Japan’s First “Hotel in a Park” Lets You Slumber in the Heart of a Forest
While the myriad sights and sounds of Tokyo and other big cities surely offer excitement and entertainment to those who visit Japan, there is a…
Life
It’s a Fukui Sharknado! Or is it?
Sometimes, certain less populated prefectures of Japan which are less commonly frequented by tourists and less commonly known by average city-dwellers are characterized in popular…
“Blackface Potato Chips” Leave Questionable Aftertaste
One of the features characterizing the Japanese commercial food and beverage industry is that new variations of products, whether in flavor, packaging, or size, continually…
When You Have a Hair-Trigger Switch For Your Public Facade
Most of us probably know people like this. They’re Mr. or Ms. Congeniality in public, whether with classmates or with coworkers, never a wrinkled brow…
Ninja-like Ice-Maker is Speedy, Ultra-Compact and Quiet, Delivers Ice in Six Minutes.
There’s nothing more frustrating than opening up the freezer and discovering that you’re out of ice, especially when you know it will take hours to…
This Inspirational Dancer Isn’t Bound by her Wheelchair
(Updated on 8/7/2018) Meet Ayananana. She dances as an odorite, following a performance genre that has blossomed in the past ten years. Fans of mostly…
“Why Don’t You Just Buy A New One?” Japanese Father’s Reason For Always Wearing Tattered Shirt Has Twitter In Tears
Sometimes, the most ordinary and even beat-up items around us carry a meaning deeper than an initial glance will yield. Japanese Twitter user R1A (@…
Girl’s Japanese Tea Party Called Racist, But Japanese Response Shines A Light On How Japan Views Cultural Appropriation
The very different filters with which Japan and other countries, particularly the United States, view topics of race and discrimination can be explained by a…
Japanese Comedian Naomi Watanabe Makes Vogue Debut With The Most Relatable Makeup Video Ever
Having made her mark in the world as a Japanese plus-size comedian (who does a mean impression of Beyoncé, by the way), Naomi Watanabe isn’t…
Japanese Illustrator Turns Life’s Awkward Yet Totally Relatable Moments Into Ukiyoe-Style Drawings
It’s a given that life has a bottomless stock of awkward moments for us to experience. But we tend to forget that we’re all human,…
Daughter Asks Dad To Turn Her Drawings Into Adorably Unique Character Bentos
As many dads in Japan have proved, a little bit of creativity goes a long way when it comes to putting a smile on their…
Perfect Pitch! Pianist Turns Cringe-Worthy Press Conference Into A Musical Performance
Do you have absolute pitch or perfect pitch? Perfect pitch is a rare auditory phenomenon that is characterized by the ability of a person to…
Manga Artist Illustrates Somewhat Awkward Ways People Address Their Boyfriends In Japanese
In different countries, people address their loved ones differently. Some terms of endearment are evidently more unusual than others, and as Japanese manga artist Ezaki…
Waiters With Alzheimer’s Serve Up Meals At Tokyo’s “The Restaurant that Messes up Orders”
Tokyo is coming to be known as a hot spot for pop-up shops, but they are usually of the pop-culture themed variety–as seen with recent…
Plastic Modeler Paints 100 Yen Smartphone Cases To Give Them A Weathered Metal Look
Even the most ordinary objects can be transformed into items worthy of a million bucks by the hands of talented craftsmen. Dollar store smartphone cases…