Royce’ is synonymous with delicious chocolate in Japan, and famous for its chocolate truffles, otherwise known as “raw chocolate.” They’ve sold chocolate-coated potato chips before,…

Fire and ice. The two may be polar opposites but as the saying goes, opposites attract. Here’s a good example. Roll Ice Cream factory is…

Manga artist Chihiro Fujisawa (@uwabamic) was sketching on her tablet during a recent flight from Hokkaido to Tokyo. Reproduced with permission from Chihiro Fujisawa (@uwabamic)…

Grape held its essay contest grape Award 2020 this year from May to August. Contestants could write about one of two themes; heart-stirring or heart-stirring…

Japanese summers are muggy and brutal, and 2020 was no exception. Natsubate 夏バテ, summertime fatigue, is a real problem as the subtropical island nation’s humidity…

Do you remember the movie Cable Guy? It’s an old one, but something of a cult classic. Starring Matthew Broderick and Jim Carrey, it tells…

I can still remember stepping off the plane when I arrived in Japan some years ago. Homeless, friendless, and phone-less, I was incredibly nervous and…

Japan can be a rough place for people with disabilities. Spend some time trekking through off-the-beaten-path train stations, and you’ll likely notice an abundance of…

We’ve been waiting for flying cars for quite some time. The original Blade Runner, circa 1982, depicted flying cars incorporating seamlessly into the post-apocalyptic world…

Tatsuya Tanaka is a Japanese artist that’s an expert at looking at small things and creating a whole world out of them. The miniature artist…

Completed in 1958, the Tokyo Tower represented the state of mind that Japan was holding on to at the time. The country was going through…

Whether they were butting heads during an intense match of a fighting game or mashing buttons to kill the final level boss, there’s a whole…

For someone as young as me, 29 years old to be exact, retirement feels like a long way off. It’s hard for me to even…

Hanko, the traditional Japanese ink stamps used to sign official documents, are facing extinction. Japanese companies are ditching the device as it fails to function…

Autumn is on the horizon, which means it’s time to start seeking snug clothes, thick throws and mugs to fill with all the comforting autumnal…