Nijigen no Mori, otherwise known as Awaji Island Anime Park, has attracted fans of the international hit manga and anime franchise Naruto (and Boruto) since…

If you’ve ever gone through Tokyo Station or stopped by a gift shop at any other major station in the Tokyo area, chances are you’ve…

Arielle Busetto, JAPAN Forward You might have heard the mantra, “We don’t have time to develop something new, let’s use medicines we already have.” Many…

While the state of emergency is slowly lifting across parts of Japan, many people still remain confined to their homes. After more than a month…

In this period when we spend a lot of time at home, we sometimes need to add a touch of color and comfort in our…

It is well known that Japan is several decades ahead of other advanced economies when it comes to declining birth rates and the proportion of…

Japan loves its vending machines. Take a stroll through a metropolitan center or just walk the long way to work. You’ll encounter countless machines full…

Masks have been on the tip of everyone’s tongue, here in Japan and across the larger international community. While their effect against the COVID-19 infection…

My first introduction to the gentleness of Japanese music was from the SNES—AKA Super Famicom—game Pilot Wings. I don’t know if you remember, but in…

Japan, where the cramped comfort of an izakaya, huddled face to face business meetings and wedging oneself into a densely packed subway train are culturally…

Dating is hard, especially early on. It’s awkward, stressful, and expensive. I would know. If there were video footage of any of my many first…

There are no curves in the world of 六角堂DADA (Rokkakudō DADA). And yet, with only straight lines, the artist conjures up compositions which are at…

As a teenage suburbanite, I spent many a weekend flipping endlessly through daytime television because I had already finished every video game I owned and…

Every year in the height of summer, the MODECON Resort in Okinawa modeling competition takes place. The contest offers young women in Okinawa and Kyushu…

Wearable AC gets cool You may have already seen wearable cooling gadgets before. The concept isn’t new. Using either small fans, sometimes combined with water…