What is Japan’s “national sport”? It depends on what is meant by “national,” or if we’re talking about spectators or participants, amateur or professional....
Exactly one year before the August 25, 2020, kickoff of the Paralympic Games, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games unveiled designs...
The Kiyotsukyo Gorge Tunnel (Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture) is enveloped in chilly air as I walk through. After about a 20-minute stroll, the 750-meter passageway...
Visitors to Tokyo can find many luxury hotels in the Hibiya district, in the heart of the city, near the Imperial Palace and rich...
The picturesque Magome guesthouse (Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture) with its quintessential Edo era post town vestiges behind us, we threaded our way up a stone-paved...
When Japanese names are rendered with Latin letters — that is, “romanized” — the given name comes first and the family name comes last. That...
Kabuki and sumo are two of Japan’s greatest cultural arts that give foreigners a chance to experience the country’s wonders. And with kabuki, one can...
Kanako, a maiko from Miyagawacho, Kyoto, does the ceremonial first pitch in Koshien Baseball Stadium on May 22, 2019. The weather in Japan is...
On June 1, the organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games announced the route for the Olympic torch relay races, which will...
United States President Donald Trump’s state visit to Japan, from May 25 to May 28, has been full of firsts. He is the first...
Getting started with the world of ukiyo-e can feel a bit daunting. After all, how does one even begin to understand the art of...
(Second of Two Parts) Part 1: [Mythbusters] The ‘Happiness Report’ that Makes Me Very Unhappy Japan's Missing Culture of 'Blowing your own...