Mitsui UFJ Research and Consulting has announced the results of the first round of  Cool Japan Discovery contest. The purpose of the contest is to find “cool” Japanese products from a foreigner’s perspective.

Entrants posted photos of what they considered to be Japan’s coolest products on the Facebook page. Some of the entries included items that people said had become popular in their home countries. The 18 selected photos include chairs, tabi and Japanese sweets. They advanced to the final round by the number of “Like” and scores decided by judges.

The winner of the contest will be announced at the end of December on a special website.

Here are some photos of products that made the final round.

Chair

Tabi

Japanese sweets

 What do you think are the coolest things in Japan?