The weirdest Japanese game shows

In a country celebrated for its rich culture, technological advancements, and mouth-watering cuisine, Japan also holds a less conventional crown: the undisputed champion of the world's weirdest game shows. From the physically demanding to the downright bizarre, these shows twist reality in ways that keep audiences both perplexed and thoroughly entertained…

A classic game show that feels like a live-action Mario game, where contestants tackle impossible obstacles with hilarious wipeouts. The original season ran from 1986-1990, was played around the globe with local commentary (in the US, repurposed as (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC)), and inspired a genre of TV shows around the world like ‘American Ninja Warrior.’ It even just got a reboot by Amazon Prime.

Image: Tokyo Broadcasting System

A component of the Japanese variety show 'The Tunnels Thanks to Everyone,' this amazing game is known by non-Japanese speakers as 'Human Tetris' or 'Hole in the Wall.' Why? Well, it involves people trying to move their bodies so they fit through a hole in a wall that is moving towards them. It also has many international spinoffs.

Image: Fremantle

Celebrities bite into everyday objects (like shoes or door handles) to determine if they're candy or not as part of an annual New Year show. For the celebs, it's a sweet surprise or a hard reality. For viewers, it's 100% absurd entertainment.

Image: Nippon TV

A simple concept: contestants in full-body suits try to climb slippery stairs covered in slime. It's hilariously chaotic and surprisingly gripping. Of course, seeing people fall is a universal form of comedy. This one was also repurposed by the Americans, and ESPN aired a Slippery Stairs championship.

Image: ESPN

Members of the pop group AKB48 face off in wacky challenges, like blowing insects out of tubes at each other. Pop culture meets extreme fear factor.

Image: Nippon TV

Not as much a gameshow as a group of super popular YouTubers engaging in strange competitions, the concept is "doing what children want to do but cannot do." One memorable segment is meeting the family in a house with a moving and tilting floor.

Image:TokaiOnAir / Youtube

This long-running variety show includes a huge range of whacky segments and challenges. But one of its most memorable is when contestants have to deal with totally bizarre situations (like seeing a face in an MRI scan) but are forbidden from laughing.

Image: Nippon TV

This was a really weird one and was actually canceled after a government crackdown on “torture” themed shows. The most memorable part was when the comedian lived alone in the buff in apartments for 15 months. He thought it would be edited but it was live-streamed and aired weekly... and he was caught doing some really strange stuff (and the whole being imprisoned thing damaged him psychologically). Kind of like a real-life ‘Truman Show’... but much worse.

Image: Nippon TV