Enter your search query
Tokyo Life
By Cole Lubchenko
As the temperature starts to dip around Kamakura, we finally start to witness the city’s autumn colors, from yellow ginkgo leaves to vibrant red maple ones. As it is December though, many…
By Hiroko Asano
Often dismissed as a soulless salaryman town, Toranomon is working hard to dispel this image with ambitious plans for the future. There’s still a long way to go before it can rival…
By Stephan Jarvis
November is the first full month in a while without a state of emergency in Tokyo. While there still are some restrictions, Shimokitazawa is mostly open for business and back to normal.…
The area of Kamakura and Shonan finally starts to dazzle with autumn colors in November. This month, many of the area’s historical sites, shops and restaurants celebrate this special occasion in style,…
It feels fitting that the Japanese kanji for “autumn” (秋) contains the character for “fire” (火) because so far it has been one hot season. So much so that the fall foliage…
By Cezary Jan Strusiewicz
A popular, thriving international commercial hub, (due to its easy access from Haneda Airport) Hamamatsucho has recently seen a lot of redevelopment in order to modernize and build on this reputation. With…
Vincent Fichot made international headlines in July after staging a hunger strike near the Tokyo Olympic Stadium in an attempt to regain access to his kids. He was back in the news this…
By Matthew Hernon
When one foreign official recently had the gall to call Japan’s new border policies “flexible,” I presumed he had taken leave of his senses. Rather, the “eased” rules have saddled hopeful arrivals…
By David McElhinney
Is Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop (2021) a faithful adaptation of the 1998 anime? No. Absolutely not. It mostly looks the part but with all the things it gets wrong, the set pieces and…
Knife attacks appear to be on the rise in Japan. The latest incident involved a 14-year-old boy who stabbed to death a fellow student at a school in Aichi Prefecture. The crime occurred…
In this week’s news roundup we have the latest on the disappearance of tennis player Peng Shuai. There’s yet another individual award for Shohei Ohtani and a crucial win for Japan in their…
Issues around imperial succession have been in the news of late and much of the commentary has convinced me we are failing as a species. In case you missed it: Princess Mako,…
Every November publisher Jiyū Kokumin Sha announces 30 contenders for the buzzword of the year in Japan. Unsurprisingly, the 2021 list is dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Olympics. There are…
From live music events to Christmas markets, this weekend Tokyo and its surrounding municipalities have a plethora of activities for you to attend. Though the state of emergency has been lifted, keep…
By Weekender Editor
While Christmas in Tokyo may not evoke the same nostalgic sentiment as New York City’s Rockefeller Center or Vienna’s Christmas Market, it makes up for it with millions of dazzling LED lights.…
There are plenty of places and things to do in Nakano and Koenji this coming holiday season that are bound to ignite our Christmas spirit. Whether that’s shopping the season sales at…
By Alexandra Ziminski
Christmas may not be a public holiday in Japan, but the country more than makes up for it by dedicating the entire month of December to it. The last month of the…
In the first weekend of December, Tokyo becomes illuminated and beautifully festive. Enjoy Tokyo’s Christmas illuminations, from Roppongi to Oshiage or check out the winter shows of select art galleries. Alternatively, join…
A visit to the most prominent shrines and temples of Tokyo, from Meiji to Sensoji, is high on the agenda of most who arrive in the city for the first time. They…
By Ciaran Lawler
An online survey about IVF in Japan conducted in January and February 2021 received responses from roughly 47,000 national public employees. It showed 1.8 percent were undergoing fertility treatment. 10.1 percent, meanwhile, said…
By Emi Schemmer
On Monday, October 4, the committee review meeting to discuss the proposal for over-the-counter access to the emergency contraceptive pill (a.k.a. EC, or the morning-after pill) was held at the Japanese Ministry…
By Jes Kalled
Gender equality organizations are urging the Japanese government to grant over-the-counter access to emergency contraception. They have the public’s backing. A conservative government, however, continues to resist and consider their options. “Accessible…
Healthy eating practices and veganism helped tofu gain a foothold in the West relatively recently. It started slowly in the 1960s and has grown ever more popular. However, Japan has been eating…
Having spent the past few months freely lamenting the patent lack of expediency in Japan’s vaccine campaign, it’s time to give credit where indeed it is due. The turnaround has been quite…
Rice is an essential part of Japan. Not just the Japanese diet, but also the country itself. Beyond being the staple food source for centuries, the meaning behind this simple grain has been deeply ingrained…
By Sean King
When most people begin their study of reading and writing Japanese kanji, they often learn numbers, days of the week or other simple characters such as “river” and “mountain.” I began mine…
By Shannon Cothran
Fukuoka International School (FIS) began its story in 1972 amidst the rapidly growing international community of Kyushu. Since then, the non-profit school has grown from under 30 students to approximately 300 with…
I still remember the day we brought the youngest member of our family home. She was so tall and heavy; I could barely carry her. And she was crawling with bugs who…
By Andreas Neuenkirchen
With over 300 million registered users, it’s impossible to talk about language learning apps without talking about Duolingo. It was the first educational software to be chosen as iPhone App of the…
Coinciding with innovations in big data, artificial intelligence and robotics have come major changes in education, namely an increasing emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in secondary education and closing gaps…
By Taylor Stewart
Located in the Daikanyama neighborhood of Shibuya ward, Elite Open School Learning Resource Center Tokyo (EOS LRC Tokyo) offers an international school experience like no other establishment. A micro-school that is part…
By Lisandra Moor
A wonderful resource for struggling students and bookworms, libraries are usually free and open to everyone. In addition to national and university libraries, your ward or city surely has one too. Foreign residents…
By Paula Chiarino
Building on a ten-year history, student-led TEDxWasedaU is shaping the future while commemorating the past
By Camilla Chandra
