The timing of this year’s Golden Week holidays doesn’t allow many people to travel far. You can, however, get a taste of Latin America if you head down to Yoyogi Park. The park will host a large-scale festival for this year’s Cinco de Mayo ...

Photographer Michio Hiraiwa has been given the title of goodwill ambassador for Kenyan tourism because of his numerous visits to the country — 150 times since 1972. The 78-year-old has also traveled to neighboring Tanzania 80 times. Hiraiwa’s daughter, Masayo, eventually began to join ...

Tokyo, Miyagi Known as the “Golden Voice of Togo,” singer King Mensah’s dedication to his country has always been expressed through his artistic endeavors. He will perform for the first time in Japan next week on the occasion of Togo’s independence day on Sunday. ...

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is already prepping for this year’s Tokyo Rainbow Pride (TRP). The organizers of the event, all of whom are volunteers, want to raise awareness of LGBT issues in Japan and hope to up the ante for the ...

Most Japanese people come in contact with Buddhist priests on formal occasions, such as when a family member passes away. But a cross-denominational group of young Buddhist monks is trying to change that — by putting together a unique cultural event involving three Buddhist ...

It’s a new year that other indie bands could only dream of. Steady gigs, new releases and collaborations with established artists, they’ve all been on ZZZ’s schedule for the past few months. The Hyogo Prefecture trio released their second EP, “Magnetica,” in February, and ...

From ornate, Victorian-style mansions to humble wooden cottages, people’s preferences for where they live differ greatly. This poses the question: What is a house? Architect artist Yoshifumi Nakamura has come to believe the hut is the perfect house. This three-part exhibition shares Nakamura’s passion ...

Paintings were originally created as representations of the physical world. However, as technologies such as photography were developed, the role of painting changed to that of portraying concepts that went beyond physical representation. The Realism movement of the late 19th century giving way to ...

In most of the country, flowers are blooming and spring is well under way. Residents in the concrete jungle that is Tokyo, however, may not get to see many blossoms on their commutes. But this weekend they can make up for it in a ...

The crux of the government’s “Cool Japan” initiative to promote Japanese culture overseas mostly hangs on anime, and this weekend a major anime-based event takes place in Tokyo. The Tokyo International Anime Fair will take place at Big Sight in the capital’s Odaiba district. ...

This year, four-year-old art fair G-tokyo boasts that it will turn over a new leaf with some radical changes. Besides moving its venue from Mori Arts Center Gallery to Tokyo Midtown Hall, it has altered the lineup of participating galleries for the first time, ...