Are we about to witness a revival of the J-horror film genre?
Local horror films experienced a boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Starting with the 1998 release of Ringu, a raft of small but ...
Dragon Quest Builders turns Shinjuku Station wall into removable blocks mural
January 26, 2016
/William
Just under a year ago, Shinjuku Station was taken over by 100,000 "pop-able" bubbles as a promo for the PlayStation game Dragon Quest.
Once again Dragon Quest will be hijacking the same ...
Equal Wedding Japan: Traditional marriage services for same-sex couples in Japan
January 25, 2016
/William
While Japanese TV and history is filled with many people we would likely label LGBT, the issue of same-sex marriage in Japan has been almost taboo until recently.
However, following the decisions ...
Woman Act is a slightly awkwardly named Kanagawa Prefecture initiative aimed at bringing "women more and more into the main role".
A worthy cause, we would all agree, in Japan's acutely ...
Mount Fuji Eraser
The Mount Fuji Eraser is a fun and clever way to bring this icon of Japan into your home or work stationery set. As you use the cuboid eraser, the shape of Fuji gradually comes into view and you find yourself holding Japan's most famous peak.
Kengo Kuma denies Zaha Hadid’s allegations of Olympic stadium plagiarism
January 19, 2016
/William
The controversy over the new National Stadium to be built for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics rolls on and on.
After Kengo Kuma's design was chosen in the second contest that became necessary when Zaha ...
Hana Tajima, the Muslim British-Japanese designer working with UNIQLO to redefine the hijab
January 18, 2016
/William
Half British, half Japanese. That alone would set Hana Tajima apart from most, but she is also a Muslim convert (at the age of 17) and a fashion designer and blogger.
Tajima has teamed up fast ...
Moff is based in Tokyo but has its sights firmly on the global market. Its wearable smart toy Moff Band was released internationally after a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014.
Now it has ...
The surprise smash hit event of 2015 in Tokyo was the Shunga Exhibition, the first such large-scale public showing of erotic prints in Japan.
200,000 people packed the tiny Eisei Bunko Museum over ...
Iaido Martial Arts Face Mask
Antibacterial, odor-resistant sports face protection
Roamcouch transforms rural Japanese riverside warehouse with Venetian mural
January 7, 2016
/William
After American street artist DAAS stunned us with his vibrant burial mound-inspired mural in Takatsuki, here's another example of superb recent street art in Japan.
While a lot of great street art ...
Christmas and New Year are over, so it's already time to look towards the next big public (and commercial) holiday: Valentine's Day.
Regular readers will know that February 14th in Japan is a bit ...
Japanese TV show mocking Scottish ramen and sushi restaurant exposed as fake
January 2, 2016
/William
As Japan deals with a massive rise in inbound tourism, a rather ugly side to the country's popular culture is rearing its head. Part of this is due to pure ignorance and part is an ingrained belief ...
Takatsuki Art Expo 2015 mural celebrates burial mound culture in Osaka
December 30, 2015
/William
American street artist DAAS has produced an awesome mural in Takatsuki City, a suburb of Osaka.
Part of the Takatsuki Art Expo 2015, the mural was first featured on Street Art News.
The ...
Sumo Wrestler Salt Shaker
Traditional wrestler-shaped condiment container
Japanese journalist Junpei Yasuda held hostage in Syria “in danger of execution”
December 24, 2015
/William
It is sad to feature this kind of news at this time of year, but Reporters Without Borders have highlighted the fate of Japanese journalist Junpei (also Jumpei) Yasuda, missing in Syria. He is ...
Take three cups, add some clever drawing and cutting, plus a fair amount of skill... and then you can create your very own animated One-Punch Man comic, a sort of modern-day kamishibai-style rotating ...
Maguro House event serves up tuna with house music in Shibuya nightclub
December 18, 2015
/William
Searching for something to do during the New Year holidays? How about watching a tuna being cut up while dancing to house music?
Because that's basically the concept behind Maguro ...