iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 2h

Red spider lilies along the river in Kyoto 🌺  Higanbana bloom for only about a week around the autumn equinox, lining the water in crimson. A quiet walk, the sound of the current, and the first breath of autumn.

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 14h

On 31 October and 1 November, the Japan Steampunk Expo fills Studio Ease Meguro, a film studio near Meguro Station in Tokyo designed to look like a street abroad. Around 75 makers sell steampunk-inspired goods, alongside a fashion show and live music.

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Early autumn morning in Kyoto 🍂 Soft light on quiet streets, ginkgo leaves just starting to turn, a willow by the canal, and the first red spider lilies. The air finally feels fresh again.

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Japanese Talk @japanesetalk.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Japanese Talk Online is 13 years old today!!!! I started this blog as casual Japanese language classes for my university anime society and wanted to keep it going after I graduated. Just like my Japanese studies, I haven't been consistent but I have been persistent 😂

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 03/10/2026

Until 26 Oct, an immersive exhibition at the Ginza Mirai Museum in Tokyo explores "No. 6", Atsuko Asano's sci-fi novel series, later adapted as manga and anime. Visitors walk through recreated spaces from the story, including Nezumi's room, with a Japanese audio guide narrated by Yuki Kaji.

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 03/10/2026

From 9 October, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku shows a free projection mapping work by students at a public arts high school, turning its facade into classroom windows, corridors, and shoe lockers in a story of teenage love. tokyoprojectionmappingproject.jp

Spectators in the plaza below the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku look up at the facade at night, where a hand-drawn figure in a white sailor-style school uniform with a red neckerchief and navy skirt is projected across the tower against a blue background. Provided by TOKYO Night & Light PR Office

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at night, its facade covered in a projected hand-drawn scene of a student in a white shirt, head tilted back, in warm orange, yellow, and green tones. The twin tower tops glow blue above. Provided by TOKYO Night & Light PR Office

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at night, lit in pale lavender, with a hand-drawn boy and girl in school uniforms projected on the left and right towers. The boy stands looking across, while the girl reaches upwards, her hair and skirt swept by the wind, as small pink petals drift across the facade. Provided by TOKYO Night & Light PR Office

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Autumn Dusk in Kyoto Today #sunset #sky #japan

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 02/10/2026

From 15 to 18 October, the Namba Hiroba plaza in front of Nankai Namba Station in Osaka is decked out for Halloween with around 5,000 lanterns and eyeball sculptures, inspired by the Japanese belief that everyday objects can come to life. Entry is free.

A Nankai Line 8300 series train in a depot, its silver front car followed by carriages wrapped in red and covered in cartoon eyeballs in yellow, purple, and white, some dripping as if melting. The wrapped train runs between Namba, Wakayamako, and Kansai Airport from 5 October. Provided by Meta Osaka Inc.

Concept image of the Chimney Town Halloween art space at Namba Hiroba, Osaka, showing walls and ceilings of glowing red, orange, and purple paper lanterns hung from black metal frames. Two large eyeball sculptures in orange, purple, and white stand among the lanterns, with red mist and spotlights filling the space and two figures silhouetted in the centre. Provided by Meta Osaka Inc.

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 02/10/2026

On 31 October, about 2,000 people take part in an alien costume parade through Iino in Fukushima, a town that calls itself the UFO village. Anyone can join, and the most convincing aliens win prizes. www.hey-japan.com/event/ufo-fe...

Group photo at the UFO Festival 2025 in Iino, Fukushima, with a large crowd in alien costumes gathered on the street in front of the stage. Costumes include green and silver alien masks, blonde wigs, squid-like hats, and an inflatable flying saucer. People at the front hold a banner reading "UFO Festival 2025," with more spectators filling the street behind them. © 福島市いいの街なか活性化委員会

Three costumed participants at the UFO Festival 2025, standing on the main street of Iino in front of an old pharmacy. One wears green face paint and a grey wig and holds a stuffed panda, one wears a tall pointed headpiece and silver foil gloves and trousers, and one has gold face paint and antennae. Behind them, someone holds up a sign asking passers-by whether they want to become aliens. © 福島市いいの街なか活性化委員会

A costumed group at the UFO Festival 2025, with members in pink wigs and silver masks at the front and purple one-eyed alien headpieces behind. They hold a hand-drawn sign for a mock hostess bar named after Senganmori, the local hill associated with UFO sightings. A man in a maroon blazer stands beside them holding a bag of rice, one of the festival prizes. © 福島市いいの街なか活性化委員会

Four participants at the UFO Festival 2025, posing in front of a traditional storehouse with a tiled roof. Two have blue striped body paint and pointed ears, one is in a black suit and sunglasses, and one wears a green full-face alien mask with yellow eyes and antennae. © 福島市いいの街なか活性化委員会

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北澤靖（お土産ペナント収集家）KITAZAWA Yasushi @yasushi-kitazawa.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Souvenir pennant in Japan, my collection. ”Okuzure Coast, Yaizu Port", Shizuoka Prefecture. This is a pennant featuring the Okuzure Coast and Yaizu Port. The illustration is based on KATSUSHIKA Hokusai’s ukiyo-e print “Koshu Kajikazawa.” Length 57.5cm (22.6in) . 1976. #vintage

1. The pennant for Okuzure Coast and Yaizu Port. It features an illustration printed on light blue fabric and is trimmed with yellow fringe.

2. The illustration is a reproduction of a portion of KATSUSHIKA Hokusai’s ukiyo-e print “Koshu Kajikazawa” from the "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" series. It is rendered in black lines and colored in blue, green, red, and yellow.

3. Close-up of the illustration. It is a reference to Hokusai’s “Koshu Kajikazawa.” However, the cliff depicted on the left does not appear in “Koshu Kajikazawa” or in the "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji"; it was added later. The scene depicts a fisherman on a rock casting a net into the rough waves, with Mount Fuji visible in the distance as a backdrop. Since Yaizu Port is known for its thriving fishing industry, the fishing motif was likely chosen for this reason.

4. The title is in Japanese. Written in calligraphic-style kanji, it reads “Okuzure Coast, Yaizu Port” (red). A view of the old port is depicted on the right side of the flag. Additionally, there is a commemorative date field (Shōwa year/month/day, black) at the far right edge of the flag, which is inscribed with November 12, Shōwa 51 (1976).

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 01/10/2026

Happy UK+ release day to Hisashi Kashiwai's A Serving of Hope, the fourth helping of the Kamogawa Food Detectives series (trans Jesse Kirkwood). N American release expected next week.

bookshop.org

A Serving of Hope

Discover new delicious mysteries in this fourth installment in The Kamogawa Food Detectives series, the beloved Japanese bestseller and celebration of the healing power of food. “Off-beat and charming...

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 01/10/2026

Kyoto Night Market holds a Halloween edition on 3 and 4 October, spread across the plaza in front of Kyoto City Hall and the Zest Oike underground mall below. On 4 October, a yokai parade of Japanese folklore spirits and monsters moves between the two venues.

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Jorinji temple| Kyoto's Bush Clover Temple 🌸  A quiet stone path lined with blooming bush clover (hagi) at Jorinji, known as "Hagi-dera", in Kyoto's Sakyo Ward. Far from the crowds, this hidden gem is a peaceful place to feel the arrival of autumn🍂  📍 Sakyo-ku, Kyoto

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 30/09/2026

The Yamanashi Prefectural Museum holds the largest exhibition to date of kaiki, a silk once made in the prefecture and used as the hidden lining of kimono jackets, from 10 October to 30 November. More than 100 jackets and fabric samples will be shown.

The front of the exhibition flyer. The title "Kaiki Monogatari" appears in large gold Japanese lettering with the English title "The Inner Sensibility of 'Kaiki'" above it. The dates, 10 October to 30 November 2026, sit in the centre, surrounded by a patchwork of striped, checked, and patterned kaiki fabrics in a decorative frame. Provided by Yamanashi Prefecture

The back of the exhibition flyer, in Japanese. It has an introduction to kaiki, photos of exhibits including a fabric sample book, a parasol, lined jackets, a kimono, and an old photo of a child in Western clothes. Below are listings of lectures, workshops, and factory tours, plus access information and a map. Provided by Yamanashi Prefecture

A fabric sample of picture kaiki silk, with wide turquoise and orange horizontal bands. The orange bands carry a star-like geometric hemp-leaf pattern, and soft-edged maple leaves and flowers in orange, blue, and green overlap the bands. Provided by Yamanashi Prefecture

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 30/09/2026

Until 23 November, visitors to the Hakone Glass no Mori Museum in Kanagawa can see 300 stalks of silver grass made from some 30,000 crystal glass beads in its garden. They are modelled on the grass fields of nearby Sengokuhara, which turn gold in autumn.

The Hakone Glass no Mori Museum garden in autumn, with red and orange maple leaves framing European-style stone buildings beside a pond. A white glass sculpture rises from a small island in the pond, a bridge beneath a sparkling arch of crystal glass leads into the garden, and wooded mountains rise behind. Provided by Daikoku Denki Co., Ltd.

Stalks of silver grass made from strings of crystal glass beads, glittering in the sunlight in front of a stone cottage with a steep tiled roof and ivy-covered walls. Provided by Daikoku Denki Co., Ltd.

A two-storey stone museum building with a wooden balcony and a curving staircase. Colourful glass balloons on long coloured strings hang from the balcony, and two green banners mark the museum's 30th anniversary. Provided by Daikoku Denki Co., Ltd.

Glass balloons in blue, green, red, and white, some striped and some speckled with colour, hanging from a round wooden ceiling with rafters that radiate from the centre. Provided by Daikoku Denki Co., Ltd.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 29/09/2026

Happy N American release day to Nao-Cola Yamazaki's Beautiful Distance (trans Charlotte Goff). "A prize-winning bestseller in Japan... a profoundly affecting and intimate story that looks with honesty and tenderness at the journey towards the end of a life." *Premiered in the UK+ in spring.

bookshop.org

Beautiful Distance: A Novel

"Beautifully, startingly, explosively expansive . . . In this delicate, near miraculous novel, there is no path away from grief, but there is a kind of company in loss, and a continuation of love.” —f...

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 29/09/2026

A 3.8-metre turtle mikoshi made by about 70 Tokyo University of the Arts students for this year's Geisai festival is now for sale on the Dipsy marketplace for ¥1.5 million until 6 October. If no buyer is found, it will be scrapped. A mikoshi is a portable shrine carried at festivals.

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 29/09/2026

"Meet Your Art Festival" returns to Tennozu, Tokyo, from 9 to 12 October, with more than 150 artists. Highlights include an exhibition directed by actor Mirai Moriyama, two art fairs, outdoor works, and a box set of drawings Yoko Ono made at 19. avex.jp/en/meetyoura...

Key visual for Meet Your Art Festival 2026: "MYAF" and "Meet Your Art Festival" in large black lettering over a wavy orange shape on a white background. The dates 9 to 12 October 2026 and "Tokyo Tennoz Canal Area" run vertically beside it, with the labels Art, Music, Food, Fashion, and Lifestyle down the left side. Provided by Avex Creator Agency Inc.

Shota Yamauchi's "In Between... Us?": a large white sculpture of curving, root-like branches outlined in glowing light, built around a scaffolding frame in a park at dusk. Two people stand inside it. Artwork image: photography by Ryota Haraguchi, direction by Sho Kikuchi (Nippachi Seisakusho)

Dan Isomura's "Informe-ation Center #131": a close-up video of a sleeping face projected onto a wall in a darkened gallery. Soap bubbles float out of openings at the nostrils and gather in a pile on the floor. Photo: Ujin Matsuo

A drawing from Yoko Ono's "Invisible Flower": six thin, wavering pencil lines, each topped with a small loop like a flower head, on cream paper. © Yoko Ono

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Kyoto's leaves are just beginning to turn — and the rain seems to deepen every shade. At Manshuin Temple🍁🌧️ #kyoto #japan #autumn

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Yabai Finds @yabaifinds.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Lady Gaga is in a new Japanese TV ad. For a convenience store. It isn't selling anything. It's a help-wanted ad. Her name tag spells her name in katakana. It also has a barcode for clocking in. #JapanHub #Japan

yabaifinds.com

Lady Gaga Now Works at FamilyMart, Name Tag and All

Lady Gaga fronts a Japanese convenience-store help-wanted ad, and viewers can't stop looking at her katakana name tag.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 28/09/2026

#worldkidlitmonth Shaw Kuzuki is a 2nd-generation atomic bomb survivor. She began writing in 2004, taking care to tell the story of "Hiroshima and the A-bomb tragedy that caused such catastrophic destruction and casualties". She has noted, "There are so many stories of Hiroshima to be written."

arabnews.jp

Shaw Kuzki: Japanese beloved writer for children and young people

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A short distance outside central Kyoto, the scenery opens up into rice paddies surrounded by mountains — a quiet satoyama landscape. The air felt fresh and calm after the rain. #scenery #kyoto #japan

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 28/09/2026

Pandorobo (bread thief), and Nise-Pandorobo (his impostor) are on displays at JR Ikebukuro Station until 4 October, ahead of the anime's 2 October premiere. Based on Keiko Shibata's picture books, it follows a mouse disguised as a loaf of bread, searching for the world's tastiest bread.

A giant plush Pandorobo, a mouse disguised as a loaf of white bread with half-closed eyes, whiskers, and a red nose, wrapped around a pillar in a station concourse. Behind it, more pillars are covered in yellow Pandorobo posters. ©柴田ケイコ・KADOKAWA/パンどろぼう製作委員会 Provided by KADOKAWA Corporation.

A giant plush Nise-Pandorobo, a round bread roll with buck teeth, whiskers, and sleepy green eyes, wrapped around a pillar in a station concourse. Yellow Pandorobo posters cover the pillars behind it. ©柴田ケイコ・KADOKAWA/パンどろぼう製作委員会 Provided by KADOKAWA Corporation.

A front view of the giant plush Pandorobo figure: a slice-shaped loaf of white bread with a mouse's half-closed blue eyes, red nose, open mouth, and grey feet poking out below. ©柴田ケイコ・KADOKAWA/パンどろぼう製作委員会 Provided by KADOKAWA Corporation.

Artwork for the Pandorobo anime showing the title in orange lettering above a forest scene. Pandorobo in his loaf disguise stands beside a cat hidden in a baguette and Nise-Pandorobo in a round roll. A smiling baker with bread-shaped hair stands behind them, and a tree stump in front is covered with assorted breads and pastries. ©柴田ケイコ・KADOKAWA/パンどろぼう製作委員会 Provided by KADOKAWA Corporation.

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Mondo Mascots @mondomascots.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Sonic the Hedgehog at Tourism Expo Japan to promote Sega’s amusement park, Joypolis

A blue hedgehog mascot with red sneakers walks through a crowd in a convention centre.

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

A quiet rainy day at Takaragaike Park, Kyoto — where the pond became a second forest. #photography #japan #rain #scenery

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 27/09/2026

We present our Song of the Week! #HeyJapanSOTW Tomoko Soryo - City Lights By The Moonlight Apple Music: music.apple.com/song/city-li... Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/3T28jN...

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北澤靖（お土産ペナント収集家）KITAZAWA Yasushi @yasushi-kitazawa.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

石川県、金沢と兼六園のペナント。1970〜80年代。 Two types of pennants featuring Kanazawa City and Kenroku-en Garden in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. 1970s–1980s.

金沢(上)と兼六園(下)のペナント。
A pennant featuring Kanazawa (top) and Kenroku-en (bottom).

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Yabai Finds @yabaifinds.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A Japanese developer is building on the British Library grounds. It started the way almost every building in Japan does: with a Shinto groundbreaking rite. The priest in white robes was Dutch. The replies drifted to whether British land has fairies that need asking first. #JapanHub #Japan

yabaifinds.com

A Japanese Developer Broke Ground at the British Library With a Shinto Ceremony, Led by a Dutch Priest

Mitsui Fudosan brought a Japanese groundbreaking rite to London, and the priest who performed it came from a shrine in the Netherlands.

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北澤靖（お土産ペナント収集家）KITAZAWA Yasushi @yasushi-kitazawa.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Souvenir pennant in Japan, my collection. ”Kenroku-en Garden", Ishikawa Prefecture. Kenroku-en Garden was established in 1676. This pennant features the Kotoji Lantern, the Ishikawa-mon Gate of Kanazawa Castle, and a “Hime Daruma doll.” Length 71cm (24.0in) . Circa the 1970s or 1980s. #vintage

1. A Kenroku-en Garden pennant. It features an illustration printed on black fabric and is decorated with yellow fringe.

2. The illustration centers on the Kotoji Lantern at Kenroku-en and also depicts the Kanazawa Castle Ruins, the Ishikawa-mon Gate, and Hime Daruma dolls. It is colored with gold lines, vermilion (red), light blue, and white on a black background. Some parts feature gold foil stamping.

3. Close-up of the illustration. Centered around the Kotoji Lantern, which is depicted with gold foil stamping, are the Ishikawa-mon Gate (also with gold foil stamping) and a pair of Hime Daruma dolls—one large and one small—with charming expressions. The background and the pine trees are rendered in the traditional Japanese Yamato-e style. A single swan is depicted in the center. The captions are in Japanese: “Hime Daruma,” “Ishikawa-mon Gate,” and “Kotoji Lantern” (all in crimson).

4. The title is in Japanese. Written in brush-style kanji, it reads “Kenroku-en” (crimson). On the right edge of the flag, the kanji for “Kanazawa” (gold) is displayed.

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 26/09/2026

The Miho Museum in Koka, Shiga, was designed by I. M. Pei and modelled on a Chinese legend of a hidden paradise. Until 6 December, it hosts "Hyakusaiji Temple and the Buddhist Art of Omi", including a normally hidden 8th-century Kannon statue. www.hey-japan.com/event/hyakus...

The Miho Museum's glass-roofed entrance building, seen from inside a curved metal-lined tunnel, with suspension bridge cables and green trees in front of it. © MIHO MUSEUM

A wooden temple gate at the top of worn stone steps, with giant straw sandals hanging on either side of the entrance. It is framed by tall cedars and orange autumn maple leaves. © MIHO MUSEUM

A seated wooden Buddhist statue with one knee raised and a hand resting against its cheek. It wears an ornate metal openwork crown with dangling beads, and gold patterning shows on the robes. © MIHO MUSEUM

A handmade red-glazed tea bowl with a speckled, uneven surface, standing on a tatami mat. © MIHO MUSEUM

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Autumn slipping into the frame along the Takano River, Kyoto — deer grazing by the water, kites circling overhead, and rice fields turning gold before the season fully turns. 🦌🌾 Where summer lingers and autumn begins. #deer #japan #kyoto

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 25/09/2026

"Go to Edo", a free exhibition at Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library in Minato City, runs from 24 October to 8 November. It looks at Edo as a tourist destination through ukiyo-e, district maps, board games, and Important Cultural Property drawings of Edo Castle from the Kora family.

Promotional banner for the exhibition "Go to Edo: A Tourist's Guide to the Great City of Edo" at Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library, showing a bird's-eye ukiyo-e board game map of Edo with Mount Fuji on the horizon and the title, dates, and venue details on the right. © Tokyo Metropolitan Government

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Where the Kamo and Takano rivers meet — the delta's stepping stones have carried commuters, joggers, and herons across for as long as anyone here can remember. Mt. Hiei stands watch in the distance. #photography #japan #kyoto

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 24/09/2026

Cosmos and Kochia Festa runs from 3 to 30 October at Expo '70 Commemorative Park in Suita, Osaka. Around 150,000 cosmos and 3,600 kochia bushes turning red cover Flower Hill, with muhlenbergia on the northern slope, plus weekend markets, workshops, and a brass band concert.

A field of pink, magenta, and white cosmos on Flower Hill at Expo '70 Commemorative Park, with a wooden viewing platform at the left and woodland under a clear sky. Provided by Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Bands of white, orange, yellow, and pink cosmos separated by a path on the slope of Flower Hill at Expo '70 Commemorative Park, with a wooden viewing deck in the top right. Provided by Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Rows of round kochia bushes in shades of crimson and orange on Flower Hill at Expo '70 Commemorative Park, with a tree line in the background. Provided by Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Feathery pink plumes of muhlenbergia on the northern slope of Flower Hill at Expo '70 Commemorative Park, behind a low rope fence with trees behind. Provided by Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd.

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北澤靖（お土産ペナント収集家）KITAZAWA Yasushi @yasushi-kitazawa.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

兼六園 (けんろくえん、石川県金沢市) のペナント、2種類。1970〜80年代。 Two types of pennants from Kenroku-en Garden. Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. 1970sー1980s.

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北澤靖（お土産ペナント収集家）KITAZAWA Yasushi @yasushi-kitazawa.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Souvenir pennant in Japan, my collection. ”Kenrokuen Garden", Ishikawa Prefecture. Kenroku-en Garden was established in 1676 by MAEDA Tsunanori. This pennant features a photograph of the Kotoji Lantern and Kasumigaike Pond. Length 67cm (26.3in) . Circa the 1970s or 1980s. #vintage

1. A pennant from Kenroku-en Garden. It features photographs and other images printed on glossy white nylon fabric and is decorated with gold synthetic resin fringe. The pennant comes in its original clear vinyl bag and includes a paper tag. The tag’s title, written in English, reads “MEMORY OF TRAVEL, NEW PENNANT” (yellow, white, and dark red).

2. The photograph depicts two iconic views of Kenroku-en: Kasumigaike Pond and the Kotoji Lantern.
MAEDA Tsunanori, who established Kenroku-en Garden, was the fifth lord of the Kaga Domain (located in what is now Ishikawa Prefecture).

3. Close-up of the photograph. A beautiful garden surrounded by lush greenery. The iconic views of Kenroku-en—the Kotoji Lantern and Kasumigaike Pond—with the Niji-bashi Bridge in the foreground. The building in the background is Uchihashi-tei Tea House.

4. The title is in Japanese. Written in kanji: “Japan’s Three Great Gardens” (black), and “Kenroku-en Garden” (red) in stylized kanji.

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 23/09/2026

The "Tokyo International Pen Show" returns for its ninth year from 21 to 23 November at the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Centre in Hamamatsucho. Fountain pens, inks, and paper from makers, shops, and independent craftspeople, including one-off pieces and small-batch runs.

Rows of handmade wooden fountain pens with chrome fittings displayed in a felt-lined wooden tray at the Tokyo International Pen Show, each with a paper price tag; the barrels show a range of grains and colours from pale maple to dark burl. © Tokyo International Pen Show Executive Committee

A pale blue fountain pen with gold trim resting in a brass pen tray on a display counter at the "Tokyo International Pen Show", with a matching cap and a second pen shown on clear acrylic stands behind it. © Tokyo International Pen Show Executive Committee

A crowded exhibition hall at the "Tokyo International Pen Show", with visitors browsing exhibitor tables under hanging booth signs such as Glass Studio "Gabi"; trays of pens and stacks of notebooks are laid out on the tables in the foreground. © Tokyo International Pen Show Executive Committee

A long queue of visitors waiting outside the venue of the "Tokyo International Pen Show", holding printed guides beneath numbered signs marking ticket groups, with high-rise buildings visible in the background. © Tokyo International Pen Show Executive Committee

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Japanese Talk @japanesetalk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I think this article from the Japan Times on how to get into reading gives bad advice. It mostly says "if you're a beginner read baby books then move onto children's books, manga, and YA books" but that's not actually good for Japanese learners. 🧵 www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2026/09...

japantimes.co.jp

How to get a start in reading books in Japanese

From picture books to manga and young adult fiction, here’s how to find Japanese books that match your language level.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 23/09/2026

Happy N American release day to Syou Ishida's Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic (trans E. Madison Shimoda). "Cats once again prove to be the best medicine in the wonderful third book following the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel We'll Prescribe You a Cat." Out in the UK+ 9/24.

bookshop.org

Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic

Cats once again prove to be the best medicine in the wonderful third book following the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel We’ll Prescribe You a Cat.When you are lost, the Kokoro Clinic for the...

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 22/09/2026

Tsuruga Castle in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima hosts Projection Mapping 2026 from November 20 – 22, 17:30 – 21:00. Animations inspired by Aizu lacquerware, painted candles and cotton play on the keep, with a new sea-of-clouds effect. Free entry.

Tsuruga Castle keep covered in golden floral projections during Tsuruga Castle Projection Mapping 2025, with green light beams above and illuminated pine trees on either side, seen over the heads of spectators. © HITOHATA,INC.

Wide view of Tsuruga Castle Projection Mapping 2025: the keep and stone walls lit with gold ink-painting imagery, two red-crowned cranes projected on the left wall, blue light beams overhead and a crowd filming on phones. © HITOHATA,INC.

Tsuruga Castle glowing in blue, purple, pink and orange light at Tsuruga Castle Projection Mapping 2025, surrounded by pine trees bathed in blue and laser beams radiating across the sky. © HITOHATA,INC.

Tsuruga Castle keep lit in yellow and red patterned projections at Tsuruga Castle Projection Mapping 2025, with white light beams fanning into the night sky and silhouetted spectators in the foreground. © HITOHATA,INC.

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Tanuki.no.mori @tanukinomori.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Quiet mornings where the city meets the mountain. Following the winding streets under the watchful gaze of Mt. Hiei, past old storefronts, quiet canals, and red torii gates. A slower pace of life on the northern outskirts of Kyoto 🚲🌿 #japan #kyoto #scenery

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 21/09/2026

Ao Omae's People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice (trans Emily Balistrieri) should be a book everyone who likes JLit reads. I love it! The stories are all about sensitive people trying to navigate an unjust world. Big ideas on gender, relationships, shared suffering... Just A+.

bookshop.org

People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice (Nomad Edition): Stories

“A captivating exploration of gender dynamics, set against a background of the trying and confusing time of adolescence, when identity is in flux and everything in life is unstable and magical.” —Lydi...

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北澤靖（お土産ペナント収集家）KITAZAWA Yasushi @yasushi-kitazawa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Souvenir pennant in Japan, my collection. ”Kenrokuen Garden", Ishikawa Prefecture. Kenroku-en Garden was established in 1676 by Maeda Tsunanori, the fifth lord of the Kaga Domain (located in the area of present-day Ishikawa Prefecture). Length 50cm (19.6in) . Circa the 1960s or 1970s. #vintage

1. A Kenroku-en Garden pennant. It features an illustration printed on black fabric, and the edges of the flag are decorated with silver braided cord. Two gold synthetic resin cords are attached to the left side of the flag.

2. The illustration depicts the Kotaji Lantern and Kasumigaike Pond in Kenroku-en Garden, as well as Kanazawa Castle. Mount Hakusan and other landmarks are visible in the background. These elements are printed on a black background using white outlines and white, green, brown, and red ink, and are airbrushed in white, green, and blue.

3. Close-up of the illustration. Kasumigaike Pond and the “Kotaji Lantern” in Kenroku-en Garden. Several swans are visible on the pond. Beyond the garden’s plantings, the Ishikawamon Gate of Kanazawa Castle is depicted. In the background, Mount Daimon—also known as “Kaga Fuji”—is visible alongside Mount Hakusan. These elements are beautifully rendered using a combination of printing and airbrushing.

4. The title is in Japanese. It reads “Kenroku-en” (in red) in calligraphic-style kanji characters.

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 21/09/2026

Every 15 minutes after dark, Nagoya Castle's main keep, the ground around it, and the nearby trees turn gold together. The "Be GOLD" illumination also lights the stone walls and fills Ninomaru Garden with mist. Until 4 October, then 18–24 October, 17:00–20:00.

Poster for "Be GOLD", Nagoya Castle's night-time illumination. An illustrated aerial view shows the main keep glowing gold above dark trees, with blue and gold wave patterns projected along the walls and green laser beams fanning across the grounds. Text: 19 September–4 October and 18–24 October 2026, illumination 17:00–20:00. © Nagoya City

Nagoya Castle's main keep and smaller keep lit in warm gold against a deep blue evening sky, with thin green and white laser lines tracing across their walls and roofs. Yellow, green, and orange rectangles of light are projected across the empty courtyard in front. © Nagoya City

Ninomaru Garden in the grounds of Nagoya Castle at night, with pines and maples lit in green and amber. Pink and violet mist drifts between the rocks of a dry pond, and small spotlights pick out grasses in blue and gold. © Nagoya City

A white corner turret at Nagoya Castle covered in a pale blue, water-like projection, standing on a high stone wall washed in shifting gold and green light. The main keep is visible in the distance on the left, lit in white and blue. © Nagoya City

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 21/09/2026

We present our Song of the Week! #HeyJapanSOTW Frank Nagai - Tokyo Cachito Apple Music: music.apple.com/song/tokyo-c... Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/0k7gsn...

Frank Nagai - Tokyo Cachito ℗ Victor Entertainment

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北澤靖（お土産ペナント収集家）KITAZAWA Yasushi @yasushi-kitazawa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

▲お土産 #ペナント「兼六園」(けんろくえん、石川県) 金沢市。加賀藩主前田氏の大名庭園。1676年、5代藩主前田綱紀公が開苑、歴代藩主が整備した。国: 特別名勝(1985年)。これは兼六園の庭園と”ことじ灯籠”、金沢城。奥は加賀富士(大門山)と白山だろうか。全長50cm。 [1960〜70年代/ #昭和レトロ ]

1. 兼六園のペナント。黒い布にイラストをプリント。旗の周縁に銀色の編み紐の装飾。旗の左に金色の合成樹脂製の紐2本付き。

2. イラストは兼六園のことじ灯籠と霞ヶ池。金沢城。奥に白山 (はくさん) 。黒地に白い描線、白, 緑, 茶, 赤でプリント。白, 緑, 青のピース加工 (エアブラシ) で彩色。

3. イラストの拡大。兼六園の霞ヶ池と”ことじ灯籠”。池には数羽の白鳥の姿がある。庭園の植栽の先に金沢城の石川門。奥に加賀富士の別名のある大門山、並んで白山。右寄りに丘と洋式の建物が見えている。プリントとピース加工で美しく描かれている。

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Mondo Mascots @mondomascots.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Ryuo Sakura-chan, a cheerful and energetic dragon girl from Tsu City in Mie Prefecture, promotes the Ryuo Cherry tree, a local monument. She is accompanied by Wolf Jiji, a grandfatherly wolf.

A blond girl mascot with fangs and a pink kimono stands beside a wolf with round glasses, a long white beard, a purple hat, and robes.

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Hey Japan! @hey-japan.com · 20/09/2026

For fans of Japanese horror: a Tokyo exhibition of scenes built in the style of the genre by Japanese film set artists, with a 1970s–80s setting. Visitors can walk in and take photos. Gallery AaMo, Tokyo Dome City, until 8 November.

Outdoor banner for the exhibition "Re: Touching Horror – The World of Film Art", Tokyo. White brush-style Japanese title on black, with photos of a gravestone, a dark corridor, a figure's shadow on paper screens, and a wooden bucket lit in red. Dates: 19 September–8 November 2026, 13:00–21:00. ©松竹お化け屋本舗

Exhibition set of a closed-down tailor's shop. A cracked, grimy plaster shopfront has an open door showing dressmaker's dummies inside, and a display window holding a dark jacket, a faded poster of two men in suits, shoes, and a headless, bloodstained figure draped in white cloth. ©松竹お化け屋本舗

Exhibition set of a dim, soot-stained room. A life-size figure of a balding man in a bloodied shirt sits slumped in a wooden armchair, holding a thin tool in one hand. A pale, mask-like face with long black hair lies on the floorboards at his feet. ©松竹お化け屋本舗

Exhibition set of a grimy old washroom. A stained concrete wall holds two small mirrors, one glowing blue from behind, above a stone sink with a tap and cup. A side table carries vintage toiletries: boxed soap, toothpaste, a hairbrush, an iron kettle, and a washboard. ©松竹お化け屋本舗

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Mondo Mascots @mondomascots.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Kojurin-kun, a cheerful 10-year-old Japanese bunting bird, is the mascot for the town of Tonosho, in Chiba Prefecture.

A brown bird mascot in a red cap and yellow T-shirt stands, waving.

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Japanese Talk @japanesetalk.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

It really irks me when people share their 300, 600, 1000 day Duolingo streaks but still don't know how to use Japanese. Here's an explanation for why apps like Duolingo don't work for learning to any fluency. jtalkonline.com/why-apps-lik...

jtalkonline.com

Why Apps Like Duolingo Don’t Work for Japanese - Japanese Talk

I’ve been learning Japanese for twenty years, but it hasn’t been consistent. I’ve stopped and started, bounced around multiple different study methods, and overall had a very slapdash approach to the ...

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