If someone asked me to name Japan's greatest invention, I might say it's the Cup Noodle. Although some people consider it to be more of junk food rather than a meal, I'm sure we all love it not only ...

It's the most famous train line in Tokyo. The JR Yamanote Line defines the geography of the city, encircling the center, running a loop around the notorious "empty void" in the heart -- the Imperial ...

Showcased at last week's Tokyo Toy Show 2013 was the Camatte57s, a concept car by Znug Design for Toyota. The brainchild of Kenji Tsuji and Kota Nezu, the minimal Camatte57s is not only designed ...

We've got a soft spot when it comes to matters of the heart, especially when it's as cute as this. The Ozaki O!coat Lover+ is a pair of iPhone5 covers for a couple to share -- when you put the two ...

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself? How would you describe yourself? I can't remember how many times people asked me these questions. Whether it was during job interviews or random ...

In 1998 the famous guitarist from pioneering visual kei rock band X JAPAN, Hideto Matsumoto (commonly known as just "hide"), suddenly passed away at the age of thirty-three. To remember this, every ...

You can get a piece of Tokyo greenery literally in your pocket with the Shibaful iPhone Case, a world-first design which uses electrostatic flocking and is based on lawn from Yoyogi Park in central ...

Starbucks may well have coffee shops in around sixty countries and regions worldwide but other than North America, Japan is the first to reach 1,000 branches. Despite being seen initially as a more ...

Weddings and konkatsu (or spouse-hunting) are big money in Japan. June Bride is a term that originated in the west but later became a commercialized concept in Japan too. However, June in Japan, as ...

Last weekend I jumped on the Fukutoshin Line and headed down to Shibuya to check out Keitai Mizu ("mobile water"). From what I had read, the event at Jingu-dori Park was set to be a mobile ...

Japan's largest retailer Aeon is offering yukata (cotton summer kimono) this year with peach and soap fragrances. Part of its new "adult kawaii" range of hundreds of summer items, the yukata ...

There is no doubt that Japanese anime's stories vary greatly from cute, funny, educational, heroic, romantic, horror, erotic to grotesque. Makoto Shinkai's latest animation film "The Garden of Words" ...

We blogged last autumn about the opening of the Art Aquarium in Tokyo in 2012. After the exhibition pulled in a whopping 200,000 visitors, it's not surprisingly coming back to the Nihonbashi ...

After the Tohoku disaster, we have all become a bit more conscious of the "gear" needed in an emergency. Bottled water. Warm clothes. Geiger counter. Hardhat. In Japan, schools and companies ...

You can argue with me on this, but in Japan, there are two days a year when the idea of being alone might affect you emotionally -- these are Valentine's Day and Christmas (or Christmas Eve, to be ...