If you believe magazines like

If you believe magazines like WIRED, Japan is where the trends are starting these days. Well, more specifically, Japanese schoolgirls (e.g. Hello Kitty) are usually the trendsetters. WIRED even has a Japanese schoolgirl trend watch section in every issue. In any case, Japan is always good for some wacky stuff like: Real life Japanese Teletubbies

in the city by the lake