Travelers in Japan may have noticed that comfortable and high speed trains bullet trains known shinkansen sometimes break out special designs and themes in the…

What may come as a surprise to even the most dedicated anime fans is that if there is one anime in Japan that nearly everyone…

Senol Hasan, for JAPAN Forward Three hundred kilometers west of Tokyo, in the heart of Japan’s Niigata Prefecture, lies Shirone. It is a modest city…

While Japan’s popular cherry blossom season delights many with its gorgeous once-a-year scenery and bounty of sakura-flavored goods, Hydrangea (ajisai in Japanese) can be every…

In Fall 2017, a new star emerged in the Kyoto dining scene, Kyoto Gatten Tempura Pub. Combining the fine art of tempura with the trendy…

Recently in Japan, businesses have been using the cool aesthetic of ninja to appeal to foreign tourists, perhaps thanks in part to popular anime and…

The sound of pheasants chirping and frogs croaking filled the air. The rice paddies reflected the blue sky, and the ridges between them created a…

Yakinori Roasted Nori Seaweed from Yamamotoyama Buoyed by the global popularity of sushi, dark green sheets of nori 海苔, are no longer an uncommon sight…

BT21, the adorable characters created by LINE and K-pop group BTS, keep coming back for more and more pop-up cafes, with new and original menu…

It doesn’t take a lot of work to find Pokemon related stuff in Japan. You may even be greeted as soon as you land with…

Tokyo Pokemon trainers have been enjoying the only permanent Pokemon Cafe in Japan, as well as the adjacent Pokemon Center Tokyo DX (the largest Pokemon…

Traditional Japanese ways of staying cool in summer Japan has developed an arsenal of techniques to stay cool in the hot summer months. Some of…

The Kirby Cafe in Tokyo has been seen before, but its current iteration is so popular that it keeps opening again and again. This time…

Mount Fuji, unequivocally one of the most recognisable symbols of Japan, has had its image recreated again and again, in paintings, in print, in sculptures…

While not unique to Japan, the art of paper cutting, known as kirie 切り絵 (literally “cut images”) in Japanese, has been practiced as early as…