I hope you have noticed that in GMail you can swtich between different "density" modes. In your Inbox, click on the cogwheel on the right-hand top corner and select the second option "Display density". The "Compact" setting is actually rather dense. Although, it mostly affects the density of rows (conversations) in your inbox and does not scale e.g. the search box input field above.

do you have any examples or resources on Japanese style web design?

It's everywhere. Simple example: Compare the differences--and even the subtleties--in information density between yahoo.co.jp and Yahoo.com.

Oh wow that is a stark contrast. yahoo.co.uk, yahoo.co.in, yahoo.co.id, etc. are all incredibly low-density as well. I have always loved the Japanese aesthetic, I wonder if any other cultures have a similar preference for websites.

Only downside being that it's common to see people walking around in Japan with their phone about a foot in front of their face.

Sounds like me. On the couch or walking around I'm at 10-12 inches away. I wonder--do people who don't prefer high information density hold their devices farther away?

It's not just Japanese, Chinese also. An article not long ago theorized some reasoning behind it: https://randomwire.com/why-japanese-web-design-is-so-differe...