Japanese tech that makes us jealous

In Tokyo's Akihabara district, groups of Super Mario karts race around the block. It's a fuzzy picture because it was dark when I took the image and they were going really fast.

The electronic toilet seats have a variety of functions including a rear jet, and shower bidet spray, and a front shower function.

There is a customisable range of temperatures in the heated seat, adjustable jet strength, and waterfall music in public toilets. Top of the range models even have a drying function and remote controls. Fortunately you can now get them over here from Amazon.

The Playseat racing simulation cockpit gives you the feedback you need from a seat when racing. These are very popular in Japan, but you can get one on Amazon.

Sony has an array of connected home appliances that are not so common over here.

The Life Space UX portable glass sound speaker and LED glow lamp bulb speaker connects via Bluetooth to your smartphone or other devices to deliver music in different rooms.

The Rulo is a triangluar vacuum cleaner designed to get into all the corners that the round Roomba can not reach. Sensors and a green 'clean' light indicates that the room is clean.

Japan has luggage lockers at train and metro stations and at busy shopping districts such as Akihabara.

You can pay for these lockers using one of several top up contactless smart cards such as Suica or Pasmo (pictured) which also can be used to pay for metro and bus rides, drinks and food from vending machines, and items from convenience stores.

A brilliant add-on for those of us who carry our phone in our hands all the time.

Slip your thumb or finger through this ring and make sure that it never falls from your hand and smashes that expensive screen. Fortunately they are available in the US from Amazon

This Gyms Silky device generates hydrogen-rich hot water. Fill the bottle with water and press the power button.

Bubbles will appear indicating the presence of hydrogen in the water. Available on Amazon.

Sony Walkman accessories are a big thing in Japan with many shops selling Walkman items and accessories.