Shimmering Art for Your Table

Edo kiriko is glass transformed. Using diamond wheels, this nearly two-hundred-year-old Tokyo craft carves clear or colored glass into intricate patterns that catch and fracture sunlight, turning everyday vessels into luminous works... Read more »

Uniqlo Collaborates With Cult Japanese Label Needles

Uniqlo has announced its next big collaboration, and this time it’s with Needles, a Japanese label beloved by fashion insiders for its offbeat mix of vintage, military and Americana. The Uniqlo and... Read more »

Pokémon appear at Pronto cafes in Japan for a limited time, but there’s one thing missing from the menu

Glaring omission makes us wonder what will happen to Pikachu in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. With Pokémon cafes, limited-edition ice creams and amazing doughnut collaborations, there are many places where Pokémon fans can... Read more »

Abacus making a comeback with Japanese kids in an increasingly digital age

Who needs hacking? We got clacking! When I first heard my daughter was going to take abacus lessons after school, I didn’t really know what to make of it. I never touched... Read more »

LDP Candidates Call for Tougher Policies on Foreigners

In this week’s news roundup we have the latest on the LDP leadership race ahead of Saturday’s election. Shinjiro Koizumi and Sanae Takaichi lead the way in the polls despite the former... Read more »

Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】

Promises the unusual addition will make your cup “richer and more fragrant.” If you don’t want to drink your coffee black, it’s not unusual to put a little cream or sugar in... Read more »

The Spooky History of the Japanese Prime Minister’s Residence

Japanese fans of the occult or just kids daring each other love visiting Japan’s many supposedly haunted sites, from Tokyo’s old execution grounds to the site of a mass samurai suicide. But... Read more »

Local souvenir tip: our brains are scrambled after finding eggs cooked in the Tottori sand dunes

Our Tottori-born reporter buys some “sand eggs” cooked at insanely high temperatures to determine just how egg-citing they are. Our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa now lives in Tokyo, but she actually spent... Read more »

Research in Japan proves that pianists can control timber with touch alone

It really is all in the wrists. In music, there is the concept of timbre, which is the quality that makes notes have a different “tone color” or emotion to them, even... Read more »

Neon Genesis Evangelion Premieres on TV Tokyo

On this day 30 years ago, Neon Genesis Evangelion aired for the first time on TV Tokyo. Directed by Hideaki Anno, the groundbreaking series centers around a battle between sentient biomechanical weapons... Read more »