As the sun sets in Tokyo, its alleyways become illuminated by the lights of "sunakku" snack bars. But OrySnack is illuminated by something entirely different: the gentle, glowing eyes of six small hum...

Japan has a rich history of packaging design that dates back hundreds of years and rooted in a tradition of gift-giving. Before industrial materials like plastic and cardboard, gifts were wrapped in s...

When you enter the classroom of an elementary school, you might expect to hear laughter and yelps of excitement. But at the former Yuya Elementary School in Gifu, you’ll instead encounter hundreds of beads hanging from the ceiling by fishing line. As you walk through the classroom, the beads slowly

Cutting through the white-capped waves of the Seto Inland Sea is a one-of-kind “floating library”. This is Hon no Mori-go (ほんのもり号) created to give children living on remote islands the opportunity to ...

Last year, JR East announced that their beloved mascot, the Suica penguin, will retire after 25 years of serving as the iconic face of IC cards. Today, the company has unveiled three candidates to suc...

They say autumn is the season for art. In Japan, fall symbolizes freshness and new endeavors. The season's clearer skies and brighter moons gives renewed enthusiasm to encounter artistic inspiration. ...

Urban photographer Ken Ohyama is passionate about cities and the various structures that form them. The Japanese photographer has a knack for taking oft-overlooked elements of urban environments like highways and housing projects, and highlighting their beauty by forcing us to look at them in ways

Every summer, the city of Gyoda in Saitama Prefecture turns rice paddies into giant canvases, planting colorful rice varieties to form massive works of art. Known as tanbo art, these living murals stretch across nearly three hectares and can only be fully appreciated from above. Gyoda’s rice paddy a

Is it a park? A building? A pathway? A Landscape? It's one of our most-anticipated architecture project of 2026, and it just opened yesterday (August 7) in Fukuoka, just steps away from Hakata Station. Meiji Park is a new 3,572-square-meter urban park designed by Sou Fujimoto. Architecture and lands

NEW YORK—Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike signed an agreement with New York University here on July 14 to explore establishing a degree-granting campus in Tokyo, a potential major expansion for the prestig...

For more than a century, Kokuyo has been quietly refining the humble tools of the desk. Beyond a pursuit of quality and utilitarianism, the Osaka-based maker of stationery tools has always tried to "p...

For decades, Japan's convenience stores have been admired for, well, their convenience. By being sweetly attuned to utilitarian consumer needs, the ubiquitous 24/7 conbini has spread across Japan, achieving an unparalleled density that is perhaps second only to vending machines. This week, FamilyMar

Most of us erase mistakes without a second thought. The curled ribbons that gather beneath an eraser are little more than evidence of revisions before they're brushed into the trash. But Saya Irie see...

Kenya Hara, the internationally acclaimed Japanese designer, has long been associated with clarity, restraint, and the quiet power of minimalism: traits that are evident in his work as creative direct...

The Tohoku region is Japan’s northern frontier on the island of Honshu—a region shaped by nature. Misty mountains, crystal clear streams, rugged coasts and bountiful seafood not only form what is one ...

Spring in Japan isn’t just about cherry blossoms. Ok, fine it's mostly about cherry blossoms. But if you're looking to combine some gallery hopping in between the ohanami, we've got you covered. From futuristic anime retrospectives to centuries-old woodblock prints brought together in major museums

Kirishima Shuzo, the iconic Japanese shochu maker, has teamed up with Starbucks Japan to create a one-of-a-kind collaborative facility where coffee, craftsmanship and sustainability come together unde...

We're ringing in 2026 with a look at 6 new art and architecture projects that we're looking forward to seeing this year. From Hakata and Kyoto to Nara and Tokyo, these hotels, museums and parks are set to transform their respective neighborhoods all across Japan. The Gateway Park “HAKATA MEI

Happy New Year of the horse! The year of the horse (uma-doshi) is said to be auspicious in Japan, not only because it represents strength, speed and energy, but because of the wordplay: umaku iku (mea...

Along a narrow residential street in Kanawa, the historic heart of Beppu City known for their geothermal hot springs, is an inconspicuous 2-story home that, until recently, would have been barely noti...

As we near the end of 2025, we like to reflect on the stories that most captivated our readers’ attention, and as always, certain themes tend to emerge. 2025 marked the 80-year anniversary of the end ...