Incense workshops can be a sweet-smelling way to teach kids about a traditional craft of Japan

"Mummy, where does paper come from?" This was a question recently asked by my young daughter that was easier to answer than her usual string of whats and whys ("Do insects cry?" and "Why were we born?" among them). On this occasion, I was not ...

It all feels faintly familiar. There are the neutral textiles, the pale wood furniture, the green plants, the clean-lined gadgets and an aesthetic that is as calming as it is minimal. In short, it's identical to the interior of a Muji store — except here, ...

With its white latticed facade, shiny walls of glass and monochrome interior lighting, passers-by could be forgiven for assuming that Wakabayashi Butsugu is a fashion flagship or contemporary interiors store. Yet the reality is a little different, for the minimal, clean-lined space, which opened in ...

The seemingly simple act of checking into a hotel can be a recipe for disaster with tired young children: cue tackling mundane paperwork while trying to preempt high-volume meltdowns or contain hyperactive runarounds. So recently, it was something of a surprise to arrive at a ...

From polka-dot emporiums and oceanfront observatories to a new-generation castle museum, a raft of eclectic new cultural spaces have been showcased over the past year across Japan. Here are a few highlights that have either opened or been renovated across the country in recent ...

It's one of those fleeting parenting moments when my normally nonstop high-volume children are awake, but silent. The reason for this? They are studiously poring over a table covered with a neatly aligned assortment of wood cutouts — a cat, a witch, a star, ...

If Akio Aoki had his way, there would be one new word included in dictionaries across the globe: "Designart." The Tokyo-based designer is one of a team of high-profile creators united in their desire to transcend the boundaries of all things art and design with ...

My 5-year-old daughter has something precious in her hands. It's perfectly square, with a bright orange body, a black lens, a neck strap, a distinct red dot logo — and it's making me nervous. The object in question is an instant camera by Leica, the ...

"I love red wine, it's my favorite thing!" These are perhaps not the words that a mother particularly likes to hear from her young daughter — especially when she is only 4 years old. But this was precisely what my daughter told me when we ...