Lifestyle

Like the ubiquitous neon signs and abundant convenience stores scattered throughout Tokyo, departure melodies at train stations are probably something many residents don't give much thought to as they travel around the city each day. And yet so much thought has been put into the ...

Men in straw capes wearing ferocious horned masks with gleaming eyes and long, pointed fangs stare down at a group of reporters. Others donning masks of a devil, monkey and a long-nosed tengu birdman squat as they pose for photographs during a news conference ...

Fifty-three-year-old Kenji Yamase doesn't fit the traditional image of a hikikomori, but then perceptions of Japan's social recluses are changing. "People think of hikikomori as being lazy young people with personality problems who stay in their rooms all the time playing video games," says Yamase, ...

Racecars, zip lines and the great outdoors — a visit to Twin Ring Motegi tracks in Tochigi Prefecture will keep the kids racing around in excitement.

As seniors worry about leaving the burden of unwanted possessions to relatives upon their death, more are learning to use flea market apps to declutter early.

My neighbor's garden is a wonder to behold. Where you might expect to find trim box hedges, bamboo fences, subtle rock arrangements, junipers, conifers and pine, there are garden gnomes, an ornamental concrete wheelbarrow, pots of begonia, hanging baskets of pansies and an iron ...

Trainer Chuck Johnson explains what it takes to get a piece of the action in this rough-and-tumble world of stunt performers.

Shindo and taikobics give personal fitness regimes a Japanese twist with kendo moves and taiko drumming.

With a population of just 27 people but over 270 life-size hand-crafted dolls, the tiny village of Nagoro in Tokushima Prefecture is a poignant comment on depopulation, all created by just one woman.

The Unko Museum, the world's first museum of poop, may be a flush of joy for kids, but is it fun for adults too?

Twenty-five-year-old Sotaro Ito lives in a 9.46-square-meter apartment with a loft in the capital's retro-hip Koenji district. His apartment looks more like an office cubicle, with a desk and computer chair dominating a third of the room. A reading pillow is propped up against one ...