Since 2015, when Meiji Chocolate — one of the most popular chocolate brands in Japan — found success with the relaunch of its own bean-to-bar range, Japan’s artisan chocolate industry has been booming. Here are the top…

Foraging is the act of finding and picking wild plants to eat. Foraging in Japan can take place in the countryside, woods, on mountains and even in cities, on abandoned parking lots…

One of Dylan Woods’ most popular videos features a small person selling cheese before turning into a volcano. That volcano erupts with popcorn which acts as a badminton ball to hit several…

Ikumi Nakamura is the CEO of the newly-opened game studio, Unseen (stylized as UNSEEN). She brings her own extensive experience and open world view into the traditionally closed culture of Japanese game…

Welcome to our roundup of the best Japanese albums from May 2022. Highlights include the farewell album from Kikagaku Moyo, a restrained-NRG first from Yousuke Yukimatsu and a Nintendo game soundtrack release…

There’s a wealth of new music releases from Japan out there and it can be daunting to sort through them all. Combine that with Golden Week and it makes for a very…

One of the good things about Japan’s rainy season (tsuyu) is the hydrangeas that come with it. The blue-purple flowers have been admired since as far back as the 8th century. In Japanese literature,…

If you are away from Japan, planning a holiday or even just reminiscing about previous trips, these music podcasts (and a Tokyo-based net radio station) will get you in the mood. This selection…