We investigate whether now is a good time to grab some beef cutlets in a popular tourist area of Tokyo. Given the unprecedented numbers of foreign tourists in Japan over the past... Read more »

It’s time to go out and see the ume. Pretty much as soon as the new year starts, people in Japan start looking ahead to sakura season, and with good reason, as... Read more »

Strawberry picking has quietly become one of Tokyo’s most popular seasonal escapes, offering city dwellers a chance to trade concrete streets for greenhouse rows heavy with fresh fruit.  Each winter and spring,... Read more »

Some employers want to flip the script to indirectly get rid of workers they don’t want, company says. In Japan, quitting your job can be psychologically complicated. Employment at many companies is... Read more »

Great Japan (Dai-Nihon) History Briefing Session, the 15th Empress Jingu.” Expedition in Korea. The legendary Empress Jingu setting foot in Korea. Painting by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi in 1880. Every few months, a familiar... Read more »

There’s plenty of space to stretch out, but not much time to spare if you want to have this unique Japan travel experience. We’d like to think that our writing here at... Read more »

Mr. Sato dreams up an innovative way to ensure good luck and give yourself an excuse to eat fried chicken. This year, the Japanese holiday of Setsubun falls on February 3. Originally... Read more »

A thin plume rises, twists and dissolves into the air. Lighting an incense stick is a silent ritual, a gentle exhalation into stillness. In Japan, incense, or ko, has long been a... Read more »

16-year policy swept away with less than a week for transition. On January 26, the Japanese government’s Immigration Services Agency, the branch of the Ministry of Justice in charge of immigration regulations,... Read more »