There are many kinds of bibliophiles and bookworms in Japan. There are the hipsters who hang out at pristine artsy bookshops like T-Site in Daikanyama or Nadiff in Ebisu, et al. There are the manga ...

The Tower of the Sun is one of the great icons of postwar Japan and the Showa era. The huge sculpture is a kind of totem pole that was created by artist Taro Okamoto as one of the signature ...

Shibaura House is a community space in the Tokyo district of Shibaura, a neighborhood in the south of the city near the port. The stylish glass building is designed by Kazuyo Sejima and hosts private ...

Maywa Denki are one of Japan's best-kept secrets. Part music unit, part toy designers, part performance artists, the group is now 20 years old but continues to come up with great ideas. Their ...

Mt Ontake, a volcanic mountain between Nagano and Gifu prefectures, erupted at 11:53 a.m on September 27th, resulting in a 4km ash cloud. [Image source: Asahi] The eruption took ...

It's official. Having glasses is cool. Japan has long regarded glasses and eyewear as serious fashion items, which is why companies like Jin and Zoff go to great efforts to market their products ...

Pet trends are one of the funnest things we keep our eyes on. After all, what other nation on Earth has such a variety of dog fashion (dog wigs?!), cat cafes -- or even Architecture for Dogs? The ...

Mt Fuji, being not only the tallest mountain in Japan and also a symmetrical beauty of nature, has always lent itself to being a motif for artists and designers to exploit. Perhaps starting with ...

Japan has always loved both technology and monozukuri craftsmanship. So it comes as no surprised that Japan has fallen in love with 3D printing, even if it has meant artists have to watch what ...

A major trend in the Tokyo art world over the past few years has been the temporary "art-jacking" of old buildings and facilities just before they are scheduled to be knocked down. This was a ...

This article was first featured by our friends at TokyoKinky.com (*NSFW*) but we liked it so much, we decided to reblog it here in a slightly toned-down version. Tenga is Japan's most stylish ...

The first one came out in July 2013 and caused quite a stir. Now comes the follow-up. "Suichu Ni-so" ("underwater knee-high socks") is a photography series by Manabu Koga devoted to -- you've ...

When in Rome, as the saying goes. And so when in Kyoto, wear a kimono. There's nothing pretentious about getting into "costume", so to speak, and exploring Japan's old capital in a kimono. It's ...

Japan has its fair share of wacky but fascinating beauty gadgets. There are also lots of inventive cosme items too. For example, we've already had the Cats Face Pack, the Kabuki Face Pack, and the ...

Red Bull Music Academy has produced a great series of documentaries about the little-known world of Japanese video game music. The series is called "Diggin' in the Carts" and so far parts 1 and 2 ...