by Zoria Petkoska The unbearable heatwaves are globally getting worse and even before that, Japanese summers have been notorious since forever. Almost every iconic anime or film has a summer scene of people almost melting into the tatami like Dali’s clocks, while cicadas blare in the background. The scene might also have a hardworking…

There is an old song English speakers know as Sukiyaki, and it has a remarkable story. After leaving a band to seek a solo career under Toshiba Records, Kyu Sakamoto recorded the song, known in Japan as Ue o Muite Arukō (Look Up As I Walk), and it became the number #1 hit in the…

Most people know that the Japanese working culture is hard in terms of the amount of working hours and attention to details. If you want to get a job in Japan or work in a Japanese company in your country, understanding the culture and environment beforehand will be beneficial. View this post on Instagram A…

Nazca Lines in Peru and Cerne Abbas Giant in the UK are amazing large scale works with long history. Rice field art in Japan comes close in that it has a similar scale, but it is transient – disappearing with the harvest. And in that it perfectly embodies the Japanese concept of “mono no aware”…

Have you ever wondered what to expect when dating a Japanese guy? Well, to begin with, I am not Japanese and did not grow up in Japan, so I had zero idea about Japanese culture, characteristics, and traits before moving here. Despite my understandable lack of knowledge, my Japanese boyfriend and I have been together…

In recent years, many American retailers have struggled to survive for a wide variety of reasons, including competition from other brands, high real estate prices, and a change in the way consumers spent their money and went shopping. by Martin Danker Japan is not immune to these changes, but they do tend to happen far…

Why do Japanese people always wear surgical masks? Many visitors coming to Japan for the first time have asked this question. Used to seeing masks only in hospitals, they have wondered why in Japan they seem to be a common item for everyone. Simple white surgical masks have always been sold in every convenience store…

Contemporary Art Website “TRiCERA” introducing new up and coming Japanese artists Original article written by Shinzo Okuoka (May 14th, 2020) Fujitv-view https://www.fujitv-view.jp/gallery/post-102406/?imgid=1 (Japanese only) ・Ryoma Noda is a young Japanese artist attracting a lot of attention. ・He expresses his art by using lacquer with insects and bananas as a motif. ・Funnily, he admits he decided…

Traditional Japanese food has always been as pretty as it’s tasty, becoming recognized as an Intangible UNESCO Cultural Heritage. From the perfectly arranged shapes and colors to reflect the seasons, the style of every little plate and cup, to sushi bites and the Japanese cute take on pastries, every time you buy food it will…

When it comes to “Japanese art”, what images pop up in your mind? For example, when you search on the Internet some keywords like “Japan, art”, most of the results will be of Hokusai’s ukiyo-e prints, folding screens, or the sliding screen paintings in the Edo period. It seems that foreigners equate “classical Japanese art”…