Coming of Age Day – Seijin no Hi (成人の日)

20. This is a most important number in Japan. This is the age at which you transition from childhood to adulthood, the age at which you leave behind childish things and begin to take control of your own destiny. But how do you do that? Well, put on your fanciest outfit and join us for […]

The Deadliest Food in Japan: Mochi

You thought it was pufferfish (fugu), didn’t you? Well, as risky as that particular food may be, it doesn’t hold a candle to that sticky rice confection that takes the widest variety of forms. Usually, Japan sees a spike around New Year’s in hospitalizations from eating this treat, as well as a few deaths. What […]

Osouji: New Year's Big Cleaning

In America, we have Spring Cleaning, that magical time of year where we finally get up off of our lazy butts and clean everything we’d been meaning to for a long time. The techniques can vary, purging of goods is common, and in the end, we use it as a bit of a metaphor for […]

Things I Liked in 2019

Last year, I attempted to cobble together a “Best of 2018” post that turned out really disappointing for me. I waited too long and didn’t give myself enough time to really write it out in a thoughtful and appealing manner. This year, to combat that, and to avoid an Instagram Top 9 post, I’ve done […]

Kashiya Yokocho: Penny Candy Lane

Back in Japanese history, there were concentrated areas where candy was produced. For a while, this humble street in Kawagoe produced all the candy for Japan. Nowadays, it holds onto the traditional candy-making ways and acts more as a tourist attraction than a functional factory of confections.

Warm Biz

With every Yin, there is a Yang. When I first got here, I found out about Cool Biz, the incredibly hot trend of keeping your office cooled to a balmy 83 degrees in order to reduce energy consumption and help keep emissions under control. But did you know there is a winter equivalent? Well, there […]

Yabusame (Horseback Archery)

Horseback archery has an interesting place in Japanese culture. It is now a purely ceremonial event that can be seen across the country. I was fortunate enough to discover that a small Yabusame association chapter held a competition just up the street from a local station, so I went with some friend to see this […]

Sayama Tea Festival 2019

Out in Saitama Prefecture is Sayama City, a proud producer of tea for Japan. They’re pretty niche, though, producing less than 1% of all tea for the nation. Regardless, they have a strong tea tradition which is on display during the annual Sayama Tea Festival, which we were fortunate enough to take part in this […]

Kawasaki Warehouse and Arcade Culture in Japan

One of the legendary amusement parks has closed in Japan: Kawasaki Warehouse. It’s not like a Six Flags, but rather, a large entertainment complex with its main focus on electronic games. Walking through the warehouse before it closed gave me a peek into its past and also serves as a window into Japanese arcade culture […]

Gatchapon and My Quest for Glory

There are so many things in Japan that it can be a bit of a sensory overload. You have neon lights, seasonal good flying off of shelves, and so many pieces of clothing and merchandise that it seems like you’re drowning in options. One small corner of the Japanese toy market is Gatchapon, or capsules […]