This festival celebrating 50 years of friendship between Japan and Jamaica culminates with a Bob Marley Songs Day competition on Sunday, where the winner will receive the grand prize of a trip to Jamaica. For most visitors, however, Bob Marley's music is just one ...

When 30-year-old book lover Shunsuke Mori decided to open a "library bar" in Tokyo, he took a leap of faith to solicit funds over the Internet. Through the process of "crowdfunding," Mori aimed to collect funds from people interested in contributing to his unique project: ...

In Peru, the largest Incan festival, Inti Raymi (Festival of Sun), takes place on June 25 in honor of Inti, the sun god. In Japan, those in Aichi Prefecture on June 14 and 15 can celebrate, too, by enjoying performances by the Andean folk ...

A University of Tokyo student set to spend a year as an exchange student in Illinois this summer doesn't think English skill is the only thing that matters when going to the United States. He thinks curiosity, knowledge and a spirit of adventure also carry ...

Fireflies, known as hotaru in Japan, have inspired numerous artists and writers, including Haruki Murakami, whose short story "Firefly" was later adapted into the first part of his best-seller "Norwegian Wood." In the real world, however, fireflies are sadly in decline, as their natural ...

When you're on the other side of the world finding a place to watch World Cup matches usually requires meticulous planning — from persuading friends with giant TV screens to let you join them, to preparing for an assault on your body clock. Flying ...

Among the different kinds of hanabi (fireworks) in Japan, the tezutsu hanabi is probably the one you really shouldn't try at home. "Tezutsu" means "hand-held," and a tezutsu hanabi cylindrical cartridge is made of a hollowed out bamboo tube, which is wrapped in rope ...

Back in 1990, while taking a stroll along the Tama River, photographer Osamu Konishi came upon a surreal scene: dozens of cats sitting amicably and quietly on the branches of a tree, almost like apples waiting to be picked, as well as on the ...

With so many designer goods now manufactured in large numbers, sometimes we forget that "design" stems from creativity and originality. "Design Festa" reminds us of that originality by offering spaces to around 10,000 artists, who are given free rein to display their artwork, handicrafts or ...

In Okinawa Prefecture, soba is not a bowl of buckwheat noodles in a light broth — it is a helping of thick, white noodles served in a hot soup of pork-bone stock flavored with katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna flakes). From foods to rituals, culture ...