Osaka’s reputation as the Japanese food capital stems from its delicious street food, and king among that may be the region’s soul food–takoyaki. Sometimes translated…

If you’ve ever been to a Japanese convenience store or bakery, you’ll quickly understand that Japan loves bread. But Japan especially loves shokupan, fluffy white…

The growing Japanese market for “function-added” foods In April 2015, the Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan introduced a new system called Foods with Function Claims…

Pixel artist, illustrator and videographer APO depicts worlds both familiar and strange in his pixel artworks. Influenced by works like Blade Runner and Ghibli movies…

Robotics company Speecys Corp. announced in a press release that they are starting a new “idol robot mannequin” business model based on Cocona Kosaka 高坂ここな,…

Kizuna AI’s music The world’s most popular Virtual YouTuber, Kizuna AI, continues to impress with her musical achievements. Her first single “Hello, Morning” (July 2018)…

Japanese miniature artist Miyuki Kobayashi carefully handcrafts her miniature artwork, and does so with making 1/12 size reproductions that look “more real than the ring…

Makoto Shinkai’s latest film “Weathering with You” is off to a strong start. According to movie news site Eiga.com, the film, about a high school…

Japanese eccentric bookstore and oddities shop Village Vanguard has no shortage of bizarre but strangely awesome animal-themed products, including chibi cat and anglerfish-fish mosquito repellent…

“Summer Wars” 10th anniversary celebrations On August 1, 2009, Mamoru Hosoda’s feature-length animated film “Summer Wars” was released in Japanese movie theaters. The film, about…

Japanese Voices 日本語のままクールジャパン is a regular series designed for learners of Japanese to enjoy real Japanese language programming from Nippon Broadcasting System, one of the…

Taiyo Sangyo Trading & Marine Service LTD has teamed up with fish expert and television personality Sakana-kun (well known for his blowfish-shaped hat) to release…

Like many who watched Detective Pikachu, Japanese Twitter user Montomi (@shigemochi_kun) left the theater wishing for their very own world-class detective Pokemon to have adventures…

(Updated on July 22, 2019) Worst confirmed arson incident in postwar Japan On July 18th, around 10:30 am, black smoke began to billow out of…

If you’ve been reading grape Japan recently, you’re probably aware that Japan has been flooded with bubble tea shops and sucked into bubble tea mania….