It’s both ancient – and modern. The shoji screen, handcrafted using a millennia-old Japanese papermaking technique, is not flat: it gently undulates like a waterfall, the softened geometry of its crafted wooden frame illuminated like shifting daytime skies by hidden LEDs. This harmony of paper, wood …

Theme park prohibition strangely opens the door to a new kind of creative freedom. When you visit Ghibli Park in Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture, you’ll find a vast array of attractions, including life-sized buildings that look like they’ve jumped straight out of a Studio Ghibli film. However, if you research the park beforehand to see […]

One of Japan’s most popular dessert mascots is set to go with you as you tap through ticket gates. Last year, one of Japan’s many railway companies, JR East, announced that they would be retiring their iconic mascot character featured on their rechargeable prepaid transit card, Suica, much to the dismay of many of its […]

Move over, sakura. Purple is the new pink. The cherry blossom season is poised to start throughout the country, with some places already seeing the flowers start to bloom. However, while cherry blossoms often make the headlines, they’re not the only seasonal flowers that Japan has to offer. In fact, I much prefer it when […]