Like this post? Help us by sharing it! For Japan fans, the world is divided into three distinct sections: those who love anime, those who hate it, and those who have absolutely no idea what anime is. For the benefit of those in the third camp, anime (pronounced like “Annie-May”) are most easily understood as […]
Arts & Entertainment
Bunraku – The Ancient Puppetry of Japan
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Often obscured by its more famous siblings, traditional Japanese puppet theatre, known as bunraku (or ningyo joruri), is an experience well-worth having during your stay in Japan. A single performance can be quirky and delightful one minute, and devastatingly emotional the next. But what is bunraku? Along with […]
10 films you should watch before visiting Japan
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Any discussion of Japan and cinema is bound to alight on Lost in Translation, Studio Ghibli, and perhaps the insipid adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha. Though all worth a watch (except Memoirs. Seriously, don’t bother) we thought we’d put together a list of a few of […]
Contemporary Architecture in Tokyo
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Few places in the world have such a wealth of cutting-edge architecture as Tokyo. Partly due to necessity, being at once one of the planet’s most seismically active zones and densely populated regions, mandating technological innovation and thoughtful use of space. And also partly because of a […]
Tattoos in Japan: Taboo?
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Tattooed yakuza members
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! So you want to travel to Japan but – uh-oh – you’ve read in the forums that tattoos are a no-go. Thanks to that ill-advised tribal you got when you were seventeen you’re going to be banned from swimming pools, hot springs and waterparks and kicked out […]
8 Things to look out for when in Akihabara
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Akihabara is truly the Japan’s capital of “otaku” – often translated as ‘someone who has obsessive interests in video games, manga, anime, electronics and the like’. There’s more manga and anime in this little district of Tokyo than exists anywhere else in the world. But whether you […]
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Akihabara is truly the Japan’s capital of “otaku” – often translated as ‘someone who has obsessive interests in video games, manga, anime, electronics and the like’. There’s more manga and anime in this little district of Tokyo than exists anywhere else in the world. But whether you […]