“Samurai” as a concept has been one of Japan’s hottest exports in last few decades. The rise in the popularity of anime, martial arts, and anything Japanese in the West has piqued the interest of younger generations in a way that other cultural imports haven’t been able to match. For many Japanophiles, their interest extends…

Martial arts have been a part of Japanese and East Asian culture for a long time, and its popularity soared with actors such as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee starring in Hollywood. The dedication, training, and the undeniable coolness made martial arts a well-known and well-loved endeavour. Most people have heard of karate and judo,…

The heat of the summer might have abated at last, but the streets of Tokyo are still searing! In an upcoming festival, yosakoi dance teams from around Japan will take over the Ikebukuro station area and be performing live! Yosakoi is a style of dance that blends traditional elements of Japanese costumes and dance movements…

Okinawa seems to be the pinnacle of the dream “island vacation” for Japanese and non-Japanese tourists alike. However, there are a series of small, relatively unknown islands off the coast of Shizuoka that could be your dream realized (and they aren’t the tourist trap like Okinawa is). Dynamic topography and unique in character, the Izu…

For fans and non-fans alike, your trip to Japan should include a visit to the Final Fantasy Ezorea Café in Akihabara. Themed cafes are quintessentially Japanese and no trip to Japan would be complete without a stop at one of them. While cat cafes, maid cafes, and now even owl cafes are located all around…

A mere two hours away from the noise and lights of Shinjuku is the semi-forgotten onsen town called Kinugawa. With a direct express train leaving from Shinjuku station and the option of a free or reduced price onsen bus leaving from Ikebukuro, it is easy to get out of town for a night. Kinugawa A…

In 2012, in an attempt to foster patriotism, the Japanese government made it compulsory for junior high schools across the country to teach its students one traditional Japanese sport during P.E.; kendo, sumo, or judo. Previously, ‘budo’ or martial arts were merely one of the sports boys could study during gym class, but since the…

Widely known and popularly used as meeting points, statues in Tokyo are seen by many but the story and meaning behind their creation is sometimes lost. While statues of people can somehow still speak for themselves, statues of animals are more often than not unrecognizable. Do you know these famous animal statues? 1. Hachiko (Shibuya)…

Right now in Hokkaido, lucky visitors are able to see an unusual feat of nature. Jewelry ice or ice so clear that it looks like a precious stone can be found alongside the Tokachi River of Hokkaido. Having lived in cold parts of the world abundant with lakes and rivers before and never having seen…

When describing food, westerners rely basically on 4 distinct tastes: bitterness, sweetness, saltiness, and sourness. However, there is another type of description for food – umami. While anyone reading this article can easily name foods that are bitter, sweet, salty or sour, umami is a little harder to pin down. Unlike bitterness, sweetness, saltiness, and…