and comedian Naomi Watanabe.
Image adapted from: Netflix
As always, the Fab Five utilise their sparkly magic makeover powers to give individuals who have lost their sense of self a little joy in their lives in the form of a fabulous makeover, which imbues them with a little more confidence to go about with their lives.
Image adapted from: Netflix
Join the Queer Eye Fab Five and their new friends on their antics across Tokyo!
No. of episodes: 4
Image credit: Netflix
Cast:
Paced and shot like a romance drama, this reality dating show features college student Maai and chef Takuto, who are set to live out their romantic lives according to a script in The Future Diary.
Image adapted from: Netflix
The titular diary gives them brief and vague descriptions of dates and interactions, bringing them on a romantic tour around Japan, visiting places such as Yokohama, Hokkaido, and even Sapporo.
Everything down to the kisses that the couple shares are scripted, leaving the audience on tenterhooks as to whether or not the couple will truly develop feelings for each other outside of their reel life.
No. of episodes: 9
Image credit: Netflix
Cast:
Hosted by Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe, Falling In Love Like A Romantic Drama is an all-new reality dating series where 8 young actresses and actors have to act out kiss scenes from romantic dramas.
Image adapted from: Netflix
The show’s key question is – if two actors share a kiss on screen, will love blossom from it? Or will it remain but an act?
Image credit: Netflix
Follow the participants as they traverse the feelings they portray for the camera, and that of their own.
No. of episodes: 10
Be it the adorableness of children adulting, or the thrilling developments in your favourite couple’s relationship, we promise you’ll never be bored with our selection of Japanese reality shows on Netflix.
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Cover image adapted from (clockwise from top left): Netflix, Netflix, Netflix, and Netflix
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