Japanese web design hurts my brain

Just been checking out a great article from the ever-reliable Jeffrey Zeldman about The Puzzle of Japanese Web Design.  He writes about how the Japanese have always been well ahead of everyone else when it comes to fine art and graphic design but that this doesn’t really translate to web design.  One of the examples he uses is the Japan Airlines website:

What’s the Japanese for confused by it’s higgledy-piggledy-ness? How do the Japanese cope with so much clutter?

Some ten years ago, the rock band I was managing  dabbled in providing a Japanese version of it’s UK website.  Primarily to boost the chances of getting a visit out there (it worked) but also to try to engender the crazy sort of devotion that Japanese music fans accord to bands they like (that worked too).

We sorted out a Japanese translator based in Glasgow and even went so far as to acquire a Japanese keyboard.  We gave up after a few months as it just didn’t generate a decent enough audience to justify the expense.

Maybe the design (which mirrored the UK design) was just too straight-laced?