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Blackface in Japan (again): New Year’s Eve TV show Gaki no Tsukai features...
New Year in Japan has many traditions, from the food to household decorations. Television is part of the ritual of Oshogatsu, perhaps most famously the NHK music show Kohaku. Another perennial favorite...
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Crowds welcome 2018 in Scramble Crossing at Shibuya Countdown event
On New Year’s Eve, the center of Shibuya was closed to traffic and people flocked to the area to welcome 2018. Though it is more traditional to celebrate the arrival of the New Year by eating soba...
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One in eight people reaching legal age of adulthood in Tokyo is foreign
Of the 83,000 people in the 23 wards of Tokyo who reached the legal age of adulthood in Japan this year, around 10,000 — or one in eight — is classified as foreign, reports NHK. This is largely due to...
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Qoobo Robotic Cat Tail Pillow now available to heal your heart on preorder
First showcased at CEATEC last autumn to much excitement from the world press, the Qoobo Robotic Cat Tail Pillow is now finally available on preorder. The interactive, therapeutic “tailed cushion that...
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Toyota launches mobility service alliance and autonomous e-Palette Concept...
Toyota has partnered with Amazon, DiDi, Mazda, Pizza Hut and Uber to form the e-Palette Alliance, forming a broad hardware and software ecosystem for utilizing advanced mobility technology to better...
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Conveyor-belt chocolate and sweets at Ginza Loft
We all know conveyor-belt sushi (kaiten-zushi). But what about conveyor-belt sweets? For a limited time only, that experiment is coming to Tokyo — and just in time for Valentine’s Day, too. Head to the...
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Omoshiroi Block Japanese Landmark Memo Pads go viral in Japan
The Japanese know a thing or two about making good stationery and papercrafts. They also know a thing or two about making nice landmarks. The Omoshiroi Block (roughly translating as the “Interesting”...
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Heavy snow in Tokyo causes traffic and public transport chaos
Tokyo had a strange start to the working week yesterday when it was hit by the worst snowfall since 2014. More than 20cm of snow fell on Monday, trapping cars on bridges and in tunnels, and causing...
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The Millennials: Stylish capsule hotel for millennials opens in Shibuya
The ongoing evolution of capsule hotels shows no signs of slowing down. The latest iteration of one of the most iconic types of Japanese accommodation is a stylish hotel in central Tokyo specifically...
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Mori Building and teamLab to open “borderless” digital art museum in Odaiba,...
Mori Building will partner with teamLab to open the Mori Building Digital Art Museum: teamLab Borderless this summer at Palette Town in Odaiba, Tokyo Bay. Set to become one of the major attractions in...
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Virtual Currency Girls (Kasotsuka Shojo), a new Japanese idol group inspired...
They say that there’s an app for everything. In Japan, it can sometimes seem like there’s a music idol group for everything. Virtual Currency Girls (Kasotsuka Shojo) is a new music idol group inspired...
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Robotic barista serves coffee to customers at Shibuya cafe in central Tokyo
The success of the robot-staffed Henn na Hotel in Japan has now led to a “robot cafe” in central Tokyo. From February 1st, a robotic barista is serving customers at the Henn na Cafe in a branch of the...
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Shrine maidens drive off Setsubun ogres in parkour and off-road racing chase
The native Japanese religion of Shinto might well be an ancient faith, but it’s rarely concerned about violating a “sacred” image. People eat and drink at shrines. And now two miko shrine maidens have...
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Should people in Japan stop buying chocolate on Valentine’s Day out of a...
The first thing to learn about Valentine’s Day in Japan is that it’s only for women to give to men. The guys are supposed to reciprocate on White Day, or March 14th. Moreover, it’s not just for...
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Cardcaptor Sakura Cafe opens in Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo
The manga and anime franchise Cardcaptor Sakura has spawned a lot of spin-off merchandise over the years, and it now has its own cafe in Tokyo. The shojo manga about elementary school student Sakura...
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Japanese Kit Kats inspired by traditional flavors, local ingredients
The best way to sell a foreign brand in Japan is to localize it, and this is both easier and harder when it comes to food. This is a field that offers a wealth of possibilities, but Japanese consumers...
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Tokyo to construct world’s tallest wooden structure by 2041
You’ve heard the one about the Tower of Babel. But what the 350-meter wooden tower? The somewhat cryptically named W350 is set to be the tallest wooden structure in the world, standing 350 meters...
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SoftBank Pepper robot becomes super deformed cuddly toy with giant head
If you like the SoftBank robot Pepper, you will love this: a Pepper cuddly toy. And not just any cuddly toy, this is a super deformed-style Pepper, complete with an oversized head. SoftBank has just...
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Kawaii Kabuki: Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters recreate Momotaro folk...
Visitors to Sanrio Puroland, the theme park with attractions based on Sanrio characters, can enjoy a whole new kind of entertainment from March with a kabuki-inspired Hello Kitty musical. Premiering on...
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First look at Dogo Onsenart 2018 hot spring resort art festival
Following its successful debut in 2014, the site-specific festival Dogo Onsenart returns, transforming hotel and traditional Japanese inn rooms at the famous hot spring resort into art installations....
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