Minoru "Shiro" Hirasawa served the country's first sushi over 40 years ago.

The future of Kishu lacquerware will depend on young artisans finding the balance between tradition and modernization. But the value of the art lies not only in its beauty, but in the sacrifice and commitment of the artisans who dedicate their lives to carrying ...

Part guesthouse and tour provider and part culture and cooking class, Udon House is a full-immersion experience where guests learn about the Sanuki region where udon noodles were born.

At her restaurant, Nanakusa, and now for Finnair, Maezawa adjusts traditional Edo Period Japanese flavors for an international audience by using familiar aromas from herbs and spices to evoke dishes guests may already know.

While living in Japan, I spent languid summers watching Koshien on television. I'd rise before the first game and pour cold mugicha (barley tea) as cicadas hummed outside my open windows. It's the sounds I remember most. The chatter of the announcers punctuated by aluminum bat ...

Shima Peninsula may be most famous for pearls, but the true treasure is its bountiful natural environment and a plateful of fresh oysters.

In Mie Prefecture, the city of Matsusaka celebrates its animal husbandry with a cattle auction each November.

Naturalist Minakata Kumagusu's home prefecture offers much more than a scenic retreat.

Approaching the house of 80-year-old Akiko Ishigaki, a three-legged dog rises to signal our arrival. From inside the house, Ishigaki gently scolds the dog, emerges from the doorway and invites us in. She's dressed in layers of woven purple cloth and her face maintains the ...

For much of its history Tokyo was known as city of water. Like Venice or Bangkok, canals were the arteries of commerce, and life was lived in close proximity to rivers and creeks. But that legacy was, for the most part, hidden under concrete ...