Show your fighting spirit with a Fxxkin’CORONA face mask
As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc worldwide, it’s only natural for us to have very strong emotional reactions to this existential challenge. Some may…
Written By : Ben K
Forced to Stay Home? ‘Air Closet’ Clothing Rental Wants You to Be Fashionable Anyway
Akiko Shigematsu, Sankei Shimbun, published in JAPAN Forward on April 28th, 2020 Seasonal changes that accompany the coming of spring are normally highly anticipated —…
Japan now has “coronavirus-fighting” beer, Amabie IPA, with a label by “Moyasimon” creator Masayuki Ishikawa
If you’ve been reading grape Japan lately, then there’s a good chance that you know about Amabie アマビエ. Legend has it the yōkai 妖怪 (monster)…
World’s top Virtual Youtuber Kizuna AI is getting her own company
She has over 2.7 million subscribers on her top YouTube channel, she has appeared on TV shows and commercials, partnered with companies, performed as a…
Twitter users in Japan showcase creativity with DIY masks during pandemic
Masks continue to be in short supply in Japan due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. While several Japanese companies have stepped up production and even…
D4DJ online DJ party w/ CVs Yuka Nishio (Rinku Aimoto) & Tsunko (Aoi Miyake)
If you’ve been following Bushiroad’s multimedia idol project Dig Delight Direct Drive (D4DJ), then you’re probably waiting impatiently for the rhythm game Groovy Mix this…
Exquisite Japanese jellyfish umbrellas will turn your rainy skies into an ocean view
From the traditional to the modern, we have introduced many unique and attractive umbrellas here at grape Japan. We’ve seen colorful umbrellas and plastic umbrellas…
Join the fight against coronavirus with this Amabie camera effect
It seems Japan just can’t get enough of Amabie these days. Japan’s unofficial “mascot” in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic, the half-man half-fish…
Japanese “randoseru” schoolbags given an adult makeover in Kyoto style
Japan’s school utility bag Anyone who has lived in Japan or even visited for a while has probably seen young children going to school, all…
‘Free As a Bird’: Why Beatlemania Endures in Japan
Will Fee, for JAPAN Forward The owners of the Tin Toy Museum in Yamate, Yokohama, keep a big friendly Ukrainian Shepherd Dog. He likes to…
Paper-packed Ocean Salt Kit Kats let you fold origami sea animals and fight plastic waste
Switching to paper packaging Since 2019, Nestlé has been tackling the problem of marine plastic waste, replacing its plastic packaging with a more environment-conscious paper…
Celebrate Japanese Children’s Day with Barbapapa carp streamers you print at home
As we’ve introduced before at grape Japan, one of the customs practiced by many Japanese people in the days and weeks leading up to Children’s…
Amabie monster wagashi sweets are the cutest corona-fighters yet
Amabie is popular these days in Japan, and understandably so. Rediscovered just over a month ago in the Kyoto University Rare Materials Digital Archive (see…
Godiva Japan makes its first foray into cheese foam drinks
As a subtrend of the most recent wave of boba tea popularity in Japan, cheese foam toppings seem to be everywhere in drink stands these…
5 Reasons Japan Should Quit Smoking
(Duncan Bartlett, for JAPAN Forward) There’s never been a better time to give up cigarettes. I gave up smoking about eight years ago, and I…