Pop Culture

By Kaori Shoji  I am at the reception counter of Muji Hotel – the much touted and long awaited hotel produced by Muji, Japan’s popular minimalist clothing and household products…

Yakuza. Samurai. Monsters. NoFace. Lost face. Here's a guide to take you through the most memorable movies (including the bad, the good and the ugly) that adorned the Heisei era…

On April 30th, Emperor Akihito became the first sitting Japanese Emperor to abdicate the throne in over 200 years. Then, the following day on May 1st, his son Naruhito ascended…

Text & video by Phoebe Amoroso, cover image courtesy of Kanamara Shrine Our roving reporter, Pheebz, visited the annual Kanamara Festival on April 7th, which involves a lot of phalluses.…

You can’t make blood from a stone but you can make ink with a stone, and beautiful artistic ink. That is, if you’re using as 硯石(suzuri-ishi), a traditional Japanese ink-stone,…

Overall, Japanese Tattoos was a fascinating read and I would recommend it enthusiastically to anyone interested in tattoos or keen to learn more about specifically about irezumi. While perhaps the…

I have anxiety about sleeping. I never know what time of my life I’ll wake up in. The persistence of the past both helps and hinders my relationships in the…

When you write about Japan, you have to assume that many readers aren't following your story---or they may know little about the country and culture. . They may be coming…

The PR for Family Mart stated that ultimately, the company leaves the choice to stock porn up to the individual outlet owners. "Some of our outlets don't carry magazines at…

3 hours of music, dance, DJs and drinks. Also featuring special guests, The Dream Team, with a singer alleged to be the second-coming of Whitney Houston. Feature live performances by…