





Before I moved to...


Only surviving example of the sheath that protected Japan from “plum poison.”
Osaka-based company Morishita Jintan has been around for a long time. Founded way back in Japan's Meiji period, next month will mark the pharmaceutical and medi...

New rules may regulate social media photos and profit made from cosplay.
Cosplay is an awesome way for fans of shows to get creative and express their love for certain characters, but as we've seen before it also skirts the line of copyright ...

If the stomach is the way to someone's heart, might as well get constituents by… making them sympathize over what you eat?
Fumio Kishida is no stranger to the Japanese political scene. Formerly the Minister of Foreign Affairs and currently ...

Survey sees if high school students know what they can and can't do under the accelerated end of childhood.
Earlier this month, Japan celebrated Coming of Age Day, holding congratulatory ceremonies for people who recently or will soon be turn...

Last weekend, about 550,000 aspiring students took the standardized university entrance exam (大学入学共通(だいがくにゅうがくきょうつう)テスト) in the middle of the pandemic. Despite COVID-19, hopeful students had to sho...

The laws of nature supersede those of society.
What could be described as the “trial of the year” – all 20 days of it – concluded last Wednesday, involving a man that stood accused of entering the women's restroom without possessing t...

East Japan Railway wants to cut travel time to Tokyo Station in half.
If you're flying into Tokyo, Haneda Airport is where you want to land. Sure, rival Narita Airport sometime gets called “Tokyo International Airport,” but it's actually ...

Even as Japanese people become taller and larger on average than their ancestors, the retail scene here is very slow to catch up to the changing demographics of its consumers. The most common women's shoe size in the United States is somewhere bet...

Get ready to raise a glass to, and of, the return of this Suntory star.
Just like when Japan proved it can build great cars, so too did it prove it can distill great spirits. Demand for Japanese whiskies has been skyrocketing in recent years,...

Driver should have spotted multiple warning signs as soon as she said where she wanted to go.
On Sunday, a woman hopped into a taxi and told the driver “Please take me to the Tottori Sand Dunes.”
In and of itself, that's not so weird. Th...