CultureFeaturedKantoShopping Good Old Tokyo: Secondhand Shopping in Japan’s Well-Stocked Capital I don’t particularly like new stuff. It makes me sad, for example, to think of factories churning out an ever-growing…Richard Koyama-DanielsOctober 22, 2024
KantoShopping An Inky-Fingered Pilgrimage: Visiting Three of Tokyo’s Top Art Supplies and Stationery Stores As a boy in the early 1980s, I would spend many happy hours in the art supplies and stationery section…Richard Koyama-DanielsSeptember 5, 2024
KantoSightseeing Tokyo Daibutsu: The Hidden Giant Born from War and Earthquakes If you ask the average Tokyoite about Tokyo Daibutsu 東京大仏 or Tokyo’s Giant Buddha, do not be surprised by the…Toshiko SakuraiSeptember 2, 2024
KantoShopping Michail Gkinis Aoyama: A Fashion Brand Going Above and Beyond for Inbound Tourists in Tokyo I’ve known Michail Gkinis for not far off 20 years now. A maverick of design, he’s a graduate of the…Paul McInnesAugust 29, 2024
CultureKansai The Life, Work, and Kyoto Home of Celebrated Ceramicist Kanjiro Kawai Just a short walk from the Gojo Bridge, site of the warrior-monk Benkei’s fateful 1,000th duel, there is a typically…Richard Koyama-DanielsAugust 16, 2024
Pop Culture A Time and a Place: 7 Artists Who Plotted a Course Through the Japanese 20th Century Over the years, one of the least wasteful ways I have found to waste my time, has been to head…Richard Koyama-DanielsJuly 4, 2024
Pop CultureThings to Know The VTuber Phenomenon: The Virtual Streamers Who Conquered Japan (and the World) It's not rare for Japanese subcultures to expand overseas and then explode in the West. Manga, anime, and video games…Anna ToccoliAugust 9, 2022
FoodThings to Know Kaiseki Cuisine: Experience the Essence of Japanese Food I was waiting for my dinner, sitting on the tatami floor at a ryokan in Oita prefecture. I didn't know…Maria PeñascalDecember 10, 2021
CultureThings to Know Why Japanese People Use Kanji? Kanji. The bane of students of Japanese, of certain carefree T-shirt designers and tattoo artists victims of customers lacking enough…Toshiko SakuraiJanuary 14, 2021
ActivitiesEventsThings to Know The Best Things to Do in Japan for Christmas Japan started to celebrate Christmas after World War II due to Western influence. As it comes from the Christian tradition,…Maria PeñascalDecember 18, 2020
EventsHokkaidoShopping Christmas in Hokkaido: The Holiday Season Under the Snow I have always loved winter and snow even more. Coming from the south of France, where it barely snows once…Joachim DucosDecember 18, 2020