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July 12, 2025
 

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LIFE

Travel
Digital
Food & Drink
Style & Design
Language
Lifestyle
Milpa's inventive food combines Mexican cooking techniques with Japanese ingredients
LIFE / Food & Drink
With fine dining, Milpa frees Mexican food from the grips of the taco
By Melinda Joe
The Michelin-starred restaurant in Osaka wants to show Japanese diners that its cuisine has a creative breadth beyond tortillas.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
By Yuko Tamura
With World Emoji Day approaching, it's a good opportunity to recognize how important these digital pictures have become.
People carry a portable shrine at Sensoji temple during the Sanja Festival in May. The festival is one of the three largest in Tokyo.
LIFE / Language
What’s the first thing you think of when you think of a Japanese summer?
By Yuko Tamura
Fireworks and festivals are part of the traditional Japanese summer, but what do people associate with the season these days?

Travel

Once a way to transport lumber from the mountains to the coast, log rafting is now Kitayama's biggest attraction.
Travel
A tiny mountain hamlet keeps traditional log rafting afloat
By Louise George Kittaka
Log rafting was once a means of transporting timber, but now it’s the tourist draw of a tiny Wakayama village.
Travel
At a mountainside shrine, yuzu candy made by imperial decree
By Lance Henderstein
Travel
In search of untouched Japan? Meet Hokkaido’s newest hiking trail.
By Justin Randall
Travel
Fighting Osaka Expo fatigue? Walk the 21-km Loop Line for a cure.
By Edward J. Taylor
Travel
Celebrating Japan’s defeat at Shimoda’s Black Ship Festival
By Todd Fong
Travel
Want to see the future at the Osaka Expo? Get in line.
By Thu-Huong Ha
Travel
Japan’s first Waldorf Astoria brings art deco luxury to Osaka
By Tan Pin Yen

Digital

Since its introduction in 1985, Sega's UFO Catcher machine has come to define crane games in Japan.
Digital
King of Japan’s arcades, Sega’s UFO Catcher turns 40
By Gendel Gento
Where would Japan’s arcades be without the rows and rows of crane games that Sega’s influential machine helped popularize?
Digital
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
By Gendel Gento
Digital / ON: GAMES
Is Japanese skin really ‘too smooth’ for Hideo Kojima’s games?
By Owen Ziegler
Digital
The Hitobito's Megan and Ben uncover the real Japan, one video at a time
By Patrick St. Michel
Digital
In Elden Ring Nightreign, the FromSoftware formula goes awry
By Owen Ziegler
Digital / ON: GAMES
Uh-oh, is the rest of the world making JRPGs better than Japan?
By Owen Ziegler
Digital
In Nintendo’s backyard, foreign indie game devs are thriving
By Gendel Gento

Food & Drink

Milpa's inventive food combines Mexican cooking techniques with Japanese ingredients
Food & Drink
With fine dining, Milpa frees Mexican food from the grips of the taco
By Melinda Joe
The Michelin-starred restaurant in Osaka wants to show Japanese diners that its cuisine has a creative breadth beyond tortillas.
Food & Drink
Shintaro Awa appointed to head the kitchen of L’Ambroisie in Paris
By Kyoko Nakayama
Food & Drink
Beyond the lavender fields in Furano, a whisky distillery emerges
By Simon Daly
Food & Drink
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
By Tan Pin Yen
Food & Drink
Come nightfall in Nakano, Thai eatery Orangutan opens its arms
By Kimberly Hughes
Food & Drink
The juicy tale of Saitama's prized yuzu
By Aarohi Narain
Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
One way to bring back the mojo in ‘old old old rice’
By Makiko Itoh

Style & Design

Mexican designer Italia Segovia, 26, known as "Kumiko," poses for a picture wearing clothes from her brand Chicanjuku.
Style & Design
Mexican designer blends Chicano and Harajuku styles
By Raquel Cunha and Rafael Escalera Montoto
Designer Italia "Kumiko" Segovia says experimentation is great as long as it's from a place of knowledge and respect.
Style & Design / Longform
Revitalizing the space under Tokyo’s train tracks
By Alex K.T. Martin
Style & Design
Traditional home experts to gather at MinkaMeets event
By Laura Pollacco
Style & Design
Jeremy Strong brings male power-dressing to Cannes
By Adam PLOWRIGHT
Style & Design
Sculpted waves, sleek updos: Showa hairstyles are back in fashion
By Carol R.H. Malasig
Style & Design
Kazuki Nagasawa's sustainable designs are rooted in tradition
By Danielle Demetriou
Style & Design
Japan’s ‘tabi’ sock mecca runs on thread and memories
By Aarohi Narain

Language

Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
Language / BILINGUAL
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
By Yuko Tamura
With World Emoji Day approaching, it's a good opportunity to recognize how important these digital pictures have become.
Language
What’s the first thing you think of when you think of a Japanese summer?
By Yuko Tamura
Language / BILINGUAL
Take your first steps into the world of kabuki with these basic terms
By Eric Margolis
Language / BILINGUAL
How to get kicked out of a Kyoto home with a smile
By Yuko Tamura
Language / BILINGUAL
In the forecast for June — a lot of talk about the weather
By Yaeko Kabe
Language / BILINGUAL
What’s in a name? With new guidelines, the Japanese government wants to know.
By Yuko Tamura
Language / BILINGUAL
How to talk about change in Japanese — one forecast at a time
By Yuko Tamura

Lifestyle

Japan is mad about pets, and the Interpets trade fair showed to what lengths some owners will go for their furry friends.
Lifestyle
Cats, dogs, meerkats, goats: Interpets trade fair draws furry hordes
By Shawn B. Swinger
From June 19 to 21, a veritable animal kingdom (and their owners) descended on the Intex Osaka convention center to try new foods and meet new friends.
Lifestyle
Why Japanese sunscreen is going viral — and selling out
By Natsuko Fukue and Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE
Lifestyle
The science of shinrin-yoku: Why forest bathing feels good
By Tomoko Otake
Lifestyle
Under shogi’s shadow, Tokyo’s chess lovers make their move
By Shyam Bhardwa
Lifestyle
'Rice swindler,' 'Face thief': Worried citizens invent new monsters
By Thu-Huong Ha
Lifestyle
So long, gateball. Japan’s seniors are ready to work those core muscles.
By Yuko Tamura
Lifestyle
How ‘hikikomori’ shut-ins ‘start to have dreams for the future’
By Eric Margolis
Read more LIFE stories
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
Air India crash report to offer peek into last seconds
Members of the Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad on June 14.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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